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[VIDEOS] The Coke Studio phenomena

The best of the episode was Allah-o-Akbar and why not. Ahmed and Shafqat both have a name and whatever Shuja Haider touches it becomes good.

Muntazir had a nice composition and could have been better , especially from the Danyal side.

Ali Sethi took a far greater challenge than himself, did a fine job but the originial still rings in my ears and it leaves Ali's effort unattractive although it is not bad.
 
My favourite was Ali Sethi's song from this episode, most people start comparing two singers but i think this is best way to pay tribute to legends and i think Sethi did a fantastic job.

Allah o Akbar was also brilliant.

Muntazir was ok.

Overall a very positive start to Coke Studio!
 
Coke Studio: Episode by Episode ranking!

So Just thought of making a thread where we will rank songs Episode by Episode

And then make our own top ten songs of the season

Episode 1;

1) Allahu Akbar
2) Ranjish He Sahi
3) Chaa Rahi Kaali Ghatta
4) Muntazir
 
Coke studio season 10 has been total disappointment , they are out of energy and the way they sang the pakistan anthem was totally flat without any emotions. It's better to bring back rohail hayat for the next season. 1/10 for the first episode.
 
I am looking forward to Javed Bashir, Umair Jaswal, Sajjad Ali and Nabeel. Of course without QB and Rahat the show is incomplete.

I was reading the artist profiles on the website and read following.

With her Coke Studio debut in Season 10, Aima Baig has a lot of powerful tricks up her sleeve. Charting everything from Punjabi folk tunes to soulful love ballads, Baig is sure to be be a fan favourite for this season
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I read in an article that she is also doing a Bollywood project. I have heard her and seems to be a very good voice, lets see if she can go a step further.
 
farhan said:
Coke studio season 10 has been total disappointment , they are out of energy and the way they sang the pakistan anthem was totally flat without any emotions. It's better to bring back rohail hayat for the next season. 1/10 for the first episode.
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To be honest, i am not sure what you can do with national anthem anyway. Sure they could've done a better job but there is not much you can do with that unlike national/patriotic songs.
 
waqar goraya said:
I am looking forward to Javed Bashir, Umair Jaswal, Sajjad Ali and Nabeel. Of course without QB and Rahat the show is incomplete.

I was reading the artist profiles on the website and read following.



I read in an article that she is also doing a Bollywood project. I have heard her and seems to be a very good voice, lets see if she can go a step further.
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Aima is very decent but she is hit and miss kind of singer. With her distinct voice, some of her songs can be awful while others super hit (nothing in between). She regularly sings in Dunya tv show "Mazaaq Raat".
 
One aspect of the show I absolutely loathe, and have for some time now, is when, towards the end of a song, invariably a duet, and invariably one where the singers have been given contrasting sets of vocals, they both end up singing their respective choruses. The result is an almighty din, not quite the culmination signifying the merger of the two sets of vocals. Every single duet suffers from this formulaic treatment.
 
Waseem said:
Aima is very decent but she is hit and miss kind of singer. With her distinct voice, some of her songs can be awful while others super hit (nothing in between). She regularly sings in Dunya tv show "Mazaaq Raat".
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Yes, I think that's because she does not has proper training but a good voice. And mostly she is just doing lip syncing. I watch "Mazaaq Raat " sometimes if the guests are interesting but she only sings once in 4 or 5 episodes. Mohsin on the other hand sings two live songs on the show.
 
Another one's out, and is a good one actually, loved Hamza Ali's unique voice and Ali Sethi's voice is doing the magic...Quite similar to Atif Aslams voice at times

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super hitter said:
Another one's out, and is a good one actually, loved Hamza Ali's unique voice and Ali Sethi's voice is doing the magic...Quite similar to Atif Aslams voice at times

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Loved the song, Ali Sethi is killing it this time and great start to the episode.

Yes Ali Hamza did add a unique flavour as well!

Let's hope rest of the episode is as good.
 
Actually Waqar Ehsin was equally impressive, great variety in the song.
 
Waseem said:
Actually Waqar Ehsin was equally impressive, great variety in the song.
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maybe, I thought he was quite extra at times, 3 singers were too much for this song, Sethi and Hamza's duet could've been better than this trio...

I'll rate it as Good
 
OMG THEY'VE RUINED SAYONEEE !!!!

SOMEONE STOP STRINGS BEFORE THEY DESTROY EVERTyTHING !!!!!

MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED
 
So it felt like they copied some music from the previously released Allahu Akbar, Expected a lot more from someone of such big stature...Was ordinary by Rahats standards...the music was all good though and the song went better at the later half...

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I'll rate it as AVERAGE
 
Sayonee wasn't impressive at all.

I don't like comparing songs by 2 different singers as everyone has their own style and no harm in rediscovering the songs but this one just didn't make any sense and the fact that someone like Rahat with so much potential couldn't give it unique touch.

