There are two outstanding facets of Rashid Ali’s debut album – one, the kind of exotic tunes that Rashid consistently delivers; and two, Keith Peters’ guitar, that almost becomes a 2nd voice in almost all the songs. Tunes like Sookhi nadi and the Azeri folk song, Ayrilik (where Faria Choudhary joins Rashid) hold mesmerizing tunes, enchantingly orchestrated. The former also has an English version – Something on your mind – unfortunately with cringe-worthy lyrics. Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan-composed Jin ke dum se too is a superb listen – a stunning, retro’ish tune given an intriguingly modern sound. The mildly faster tracks like Parda parda, Zarra zarra and Soch zara are very good as tunes, but it is Rashid’s strictly middling singing that often pulls them down. Kabhi kabhi Aditi gets yet another not-so-exciting remix, while Saahil hai kinara actually sounds Rahman-composed, with a gorgeous melody! Of the 3 instrumental tracks, Tears of joy and Saahil hai kinara’s reprise are wonderfully composed. Even as Rashid Ali’s vocals are the weakest point of this album, the kind of tunes the composer in him puts together more than makes up for that flaw. This is a lovingly assembled, fabulously produced album – a welcome debut!
PS: A rap in the knuckle for the record label – for the silly mistake in the credits of Ayrilik. ‘Azerbaijan’ is actually spelt ‘Aberzijan’!
Keywords: Rashid Ali, Raqueeb Alam, Call Me Rashid, #200
