Home   Forum   Wiki   Notes   Register   FAQ   Sitemap   About Us   Contact Us  

TMS-a rare singer

Topic started by kalai (@ 202.9.150.212) on Fri Oct 26 16:10:26 EDT 2001.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

If you talk about tamil cinema music, particularly about music directors, there is always a genius in every decade.
1950's - G. RamaNathan
1960's - MSV
1970's - MSV
1980's - IR
1990's - ARR
There is transition in TFM music in every decade . Let me talk about singers.
Before 1950's it was ruled by "bhagavathar's" and most of the songs were karnatic base songs. TMS started his carrier with these kinds of Karnatic based songs . In that period, there is no such technical support and they sing in the stages without mic. Those who dedicated themselves to music, take so much of practices to mould their voices. TFM got so many genius like MS, MLV, PATTAMMAL with that qualities. TMS is also that sort of person who can sing from lower range to any higher ranges.TMS had a powerful voice, good modulation, good pronunciation and a versatility. (Few people consider gimmicks and mimicry as versatility).
After 1975, technically we are improved a lot, we got fresh music waves, but I feel s
singing quality is limited. We got two excellent singers like SPB and KJY and they are good at their voice range. Why we coulnt find a person like TMS, who sings in all ranges ? I feel The power of tamil is missing in TFM now a days like songs "engal thiravida pon naade" " chenthamzh then mozhiyal" "paatum naane" …. Now a days even in sad songs " the feeling of an ordinary person is reflected well and I can say it comes from heart. But think about a normal person who lost everything, his emotion will come from the stomack (abdomen)like a song "yaarukkaga" " intha naadaagam antha medayil" , "neeyum naanua", "paar magale paar" etc.. It is missing now a days.
TFM got varites of singers and we are the people who got varities of songs also.
Thiyaraja Bhagavathar , PU chinnappa , TR mahalingam, Chidambaram jeyaraman, seerkazhi gouvindarajan are a type of singers who can sing in very high pitches and each one got a peculiar voice also. A.M.raja, A.L raghavan, P.B.S are for low pitches and they were used for very soft songs. SPB, KJY, JayaChandran are used for lower and medium ranges. So,many others like chandra babu , Malaysia vasudevan also contributed so much. No where else we can see these many varites of songs and singers. Now a days most of the new singers are trying to copy SPB or KJY and they are lacking of originality.
I feel , TMS is the one of the few persons who can sing in any range. Few of his rare songs I am adding here, to justify my arguments. ( only, he can sing this songs- only samples).

Paatum naane Bhavamum naane --(thiruvilayadal)
Yaar tharuvar intha ariyasanam --kavi kalidai)
Eri kariyin mele -(muthalali)
Enge nimmathi (puthia paravai)
Naan unnai azhikavillai (engiruntho vanthaan)
Chinnanchiriya vanna paravai (kungumam)
En arumai kaathalikku (ellorum innattu mannargal)
Yaarukkaga (vasantha maaligai)
Atho antha paravai pola (aayirathil oruvan)
Acham enbathu madamayada (mannathi mannan)
Aadatha manamum undo (mannathi mannan)
Pathu maatham sumanthirunthu (annayin aanai)
Muthai thiru pathi thiru nagai (arunagiri nathar)
Punnagai thavazhum (maragatham)
Isai kettal puvi asainthadum (ThavaPuthalvan)

---

Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: yaaro (@ 172.188.31.186) on: Fri Jan 11 10:51:09 EST 2002
  
  I love TMS voice from the period before which IR took over-one of my personal fav is vellikinnamthan from uyarndha manidhan-also andha naal from the same movis-amazing voice.I agree , he is another unsung genius on the national scene with a calibre anyday equal to rafi or sp or kjy.
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ 208.24.179.211) on: Fri Jan 11 11:25:02 EST 2002
  
  kaalai:
  
  Obviosuly, you are a hardcore fan of TMS. He is truly a great singer and some of his achievements and renditions are unparallelled. What did you mean by "(TMS's voice)It can sing in any range from 1 -7 scales"?. For example, paattum naanEy was recorded in C# (oNNarai kattai). Are you suggesting that TMS could have sung it in any other scale - G# (aindharai kattai) or F( naalu kattai) if he had wanted? I hope you are not making naive comments exaggerating the capabilities of your favorite singer, beyond realistic levels.
  
