Asif Memon January 10, 2004

Tags: culture , music , junoon , pop

How I learned to stop worrying and love the cola

href="/tag/Karachi">Karachi middle class. There parents might pick them up from school in their shiny 1984 Toyota Corolla once a week. Otherwise they would ride in the same old Suzuki pick-up with the tent-top and open back with us lowly souls.

Yet these were the hip kids. They knew people that travelled; who introduced them to recorded MTV videos and brought back Metallica and Nirvana albums (The satellite hadn’t crashed into our world yet). No such luck for me, though. I knew an aunt who knew someone who knew someone who travelled. My aunt introduced me to NKOTB and Whitney Houston. Hence, I was a geek. My parents had travelled as well. They lived in Britain in the late 1970s. What did they have to show for it? BoneyM, the Carpenters and the BeeGees. Woe is me, woe is me.

At home we had the amazing musical talents of Vital Signs, Ali Haider and Bunny. Yes, I was an Ali Haider fan. Then came along something called Neend Ati Naheen. The subject matter wasn’t much different from the sugary mush everyone else seemed hell bent on singing but it was tastefully done. And there was this really cool sound. “Its rock”, I was told. I ran out and bought this self titled debut album called Junoon (***). I heard Jeeyain, Khwab, Heer and Chori Chori. They followed up with the ground breaking Talaash (****). It blew my mind. Junoon set me of on a musical journey that I am still on. I learnt about Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, U2, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan many others. I learnt that going to school in a Suzuki pick up was only the bottom of my limited world, not the world.

Over the next 10 years or so Junoon was to me a desi version of the Beatles, Zeppelin, Hendrix and U2 rolled into one. They brought about a social awareness in me. They sang about tolerance, patience, love, God and above all peace, all things that I could relate to and agree with. I became a fan. The fact that they are very good musicians helped as well.

From the very beginning I knew Junoon was not going to be some media shy, reclusive band (Pearl Jam) that did not care for commercial success. Junoon have always been market savvy. They always mixed the social concern of Iltija with the religious fervour of Saeiin and the pop/punk of Mera mahi. This eclectic blend introduced on Inquilaab (*****) proved to be a runaway success for the band. They followed it up with a similar blend on Azadi (*****). For the first time Junoon tasted international success. After the success of Sayonee and Yaar Bina, Junoon’s music was promptly labelled Sufi rock. Azadi was by no means a completely Sufi rock album. It included such gems as Khudi, Dil nahin lag raha, Kisne suna, Loshay and Meri awaz suno. The album was as eclectic and commercial as Inquilaab.

In 1999 Junoon took a big risk. They released the excellent Parvaaz (*****). The album was steeped in Sufism, dealing with the self, God, love, life and death. I would have been surprised if it had sold many copies. I believe that this was the first ever concept album released in popular Pakistani music and the most honest statement Junoon has ever made. It was perhaps too much for the public to stomach. The fact that critics thought that Junoon had overdone Sufi rock showed that they had failed to recognize the pinnacle of Junoon’s exploration of sufi thought through their music.

At the turn of the century Junoon decided to break away from the Sufi-rock mould that they said was thrust upon them. On Ishq(***), known as Andaz outside Pakistan, Junoon still admirably tackled social issues on Saqi Nama, Sheena and Dharti Key Khuda. They also did what critics dubbed ‘filmi’ music in Chaen, Shaamein and Ishq. But there was something different. There was a logo on the cover. There was a pathetic attempt at an English song. Things had changed. I began to wonder: had Junoon sold out completely?

Today being a Junoon fan does not feel like being a member of socially aware, peaceful and loving fraternity that appreciates the progressive and experimental music created by an honest band. Today it feels like being a customer of Junoon, Ltd.

A list of their ‘best of’ and ‘live’ albums/VCDs includes Kasmakash, Dosti(India), 1990-2000 Millenium Edition, The Videos, United for Peace, Daur-e-Junoon and Junoon for Peace all to be enjoyed with your favourite, refreshing cola. Talk about cashing in. That’s eight albums of regurgitated, repackaged Junoon for six original albums.

There was the self-serving narcissism of ’Junoon sey milti hay azadi’ from the Jinnah soundtrack. Then there is the prospective English album because September 11 has given them a reason to “reach out and sing in English”. They tried English lyrics on Junoon and Talaash and failed miserably. Their ineptness at it is visible in Piya and No More. I was incensed by the utterly atrocious video for this last song when it showed John Alec playing the tabla instead of Ustad Aashiq Ali. What are they playing at? Then there are constant references to Salman Ahmed as composer/songwriter in most non-Pakistani news articles. We all know that Sabir Zafar wrote pretty much everything Junoon sang. The songs that he did not were penned by Iqbal, Bulleh Shah and other long gone literary giants.

Then there are the joint India-Pakistan peace concerts where musical acts, whose only concern with peace is their ability to sell more albums in the other country, sing to people who can afford stupidly expensive tickets having a great time in the name of peace. Instead of questioning the establishment (as they did in the past) they salute it in Albert Hall in London. As if this is not bad enough they go out and sing a jingle. Then claim that this is an anthem for cricket fans which has never been done before. Its official ladies and gentleman, Junoon have sold out. I would also like to state that I have no problems with this. I would simply like to ask Junoon to stop talking like high and mighty activists when they don’t have a leg to stand on. There preaching from on high sounds stale and dated. I’m sure I can accept them as a commercially minded pop rock band.

All of this should have made Deewar a fun album to listen to. Once I had let go of the political, anti-establishment Junoon I could sit back and enjoy the sold out, commercial Junoon. ‘No more overtly sickening patriotic lyrics, more fresh musical ideas’, I thought to myself.

Here goes.

Part II: The Wall

Excuse me while I regurgitate my lunch all over the cover of the new Junoon album. Have you ever seen anything this ugly in your life? Once the initial nausea of this horrid visual experience is over and I have forgiven the badly produced jacket I slap Deewar into my CD player and give it a spin. I am pleased by what I hear. Tara Jala is a promising track, even if it borrows heavily from Floyd (down to the barking sounds in the back ground near the end). Suitably refreshed I await the next song with baited breath. As the initial riff and drum roll from Pappu Yaar unravel, I can picture Jimmy Paige and John Bonham as a session band replacing Salman Ahmed and Jay Dittamo in a studio in Karachi. The song is excellent lyrically and Ali Azmat shows of his vocal range to great effect. Two songs gone, I feel invigorated and pleased, albeit slightly disappointed by Junoon borrowing heavily from classic western rock. Enter Ghoom Tana and I cannot remember the last time that a song demolished the promise of a good start so cruelly. This is amazing. After resembling Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin they choose to resemble Strings. The vocals are amazingly flat and the song fails to take off musically. It’s all down hill from there. Garaj Baras, Baarish and Sapne are the only other saving graces. The album spins to a halt and I feel sick. Maybe it was Salman Ahmed’s singing, or the sight of a cola logo on the cover.

Don’t get me wrong. There are positives to be taken from this album. Musically the album delivers on a few songs and on others seems to run out of imagination. Any album seeking to drastically overhaul a band’s sound is bound to come under criticism, unless you’re U2 and have just released Achtung baby, and Junoon is no U2.

Who knows, maybe Junoon will release some better music soon. Hopefully the cola hasn’t gone to their heads. They might even prove me wrong with a good english language album.

If not, I suspect we’ll start talking about classic era Junoon (Inquilaab, Azadi and Parvaaz) pretty soon.