Home   Forum   Wiki   Notes   Register   FAQ   Sitemap   About Us   Contact Us  

S.P.B sings others' songs

Topic started by bb (@ 216.217.80.201) on Mon May 14 20:40:59 EDT 2001.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Udhaya gave me these songs by S.P.B which are not originally sung by S.P.B. The songs can be found here: http://www.dhool.com/html/spb_other.html . It looks like this was done during a stage show (and the orchestra is patchy in several places). I personally feel that S.P.B has done a good job in a few songs, like nilavE ennidam nerungaadhE and poonkaathu thirumbumaa. It will be a good exercise to compare him with other singers in this regard. I wish more singers sing such classics that are not originally sung by them.

---

Responses:

• From: haris (@ 148.87.1.170) on: Mon May 14 23:23:16 EDT 2001
  
  is the female voice in 'solla thAn ninaikkirEn'??
  
  Great man!!
  
  
• From: haris (@ 148.87.1.170) on: Mon May 14 23:23:27 EDT 2001
  
  is the female voice in 'solla thAn ninaikkirEn' Asha bhonsle??
  
  Great man!!
  
  
• From: bb (@ 216.217.80.201) on: Tue May 15 11:04:58 EDT 2001
  
  i don't think so.. this is probably a stage singer, i think. the voice is very similar to AB's.
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ 207.43.195.202) on: Thu May 17 12:38:15 EDT 2001
  
  bb: It could be S.P.Sailaja.
  
  
• From: Udhaya (@ 63.198.207.133) on: Thu May 17 14:03:10 EDT 2001
  
  SPB does a great job on most renditions. I wish he had stayed away from Sirgaazhi's, "Devan Kovil Maniyoasai". If the original was like the sound of a resonant bell in a temple, this one is like a calling bell.
  
  Also, the choice of songs was strange. I wish he had sung, "Kaalangalil Aval Vasandham" or "Pon Enbaen" by PBS instead of the boring "Nilave Ennidam Nerungaathae".
  
  For Mano, I wish he had done a cover of one of the "Idhayaththai Thirudaathae" songs which were so butchered by Mano (sounding like a car with carburator problems) instead of "Thooliyilae" which is one of the better sung songs by Mano. Obviously, SPB sounds a million times better, but still he could have chosen to resurrect a fallen song.
  
  In all the other songs, SPB equals or eclipses the originals.
  
  
  
• From: kk (@ 198.4.92.5) on: Thu May 17 15:36:05 EDT 2001
  
  Udhya, Telugu version of Idhyathai thirudathe, most of the songs (all?) are by SPB.
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ 207.43.195.201) on: Thu May 17 18:19:22 EDT 2001
  
  Udhaya: I have to disagree with your equal/excel comment on oru naaL pOdhumaa - especially the thOdi, darbar, mohanam, and kaanadaa parts.
  
  But then, there are not (m)any who can equal BMK in these type of songs:-)
  
  
• From: haris (@ 148.87.1.170) on: Thu May 17 19:13:42 EDT 2001
  
  i expected him to sing 'poojaikkAga vAzhum poovai choorayAdal murayO!' from kAdhal Oviyam.
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 129.252.222.2) on: Thu May 17 19:17:57 EDT 2001
  
  Actually I felt that in most of the songs the original singers have done an adept job..there isnt much that SPB could do differently to enliven the songs more..and I agree..oru naal pothuma was not impressive at all..its a heck of a song even for a singer of SPB's calibre..BMK rendered it beautifully..
  
  
• From: Udhaya (@ 63.89.188.217) on: Fri May 18 13:39:33 EDT 2001
  
  rajaG,
  See, we differ in what we look for in a song. As a trained singer you look for gamakams and sangathis and technical dexterity. I just look for a sweet voice to render the song without compromising the language. I think this difference shows up in the singers we like and dislike. I have a basic dislike for Mano and Hariharan, both of whom you like. You dislike Unni whom I like.
  
