The Last Communiqué

The Last Communiqué is the final part of a trilogy of albums by the Beirut-based composer, guitarist, singer and vocalist Baki, who has been a mainstay of some of Lebanon’s most important contemporary groups over the last 25 years. I have to admit that I’m not familiar with the first two bulletins (Communiqué and Communiqué #2) or what it is that is meant to tie the three albums together. But perhaps the answer is not very much, for in the notes to volume three Baki confesses that he ‘didn't set out to produce a CD based on a particular theme’. What we can say with some certainty is that he has created a powerful fusion of Oriental and Occidental forms that one might call melodic Arabic jazz-pop. If one had to come up with an analogous musician in Western music, perhaps Robert Wyatt might be the nearest. But even that’s not that very close.

The opener, ‘Majnoun Leyla’, is an uplifting slice of Oriental funk with a skewed disco flavour. ‘Galouleh’ is another up-tempo piece with a melody that oddly recalls the Bee Gees’ ‘Staying Alive. ‘Summer’ is an Arabic bossa nova, with an oud where the guitar would be in a Jobim song. ‘Tabb’ and ‘Spring’ are perhaps best described as Lebanese chanson. It’s never less than intriguing, but it’s a shame that translations aren’t provided for what sound like a highly poetic set of lyrics, including two settings of verses by Rabindranath Tagore.