Having listened twice though, i think they kind of did well in last couple of minutes but overall average.
 
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Decent song by Kavish & QB, both have brilliant voice and make half decent song sound awesome so enjoyed this song.
 
I've not heard any songs of this present Coke Studio season, but thought I'll give Sayonee a listen. Needless to say they made a right hash of it.
 
Desperately waiting for an Ali Zafar BLAST.

Next is him.

Just 90 more minutes.

Its the first time I'm following coke studio and that too so closely just because of the great things they've produced in the past.
 
Waseem said:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9sekgEXGm-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Decent song by Kavish & QB, both have brilliant voice and make half decent song sound awesome so enjoyed this song.
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Kaavish is a well sung song by some versatile singers, lacked the energy but that's how the song is meant to be. Can't say much about this one as I really can't take out the flaws but was something un-catchy and something like "Just another song".

I'll rate it as FAIR
 
So, the second episode is out. I feel while arranging an episode they manage tracks according to their quality. One good song, couple of decent ones and one below par.
 
I'm only listening to downloaded audios, since I'm at work, so I'll have to wait a few hours to see how the chemistry was after watching the videos.

Sayonee is actually not just Sayonee. People well-versed with the Junoon discography, and I'm sure there are a few on this forum, will immediately recognize that the song is actually a mash-up of four Junoon songs. The intro is actually one of my all-time favorite Junoon songs, Ghoom, from 1999's Parvaaz album. Then there is Sayonee proper (form 1996's Inquilaab), and when the song segues into the next section, what you hear is actually the music from Saeen (Inquilaab) and Meri Awaz Suno (from 1997's Azaadi), before they finish off with Sayonee again and then Saeen.

It is being panned by a lot of people, but I rather liked it. I thought Ali Noor's vocals weren't particularly strong, but Rahat did fine, incorporating just enough variety while conforming to the melody. I also quite liked the jugalbandi between the various string instruments, and I liked how the bass lines didn't diverge too much from Brian O' Connell's.

 
Nostalgic said:
I'm only listening to downloaded audios, since I'm at work, so I'll have to wait a few hours to see how the chemistry was after watching the videos.

Sayonee is actually not just Sayonee. People well-versed with the Junoon discography, and I'm sure there are a few on this forum, will immediately recognize that the song is actually a mash-up of four Junoon songs. The intro is actually one of my all-time favorite Junoon songs, Ghoom, from 1999's Parvaaz album. Then there is Sayonee proper (form 1996's Inquilaab), and when the song segues into the next section, what you hear is actually the music from Saeen (Inquilaab) and Meri Awaz Suno (from 1997's Azaadi), before they finish off with Sayonee again and then Saeen.

It is being panned by a lot of people, but I rather liked it. I thought Ali Noor's vocals weren't particularly strong, but Rahat did fine, incorporating just enough variety while conforming to the melody. I also quite liked the jugalbandi between the various string instruments, and I liked how the bass lines didn't diverge too much from Brian O' Connell's.

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You are over-selling it. It seemed like a China copy of the original. Granted the original is one of the ATG songs that we as a nation have ever produced but the point of Coke Studio is to take an existing song and make it better in some shape or form. Adding a ghazal singer like Rahat to a sufi rock song left a bad taste in most people's mouths. The only redeeming parts were Ali Noor's vocal (perhaps the song could have been saved by him getting a bigger role in it) and the tune being played.

Or maybe most of us are just 'nostalgic' about the original and don't like it being changed to such a degree.
 
Syed1 said:
You are over-selling it. It seemed like a China copy of the original. Granted the original is one of the ATG songs that we as a nation have ever produced but the point of Coke Studio is to take an existing song and make it better in some shape or form. Adding a ghazal singer like Rahat to a sufi rock song left a bad taste in most people's mouths. The only redeeming parts were Ali Noor's vocal (perhaps the song could have been saved by him getting a bigger role in it) and the tune being played.

Or maybe most of us are just 'nostalgic' about the original and don't like it being changed to such a degree.
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Perhaps. Maybe I'm having one of my more tender, charitable moments this morning, and when I'm in a sufficiently cynical, jaded mood (after morning meetings), I'll see it in a harsher light.

Also I'll wait till I see the video, and also give it a few more spins. Invariably, either a song grows on you, or you start seeing the glaring faults.
 
waqar goraya said:
So, the second episode is out. I feel while arranging an episode they manage tracks according to their quality. One good song, couple of decent ones and one below par.
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That's probably true. They wouldn't want a catastrophically bad episode to chase away viewers from subsequent episodes.
 
So they just uploaded the Ali Zafar one, and it looks like he has taken on the challenge that is Jaan-e-Bahaaran. Lets see.
 
