And now he is back with the album Avengi Ja Nahin, where the singer has tried to infuse a lot of rock and Western elements. Italian progressive rock maestro and producer Maurio Pagani has also arranged and conducted the strings.

Though this is not an out-and-out Sufi album, it has something for all. The album begins with Chhalla, a slow and rhythmic number where the acoustic guitar is used to good effect.

The old boy accordion can also be heard in between. The song is built on a layer of double bass and cello. The second song Karachi Valie is rollicking. The introductory music seems to be of some Deep Purple number. A tribute to a Karachi girl whose "sighs were so cold" and "hair so course", Rabbi uses drums and Hammond organ keep the pace driving in this number that is hard rock.

Rabbi speaks of love unrequited and promises that his love will make the unresponsive beloved suffer in Maen Bolia, where he manages to infuse tenderness and some exasperation, even as his lead guitar solo soars with the confidence that the girl will ultimately be his.

The title track Avengi Ja Nahin makes effective use of percussions and the traditional Greek musical instrument, bouzouki. The track is about love uncertain and pregnant with possibilities that are not acted upon. Rabbi's guitar playing is clean and crisp, even as his Punjabi lyrics are delightfully ambiguous.

Ballo is an impeccably constructed song that benefits immensely from the minimal sprinkling of turntable and electronic sounds and the sustained use of handclaps and finger snaps.

Rabbi sings it with his soulful voice which effortlessly navigating the peaks and troughs of the emotions his lyrics weave. It is a song of encouragement and love asking Ballo to be resilient and stand on her own feet. Tu Avin Bandra, another love song, is an ode to the Mumbai suburb of Bandra. It typifies the label "urban contemporary" and has a haunting romantic feel to it. The sounds of the electric violin give this song a distinct feel from the rest of the songs.

Pagri Sambhal Jatta is an exhortation by Rabbi to the present to remember the lessons of the past. Bilqis (Jinhe naaz hai), sung in Hindi, is about Bilqis Rasool, victim of the sectarian violence during the Gujarat riots. An anguished Rabbi, in the voice of his protagonists, repeatedly asks how such things happen in our nation.

The album ends with the English song "Return to Unity" which features Ranjit Barot on drums and Karl Peters on guitars.

Though Rabbi fails to come up with a composition like Bulla ki jana, the album just goes on to prove how much he is influenced by Western music, particularly U2, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

Avengi Ja Nahin is quite listenable and one good thing it that is a mix of all Sufi, Hindi, English and Punjabi. That does not make it monotonous.