Bennesbeh Labokra… Chou?

This is an interesting release – Ziad Rahbani is the son of Lebanon’s foremost diva, Fairuz, and her husband, Assi Rahbani. Being brought up in musical royalty ensured Ziad entered the family business – he became his mum’s producer when dad got ill while he was still a teenager – and this album is a soundtrack to a play he wrote and produced in 1978. Now, finally reissued, Bennesbeh Labokra… Chou? exists as an oddity, mixing Arabic instrumentation with standard film soundtrack effects (the influence of Argentina’s Lalo Schifrin is evident) alongside attempts at fusion: one piece employs a bossa nova rhythm (picked out on oud). As with many soundtracks, what works to add atmosphere to a dramatic scene does not always translate well to home listening and some of the music here would have been best left in the theatre. Other pieces are more classically Arabic – played by a small ensemble – and retain their worth. As an example of 1970s-era fusion this demonstrates that interesting experiments were underway in Beirut’s music scene.