Tinak Dhin was very well crafted. The music is thoughtful, and each vocalist brought something different to the mix. Ali Hamza has spent two decades in the shadow of his elder, more extroverted brother, but to me he has been the better vocalist for a while, and on this song he actually manages to hold his own against the classically-trained Ali Sethi and the powerhouse Waqar Ehsin.

Hamza's compositions are also increasingly diverging from the trademark Ali Noor sound. His sound is more nuanced, more desi, and thankfully not still stuck in the 80's like Noor's. This song sounds a lot like last season's Aja Re Moray Sayyan, which was another Hamza composition.
 
ahmedwaqas92 said:
Kids from the 90s all tick in the same way yar !!

It's just who we are.......
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Same had to go back and listen to the orignal. If Coke Studio somehow manages to create a Junoon reunion it would break the internet in Pakistan.
 
it was great to see SALMAN back but literally these guys have screwed up the SAYOONE song.
Jaan e Bahaara best for me in second episode
 
The wait wasn't worth it for Coke Studio Season 10:( #AchaSorry
 
Before I give my opinion of CS's version of Sayonee I should confess that I have a deep attachment to this song. I have played it live many times with my college band in gatherings and concerts. I feel Sayonee is perhaps the most defining song by Junoon and also the most well crafted. It represents the best elements of Sufi tunes/lyrics and Rock music.

At first listen it felt ok not great but not bad either. But the song managed to get stuck in my head and I've listened to it a few times now. I am in the minority here but I am beginning to admire it more with each listen. Like Nostalgic has mentioned earlier its a mashup of 4 Junoon songs, Sayonee and Saeen being the most prominent. I thought Rahat did fantastic as you really need someone who can carry the high notes with ease on these songs. Ali Noor provided the deep vocal parts and did great as well. He never felt lacking to me. I thought the band played well together, loved the jugal-bandi, loved the flute part. The ending with the goosebumps inducing cries "Allah" brings down the house. I've never felt so emotionally rocked by any other moment of CS than by those majestic earth-shattering wails.

This song brings back so many memories. That's what CS is great at. It transported me to my college days, playing with my band, listening to Azaadi, locked in my room on my cassette player on a loop for days and weeks and months. Junoon has played such a huge role in the evolution of rock/sufi inspired music in Pakistan. Its a shame how the breaking of the band, the feud and animosity between Ali and Salman and Salman's own annoying, egotistical and self promoting personality has soured the image of Junoon for everyone. But their should be no doubt that they made great, original, pioneering music. This song is a just a snippet of the heights of their art and creativity.
 
I finally saw the videos, and it was great to see Ustaad Ashiq Ali Meer on Sayonee. He has never parted ways with Salman since he first played on Vol 1 in 1991, and has featured on every single Junoon album.

I remember one memorable concert where he played with a broken leg, wearing a cast. Not that playing tabla involves legs, but it was still odd seeing the tabla player with one leg extended out in front of him, in a cast.
 
Nostalgic said:
I finally saw the videos, and it was great to see Ustaad Ashiq Ali Meer on Sayonee. He has never parted ways with Salman since he first played on Vol 1 in 1991, and has featured on every single Junoon album.

I remember one memorable concert where he played with a broken leg, wearing a cast. Not that playing tabla involves legs, but it was still odd seeing the tabla player with one leg extended out in front of him, in a cast.
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Yes, I recognized him as well. Good on Salman to bring him along for this.

Deep inside, being a Junooni at heart, so much would have liked Ali Azmat to be there as well. Sad to see that Ali while being a regular feature on so many CS seasons including this one I think, was not part of the song so intimately attached with him. Salman's exclusion from previous seasons was expected because of Rohail being at the helm but they don't have any excuses now other than the fact that both can't stand each other.
 
saadibaba said:
Yes, I recognized him as well. Good on Salman to bring him along for this.

Deep inside, being a Junooni at heart, so much would have liked Ali Azmat to be there as well. Sad to see that Ali while being a regular feature on so many CS seasons including this one I think, was not part of the song so intimately attached with him. Salman's exclusion from previous seasons was expected because of Rohail being at the helm but they don't have any excuses now other than the fact that both can't stand each other.
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A reunion was actually on the cards, but then they had the inevitable falling out. Again. Rumors were rife that they were rehearsing together for this. It wasn't to be.
 
