Rana Mansour - Rana Mansour (2015)

Rana Mansour mixes traditional Middle East sounds and rhythms with various moods on this impressive and accessible album. Her voice has that earthy nasal quality, adding sensuous mystery to the upbeat rhythms and folk guitar of pieces such as “Mahtab.” She mostly sings in Persian, and she uses it slyly on a cabaret “Shohar Pooldar” as well as a handful of tunes made for the disco scene, such as the grooving “Age Hale Mano dashti” and the dramatic 80s sounding “Engar.” Most successful, and worthy of an album of its own, is when she sticks to acoustic instruments and mixes Brazilian samba with the Alborz Mountains in Persia on the enticing “Sharab” and there is a fun level of Bohemia on “Baroon.” A quick trip to Armenia on “Yeraz” mixes moody shadows with her alluring voice, showing excellent flexibility. As spicy as a zatar and oil dip.~ By George W. Harris