I know there are avid fans of other artists in the Rai genre, and I have listened to many them. But for me, Cheb Mami is the cream which has floated to the top. His singing sounds effortless, unstrained and unhurried. That being said, there is a passion in his voice that could motivate a stone to commit immoral deeds---which is probably why he has been banned in the Arab-speaking world---funniest thing is, if you go to a private party, they all love him! OK enough on world politics.

The rumor is that Sting heard Cheb's singing coming out of some nightclub in Paris and raced in to see who was singing---asked him to sing on his Desert Rose album and the rest is history. Well, that's where I first heard Cheb---on Sting's album. It took a little sleuthing, but I found out who it was and have been an avid fan for several years. This is a fab live disc and I play it almost constantly. Another good one is 'Let Me Rai". That disc has an amazing swath of styles on it (a Scottish rock drum march, sung in Arabic? Go on wif yer bad self) that will leave you tapping your toes. After listening to it several times, you'll be singing along (phonetically) to some of the most infectious music on earth.