''Crowded in the Ear'' (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: צפוף באוזן, Tzafuf BaOzen) is the third and final studio album by

Israeli rock Israeli rock ( he, רוק ישראלי, ''Rok Yisra'eli'') is rock music created by Israeli bands and singers. History 1960s Israel's initial attitude toward rock music was extremely negative. Israeli musicians of the time believed that it was a ...

band,

Kaveret Kaveret ( he, כוורת, lit. "beehive"), also known as Poogy ( he, פוגי, nickname of band drummer Meir Fenigstein chosen for their performances abroad), was an Israeli Rock music, rock band, which operated originally from 1973 to 1976. Repr ...

, released in 1975.

Background

After the huge success of the band's first two albums (

Poogy Tales ''Poogy Tales'' ( he, סיפורי פוגי, Sipurei Pugi) is the debut album by Israeli Rock music, rock band, Kaveret, released in 1973. It is considered one of the most important albums in the history of Israeli music. It is also amongst the be ...

and Poogy in a Pita), they decided to change musical direction. The first two albums were written by

Danny Sanderson Danny Sanderson ( he, דני סנדרסון; born November 30, 1950) is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist. In 2005, Sanderson received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Israeli music. Biography Sanderson was ...

, while all the band members participated in writing this album. Each song was played through and the band decided whether to include it in the album. The band worked for six months on the album while living in a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

. The band members pursued different musical directions and contributed new influences to the band's sound.

Yoni Rechter Yoni Rechter ( he, יוני רכטר; born 18 November 1951) is an Israeli musician, composer, pianist, arranger and singer. Biography Yonatan (Yoni) Rechter was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is the son of Israeli architect Ya'akov Rechter and st ...

turned to

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

and was a member of the progressive rock duo 14 Octaves (along with Avner Kener) at the time. Efrahim Shamir and Alon Olearthick turned to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. The result was the band's most diversified album, but this cost the band many fans and finally led to the band's break-up in 1976.

Songs

Only two songs were written entirely by Sanderson – "HaIsh Hakhi Mahir" (The Fastest Man) and "Inspector Piqeakh" (Clever Inspector) that reprised the band's original sound, characterized by melodic rock and

nonsense Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous To be ridiculous is to be something which is ...

. The humor was still present in songs such as "Golyat" (Goliath) a parody about the biblical story, "Lu Lu" and "Tango Tzfardeim" (Frogs Tango) and more. The song "HaOlam Sameakh" (The World is Happy) was composed in the

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

, a musical style that was popular in Israel at the time. The song was played after a skit in the band's shows. The song "Shi'ur Moledet" (Country Lesson) was originally composed by Shamir in Polish, and the lyricist

Eli Mohar Eli Mohar ( he, עלי מוהר; December 30, 1948 – November 30, 2006) was an Israeli songwriter and columnist. Biography Eli Mohar was born in Tel Aviv. His father was Yechiel Mohar. He was a member of HaMahanot HaOlim youth movement and stu ...

wrote Hebrew lyrics for the album. This song, along with other quiet songs in the album such as "Hi Kol Kakh Yafa" (She's So Beautiful), didn't initially become a success with the fans who expected humor, but as time passed the songs became amongst the favorites from the album. The album's back cover was painted by

Yossi Abulafia Yossi Abulafia ( he, יוסי אבולעפיה; born 1944) is an Israeli writer and illustrator of children's books, as well as a graphic artist, cartoonist, director and screenwriter of animation films. Biography Abulafia was born in Tibe ...

using images inspired by the album's songs in the style of

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...

's artworks for

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

Reception

The third album sold 30,500 copies, fewer than the first two. The band's live shows also met with less success. Nonetheless, the band was the most successful band in Israel, winning "Band of the Year" for the third time in the

Army Radio Army Radio ( he, גלי צה"ל lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz ( he, גל"צ), is a nationwide Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports ...

and the "Song of the Year" with "Goliat."

Track listing

# Golyat –

Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...

(גוליית) – 3:24 # Shir Malakhim – Sailors Song (שיר מלחים) – 3:22 # Medina Qt'ana – Small State (מדינה קטנה) – 3:08 # Tango Tzfardeim – Frogs Tango (טנגו צפרדעים) – 3:50 # Inspector Piqeakh – Smart Inspector (אינספקטור פיקח) – 2:11 # Shi'ur Moledet – Country Lesson (שיעור מולדת) – 3:09 # HaOlam Sameakh – The World is Happy (העולם שמח) – 3:32 # HaYsh Hakkhi Mahir – The Fastest Man (האיש הכי מהיר) – 3:21 # Shir HaT'embel – The Idiot Song (שיר הטמבל) – 2:31) # Lekh Saper LeSavta – Go Tell to Grandma (לך ספר לסבתא) – 3:11 # He Kol Kakh Yafa – She's So Beautiful (היא כל כך יפה) – 3:14 # Lu Lu (לו לו) – 3:30 # Sof HaHatzaga HaLaila – End of the Show Tonight (סוף ההצגה הלילה) – 0:48 # Kakha Hi Baemtza – That's How She's in the Middle (ככה היא באמצע) – 4:47

Bonus tracks in the CD edition

# "Tzafuf BaOzen – Haqdama Tizmortit" – Crowded in the Ear – Orchestral Prologue (צפוף באוזן – הקדמה תזמורתית) – 5:27 # "Apchi" (אפצ'י) – 0:16 (a parody about Neomi Shemer's translation to

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album It may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...

) # "Ma Ata Ro'e" – What Do You See (מה אתה רואה) – 0:42 (a parody on the song "MiDarom Tipatah T'ova" – "From the South Good will Come" by the Piqud HaDarom Band # "Tarzan (Yltur Khai)" – Tarzan (Live Improvisation) (טרזן – אילתור חי) – 1:51 # "Mekhaqim LeShula" – Waiting for Shula (מחכים לשולה) – 2:50

Band Members

– vocals, guitars, music, lyrics *

Gidi Gov Gideon "Gidi" Gov ( he, גידי גוב; 4 August 1950) is an Israeli singer, TV host, entertainer, and actor. He was married to the late Anat Gov with whom he had three children. Biography Early life Gov was born in Rehovot, Israel, to Da ...

– lead vocals, tambourine *Efraim Shamir – lead vocals, guitars, 12-string guitar, harmonica, bass guitar on track 5Kaveret Returns
Eran Russek, 14 June 2013, Ha-dibuk.blogspot.co.il *Alon Oleartchik – vocals, bass guitar, music, lyrics (except 5) *Yitzhak "Churchill" Klepter – vocals, electric guitar *

– vocals, piano,

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

*Meir "Poogy" Fenigstein – drums, percussion, spoken word and vocals as "Poogy"

References

{{Authority control 1975 albums Kaveret albums