  Regards.
  
  
• From: tms_virumbi (@ 204.154.71.101) on: Fri Jan 11 14:42:55 EST 2002
  
  I don't see why not ? I can't imagine any pitch , any type of song that TMS cannot sing. In this area he scores far ahead of any other playback singer.
  
  Not to draw a comparison, TMS wuld have sung 'Theivam thandha veedu' and 'Illaya nila' with the same effect as SPB/KJY, but definitely nobody else can sing 'Yaarukkaga' or 'Ponnal Pogattum" or 'Pattum Naney'. No doubt SPB/KJY voices are more sweet but TMS stands for versatility and Gambeeram and Bhavam
  
  
• From: hihi:-) (@ 128.111.113.76) on: Fri Jan 11 14:50:21 EST 2002
  
  someone mentioned that it is difficult to imitate TMS (like manO's atttempt at SPB, kumAr ShAnO's attempt at kiShOre). is it true rAjAji? :-))
  
  
• From: Mr. Observer (@ 64.105.35.147) on: Fri Jan 11 15:23:24 EST 2002
  
  hihi:), the very fact that you have used the word 'attempt' indicates that manO and KS had difficulty in imitating their idols too.
  
  TMS has certain songs that other lesser mortals could only hope to emulate. 'AdappiranthavaLe AdivA' (KVM), 'kalviyA selvamA veeramA', 'ithuvum murayO' (Arunagirinathar) (G Ramanathan). Several great 'light' numbers like 'yAr antha nilavu', 'gnayiru enbathu peNNAga', 'anbuLLa mAn vizhiyE' stand as testimony to his greatness. Very conspicuous change in delivery styles based on the ambience of the song is an art lost to IFM and this was pioneerd by TMS in TFM. TMS's 'O little flower' and 'enn arumai kathalikku veNNilAvE' are just 2 examples of his 'ingitham niraintha sangeetham.
  
  
  PS:A seasoned, senior composer like GR, under whose baton MKT, PU Chinnappa churned out great numbers, was impressed enough with TMS to write an article called 'sountharabaranam' in a popular weekly.
  
  
• From: hihi:-) (@ 128.111.113.76) on: Fri Jan 11 15:37:07 EST 2002
  
  Mr. Observer: that was a bait to rAjAjI :-) [there is famous story of how rAjAjI kept an audience spellbound with his mAdhavippon mayilAl at midnight during a new year's day celebration. so i was teasing him.]
  
  i am glad you mentioned o little flower. when i rediscovered this song about a year ago i was stunned. in my opinion, he was the pioneer in delivering the "emotional content" of a song. (IR, SJ and to some extent PS are good in this aspect.) even during his waning days, he was good at this. everytime i listen to the line AdhAram illaiyammA ARudhal cholla (sOdhanai mEl sOdhanai) i am deeply moved.
  
  
• From: Mr. Observer (@ 64.105.35.147) on: Fri Jan 11 15:43:57 EST 2002
  
  hihi:), I had forgotten to add a smiley . :)'thannanthaniyAga nAn vantha pOthu' (TK Ramamurthy) is a lesson for budding singers on how to put forth a 'rustic' song. The same movie had 'oru pAttukku pala rAgam' (TMS & LRE) a totally different type of song. 'sOdhanai mEl..', I thought was slightly overdone much unlike 'sumaithAngi sAinthAl' in the same movie, superb singing.
  
  
• From: Mr. Observer (@ 64.105.35.147) on: Fri Jan 11 15:46:13 EST 2002
  
  rajaG, what are your comments on muthal kattai and ettam kattai ?:) (..and mugarakattai)
  
  
• From: Vishvesh (@ 66.24.214.34) on: Fri Jan 11 21:10:21 EST 2002
  
  I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said TMS, apart from his expert skills in singing, had the finest accent and pronunciation of Tamil language among all the singers TFM produced. His song “muthaitharu” is the finest example for his expert proficiency in tamil language. I have seen “Arunagirinathar” in which he acted, just for his songs and his beautiful accent of classical Tamil (it is amazing since tamil wasn’t his mother tongue ; it only shows the kind of devotion musicians of that era had towards their trade).
  
