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As well as the Yiddish songs about London that Vivi Lachs describes, which give this CD its uniqueness, there is much else to enjoy on Klezmer Klub's latest creation. Klezmer is essentially dance music and the opening track, Freilachs for Sheila, sets the mood well. Sitting between songs about London that range from the poignant to the playful, are several tunes representing different dance styles from Rumanian doinas to the bulgars typical of the Chasidim to the Bessarabian chain dance 'honga' - a style that invites foot stamping as accompaniment.


The songs of London are obviously historical but are given a modern feel and sung without nostalgia. The issues they speak about very starkly - poverty, overcrowding, prostitution and the search for work - are all too contemporary to allow them just to be consigned to the past. But neither do such sombre themes prevent the CD being a celebration of the Yiddish East End and the resilience and humour with which immigrants faced the challenges around them, as immigrants and refugees continue to do in London in 2010. Buy it and enjoy!


David Rosenberg.  Jewish Socialist magazine January 2010