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PRICE:
$31.00
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1-2 Weeks
ARTIST
TITLE
Maarifti Feek
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
WWSLP 036LP WWSLP 036LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
7/10/2020

2024 repress. Following the reissue last year of Fairuz's classic 1979 album Wahdon (WWSLP 022LP), Wewantsounds pursue their exploration of great Lebanese music with the first vinyl reissue of Fairuz's highly sought-after LP Maarifti Feek, originally released in 1987. Recorded in Beirut around 1983-84, the album features the diva's superb voice combined with Ziad Rahbani's jazz and funk orchestration, making it one of the most in-demand albums on the Arabic funk scene. One of the greatest singers of the Middle East, Fairuz started her career in Lebanon in the '50s and quickly established herself as the most renowned Diva in the Arabic world, playing the most prestigious venues in the world. At the end of the '70s, Fairuz was at a turning point both professionally and personally. Her husband Assi Rahbani, who, with his brother Elias, had penned her biggest successes, has suffered a stroke a few years earlier. This setback ultimately led to both the demise of their marriage and the end of their professional partnership. Enter Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz and Assi's son, a young musician, playwright, and producer who had cut his teeth writing a handful of Fairuz's song -- including her 1973 hit "Sa'alouni El Nas" -- at just seventeen. Ziad Rahbani swiftly took over from his father and uncle as the singer's musical director and composer and this fruitful association, which started in 1979 with the album Wahdon, broke many new grounds for Fairuz with funkier rhythms and edgier lyrics. It was recorded at the same time as Rahbani's own 12" Abu Ali (WWSLP 027LP) which became a sought-after disco classic in its own right. The association between the two continued with a second album, Maarifti Feek ("Our Encounter"), recorded between 1983 and '84 in Beirut but only released in 1987. The album was another groundbreaking mix of influences ranging from the traditional arrangements of "Oudak Rannan" and "Ma Kdirt Nseet" to the Brazilian flavor of "Version 1" via the synth funk of "Ouverture 83" and its follow-up "Reprise 83". Also featured on the album is a beautiful remake of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez" in the form of a tribute to the Lebanese capital, "Li Beirut." This blend of Oriental grooves with jazz and funk orchestrations by Ziad Rahbani is a unique document of Fairuz's career development in the '80s and explains why Maarifti Feek is such a sought-after album. Remastered from the original tapes.