Hamra Festival Sept. 12, 2010

I like this one a lot except for the couple of shitty notes I played by mistake in my guitar solo. The band is:

Walid Itayim: Guitar and Vocals Alain Ajouri: Guitar Munir Khauli: Bass Guitar Mazen Siblini: Keyboards Emile Boustany: Drums Jad Abi Haidar: Vocals

The Reunion Band Live at Nova Aug. 11 , 2010

This is a live performance of my song Thank God It's Over which was on the CD I released last year "Where I Wanna Be". The band is:

Sami Shabshab: bass guitar, May Shabshab: Vocals, Rick Musallam: guitar, vocals, Walid Itayim: guitar, vocals, Munir Khauli: keyboards, Alain Ajouri: guitar, Emile Boustany; Drums

Tony Ashton: First my musical hero and later a friend.

Tony Ashton never got the recognition he deserves. While he did have one big hit with Ashton Gardner and Dyke's "Resurrection Shuffle" in 1971, he remained unknown to the general public. His friendship with Jon Lord of Deep Purple with whom he recorded two albums gave him some notoriety with Deep Purple fans. I discovered his music when I was 11 and he became my musical hero. I was lucky enough to meet him in 1996 and we became friends. I attended the private charity event at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in 1990 which was to raise money for his cancer treatment and you can atually see me in the dvd that was later released of the music portion of the evening. Unfortunately the treatment was not successful and he died 6 months later. See my pictures below with him in 1996 in Cyprus and in 2000 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Last year I made a photo tribute video with his song Travellin Javelin as the soundtrack. Here it is:



Walid Itayim wants you to check out a photo on MySpace

Walid Itayim wants you to check out a photo on MySpace

Walid Itayim wants you to check out a photo on Facebook

My Tony Ashton Site

Read this article describing how I met Tony Ashton

Read the review I wrote after I attended the tribute/fundraiser for Tony Ashton at Abbey Road Studios.

Allan Holdsworth was a true revolutionary! He was the Che Guevara of the guitar world! :-)

I am not kidding! More than any of the other guitar greats of the fusion revolution, Holdsworth was the most innovative. Today he is worshipped and emulated for what he did for the instrument more than any other guitarist!

With Soft Machine in 1976


With his trio in 2009 doing Devil Take The Hindmost!

My tribute to Frank Zappa!

Shortly before Frank died in 1993 I composed and programmed the basic rhythm section of this tribute on a Yamaha Music Computer. The sounds I used came from a Proteus E-mu synthesizer. For some reason I never got around to finishing it. Later that computer crashed and I lost all the midi files that were on it. This week I found an old cassette of the recording and decided to finish it by adding stuff to it. I cut it up and looped a section to fit a guitar solo.Some drum rolls were added to the guitar and piano solo sections. And finally the part I am excited the most about adding to the original recording is the ending where the main melody of Frank's composition Eat That Question is quoted. I am very pleased with the way the final mix of this updated version turned out. I hope I have not done an injustice to Frank with this composition and with the guitar solo I played on it which was inspired directly by FZ's style of playing. I would appreciate comments from everyone who listens to it even if they are negative.

My music from 1981 - 1990

Have been going through my archives and finding old music I wrote and recorded in the 80's some of which I had forgotten existed! Even though the recording is primitive with some of the earlier recordings, I find myself liking them a lot. These MP3's can be listened to by clicking on the links or right clicking them and choosing the option "save target as":

During the Israeli Invasion of 1982 my friend Khaled al Khudayri came to Cyprus and we recordeda collection of instrumentals called Corniche 82. This tune was written by me. I played all the guitars except the first acoustic guitar solo which Khaled played. He also played the percussion.

Instrumental with Khaled

In 1934, a song called Cocktails For Two was written by Sam Coslow and Arthur Johnston for a movie called The Murder Vanities. It was recorded by Duke Ellington and countless others. Even I had a go at it in 1981 when I was stil learning how to record music at home. Don't expect anything professional but I think I did a pretty good job.

Cocktails For Two

In 1991, I wrote and produced the music for Issa Ghandour's second album. Lyrics for this tune were written by Hamza Ramadan. Issa totally rocks on this one. The sax solo was played by David De Lyon.

Mish Ma32oul with Issa Ghandour

Recorded in 1990 using Yamaha computer. Saxophone fills played by David de Leon.

Never Ending Pack of Lies

Recorded in 1982 on Tascam Portastudio 144. Before I had any form of percussion or drums. Just guitars and bass.