Nostalgic said:
A reunion was actually on the cards, but then they had the inevitable falling out. Again. Rumors were rife that they were rehearsing together for this. It wasn't to be.
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I see. I am sure the egos clashed again and the old resentful statements that each have made about the other came on the surface. I blame Salman more for this breakup than Ali. The way he was so dismissive and outright nasty about Ali's solo albums would be hard to digest for anyone, let alone the famous bad boy of Pakistani rock.
 
saadibaba said:
I see. I am sure the egos clashed again and the old resentful statements that each have made about the other came on the surface. I blame Salman more for this breakup than Ali. The way he was so dismissive and outright nasty about Ali's solo albums would be hard to digest for anyone, let alone the famous bad boy of Pakistani rock.
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Me too. Even before the solo albums, when they were still together, Ali was stifled. His creativity just wasn't finding an outlet in Junoon, which is a shame, because Kalashinfolk in particular was a magnificent album. He was opposed to milking the sufi thing beyond a couple of albums, and when Salman finally consented, he started venturing into electronica, and of course singing. The last album, 2003's Dewaar, is bad in ways I never expected a Junoon album to ever be.

I think Brian leaving after his wrist injury was the last straw. The calm, rational Amreeki held these two together, and he once even called the band a "three-legged stool. If you take one leg away, it collapses." Those were prescient words.

And of course there was Shehryar "Sherry" Ahmed, Salman's brother, the band's manager, an extremely rude person and naturally a Salman loyalist. He had a big role to play in Ali parting ways.
 
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Sayonee is really beautiful. Till now i thought it was some old hindi pop song from 90's lol. That song is still stuck somewhere in my mind after this much year......
 
Nostalgic said:
Me too. Even before the solo albums, when they were still together, Ali was stifled. His creativity just wasn't finding an outlet in Junoon, which is a shame, because Kalashinfolk in particular was a magnificent album. He was opposed to milking the sufi thing beyond a couple of albums, and when Salman finally consented, he started venturing into electronica, and of course singing. The last album, 2003's Dewaar, is bad in ways I never expected a Junoon album to ever be.

I think Brian leaving after his wrist injury was the last straw. The calm, rational Amreeki held these two together, and he once even called the band a "three-legged stool. If you take one leg away, it collapses." Those were prescient words.

And of course there was Shehryar "Sherry" Ahmed, Salman's brother, the band's manager, an extremely rude person and naturally a Salman loyalist. He had a big role to play in Ali parting ways.
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True. In fact if I am not mistaken, the individual song writing credit was never specifically stated on album sleeves other than just main writing credit stated as "Music by Salman Ahmed". I think it was only till Ishq, their second last album together, that each member individually got credited on each song on the album sleeve.

Brian was so gentle and such a warm soul. I remember how in concerts, kids close the stage will throw taunts and teases at him in Urdu and he would just smile politely at them. Besides the bass play, his soulful acoustic guitar piece on the instrumental "Aap aur Hum" from Talaash was amazing.
 
kaayal said:
Sayonee is really beautiful. Till now i thought it was some old hindi pop song from 90's lol. That song is still stuck somewhere in my mind after this much year......
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I remember that album was more popular in India that year than the hit blockbuster movie "Dil to pagal hai" soundtrack. I remember reading about it somewhere back then.
 
Sayonee won Best International Song in some Indian music channel's awards. Salman, being in his wannabe statesman phase, took the mic and started saying all the right things about Pakistan and India working towards peace. The only trouble was, the Indian crowd was chanting "Pakistan haye haye" quite audibly.
 
Pardon me i was a kid, south Indian with no knowledge of Pakistani music back then.:)
 
kaayal said:
I think it used to be played a lot in MTV channel back then. The song was really good and i thought it was hindi..:D
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kaayal said:
Pardon me i was a kid, south Indian with no knowledge of Pakistani music back then.:)
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Okay, I forgive you, just this once. If it happens again, I'll get the Jinn to steal your watch and black shirt again ;)
 
Anyways, back to the music.

The QB/Kaavish song "Faasle" is a perfectly respectable ballad, complete with a slight swing on the drum beats and a searing ballad-style guitar solo. It has all the hallmarks of Jafar and Maaz's songs in their Gunkali album, which were pretty much all romantic ballads about lost love.

QB, yet again, doesn't get a song where its just her, except this time at least, Jafer is a terrific vocalist in his own right. I still remember his powerful performance in Season 8 with Neun La Leya.

 
Back to Sayoneee, and I mentioned how the intro was actually from Ghoom, from the 1999 Parwaaz album. I just thought I would share it, because it is an important song in their oeuvre. Back when they were working on Inquilaab (1996), Ali Azmat gave a sneak peak at Saeen in a TV show, saying that the intent was to fuse Pathanay Khan with Led Zepplin. Well, Ghoom is one song where the vocals consciously try to emulate a bit of Pathanay Khan.

 
... and while I'm at it, let me post Meri Awaz Suno as well, the fourth song in Sayonee. No lyrics from this one were used, just a bit of music. Starting from the title song of the Talaash album (1993), there were a number of explicitly sociopolitical songs that they did, and this is one of them. It may not rank up there with some of the others like Mein Kaun Hoon, but it is worth a listen. It is from Azaadi (1997), and the entirety of the album had only four instruments: guitar, bass, drums and tabla. This one is no exception, and proved that the Sufi rock instrumental template worked for non-sufi songs too.

