| Qareeb | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Najma |
| Cover: | Qareeb album.jpg |
| Released: | 1987 |
| Genre: | Urdu poetry, Indian music, ghazals |
| Label: | Triple Earth Shanachie |
| Producer: | Bunt Stafford Clark, Iain Scott |
| Next Title: | Ghazals By Najma |
| Next Year: | 1988 |
Qareeb is an album by the British Indian singer Najma, released in 1987.[1] [2] It was issued in England by Triple Earth Records before being picked up for an American release by Shanachie Records.[3] Songs from the album appear in the Stephen Frears film Sammy and Rosie Get Laid.[4]
The album was produced by Bunt Stafford Clark and Iain Scott.[5] It was recorded in England, with Najma setting traditional ghazals to her own melodies. Triple Earth envisioned a jazzy recording, while Najma fought to keep the emphasis on her voice and the poetic recitation.[6]
Robert Christgau wrote that "the overall effect is twofold: gentle culture clash and sheer physical beauty." The New York Times thought that, "in [Najma's] lower and middle ranges, she commands the solid aim and tonality of a pop professional, yet she bounds off up the scale like a rock singer who wants to see how far she might go ... Najma's producers are right up-to-date in this era of digitally influenced recorded pop; in strongly etched strokes, they exaggerate the presence of a few instruments rather than accumulate a mesh of many textures."[5]
The Washington Post wrote that "sweetly insinuating tones waft above the lilting electronic keyboards and skipping percussion of the tablas on tracks like 'Neend Koyi'."[7] The Chicago Reader praised Qareebs "rolling, funky bass, its circular violin figures, and its expressive saxophone," writing that Najma's "incredible" voice "never grew tiresome."[8] The Gazette deemed it "a unique and masterful release."[9]