  Coming to SPB's rendition of "Oru Naal", he does a decent job in my book, maybe technically he's not in par with BMK but I find BMK's kozha kozha singing very Thamizh-unfriendly. Perhaps SPB could have picked an easier song like "Chinna Kannan Azhaikkiraan" which was butchered by BMK.
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ 207.43.195.201) on: Fri May 18 17:16:28 EDT 2001
  
  Udhaya: First things first - This is a very difficult post for me, because you know how much I hold SPB in reverence. Having said that, there is a difference between singing andha arabic KadalOram and oru naaL pOdhumaa.
  
  Oru naaL pOdhumaa represents the audacity and authority of hEmanaadha baagavadhar and was rendered "naturally" by Dr. BMK - as anti-establishment as they come. If you take the phrases following azhiyaadha kalaiyendru...., isai kEtka ezhundhOdi...., enakkiNaiyaaga darbaaril..., kalaiyaadha mOhan suvai....., you will notice that BMK is in full control of what he can do. Plus he conveys in the delivery that "he alone" can do it i.e. there is a certain level of defiance in his delivery. I have seen BMK sing this song live too and trust me, he conveys the cockiness expressed in the song everytime. It is in these areas that the life of this particular song resides. There is absolutely no room for humility in this composition - NOT in lyrics, NOT in command of rendition.
  
  SPB by NOT handling the swaras and brigas crisply fails to convey this "cockiness". For example, for the briga at the end of kalaiyaadha mOhana suvai, BMK does an incredible finish with time to spare. I would liken it to a receiver walking into the end zone after beating the CB, all the while taunting him. Whereas, SPB finishes a slower version of the briga, barely in time.
  
  I repeat, this is NOT an easy song for anybody. I almost wish that SPB did not touch this. This may come to haunt me in my future passionate defense of SPB's capabilities.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: RangA (@ 64.209.142.190) on: Fri May 18 17:36:50 EDT 2001
  
  I may be a fly(ee) in kollan pattaRai, but to me it looks like SPB had decided to sing the songs exactly like the original. He was more trying to mimic the original singer. His clarity in pronunciation, sweet voice make it look better in some places and lack the original emotions in some others. He was not trying to improvise or make it sound better.
  
  
• From: MS (@ 129.252.222.2) on: Fri May 18 18:03:32 EDT 2001
  
  My take:
  
  endhap paadalukku uyirai thannudaiya muzu gavanaththaiyum kodukkum SPB, oruvELai ivatrai ellaam padangaLil paadi irundhaal innum arumaiyiagap paadi iruppaar. idhilE siridhu gavanam kuraivaagap padaadiyadhu pOla irukkiradhu.
  
  
  (1) aasaiyE alai pOlE:
  
  ayya - idhu oru thaththuvap paattu. the way SPB starts the song is not so appealing for which he makes up beautifully in charaNam. HE proves he is a good mimicry artist :-) HE changes his voice and delivers it in almost exaclty the same manner the original was. But a fine point to be noted here is the usage of lower scale. The scale of the original is high and it is DEFINITELY one of the prime reasons for the song to "pound" on you with a great force. That is indeed mising given the fact that SPB cannot sing in that high a scale.
  
  (2) Poonkaatru thirumbumaa :
  
  Thirumbum. SPB paadinaa thirumbum. aana sivaaji gaNEsanukku paadinaa thirumbaadhu :-) IMO, this song has been beautifully rendered by SPB but for a couple of negative points which can be attributed to my first statement of the post. This song is almost on the same lines as "pOguthE pOguthE" in which SPB does a heck of a job in expressing sadness. But poonkaatru has not been delivered with the right amount of "sogam". We pretty much know how a line can be rendered by SPB in a thousand fashions with the basic expression unaltered. In poonkaatru he has sung "enakkoru thaai madi kidaikkuma" totally insipidly. Mudhalla irundhu kadaisi varikkum copy paste paNNina maadhiri iruku. But for that and the lady singer's voice, this is just too good.
  