 
Of all the socio-political Junoon songs, Talaash is still my favorite. Junoon at its loudest and heaviest rock wise and with the famous voice over by Ghulam Ishaq Khan "Sadr ka tayara hawa main phat gaya".

Mere Awaz Sunoon, Jazba-Junoon, Junoon se ishq se multi hai azaadi etc. all seem formulaic to me. Main koon hoon is probably the most soul searching and thought provoking of all.
 
saadibaba said:
Of all the socio-political Junoon songs, Talaash is still my favorite. Junoon at its loudest and heaviest rock wise and with the famous voice over by Ghulam Ishaq Khan "Sadr ka tayara hawa main phat gaya".

Mere Awaz Sunoon, Jazba-Junoon, Junoon se ishq se multi hai azaadi etc. all seem formulaic to me. Main koon hoon is probably the most soul searching and thought provoking of all.
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Talaash was seminal. No one had done that on the music scene up to that point. We had had numerous "patriotic songs," basically pop/rock milli naghmas, but nothing as hard-hitting and introspective as Talaash.

Jazba-e-Junoon was hardly sociopolitical, and it wasn't even on the Inquilaab album, until it was added and the album re-released to cash in on the 1996 World Cup hype. It was the complete anti-thesis of everything the album stood for, yet today people remember just that song. Junoon se aur Ishq Se milti hai azaadi too was a glorified milli naghma for the Jinnah movie.

Mein Kaun Hoon remains my favorite Junoon song. It was written by NFP's bosom buddy Shehzad Amjad, who was editor of Political Economy.

I just remembered that Ishq (2001) had Dharti ke Khuda, and they actually played that at the United Nations. The diplomats were all dancing to it, completely oblivious to the lyrics of course, which in that venue were quite on the subversive side.
 
Nostalgic said:
Talaash was seminal. No one had done that on the music scene up to that point. We had had numerous "patriotic songs," basically pop/rock milli naghmas, but nothing as hard-hitting and introspective as Talaash.

Jazba-e-Junoon was hardly sociopolitical, and it wasn't even on the Inquilaab album, until it was added and the album re-released to cash in on the 1996 World Cup hype. It was the complete anti-thesis of everything the album stood for, yet today people remember just that song. Junoon se aur Ishq Se milti hai azaadi too was a glorified milli naghma for the Jinnah movie.

Mein Kaun Hoon remains my favorite Junoon song. It was written by NFP's bosom buddy Shehzad Amjad, who was editor of Political Economy.

I just remembered that Ishq (2001) had Dharti ke Khuda, and they actually played that at the United Nations. The diplomats were all dancing to it, completely oblivious to the lyrics of course, which in that venue were quite on the subversive side.
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I am almost repulsed now on hearing Jazba-Junoon. Did they re-release Inquilaab album with this additional song or was this song released with a compilation or best of Junoon album shortly after Inquilaab's release? In any case, all I can think of is how this song was played to death on TV during the world cup and then during political rallies.

I really like "Rooh ki payas" from Inquilaab album as well. Not socio-political but somewhat in the same vein as Main kaun hoon with themes of self doubt, introspection and pain. Another song that comes to mind which is never mentioned and is highly underrated in my opinion is "Kaise gaaon main" from Ishq.

Dharti ke Khuda was actually written by Ali. This and Jaaney tu were the 2 songs credited to Ali on the Ishq album. I never actually bought their last album as it was so poor so don't know how many songs did Ali got credited for versus Salman. One can almost sense the similarity of sounds and tone on Dharti ke Khuda and Ali's solo albums later on, especially Kalashinkov.
 
saadibaba said:
I am almost repulsed now on hearing Jazba-Junoon. Did they re-release Inquilaab album with this additional song or was this song released with a compilation or best of Junoon album shortly after Inquilaab's release? In any case, all I can think of is how this song was played to death on TV during the world cup and then during political rallies.

I really like "Rooh ki payas" from Inquilaab album as well. Not socio-political but somewhat in the same vein as Main kaun hoon with themes of self doubt, introspection and pain. Another song that comes to mind which is never mentioned and is highly underrated in my opinion is "Kaise gaaon main" from Ishq.

Dharti ke Khuda was actually written by Ali. This and Jaaney tu were the 2 songs credited to Ali on the Ishq album. I never actually bought their last album as it was so poor so don't know how many songs did Ali got credited for versus Salman. One can almost sense the similarity of sounds and tone on Dharti ke Khuda and Ali's solo albums later on, especially Kalashinkov.
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Inquilaab came out in January 1996. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was slated to be released late 1995, but Lips Records, the label that was to release it, kept dragging their feet, and Salman went with Visible Changes, another label, to get it released. I used to go to the record store every day to ask if they had got it, and because my matriculation exams were just around the corner, I was meant to be studying, so I couldn't play the album in my room, so I had a Walkman hidden in the bathroom to listen to it. Let's just say I spent much of January 1996 in the bathroom.

