Abdel Hamid al-Sayyid | Min Eid Alaa Eid (Moriphon, 1963)

 

Singer, oudist, and composer Abdel Hamid al-Sayyid was born in 1938 in Kuwait City and passed away in 2014. Considered a "pillar of song" in his home country, al-Sayyid began as a Quran reciter on Kuwait Radio. Under the tutelage of one of his musical heroes, Muhammad Hassan Salih, he studied the fundamentals of composition and singing before launching his own musical career.

Although al-Sayyid would go on to compose for the likes of Faiza Ahmed, this particular song, which we believe might translate to something like "From Eid to Eid," released in 1963, was composed by the somewhat older Su'oud al-Rashed. 

What is striking about it, among other things, is the relative suppression of the oud and the up-front-and-center use of the orchestra for what feels like a series of stings, feints, and dives -- it's a genuinely remarkable score that dances around al-Sayyid's calm, measured voice.

We have combined Side A and B into a seamless whole; additionally, given excessive noise in the right channel, we pulled only the sound from the left channel of this mono recording in our rip.

(Listen to "Min Eid Alaa Eid")