Rita (Yahan- Farouz) - 5B : Open the window (2)

To CD1's review

As my entry for this album grew, it quickly became clear that I needed to split it to have one per CD, so now I continue with the 10, or rather 11 songs this second cd has.

Here are the translated titles

1 On independance day’s eve

2 How ironic

3 It’s either yes or it isn’t*

4 Rain song

5 Close your eyes my brother

6 Sing for me, Autumn

7 A kind of love

8 Only you

9 Mahawal

10 You don’t know what goes on your mind

Bonus 

If you want to listen, the entire album's on this playlist, songs 11-20 

Right from the introduction, one understands the nostalgic and heart-break of On independance day’s eve as the woman narrator recalls her now-ex had announced to her during a party of that evening that he was leaving her. Is it about Rita herself ? or is it about someone else? Indeed, I know that a few years after this album, she and her-then husband who sings with her this duet, announced their divorce.  The song goes on describing the difficult end of that night's party as, at the very least, the characters parted ways after years of doubts. 

How ironic could be a very direct sequel to the previous song. Rita sings it alone, to lyrics composed by another Israeli singer and song writer called Shlomo Artzi. The woman character (at least) describes packing her suitcases and how there are no evident signs to the break-up, and how ironic it is that in a world full of suffering, her ex will still cause her pain by leaving her and not show any signs of his affection. She asks what would make him ever give her a hug, a kiss or tell her a story, but that he'd never re-open his heart. What an ironic song, indeed! 

The third song in this cd has a title which can be translated as It’s either yes or it isn’t or as It's either yes, or no. The lyrics appear as if a woman talks to another, but in my opinion, it's to herself. Again, it's about separation, or rather, the end of romantic feelings she has for her man, who just doesn't understand that she wants to leave him. He'll promis to change and work on his issues and always love her, but he'll surely forget and continue to treat her badly and his condescending will continue to make her feel like she's just a little girl. He'll surely never understand that she stopped loving him and that she wants out, even after he'd ask for a last chance. I can hear a lot of overtones of the previous song, with very ironic lyrics, which sometimes rhyme, but also in the background melody.

Rain song is almost like a prequel to the previous 3 songs. Indeed, the narrator wonders if she still feels romantically towards her man, wishing she could lay her head on his shoulder and not have to explain anything to herself. Yet, she experiences contradictory emotions and wonders if it's love, or not anymore. I absolutely love the poetic use of metaphors in this song, starting how a flower never asks itself about the nature and meaning of its beauty. This goes with the fact that all cultures have always attached meanings to flowers, their colors, and what messages a person wants to convey to another through the offering of flowers. But, as the lyrics mentioned here, flowers never ask themselves these questions. They simply are. 

The metaphors persist, where no fruit in the world ever asks itself what it is to be sweet. On the other hand, the narrator is perpetually confused between her conflicting emotions. As I said, I absolutely love the poetry of this song, written by Rachel Shapira, considered one of the greatest woman Israeli poets, ever. 

The melody is quite rhythmic and Rita's vocals run away with it ; I think this is to add to the dimension of the narrator not only feeling trapped in her situation, but also being carried away.  

The rhythms drop completely down to a very nostalgic and slow melody in close your eyes my brother, where the narrator talks to her brother (as the title says), telling him give her a kiss because she's quietly worried about his well being. She tells him that there is no need for him to tell her about his pains, only to close his eyes, to imagine the most beautiful place he can escape into from his real horrible environment. She further tells him to imagine the body of woman he could never reach (implied the most beautiful woman, though it's not clearly said) and all the flavors he never tried before he came back home, through the train station (of the city Haifa, in the north-east of Israel in this song).

I think Sing for me, Autumn about depression. Indeed the full lyrics (written by Etti Ankri) describe how the angels don't come to this woman's gate, nor do they sing ; that she becomes forgotten and runs away from sunlight. She asks autumn to sing her a sad song, as she withdraws into sorrow with her back to the gate (I assume a metaphor to her availability to the world and potential romantic meetings), and how the moon is lit on its cold half (not the hidden, the cold one). 

This is probably my favorite song using very intelligently the accordion to mark the sorrows of the narrator, balanced by the overall melody and other instruments.

The rhythms pick back right up and are a lot more hopeful in a kind of love. The melody's more cheerful and upbeat, where the narrator recognizes that her lover still loves her, despite a difficult year. This is another poetic song, which I love for its imagery. I love that the narrator describes that the night threw its cloak over her, exactly when she started to shiver from cold, giving it a protective metaphor rather than a depressive one. The cloak covers her, so she doesn't shiver anymore. The stars start to shine, like candles on a cake, depicting a great hope for brighter future. I think the next verse where she has "no hope that lighting will come, nor occasional thunder, nor soft snow", which were very rare occurrences in Israel are about breaking the routine of being "used to shivering from the cold" - a metaphor for being alone?

The previous song's outro is very gradual, creating a silent break to this eighth one, only you, which starts with a few drum-beats, but remains mellow, where the narrator asks a man who else, if not him, could be her next lover. She asks who else could be her strength, like break and water to her, and who could guess her own strength and weaknesses and walk in the darkness like an acrobat - the darkness  as a metaphor of her depression, I assume. The aforementioned Rachel Shapira adapted to Hebrew the original lyrics by Ros Desalbo, Avnie Ronan & Jimmy Santas. 

The ninth track of this cd is almost 5 minutes long fully instrumental, composed by Rita herself, with Shlomi Shabat. It's called Mahawal, and Rita's vocals aren't words. It's like a progressive oriental rock with persian melodies and rhythms, basically... Not that I'm aware of such a musical trend, it's a unique piece, which to me describes a very strong yearning and crying out through these un-intelligible vocals, reinforced by the haunting and rhythmic beats, alternating to quieter moments only to pick up the rhythms, back and forth, with amazing drumming work. 

I don't know what goes on your mind was written by Shlomo Artzi (also mentioned above, for track 2). I love both Rita's and his own versions for this song, Rita's only 2:42 long, very mellow, where the narrator doesn't know what goes on her lover's mind, and tried everything to ascertain by asking, getting angry, but he still won't tell her, even after she comes back from a walk in the rain (between midnight and 3). 

The bonus lasts only 50 or so seconds. It's almost an a-capela longing melody which start after 38 seconds of silence in the last track, and concludes this wonderful album. I don't always listen to it as I tend to lack patience, or forget all about it when the actual song finishes, and then I click on stop. 


Instruments on the CD :
Accordion, Acoustic guitar, Bass, Bassoon, Choir, Clarinet, Drums, Electric Guitar, Flute, Guitar,  Keyboard, Oboe, Percussion, Piano, Saxophone, Strings, Tambourine, Woodwinds.