The album had been hyped for months prior to the release, with NFP playing a big role in that. He truly had the band's ear in those days, and he convinced them to use not only Mein Kaun Hoon but also Rooh ki Pyaas, both Shehzad Amjad poems. They had already played a number of the songs at various concerts prior to the release.

The album, including the artwork, had a distinct populist-leftist vibe that was very much intentional. This is when the band started dressing in clothing bought at Sufi shrines, introduced Sufi rock, and then arranged the songs so that the soulful introspection of the initial songs gave way to almost depressive, cynical tracks culminating in Mein Kaun Hoon, and then the National Anthem, played Jimi Hendrix style, with all the historic subversive connotations that come with that.

And that was it. The end of the album. But then came the World Cup, and Coke came calling, asking them to produce Jazba-e-Junoon. It was a mainstream hit, and it went to Salman's head. He finally had mass instead of cult appeal, and so the song was added to the album, the album re-released, and an album titled Inquilaab had a giant Coke logo on its cover.

It's ironic that I'm bashing Coke on a thread for Coke Studio, but twenty years ago, Coke and the rival cola really were the evil incarnate, meddling with what the artists could put out or not.

NFP was livid, and managed to convince Ali to break with Junoon, and form an overtly political band called Mahaz (The Front). It never happened of course, but I wonder sometimes what sort of music they would've come out with.
 
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Incidentally, Inquilaab was one of the first albums, if not the very first, to use live drums. Prior to this, all pop/rock albums had drum machines. Just think about this for a minute. Until 1996, no studio in Pakistan could record drums.

This changed when Mekaal Hasan decided to save half the money he was spending on his tuition fees at Berklee College of Music, and use it to open a stage-of-the-art studio instead. Inquilaab was recorded at Mekaal's studio, and Malcolm Goveas' drums were an integral part of the sound for not just that but subsequent Junoon albums.

Mekaal would go on to briefly replace Brian as Junoon bassist, and his work with Mekaal Hasan Band notwithstanding, the man must be credited first and foremost for introducing professional, state-of-the-art recording to Pakistan. I've lent these albums to audiophiles here in the US, and invariably they returned them with a comment such as "what a wonderfully recorded album." They tell me their expensive speaker setups reveal faults with recording, but with Mekaal, there are hardly any they notice.
 
Heard Sayonee and it turned out to be better than what most posters said about it. Not sure if it was actually good or if my love for Junoon clouded my opinion. The solo from Saieen was a great addition and is probably the best solo played by Salman to date. Although I must admit after I heard the song I instantly Youtubed this version of Saieen and heard it 3 times.

 
Its been a while since I posted anything regarding Coke Studio.
[MENTION=22846]Nostalgic[/MENTION] still trying to get back into his reviewing groove as I don't see any in-depth reviews of any of the songs except for Sayonee (which was flat and boring in my opinion compared to the original)

So here are my rankings:

1. Ranjish Hi Sahi
The one song I've been hearing on repeat is "Ranjish Hi Sahi". Ali Sethi's control and voice texture was perfect for this song. The starting with the acoustic guitars and then the tabla fusing in the ambience is too awesome to explain in words. Add to that the heart-touching poetry by Ahmed Faraz and you have the perfect combination. I just can't stop going all gaga about how good it is. Believe me even while writing this post I'm listening to it.

"Maana k Muhabbat ka Chhupaana hai Muhabbat
Manna k Muhabbat ka Chhupaana hai Muhabbat
Chuppkay say kisi roz jatanay k liye aa"

Wow just wow

2. Allahu Akbar
The next song that I liked was Allahu Akbar mainly because of the vocalists. Honestly any song with Ahmed Jahanzeb and Shafqat Amanat Ali as a duet is bound to be a hit. The composition was marvellous as well which is a feature of almost all of Shuja Haider's songs. Finally the originality and the topic made it too good to fall below the top 2 this season.

3. Muntazir/Faasle
"Muntazir" and "Faasle" are at an equal standing for me. Both are very well written, well composed, well sung songs and I honestly don't get the criticism for Danyal. I mean he's done a good enough job with the kind of song he's been given. I can't see anyone else doing much better tbh. His guitar solo was sensational at the very least. Jafar and QB is a combination I'd love to listen to once again.

THE BLUNDER
I literally have no idea why Sahir Ali Bagga made Amanat Ali blatantly change/worsen his voice like that at the start because I was really excited for Amanat Ali's song. Hina Nasrullah turned out to be the diamond in the rough. She's gonna be a mainstay for many years to come.

