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Unnikrishnan Vs Hariharan

Topic started by Puri (@ 202.54.33.208) on Sat Aug 22 04:00:12 EDT 1998.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Hi guys,
Everybody compares IR with ARR or SPB with HH.I'am a fan of UnniK but I find Hariharan equally good.I would like to listen to your comments on this topic.Let us not make this a WWF match or a Slug Fest

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: rajaG (@ daecfp01.sprint.com) on: Fri Apr 30 11:34:40 EDT 1999
  
  Anand and Hari,
  
  Please DO NOT bring SPB into this discussion anymore. Playback singing is about combining histrionics with singing, both being given due importance. UK does not have a clue about giving expression and merely renders the song as he knows or has been taught to do. There is no 'bHavam' coming from within to add beauty to the song, to add value based on the situation. If he had even an inkling of what was going on, he would'nt have included inappropriate brigas in haay rabba, he would have sung Sonia Sonia with more punch, he would'nt have sung Thirakkaadha KaattukkuLLEy like a back up singer for a Qawwaali party, and right royally murdered his songs. And Hariharan - his singing spans 3 Octaves!!! yeah right. Anand, I seriously doubt if you even have an idea of what an octave is? Hariharan struggles in veNNilavEy veNNilavEy in the lines 'ada ulagai rasikka vEndum naan' and 'naam iravin madiyil piLLaigaL aavOm'. Of the singers I have heard, only Dr. BMK traverses 3 octaves and even he, only in his younger days and with some amount of falsetto in the upper octave. Give me evidence about HH and then let's talk. HH does justice only in ennai thaalaatta varuvaaLO type songs which are in any case within his area of expertise - Ghazal type that is. In uyirE uyirE he does a subtle brigaa in "pOnaal" in the line 'malar konda peNmai vaaraamal pOnaal' which is totally in conflict with his expression of lament in the rest of the song. Plus 'ennOdu kalandhu vidu' sounds at times like mazhalai and at times soft and romantic, when the lyrics and expression throughout the song is otherwise. Of the two I will choose HH, but trust me, everyday I regret that SPB is not singing as many songs as I wish he did, and the fact that I/We have to settle for lesser mortals.
  
  
• From: Srinath (@ ss02.nc.us.ibm.com) on: Fri Apr 30 11:39:15 EDT 1999
  
  rajaG:
  Wouldn't Konji Konji be a suitable number for HH ?
  
  
• From: hari (@ hud04a01.ml.com) on: Fri Apr 30 11:56:11 EDT 1999
  
  rajag,
  I was not bringing in SPB with no reason. I am
  big fan SPB and still maintain that he is the best. But that is no way going to stop me enjoying lesser mortals ( like u said, HH, UK).
  If we are going to list UK and HH -ve points, there are so many on SPB too.
  Why cant we just look at the good things, HH and UK have to offer us.
  I feel UK is very good in singing sad songs, where
  he puts adequate expression with out overdoing it
  ( k, SPB sucks by overdoing it, HH is too stiff)
  I am taking songs like 'aarror enbadellam', 'en penn endru pirandhai', 'veesum kattruku' to support this.
  Im finding more and more UK songs, easy to hum,
  and being more enjoyable than other's recent songs. It is strictly IMO.
  
  hari
  
  
  
  
  expertise about the voice quality or ability to reach octaves, atleast the techincalities.
  
  
• From: hari (@ hud04a01.ml.com) on: Fri Apr 30 12:01:06 EDT 1999
  
  pl ignore the last two lines
  'expertise about the voice quality or ability to reach octaves, atleast the techincalities.'
  
  thanx
  
  
• From: aruLarasan (@ psiphi.umsl.edu) on: Fri Apr 30 12:07:13 EDT 1999
  
  rAjAji :-),
  
  thanks for writing about the veNNilavE song. i heard it a long time ago (thankfully oru friend long time back abase paNNikkinu pOyttAn:-) ), but i remember HH struggling towards the end and slightly pisiRu thattum. mmm....
  
  another song he (with the help of mahAlakshmi) right royally murdered :-) was mIttAdha oru vINai. adhuvE oru mAdhiriyAna vague song and these were pOttipOttufying to see who kills it more. appA ALa vudunga.
  
