In times of Bhangra and hip-hop overkill, it is amazing to listen to a Punjabi album with the ubiquitious ’’Balle-Balle’’ and ’’Chak de’’ completely absent.
Rabbi, is the only musician singing in Punjabi, besides Abida Parveen and NusratFateh Ali Khan, that I have liked. The others I have ignored, or tolerated.
Rabbi definitely has good company.
Some history first. I had first heard, and seen Rabbi perform two years back, in Dilli Haat, New Delhi. There was this intense looking sardar in his spotless white kurta, energetically strumming his guitar, and singing ballads in a powerful voice. ’’Bulla ki jaanan’’ was the first song he performed, and it quite
stayed with me. I was happily surprised when I saw it on TV, bought the album instantly, and discovered that there is much more to it than this one song.
But first, Bulla ki jaana.
Bulle Shah’s vintage poetry has been performed by innumerable artists, and his poetry is such that it makes performers rise to it. So it is with Rabbi. The chord pattern is energetic, Rabbi’s voice is
soaring, and the lyrics are amazing. This remains with you long after you have heard it.
There are two more great pieces of poetry that Rabbi performs in the album, and does both with a lot of elan. Heer consists of a few verses from Varis Shah’s Heer, which again, has been performed by many artists.
What is striking is the version here is the most rockish of all. There are touches of Punjabi folk, but the sound is techno (one friend mistook it for Enigma!!). The other one is Shiv Batalvi’s (reknown Punjabi poet) poem Ishtihaar, ’’a peaen for a lostlover, in the format of an advertisement’’. This has the most stripped-down sound among all songs in the album, with just guitar-pluckings in most parts of the song, and some orchestra in the end. A good platform for Rabbi to showcase his vocal talent, and how he succeeds!
The song makes one thing clear:Led Zeppelin is an influence.
There is one attempt at doing an out-and-out rock act, and it succeeds. ’’Gill te guitar’’, a song about lost friends, has a good, catchy riff and nice https://lyrics. Ek Geet Hijar Da too has a rock ballad feel, and is partially effective. But, here, as with all good albums, is a dud! Aaj Nachna is an attempt at doing a
’’normal’’ punjabi song, and it falls flat, as almost all ’’normal’’ punjabi songs do. This, at best, sounds like a Sukhbir song.
That, I think, is a big enoug insult for a person of Rabbi’s callibre, and hence, I would refrain from
elaborating more on this.
That brings us to the two folk songs on the album, both gems. ’’Tottian Manmotian’’ is a fable about a parrot and a parrotess, the theme being the issue of honour which has, over the past, caused so much bloodshed.
This haspercussions by Shivamani, and has Rakesh Chaurasia on the flute, and has a small solo on the electric guitar. Jugni is the other one. An introspective piece about what has become of this great nation of ours, with very contemporary and relevant https://lyrics. This has an electronic sound, with sound samples, which appear as if they have been ripped off news channels, in the background as interludes between verses. Rabbi’s voice fits well into the folk style of rendition, and his punjabi accent is oh-so-sweet. A worthy finish for a great album.
Where does Rabbi go from here? Important question. There are many things that he is very good at. He plays the guitar real well, has a 100MegaWatt voice, composes well, and has a big store-house of folk lyrics and tunes. Above all, he has the courage to do his own thing. He has much in store, and will
certainly evolve. Welcome Rabbi. We’re in for a feast.