4. Tinak Dhin
"Tinak Dhin" was a fun desi-funky song which was made 2x better due to Ali Hamza's rugged vocals. I honestly had no idea how Ali Sethi would fit in such a song but hats-off to Ali Hamza for handling a trio so well. Waqar Ehsin reminded me of Sukhwinder Singh when I heard his voice (....and Jason Mamoa/Aquaman when I saw his face :)) )

The rest of the songs were ok-ish except for Sayonee which was outright guilty of hurting fans.
 
So looks like Ali Noor is doing a vlog nowadays.....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzheoqlo3pM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Watch from 5:45 for his reaction to the criticism to his rendition of Sayonee. His looks stunned, his voice is cracking up and he ends up defending his decision to sing this song by giving some historical background behind this which seems totally unnecessary as a singer of his caliber does not need to give any explanation at all to perform any song no matter how holy it may be for Junoon fans, esp. when the original singer is not available for whatever reasons which are out of his control.

I feel sickened by all the criticism. This guy put his heart and soul into this but because our precious memories of this song somehow got tainted, we want to blast other artists performances. These guys, no matter how famous they may have become, are after all people like anyone else who crave appreciation and validation for their efforts and while I understand the need for self expression by the critics, lets not go mental.
 
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His grandfather is Raza Kazim, the famous lawyer, who is quite the character in his own right. I was not aware of him being the lawyer who got it approved for release on PTV. That was back in 1997, during the second Nawaz Sharif government, where Nawaz, still very much true to his Ziaist roots, had banned long-haired men, ripped jeans, and all displays of overt Westernization on PTV.

The Takamine guitar story is definitely plausible, because that black 12-string can be seen on most early Noori videos. It was a right-handed cutaway, and Ali Noor is left-handed, so it was quite obvious that he had the right-handed instrument restrung. This usually also entails changing the nut and saddle because the string slots are cut for different gauges and are ordered reverse for right- vs left-handed, and it just won't do to just reverse the strings. There's little you can do about the bracing inside, which is also reversed, but that isn't something you can change.

There is actually an obscure reference to the guitar in the 2003 Junoon song Pappu Yaar, i.e. where the lyrics ask not to touch the guitar. Ali Azmat stated at least once that the song is addressed to the new bands emerging on the scene at that time, e.g. Noori. Later he backtracked from this comment, and yes, he can clearly be heard on Ooncha Hun Mein, as Ali Noor said.
 
Nostalgic said:
His grandfather is Raza Kazim, the famous lawyer, who is quite the character in his own right. I was not aware of him being the lawyer who got it approved for release on PTV. That was back in 1997, during the second Nawaz Sharif government, where Nawaz, still very much true to his Ziaist roots, had banned long-haired men, ripped jeans, and all displays of overt Westernization on PTV.

The Takamine guitar story is definitely plausible, because that black 12-string can be seen on most early Noori videos. It was a right-handed cutaway, and Ali Noor is left-handed, so it was quite obvious that he had the right-handed instrument restrung. This usually also entails changing the nut and saddle because the string slots are cut for different gauges and are ordered reverse for right- vs left-handed, and it just won't do to just reverse the strings. There's little you can do about the bracing inside, which is also reversed, but that isn't something you can change.

There is actually an obscure reference to the guitar in the 2003 Junoon song Pappu Yaar, i.e. where the lyrics ask not to touch the guitar. Ali Azmat stated at least once that the song is addressed to the new bands emerging on the scene at that time, e.g. Noori. Later he backtracked from this comment, and yes, he can clearly be heard on Ooncha Hun Mein, as Ali Noor said.
Click to expand...


Raza Karim is quite an interesting man. In fact, he could be one of the men Dos Equis can proudly label in their commercials as "The most interesting man in the world". His resume includes being a post-marxist lefty, intellectual, supporter of the arts, lawyer, philosopher, political activist, inventor of a musical instrument etc. I remember this interview sometime ago, interesting read, here is the link.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1134879

Btw, is that Sara Haider (former CS back-up vocalist and now a vocalist in her own right) sitting on the sofa with the kids and family in the video I posted above, the vlog by Ali Noor. I know Ali Noor is married to Nayyara Noor's, daughter. Maybe she is just a family friend hanging out with them.
 
saadibaba said:
Raza Karim is quite an interesting man. In fact, he could be one of the men Dos Equis can proudly label in their commercials as "The most interesting man in the world". His resume includes being a post-marxist lefty, intellectual, supporter of the arts, lawyer, philosopher, political activist, inventor of a musical instrument etc. I remember this interview sometime ago, interesting read, here is the link.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1134879

Btw, is that Sara Haider (former CS back-up vocalist and now a vocalist in her own right) sitting on the sofa with the kids and family in the video I posted above, the vlog by Ali Noor. I know Ali Noor is married to Nayyara Noor's, daughter. Maybe she is just a family friend hanging out with them.
Click to expand...

