Junoon - Parvaaz

Junoon propelled the idea of an asian band, playing western music in a predominantly asian style, thus staying connected to their roots all whilst straying away from it. Parvaaz was the follow up to Junoon’s previous venture Azadi, which introduced the Sufi Rockers to India & the rest of the world.

With Azadi the band had raised the level of their music to an unprecedented level. While this seemed exciting back than, it would be only the matter of time when the expectations from the band would outweigh the band’s quality of output. Unfortunately with Parvaaz, this is somewhat the case. Parvaaz saw the band adopt a mature milder approach, loosing out on some of the rawness that was associated with Azadi & Inquilaab. There is always the big question about whether a band should stick to their forte and tried and tested formula for making music, or keep trying to reinvent themselves. This album could serve as the perfect model to test that experiment.

The band’s change approach would definitely disappoint fans of the band that grew accustomed to feeling the band’s fiery passion expressed through their music. Yet the more delicate sound would at least have a few takers. But, largely the songs on the album seem to run loose and lack a serious amount of direction. One good thing to arise out of the change in sound would be the increased opportunity to vocalist Ali Azmat, who’s provided some stellar performances on tracks such as Mitti and Pyaar Bina.

Ghoom is one of the most interesting tracks on the album. The song is a slow number with a grind like effect to it, creating the atmosphere of a spiritual sacrifice or an assembly of people attempting to connect with the supernatural. It is also good example to show the versatility of the band, when compared to a song like Sajna, which is a more straightforward rock based number

As expected from a band of Junoon’s stature one would find gems even on their most inferior works. Ironically the standout tracks of the album would be songs based around the words of the great poet Bulleh Shah, whose works the band had brought to life successfully even on previous records. The album opener Bulleya and motivating Ab To Jag, are really worthy of being tagged as Junoon’s works. There’s really not much to these songs, yet they have that certain quality that made it work for Junoon every time. Aleph another one of Bulleh Shah’s poems is powerful is in it’s simplicity. The band’s take of the poem is pure magic, and holds the ability to melt a stone.

On the whole, Parvaaz will always be looked upon as an inferior work compared to the band’s other albums. The act of mellowing the sound may have been backed with the intention of shedding added emphasis on the seriousness of the subjects dealt with on the album. But, unfortunately it fails on many levels, as the whole unleashed, raw effect of the band is negated. One thing that is undeniable though that the album has a lot of heart put into it. If only the thought process used regarding the type of sound required had been better, the result would have been far better.