The notes for this rich collection of American made Middle Eastern pop point out that in the 1960s, the Middle East was "cool" rather than scary. The feeling of musicians from Lebanon, Syria, Greece, Israel, Turkey, and Egypt--Arabs, Persians, Jews, and Armenians--coming together happily to make music in America is definitely part of the appeal here. But George Abdo's Flames of Araby also spearheaded a unique moment in the history of world music. Abdo's orchestra is filled with first-class instrumentalists good enough to be playing in high brow classical ensembles, but the music he is making might as well have been rai, shaabi, or Arabic disco as far as classicists were concerned--it sounded that new and radical at the time. In fact, this made-in-USA Middle Eastern pop is absolutely a form of world music fusion, and a precursor to a wide variety of pop genres that have since flowed from this part of the world.

The cultural complexity of this mix in part explains why Abdo and others embraced the notion of belly dancing as an identifier for their sound--it cleverly sidesteps the region's complex history and politics. If the notion of belly dancing connotes only camp and frivolity in your mind, think again. Listen to George Bassil's stunning qanun introduction on "Ta Mavra Matia Sou (Your Black Eyes)" or Abdo's own soulful, melismatic vocals on "Imm Al-Manadili (The Charm of Your Scarf)." The ensemble work on each of these fifteen tracks is exemplary, and there is plenty of room in the arrangements for soloists to shine on violin, oud, and qanun, a highly-sophisticated hammer dulcimer.

The effort to please American sensibilities shows in the music's brisk, snappy arrangements full of exciting and fast-changing rhythms. The tumbling rhythms of hand percussion are everywhere, although the quarter tones so characteristic of Middle Eastern classical music have been largely filtered out. This is, of course, dance music--Abdo was a kind of Count Basie figure in Middle Eastern music--and the dance rhythms themselves are fascinating in their own right. Some tunes, like "Raks Araby (Arabic Dance)" feature a two-part rhythm very much like the Afro-Cuban clave figure that came from Africa to the Caribbean and became a staple in American and African pop music after that. Another two-part rhythm, a slow "Bom ba-Bom ba-Bom, Bom Bom Bom," is also heard often as on the dreamy and beautiful "Raks Mustapha (Mustapha's Dance)," and extended belly-dance extravaganza.

The recording quality is a little thin-sounding, as are pre-1975 pop recordings by today's standards. But the music has a charm that transcends technology, time, and place. This is one of the most enlightening Middle Eastern music releases in years.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org