Desert Roses 2

1	Ah Ya Albi / Olga Tañón and Hakim
2	Lirrili / Amina
3	En Retard / Rachid Taha
4	Take Me I'm Yours / Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford with Latifa
5	Bäida / Cheb Mami
6	Naachak Fik / Cheb Nasro
7	Albi Htar / Ragheb Alama and Faudel
8	Yala Habibi / Sabu and Arabian Fantasy
9	Call of the Wild / Shani
10	Bain Albareh Wa Al Yom / Nawal al Zoughbi
11	Yalla Ya Chabab / Ragheb Alama and Andy
12	Istanboogie / Oojami
13	Trigue Lycee / Khaled
14	The Merciful One / Zohar

Barnes & Noble

There's a storm brewing out beyond the borders of Western pop music, and the Levantine-themed Desert Roses 2, the sequel to the successful Desert Roses and Arabian Rhythms, does an admirable job of forecasting it. As the Arab world becomes plugged in to the global pulse, unexpected fusions and manias are coming to the fore. Who would imagine collaborations between merengue star Olga Tañon and Egypt's Hakim, or Squeeze principals Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford joining Tunisian vocalist Latifa for a remake of their camel opera "Take Me I'm Yours," produced by Transglobal Underground? Those paying attention saw the roots of such cross-pollination in hits from Shakira (a Colombian star of Lebanese descent) and Alabina, a collective joining Israeli vocalist Ishtar with a Gypsy rumba band. But "Ah Ya Albi," the Hakim/Tañon duet is more portentous still, produced by Latino hip-hopper Kemo of Delinquent Habits, overseen by Mexican rapper Antonio Hernandez of Control Machete, and for good measure, urban superproducer Narada Michael Walden -- surely the frequent-flyer miles alone were staggering. But of course they weren't -- these kinds of collaboration are ever more common, facilitated by Internet and high-speed courier. The groundbreaking mixes on this set, featuring Oriental-themed techno and funk from rai legends Khaled, Faudel, Rachid Taha, and many others, are the kind of fizzy, high-energy global pop that capture the moment with dizzying clarity. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Compilations are invariably like the curate's egg -- good in parts -- and this one's no exceptions. For all the delights, like the fiery duet between Egypt's Hakim and Puerto Rican star Olga Tañon or the playful version of "Take Me I'm Yours," which transports Squeeze to North Africa in the company of Tunisian diva Latifa, you have to put up with the extremely mundane, like Shani's blandly techno-fied "Call of the Wild" or Zohar's frankly boring electronica on "The Merciful One." Overall, though, the quality's high, with some excellent tracks by Algerian Cheb Nastro, and Oojami's club-beats-go-to-Turkey "Istanboogie," which bodes well for their album. A number of the cuts do come from albums released on Mondo Melodia, but that doesn't lessen the enjoyment of songs like Amina's "Lirrili," Rachid Taha's "En Retard" (confirming the man as the best Arab-Western crossover), or Khaled's "Trigue Lycee," one of the best things to come off his Kenza release. But, like any compilation, it's the rarities that set it apart, and this has a few of them. Apart from the Hakim/Tañon and Squeeze/Latifa pairings, there's also Arabian Fantasy's excellent "Yala Habibi," coming out of left field. It follows on the success of the original Desert Roses & Arabian Rhythms, which offered a fresh look at North African and Middle Eastern music, and continues to delight with its variety and intensity -- to this point, at least, the law of diminishing returns that dogs compilation series hasn't kicked in. Chris Nickson