  (3) arabic kadalORam:
  
  kolai
  
  (4) oru naaL pOdhumaa:
  
  Wish to quote one of my friends' comments : "SPB yOda voice kuzaiyaradhu. BMK nalla gambeeram" - pretty much the same opinion of G and I dont have much say. But one point worth noting is the effort SPB has put in to learn this difficult composition. Quoting BMK : " SPB ellar maadhiriyum paaduvaar. aanaal ellOraalaum SPB maadhiri paada mudiyaadhu". SPB pretty much proves it :-) Still carnatic seems to elude SPB a bit :-)
  
  (5) Nilave ennidam:
  
  SPB aa PBS aa ? sorry - I can't pick. bhagesree ku azagu sERppadhu yaaROda rendition nu kEtta romba kashtam solradhu.
  
  (6) ennai thaalaatta:
  
  Listen to SPB's telugu version (chinnari chilukamma). IT is much better. I personally like HH's tamil veriosn of this song. But if u need compaison of SPB / HH, it is better done with "oru maNi adiththal". The telugu version of this song (SPB) is just tooooooooo good. ennai thaalaatta varuvaaLo..HH's version in tamil sounds better for one good reason - poor orchestration in SPB 's version. u can't help that influencing your opinion.
  
  (7)thooLiyilE
  
  This song is played a pace higher than the original. SPB's version would have sounded way better in the film as such..oh..how much I wanted to hear this song in SPB's voice..hmm..
  
  IMO, this album is a fantasy come true sans the minor negative points like the slightly below par performance of the orchestra.
  
  
• From: bm (@ 64.12.102.41) on: Fri May 18 18:27:27 EDT 2001
  
  i heard SPB sing Poneenben poovenben in a radio programme..along with Sjanaki. The CD seemed to be the recording of some kind of a stage show that felicitated Sjanaki ( held in madras in mid 2000 i think ) he sounded amazingly similar to PBS..particularly the lower octaves ...!
  
  
• From: bb (@ 216.217.80.201) on: Fri May 18 19:00:23 EDT 2001
  
  ranga, that's what i felt too.. it looks to me as though SPB tried his best to deliver the song just like the other singer.
  
  
• From: Philosopher (@ 12.89.135.250) on: Fri May 18 22:25:23 EDT 2001
  
  I think it really shows his guts and talent as a great singer to sing ery famous and difficult songs sung by other great singers - and still pass in most and be equally good in some and even excel in others. We should realize we have heard these songs over and over in other sigers style and voice and we may be biased a little bit when we hear SPB singing them. I think he has done a great job - as far as songs by BMK, TMS or SeerGazhi - it is hard for anyone else to bring the mood they automatically bring with the quality of voice and style of singing. I'm kind of curious to know if other sigers would have come this close trying 14 very different famous songs sung by other great singers.
  
  
• From: Rasigan (@ 64.228.136.154) on: Sat May 19 01:03:06 EDT 2001
  
  MS: What about "kaNNE kalaimmanE...."??
  
  
• From: Mujeeb (@ 194.170.168.237) on: Sun May 20 09:41:43 EDT 2001
  
  It was really nice and an innovative idea.I
  really enjoyed it.Except for the music.. I was
  happy to hear my heroe's voice.No one can get a voice like his.SPB is the best always.......
  
  
• From: Krish (@ 209.110.182.92) on: Mon May 21 20:18:08 EDT 2001
  
  I stopped listening to it after listening to a select few... I just couldn't tolerate the butchering... SPB should stick to what he has sung...
  
  Arabik kadalOram by SPB... Man... Horrible...
  And it was sad to see him trash one of my all time favourite Yesudoss numbers... Kannae kalaimaanae... Maybe he did justice to some of these... But I didn't have the energy to go on...
  
  Krish
  
  

---

List all pages of this thread

Post comments