I'm ending this series of Middle Eastern-Belly Dance posts (if you hadn't already noticed, I've primarily been reviewing recordings of particular genres or artists in groups of three for the last several weeks) with an excellent album by the greatest guitarist - and one of the overall finest instrumentalists - that the Arab world has ever produced: Omar Khorshid. Although he was Egyptian by birth, Belly Dance from Lebanon owes its title to the musician's 1970s residency in Beruit, which was enjoying a period of stability that fostered a flowering of art and entertainment unparalleled in region's recent history. I don't know if someday I'll be fortunate enough to score any original copies of Khorshid's LPs, so CD reissues on the Digital Press Hellas label (can anyone tell me if they are a legitimate outfit or not?) such as this one will have to suffice for the time being.
KHORSHID WITH UNKNOWN PERCUSSIONIST
Although purists might object to the non-traditional instrumentation featured on these 11 tracks, I can forgive the cheesy synthesizer arrangements because Khorshid's always impressive fretwork more than makes up for the music's occasional forays into "Disco Arabia" territory. As with any other virtuoso, he possesses an instantly recognizable sound that leaves the listener with no do doubt about the identity of the performer. Most guitarists are lucky if they can come up with a signature lick; Khorshid essentially created an entire musical sub-genre with his singular electric take on Middle Eastern music. "Hassan" and "Karoun Karoyn" represent inspired interpretations of traditional Arab material and contain themes that will likely be familiar to aficionados of belly dance music. "Aziza" (cf. John Berberian's version) and "Ya Salat Ezzein" pay tribute respectively to Egyptian musical giants Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Sheikh Zakaria Ahmed and are performed in a manner that probably would have been inconceivable to their composers. Nevertheless, the unique fashion in which they are executed makes them magnificent. "Arrissassa," "Al Hob El Awal," "Wadil Muluk," "Sabirine," "Ommil Habiba," "Raksat El Kheyl," and "Raksat El Jedane" display the guitarist's own estimable composing skills, and several of these tracks were apparently featured in contemporary films from Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. While it contains some duplication of material with the definitive Guitar El Chark anthology, Belly Dance from Lebanon still qualifies as a worthwhile acquisition for Omar Khorshid fanatics.