Things They Say

When I found out back in 1990 that David De Lyon (the sax player playing on this tune) was going to be in Cyprus for the whole summer, I knew I had to take advantage of his presence and wrote about 4 tunes especially with him in mind. Too bad the brass and drum sounds were so crappy back then. Every time I I try to imagine what this tune would have sounded like with a real drummer playing, I get so frustrated I want to bang my head against the wall. This instrumental was titled "Phone Call From Beirut". My dream is to redo the jazz tunes I wrote that summer with real musicians.

Phone Call From Beirut

In 1990, a young lady called Jane Fenwick wrote some lyrics to a piece of music that I had composed. I used the computer to program the music and Jane sang the lyrics which she had written for the song. Stylistically, the song was different from anything I had done before.

Without You

In 1990, I started using a computer to program music. During that year I composed a number of pieces which were outside my usual style of writing and more in the jazz vein. Several of those tunes featured a young sax player called David De Leon who happened to be visiting Cyprus from the United States. This tune is entitled "The Truth Really Hurts".

The Truth Really Hurts

In 1990 I bought a Yamaha C-1 Music Computer and for the first time I was able to program music. The sounds came from my Proteus synth. My friend , Hassan Mroueh wrote some Arabic lyrics and asked me to compose music for them. We recorded it with Nicole Shwairy on vocals. Please have a listen.

Ghayyer Ba2A

An instrumental recorded in 1987 using a pre-recorded drum track.

Instrumental from 1985

This song called "Without" was recorded in 1986. I used a programmable drum machine. I played all the instruments and sang all the voices.

Without

This instrumental from 1985 would have sounded so much better if I had real drums instead of the horrible rhythm box which came with the toy organ/keyboard.

Instrumental from 1987

Panayota was recorded in 1987 on my 4 track recorder using a primitive drum machine. Panayota was the name of the Cypriot cleaning lady who worked for my family in Cyprus. I suspected her of stealing cash from my wallet on a regular basis so I devised a trap in which I succeeded in filming a video of her counting a wad... of cash and then sticking three ten pound bills in her bra. Later when she denied stealing the money she was made to watch the video. She went into total shock. :-)

Panayota 1987

Using a pre-recorded drum track, I played the guitars and bass and sang as well on this tune called The Stand. It was inspired by the hard rock sound of 70's.

The Stand 1986

In 1988, I recorded an instrumental piece called Strangers. It was inspired by a song of the same title by Frida (former singer of ABBA). I played all the instruments and programmed the drum machine.

Strangers 1988

The song Moving On on my 2009 CD was co-written by Munir Khauli in 1986. Back then he wrote some Arabic lyrics for the song and it became Kan Ya Makan from his first album Heik 7a Nishtghil (1986). I played the guitar solo at the end of the song. Please have a listen.

Kan Ya Makan

In 1982, Munir Khauli and I recorded a collection of songs under the title Broken Dreams. "Island" is a funky tune I wrote. Recorded primitively using a rhythm box, guitars and a toy organ.

Island

In 1989, I wrote and recorded an instrumental piece called Infidel. Again, it was a home recording made in Cyprus on a 4 track cassette with me playing eveything and programming a drum machine. The piece ends with a great keyboard solo by Oussama Rahbani who was in Cyprus during the Aoun war.

Infidel

In 1988, I recorded my own version of the John Lennon song "Every Little Thing" which originally appeared the album "Beatles For Sale". This recording was made at home on a 4 track Yamaha cassette deck. I played the guitars and the bass, sang all the voices and programmed the drum machine. Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Every Little thing 1988


In 1981, I bought a PORTASTUDIO 144 by Tascam, the first 4 track cassette recorder to ever go on the market. I was still a beginner at recording and used only electric guitars and a small wooden percussion instrument to record this intrumental called "Shadows" which I had just written on the spot to test the recorder.... Although neither the playing nor the recording quality are professional, I am very proud of this tune. Next year, this recording will be thirty years old! That's pretty depressing actually :-)

Shadows 1981

My Contribution to the history of Lebanese Pop Music :-))

Regarding the title of this post, many people I know argue that I should not be taking credit for these songs or be proud of them as they are very tacky and cheesy.While I agree that they are possibly slightly tacky, I am not embarassed by them in the least and am happy to take the credit as the composer. The first song "Oyoun el Soud" was a huge hit and it launched the career of Issa Ghandour who is a great guy. It has been 16 years since it was a hit and I meet people all the time who have very fond memories of the song and can still recite all the words by heart!


