CAIRO: Saber El Rebai s voice evokes oriental music s old school. By making various references to this rich regional musical tradition in combination with his wide vocal range, with a touch of tenderness in romantic songs, his career has proved rewarding so far.
It seems that the Tunisian singer is keenly aware of what has been giving him the edge. In his newest album, Ajmal Nissa El Donia (The World s Most Beautiful Woman), he capitalizes on his best features: incorporating old school with modern tunes; his wide range, along with his ability to convey the meanings of the lyrics, romantic ones in particular, through his performance. Add to that a commendable variety in the featured musical styles and the number of songwriters and musicians involved and you get an attractive mix.
Like his voice, the album carries traces of classical Egyptian tastes; in the mellow numbers El Rebai sings to the full takht (band of oriental instruments). Think Hani Shaker carrying on with Abdel Halim Hafez’s legacy in his melancholy hits.
Fortunately for El Rebai, he didn t stop there and instead added to the formula. Saddakt Khalas (I Have Believed) combine the familiar melancholy tunes with an upbeat chorus that breaks the monotony of the sad song without disturbing its mood.
For this alone, the album is a refreshing change from the increasingly commercial releases that have plagued the market over the past few years.
But there are more reasons to like the album. In addition to the numbers that pay tribute to Egypt s classic music, El Rebai surveys the musical heritage of other parts of the Arab world, namely Lebanon and the West African trio of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
According to the album cover, he recorded the songs in Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey. Each country, of course, contributed its national instruments.
But this is not the only factor behind the sense of variety that marks the album. Each of the eight tracks was written by a different lyricist. The album features five musicians in the composing department in addition to El Rebai, who contributed with the music for two tracks. Four artists contributed to music arrangement, a key element in deciding whether an album sounds monotonous or not; albums usually feature one or two musicians in this department.
El Rebai even broke the stream of love songs with El Dunia Saghayra (It s a Small World). With lyrics resembling that of Egyptian mawal (a type of song that focuses on the singer and features less background music), the song is more of a wise man s advice not to care too much about the mortal world.
Yet, this is not why people are buying the album, at least not the two women who were buying it at the same time as I was. It was difficult not to hear them as they described how listening to El Rebai allows them to shut out the world. Listening to the title track, it is easy to understand why.
Although the lyrics don t feature novel sentiments, telling his lover that she is the most beautiful woman in the universe in a passionate, musical voice is enough to take a song up the charts as a romantic hit. His last year s chart-topping hit Athada El Alam (I Challenge the World) is proof enough, although the lyrics were better.
The singer has managed to present himself as an expert in romance, telling women what they want to hear in a sincere heartfelt performance. Think Kazem El Saher s appeal in the late 1990s. Judging from the suit El Rebai is wearing on the album cover (the red scarf he wears on the inside album jacket is a bit much though), he is adamant in fostering his image as a mature man, not the common teenage or twenty-something lover boy.
The next question is, how long will he be able to hold on to his niche while maintaining his taste for variety?
