Sir Richard Bishop - The Freak Of Araby (2009)



Sir Richard Bishop to jeden z elementów awangardowej układanki pod nazwą Sun City Girls. Najnowsze jego dzieło to inspirowana tematami arabskimi muzyka w duchu faheyowskim. No cóż, jednym przypadnie do gustu innym nie. Ja miałem miejscami skojarzenia z muzyką The Shadows.

Sir Richard Bishop has named Lebanese songwriter Elias Rahbani and Egyptian guitarist Omar Khorsid as the primary inspirations behind his latest (and thoroughly excellent) release. I'm not going to front and pretend like I knew all about those guys – because I'd never heard of them before. But I'm not losing sleep over it. As co-founder of both the legendary Sun City Girls and the fascinating Sublime Frequencies label, Bishop knows a hell of a lot more about obscure (or at least obscure in the U.S.) international artists than most people. So what does the delightfully titled Freak of Araby sound like to my untrained ears? Pretty much like Middle Eastern surf rock – non-Western scales and tonalities abound, and there's a thumping Ventures-like groove to most of these tracks. It's not an entirely new concept. The king of the surf guitar himself, Dick Dale, is of Lebanese descent – and whaddaya know, so is Bishop. Coincidence?

Though Bishop's last few solo releases have concentrated mainly on his immense talents as an acoustic guitarist, this one is fully electric, with drums, percussion, bass and a second guitar supporting the guitarist throughout, except for the lovely, mysterious solo opener, "Taqasim for Omar." Though the album is focused mainly on Bishop's fleet-fingered guitar work – as it should be – the band interplay here is wonderful. Here's hoping this is just the beginning of their time together.

Though you may not be familiar with Bishop's influences, The Freak of Araby is very approachable, even for the most casual listener. As the title suggests, the guitarist's sense of playfulness and fun are ever present, and there are plenty of damn catchy melodies. The Sun City Girls may be no more, but Sir Richard's solo career just keeps getting better. (Tyler Wilcox)

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