In 1990, guitarist/songwriter Walid Itayim and Lebanese pop singer Issa Ghandour got together on the island of Cyprus to record Issa's second album. The result was a 6-track mini album that was released in 1991 on cassette under the title of "Mish Ma32oul" which was also the name of one of the songs. They wanted to introduce to the Arabic music world a new and innovative brand of pop that was unlike anything that had been done up until then. The idea was to fuse elements of Rock, Funk, Jazz and Blues and combine them with Arabic lyrics written by Issa set to catchy melodies and memorable hooks. While nowadays this kind of approach is very common, back in 1990 no one had yet attempted to do anything in that style. The result was quite innovative and different from anything that the Lebanese popular music audience had heard. Unfortunately, the music sounded foreign and strange to the ears of the people who were not already exposed to that kind of music (the majority of the Arabic music public). Issa Ghandour took quite a bit of criticism for the album but noticed that there was a generally positive response to one of the songs, called "3oyoun el-Soud". Issa figured that with a new arrangement that was more in tune with the musical trends of the time, the song had enormous commercial potential. So, in 1994, Hani Siblini, who was still in the early stages of his career as "arranger for the stars", was brought in to give his personal touch to the song. Along with the video clip that was speedily put together, "3oyoun el-Soud" became a mega-hit that took the Lebanese and Arab pop scene by storm (thanks in part to Future TV who, believing in the song and in Issa as an artist, played the clip on a regular basis both locally and internationally). Even today, the song is remembered by everybody and brings back a lot of nostalgic feelings to the people who loved the song when it first came out. In 1996, the song was rearranged and recorded in Egypt for Issa's third album "Is2alouh" but didn't even come close to matching the 1994 version and was a disappointment to many of the original song's fans. The Siblini version was never released on CD and has not been heard or seen on Lebanon's airwaves in almost 15 years. So now, with the success of youtube, it has become an absolute necessity for the song to earn it's proper place in Lebanese pop history. It's appearrance on youtube serves a double purpose: a) to satisfy the nostalgic feelings of the people who love and miss the song and b) to introduce it to the younger generation who never got to hear the song or watch the clip. Another thing that should be noted is that the clip broke ground image-wise and made an important fashion statement. Traditionally, the Arab and Lebanese "moutrib" always appeared in video clips stiffly dressed in a black suit and tie in the best case scenario or the even way more repulsive glittering silver and gold blazers and tasteless bow-ties. In his video clip, Issa was the first Arab "moutrib" to appear in a sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, a look that the young people of the Lebanon of the 1990's could more easily relate to. Finally, a piece of trivia about the origins of "3oyoun el Soud" that hardly anyone actually knows is the fact that Walid Itayim, the composer of the song, first wrote and recorded it as an English language rock ballad in 1981 under the title "The Genius". The subject matter of the original lyrics had no relation whatsoever to the Arabic version and musically and stylistically was incredibly different. But if you listen to the original version you will be able to tell that the two songs are one and the same because they clearly share the same melody and chord pattern.

Oyoun el Soud
Song composed by Walid Itayim
Lyrics written by Issa Ghandour
Music arranged by Hani Siblini



In 1996 Issa signed with the Music Master label for his third album "Is2alouh" and he travelled to Egypt where he worked with the "cream of the crop" of Egyptian musicians and arrangers. Issa, who still believed in the 6 songs from "Mish Ma32oul", had two years earlier had 3oyoun el Soud rearranged by Hani Siblini and scored a mega hit with it. For the Egyptian sessions, another song from "Mish Ma32oul" was to be rearranged and recorded for his third album. The very successful Egyptian producer/arranger Ashraf Ma7rous liked the bluesy funk influenced "Dawwar Ya Zaman" so he had a go at reworking it and both Issa and Walid Itayim (the original composer and arranger of the song) loved the result! When the time came to make video clips from the new album, Dawwar Ya Zaman was given to the newly created computer video animation department at Future TV who undertook a project that was a first of it's kind in the Arab pop world. The technology back then was in it's early stages and it took many months to complete the work in that the animation had to be done by hand frame by frame. But the final result was well worth the waiting and hard work! Dawwar Ya Zaman was the first Arabic music clip to utilize computer animation.


Dawwar Ya Zaman
Song composed by Walid Itayim
Lyrics written by Issa Ghandour
Music arranged by Ashraf Ma7rous