Ofra Haza - My Soul (Kol Haneshama) (1994)

Kol Haneshama (The Whole Soul) is almost one long dissonant chord. Understated. It is a subtly haunting and lovely album. Often times elegant and worrisome with a view of the Mediterranean. The album sails forth with the first song, Le'orech Hayam (Along The Length Of The Sea). It's a cold wind. It's a ship leaving shore, heading out on an ominous journey. A foreboding acoustic guitar hits the first few notes. And Ofra's voice is that wind put into melody, singing a goodbye and good luck to that ship, however somber she may sound. Backed by floating strings and and an uncertain and sad piano, it's a stirring song. Not to much, not too little. Just enough. Le'orech Hayam is one of my favorites of The Whole Soul.
If Le'Orech Hayam is the start of the journey, then the second song, Ruach Ha-Adam (The Spirit Of Man), is the ship at sea, making headway through the waves. The acoustic guitar takes on a more Spanish style. It may be an alluring and more confident song, but the dark clouds that encompassed Le'orech Hayam have not fully desolved. Like a siren, Ofra lures you toward the horizon, especially toward the end of the song.
Despite the fact that Ofra's vocals are not often soaring or striking, her vocals are emotional and heartbreaking and delicately stimulating. In track 4, Kol Haneshama (The Whole Soul), the chorus softens to an ethereal synthesizer. During this point Ofra softly sings out a brief tune that feels like the warm sun enveloping a stretching landscape.
Track 5, Yeled Echad (One Child), sounds like a romantic ballad. Drifting through the grassy fields and the yellow haze of midday, Ofra becomes more childlike and tender. This delicate song would seem too sappy, but the chorus is too dignified and sublime. A lovely song.
The album winds down the way it began. It enters back into a fog of grey and sadness. Track 10, Kol Yom Vekahe'ev Shelo (Every Day And It's Pain), has a slowly cascading chorus that seems to signal the beginning of Track 11, Ben Adam Ba'olam (A Man On This Earth), a song accompanied by the lonesome acoustic guitar. Ofra's voice builds to a forlorned and comfortless climax. And Track 12, Gufcha' Roqed Bahalomi (Your Body Dances In My Dream), seems to imply what I was fearing at the start of the album. This song is like witnessing the manifestations of exquisite ghosts in an old mansion, perhaps foretelling a dark future, one that we will never discover. With the ending of Gufcha' Roqed Bahalomi, we are pushed reluctantly over a cliff into a dark abyss, leaving us disquieted.
Ofra is mysterious and intriguing in The Whole Soul. Her voice is as beautiful as ever and she proves that you don't have to belt out a high note to achieve a strong presence. I suppose this is not an album for everyone. But, if you can tolerate the dissonance, or even love it like I do, you'll know you've stumbled into a wonderful album.