It would be fair to say that very few people - in Europe and the U.S at least - know much about the Egyptian music scene of the 1960s. This compilation, then, should be something of an eye-opener to all of those with an interest in musical movements from around the world. What's perhaps most interesting is the surprisingly "global" nature of the influences on show. Check, for example, the jaunty bossanova rhythms underpinning Salim El Baroudi's "Fatouma", the humid Arabic jazz flex of Abd Al Fattah Mensi's "Leyla", the tango style accordions of Al Thourathy Al Mareh's "Asmar Ya Sukkar" and the wonderfully over-the-top easy listening orchestration that leaps out from Magda Ali's "Nafourak Ya Ghazal (A Nubian Love Song Part 1)".