Gili Meod (Rejoice Greatly) is a compilation of two albums previously only available on cassette - Gili Me'od and Sos Asis. We were very happy to hear that the publishers decided to remaster the cassettes and make a new compilation of these old-time Messianic songs because they were probably the best productions to come from Israel.

Gili Meod and Sos Asis were recorded back in the 1980s, when the Messianic community in Israel were producing many excellent songs which later on became standards in the Messianic congregations of Israel. The songs are all Old Testament songs, taken from the Psalms and Prophets, many of these being Messianic prophecies. Most of them are sung in Hebrew and are direct quotations of Scripture, although some have English singing in them alongside the Hebrew.

These songs are among the most beautiful and the tunes are very fitting to their lyrics. I find listening to the songs on this album both enjoyable and uplifting. The CD also contains one medly of Jewish traditional songs: Hava Nagila, Hevenu Shalom Aleichem and Hine' Ma Tov.

The style of music is relatively conservative because the Messianic community didn't produce "rocky" songs in the 80s. The tunes are mainly Jewish style, but not overly so; they have an almost biblical touch to them. There's lots of choir work here, and it's simply excellent! No wonder this CD, when it was still a cassette, sold so many copies when it was released. The instruments used are bass, piano, guitar, drums, violin, cello, percussion, synthesizer, recorder, flute, clarinet, bouzouki (once), saxophone, trumpet; even piccolo and accordion are very tastefully added. The singers are local believers from the Jerusalem area, some of whom I know personally, and even as a native Israeli I can hardly detect a foreign accent; the singers seem to be native Hebrew speakers.

If you want a good introduction to Israeli Messianic music, this is a good place to start! If you're looking for an enjoyable music CD for yourself or as a gift for friends, Gili Meod is a good choice.

All songs contain Hebrew transliterations and English translations of all the lyrics. Many of the songs were composed by Batya Segal, some by Elisheva Shomron and other song writers. The executive producer is Barry Segal, and the excellent production and arrangements are, like Zamru Lo, the work of Ann Hilsden.

The total runtime is 38:31

Song List:

1. Bou Lefanav
2. Gili Meod
3. Hine Ke-Eine Avadim
4. Israeli Folk Medley
5. Kumi Ori
6. Lo Gavah Libi
7. Nisgav Adonai
8. Hashmieni
9. Kos Yeshuot
10. Od Yeshama
11. Mah Navu
12. LeMaan Tzion
13. Sos Asis
14. Hine El Yeshuati
15. Diminu
16. Hallelujah
17. Hodu L'Adonai

Enjoy!