Raza Kazim also had a role in the Independence movement, and was part of the Communist Party. He was jailed by Zia, and represented by Aitzaz Ahsan, who once famously got him released from a military court by extolling Raza's command of classical music. The army officer who was serving as judge was a connoisseur of classical music.

It does look like Sara Haider. By the way, I don't think Mandana Zaidi (Ali Noor's wife) is Nayyara Noor's daughter. As far as I know, Nayyara has just the two sons, Jafer and Nad-e-Ali. Mandana is her niece from what I heard, but I could be wrong. Ali Noor and Mandana's courtship (if people even have courtships these days) all took place in Lahore, and I believe Nayyara and her family all reside in Karachi.
 
Nostalgic said:
Raza Kazim also had a role in the Independence movement, and was part of the Communist Party. He was jailed by Zia, and represented by Aitzaz Ahsan, who once famously got him released from a military court by extolling Raza's command of classical music. The army officer who was serving as judge was a connoisseur of classical music.

It does look like Sara Haider. By the way, I don't think Mandana Zaidi (Ali Noor's wife) is Nayyara Noor's daughter. As far as I know, Nayyara has just the two sons, Jafer and Nad-e-Ali. Mandana is her niece from what I heard, but I could be wrong. Ali Noor and Mandana's courtship (if people even have courtships these days) all took place in Lahore, and I believe Nayyara and her family all reside in Karachi.
Click to expand...

I might be mistaken. Maybe she is a niece not daughter of Nayyara Noor.

Back to Raza Kazim. He was also involved with the phenomenon of sound reproduction and started developing new concepts and testing them experimentally for designing and constructing, he called them ‘Bhulley’ High-End Audio Amplifiers and Speakers.

Just an amazing guy.
 
saadibaba said:
I might be mistaken. Maybe she is a niece not daughter of Nayyara Noor.

Back to Raza Kazim. He was also involved with the phenomenon of sound reproduction and started developing new concepts and testing them experimentally for designing and constructing, he called them ‘Bhulley’ High-End Audio Amplifiers and Speakers.

Just an amazing guy.
Click to expand...

Fascinating. I was reading the link you posted earlier, and they discuss his involvement in a plot to overthrow Zia. Something that wasn't discussed was the fact that he left the Communist Party in 1951. That should've prompted the interviewer to ask him if he left before or after the Rawalpindi Conspiracy, what he thought of it, what he thought of the protagonists in that fascinating chapter of our history, and whether he had a role to play in it or not.

I'm actually very upset with the interviewer. The mere mention of Communist + 1951 should've piqued the interviewer's interest.
 
Have listened to the songs and must say that they are underwhelming.

1. They have so much talent at disposal but the end result isn't what it should be.
2. The duets have better videos than audios with the singers seductively looking at each other etc.
3. So much of the musical instruments are just there and add literally nothing in a way.
4. Most of the singers have a very limited range. Miss the days of Saeen Zahoor etc.
 
The first one from Episode 3 in quite nicely understated. They let it simmer, without ever letting it boil over. Arieb Azhar reprises his Season 3 recitations, and like Shahzad Nawaz on last year's Jhaleya, he has the resonant bass voice suited to reciting poetry. Akbar Ali sounds like a clone of his elder brother, Javed Bashir, and some of the alaaps are reminiscent of Javed's on Mekaal Hasan Band's Darbari rendition.

And then there's QB, who still hasn't had a solo song...

 
If QB can't save this CS season no one can. RIP Coke Studio it was fun while it lasted, you killed yourself by bringing in nepotism and giving undeserved singers like Daniyal Zafar and Momina Mustehsan undue attention.
 
Syed1 said:
If QB can't save this CS season no one can. RIP Coke Studio it was fun while it lasted, you killed yourself by bringing in nepotism and giving undeserved singers like Daniyal Zafar and Momina Mustehsan undue attention.
Click to expand...

Nai yaar....quite enjoying this year's coke studio as well.

Sajjad Ali and daughter Zaw Ali's song was brilliant and just listened to very catchy song from Sahir Ali Bagga and Aima Baig whichyou may not understand (Sariki/Punjabi) but it's got that folk touch and I really enjoyed it.

QB did her best but problem with such song/kalam is people compare with original tune and don't like anything different but I think this version wasn't too bad at all.
 
Have to Admit this is the best Episode so far for this season.
 
Good episode. Some proper singers this time. Zaw Ali's English killed a very good song, otherwise not a real poor track in this episode. Mekaal Hasan directed Mujh sa pehli c muhabbat very well.
 
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q90zq1-heR4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is it. Amir Zaki's swan song. Not really worthy of his legend. Perfunctory, bit choppy and disinterested. I guess an apt reflection of his state of mind towards the end.
 
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