Nadeem Farooq Paracha, reviews Azaadi. You will find him a bit optimistic about the whole album. Frankly speaking, he has condemned all the songs, because of his personal Bad-Terms with junoon. Infact, there was no need to upload his review, but lot of junoonis alover the world were willing to look at it. So here it is...for them only....

Last Band Standing

Nadeem Farooq Paracha reviews the aesthetic evolution of Junoon which led to the making of its latest album azaadi.....

Junoon's fourth album is not quite what you would expect from a band which only a year ago was in top form, enthusiastically belting out "indegenous" rock/pop fusion music and which the band calls "electric folk".

Like Talaash(1993), its last album, Inquilaab,too, was a trendsetter because where Talaash had helped popularise guitar-driven music in the otherwise synthesised local mainstream scene, it also proved that Urdu/Punjabi vocals are compatible with good hard pop. Inquilaab on the other hand, successfully fused avid U2, Floyd and Zeppelin references with populist Pakistani folk/film music (Saeein, Rooh Ki Piyas, Mahi, Main Koun houn).

But if Inquilaab's phenomenal success finally turned the six year old 'cult favourities' into new mainstream darling, junoon had yet to peak. But then why after only to be fizzling rather than peaking?

Because in all fairness, Junoon's new album azaad, is anti-climactic. It pretends infact, deludes itself) to be offering something very new in context of style, sound and direction. But the truth is, it is not the expected (and natural) progression/extension of what was achieved in Inquilaab and which itself was an innovaive extension of Talaash.

Thus, Azaadi actually divorces and separates the band from its own evolution and sound it had so painstakingly mustered ever since 1991's choatic, VOL:1.

Azaadi is quiatrist Salman Ahmed's (over-)indulgence of the whole idea of fusing mdern guitar rifs and leads with eastern classical and folk compositions. But the results here are quite unlike heer, jogia, or saeein. Instead, what we get is a triade of (an unnecessarily) stripied-down version of "electric folk" where Ashiq Ali's tebla replaces the drums on 12 out of the 13 tracks on the album.

Incidentally, Azaadi's overall sound and nature of music is only just saved from becoming a pile of straight ahead 'filmi' and 'folk' compositions by Salaman's sustained reputation of being an infectious riff-master (in the mode of Jummy Page and Egde).

Because otherwise (and from example), vocalist Ali Azmat who grew so much in potiential on Inquilaab, is not given much oppritunity in Azaadi to furthur evolve the reach and peaks he achieved on the last album. On azaadi he is more and more sounding like a good film play back singer rather than a verstaile modern vocalist. Conventional Punjabi folk compositions and elevator tebla music is all he gets to sing to. If he is content, then he's gone complacement,if not, then I think the time has arrived for a possible solo outing?

Bassist Brian O' Connel retains his steady ways, but he should be complemented more as as a producer than a player. He does well to give the album a solid, compact acoustic sound and much stability. But I guess it is easier to produce (drumless), uncomplicated 'folk rock', than anything a bit more complex?

Salaman Ahmed who seem sto be at the center of everything here, is mixture of some exciting chops and riffs and as well as some truly tedious acoustic over-indulgences. His sound, tone, and leads are at times as good and gripping as those found on much of Inquiilaab, but his duels with Ashiq Ali's tebla are absoultely nothing new. Infact at times they start sounding monotonous and repititive, and this is precisely what is plaguing Ashiq's playing on Azaadi as well. Where he was an in between exotic treat on the band's first three albums, he is reduced to a repeatitive, one dimensional player on the album. Its like replcaing a drum machine witha tebla machine!

The tirade kicks-off with the rock rendition of Iqbal's quasi-Nietzchean, Khudi It is a blatant attemo to retain Junoon's anthem making status it achieved through the inane (but highly popular) Jazba Junoon. As a composition however Khudi falls flat and is (at best) uninteresting and (at worse) quickly forgotten about. (well there goes the coke deal?).

It is fortunately followed by the jimmy-page-meets-Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's yaar bina. Salman's chunk loads of riffing , juxtaposed witha galloping tebla in very much like late 60's jeavy rock (a la Led-Zeppelin 1 & 2). Sayonee isn't all that bad either but could be mistaken as a tune for romanic punjabi flick!

Muk gaye nay os more of the same and would be better off if sung by Madam NurJehan instead of Ali Azmat. An ironic compliment indeed, if you know what I mean.

Meri Awaz suno returns from Junoon warped Ehtesaab slint early this year and continues to sound as operhaned and bleeding-heart(ish) as the rather nauseatingly pleadish, Iltija.

Wada hoo la shareek a lahoo is (like Iltija), what can at best be described as Salman's now absurd fascination with 'Islamist rock'!! The problem with him is that he mistakes punjab's petty-bourgeoise mentality as well. In this sense he is rather naive. Quite clealry he mistakes elitist Islam of the likes of Jamaat Islami, (and Imran Khan?), and the urban petty-bourgeoise to be populist versionof the religion in the country. This makes him absurd!

The next four songs are delivered in the same vain as in bland Punjabi folk composition (updated a bit by the electric guitar), monotnous tabla playing and really poor Ali Azmat's singinglike he is in a danim dhoti.

All this is precisely why a tune like dil nahin lagta comes alomg as a breath of fresh air. It has the best lyrics with creatively construct a cynically (tongue in cheek) and symbolic socio-politica comment, and the music (for the first time in the whole album) sounds more dynamic only because this time the guitar , the bass and the vocals are backed by a drummer.

But the relief is only short lived because something called Loshay Loshay decides to pack up things sounding like a bunch of Lahoris trying to imitate the Pathan(!). Or more so, it is like Ali Azmat fronting a more sophisticated edition of the Jupiters.

I have a bad feeling about this album. Its not going to work. Bacause going "back to the roots" doesn't exactly mean one should start chewing on them.