Five more Acapella Songs you may have missed...

During sefira, I wrote a post "The Top 12 Acapella Songs You Never Heard". The response to the post was huge. The article received over 600 views, a shoutout on Yossi Zweig's Z Report, and was reposted on Yidwise. I also received many passionate responses from my readers (almost all saying "well why didn't you include this song" or some varient thereof). So here comes part two: five more songs I missed in the first article that deserved to be included.

1)Meir Green - Nekudah Shel Ohr.

I first heard this song on the Z Report this past sefira and I fell in love with it. The lyrics are inspirational, the tune is great, and amazingly for an Israeli vocal single, the acapella arrangements are superb. Although most Israeli acapella songs usually sound like 'charah', this one has great hamronies and computerized effects that let me enjoy it again and again.

2)Y-Studs - Don't Let Me Down.

This song doesn't really belong on this list, because there's a good chance you heard it before. But its such a good song I felt it's worth including, even if I did have to retitle the list to you may have missed. The Y-studs had been considered YU's second-tier to the Maccabeats; merely kid brothers to the real game in town (whew mixed metaphor alert!). But with their single/music video "Don't Let Me Down", the Y-studs showed that not only can they hold a candle to their senior counterparts, they can actually surpass them in their own way. Don't Let Me Down is where we see the Y-studs finally stopping to compete and instead focus on their own unique style - with excellent results.

3)Yehuda Glantz - Eshet Chayil.

When my good friend AY told me to check out Yehuda Glantz's acapella tracks I was surprised. "Yehuda Glantz has acapella tracks?" I asked him. He replied that, yes indeed, he did and pointed me to Eshet Chayil. You see, Yehuda Glantz is one of my favorite Jewish artists, as he's an original soul who feels no pressure to cave into contemporary styles and instead focuses on music he himself likes - with amazing results. This often results in him foreshadowing a trend many years before anyone else. Such is the case with his acapella tracks. Back in 1996, way before it became trendy to make an capella track and way way before it became trendy to actually make it sound good, Glantz had already released two acapella tracks that sound like they could have been released this year. Eshet Chayil, off the album Rak Litzok El Hashem, is one of them. (The other being Yasis.)

4)Udi Damari - Tzok Eitan. 

If you've read my other articles, you know I hate Israeli acapella singles. But Udi Damari, who produced Gil Nagar's single Ata Elokai (see my last article) and the fairly decent Ivri Anochi, also released a vocal version of his own song "Tzok Eitan" and had I heard it before my previous article, it would've made the cut. In fact, its so good, the first time I heard it I thought I misclicked on the music version instead! This song, which reminds the Arabs that Hashem has our back, is especially appropriate considering the current situation in Israel.

5)Kol Achai - Naar Hayiti. 

Before there was Acapella, there was Kol Achai. Way back in the early history of Jewish music, before Six13, before Beatachon, even before MBD, Kol Achai was already making acapella songs. A reader felt that it's tantamount to sacrilege to make an acapella list lacking Kol Achai, and I had to agree. Naar Hayiti is off their album Halleu.

BONUS: Dudi Fuchs & Neranenu Choir - Da Ki Yesh Sudeh. 

Those who follow Jewish music know that there is currently a deluge of chassidic choirs featuring 'yeled hapeleh's. But this song, a cover of Levy Falkowitch's Da Ki Yesh Sadeh, caught my ear.