  His “chela kiLikaLAm paLLiyilE” still brings tears to my eyes for the emotional content. Needless to mention so many of his other songs. He belongs to another era of a greater music world which is lost to the present era which cannot make distinctions between music and sound…
  
  
• From: kik (@ 207.0.105.159) on: Fri Jan 11 22:41:04 EST 2002
  
  I also like the songs were he is not really trying to pour emotions/baavam. e.g. mantha maarutham thavazhum chandran vaanile thigazhum..., maduraiyil parantha meenkodiyai un kangalil kandene. Even obscure songs like the ones in kaviraaja kaalamegham are good. How about folk-style tunes like therodum enga singaara maduraiyile, theru paakka vanthirukkum siththinip penne (?)....
  
  
• From: Mr. Observer (@ 64.105.35.147) on: Sat Jan 12 05:41:09 EST 2002
  
  kik, TMS did excel in folk numbers too. Vishvesh, thanks for bringing up 'chella kiLigaLAm paLLiyilE' from 'enga mAmA'. A perfect rendition, deeply moving, a delivery style totally different from his own 'sorgam pakkaththil' and 'nAn thannanthani kAttu rAjA' in the same movie. Amazing isn't it, when it comes to playback singing, only a select few really measure up to it.
  
  
• From: yaaro (@ 195.93.50.152) on: Sat Jan 12 06:02:45 EST 2002
  
  //He belongs to another era of a greater music world which is lost to the present era which cannot make distinctions between music and sound… //
  that was very nicely put-it is all about sound nowadays isnt it?the clearer anything sounds the better it should be!
  
  
• From: Neel D (@ 24.98.40.99) on: Sat Jan 12 09:40:12 EST 2002
  
  Some singers have a sweet voice. Some have a great range. Some have good expression. Some singers are versatile with respect to characters, situations and music style. But TMS had all these qualities. That makes him "paadagar thilagam", in my opinion.
  
  
• From: kalai (@ 203.124.235.133) on: Sat Jan 12 10:44:05 EST 2002
  
  Well, very well said neel D.
  To rajaG :
  Yes, I am a hardcore fan of TMS , but I like SPB and KJY too. I could have reacted like this,if these kind of words like "kaatu kathal" "too nazzle" or some other words against them. These three legends brought so much of good songs to the TFM. We should not hurt them by our words. Thats why that long mail. If I am wrong, please correct me.
  Industry is not respecting them properly, but, as a music fans we should not have reservations. When kishore and rafi was alive, they got the proper respect from north. Till now, lata is enjoying the same respect. Asha also got"dada sahib balke" award. But PS or SJ didnt get even padnasri or padmabhooshan.Anyone can say that "Asha acheived more than PS?".No way. No one is bothering in the industry. As a fans, we are just condenming each others and most of the comments are biased. We should learn to respect the persons, when they are is alive. Without knowing the persons acheivements, without listening their songs properly we should not pass some bad comments on them.
  One thing, what was the technical growth that time? Singers was singing with the music troop, and if there is a mistake because of someone they have to start singing again. They used to record the from outside. With that kind of less fecilities, they have brought such wonderful music and songs. You should not underestimate their hardwork. Now, so much of technical growth. With this technical growth, and the experience we got for more than 50 years in film music,we could have proved more. Why we coulnt get that quality of songs now?. It was a business before also, they were singing for making money, but, the sinceority is missing now a days.
  Some can argue ," our MD,s proved in national and international market!!". Did our music reached international market? We are just try to follow their music or trying fusion.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: TMS_Virumbi (@ 207.172.47.106) on: Sat Jan 12 14:49:33 EST 2002
  
  Does any one know whether TMS is giving any stage show this year in the US or in India ?? I read last year he toured Malaysia with PS.
  
  Often when people make nasty comments about the great man, i feel only sad for these guys. I feel highly privileged for having grown up listening to TMS , TMS + PS songs and really think these guys have lost out a lot in life.
  
  The songs are just not good,it touches upon the lives. 'Anubhavachi' with involvement each and every song is sung. U can sense that .
  
  many a times i am deeply moved when i listen to
  'Paaloti Valartha Kili' (chellamma endhan chellamma),
  Un Kannil Neer Vazhinthal' (en thevayai yaar arivar unnai pol theivam ondre ariyum),
  'Thaazhaiyam poo mudichu (angam kurandhavanai azhagila aan maganai mangayargal ninaipadhundo ponnamma)
  'Sodhanai ' (adharam illayamma arudhal solla)
  
  

---

List all pages of this thread

Post comments