  
• From: chandy (@ 209.125.83.228) on: Fri Apr 30 12:58:27 EDT 1999
  
  Hi
  
  Lets not bring SPB into this discussion as he belongs to a different class altogether. Hes supremo and any exercise comparing him to UK/HH would end up futile!
  
  RajaG, I feel you were a bit harsh when you said "Comparison between HH and UK is an exercise in establishing mediocrity in playback singing TFM." UK and HH belong to the second-league of singers we have today, and they arent as bad as you make them out to be :) Both have had their fair share of good songs too!
  
  Arualarasan/rajaG, when you guys criticize HH for the lines "ada ulagai rasika vendum", you should note the gambheeram with which he goes high in "Pennae.. pennae.. bhoologam ellame"!
  
  HH has an excellent range in his voice - he may not be comparable to Balamurali though!. HH is especially good in songs "Minnal oru kodi endan uyire thedi vandadhe..", "Mudhal mudalil parthen kaadal vandadhe", and even "Vennilave Vennilave".
  
  Regarding UK, he shouldnt sing songs like "Hayra-rabba" and "Sonia sonia" - he should stick to classical based numbers!! And how can someone say that he doesnt bring in "bhaavam" to his songs? His soft-voice is apt for bringing in good bhaavams and he does it well in songs like ennavale, and kanave kalayadhe. Of the contemporary singers we have today, UK is good in melodies and classical based numbers.
  
  chandy
  
  
• From: Ravi (@ hope.cs.umass.edu) on: Fri Apr 30 13:37:19 EDT 1999
  
  Guys.. lets try not to "lose" any discussion about SPB vs. HH by putting it out in the wrong thread. If you folks want to figt over SPB vs HH then do it in the appropriate thread.
  
  
• From: rameshb (@ stagfw.thehartford.com) on: Fri Apr 30 13:50:52 EDT 1999
  
  "UK does not have a clue about giving expression and merely renders the song as he knows or has been taught to do"
  rajaG your comparison is desecrating with callous disregard of his real potentials!
  Have you listened to 'kaNavE kalaiyAthE..'. He sounds equally vivacious, especially as he sings 'kaN jAdaiyil nee pEsainAi oar yAsagam'. I agree that his expressions are very much calculated and his emotions are not natural. But i think they are adequate many times as in the song 'naRumugaiyE naRumugaiyE' . His 'bhavams' are not ecstatic as your favorite singer (he goes 'over-board'!) , but are just enough to create the mood. When unnikrishnan sings in his natural voice without attempting any adventures by modulating his voice , he is certainly on par with your favorite singer for any upbeat and melodious numbers.He has a seamless high pitch rendering in 'bhArathikku kaNNamma' and sounds equally good as the other singer. He had a little 'sophisticated', emotional rendering in the song 'poovukkuL'(Jeans). But your favorite singer has the same problem with 'pathos' singing, especially in songs like 'vaigaraiyil vaigai karayil'(shedding too much emotions, going over-board). I want everyone (those who complain about Unnikrishnan saying he is lower profile than unnimenon!) to listen to 'tamizh isai mazhai ' from harikrishnans. Unnikrishnan as the lead singer in this song adores the song with his seamless rendition . He comes neck and neck with KJY and proves he is no underdog. Regarding HH , i have already given my views in another thread. Every singer has his strengths and weaknesses. Even your favorite singer!
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ kcecfp02.sprint.com) on: Fri Apr 30 14:54:35 EDT 1999
  
  rameshb,
  
  As Ravi has pointed out, I am NOT going to present the positives or occasional negatives of SPB's singing. He has rendered 30,000 plus songs. I would be stupid to say that all of them are perfect. In any case, Vaigaraiyil and VandhaaL mahaalakshmiyE have been one of those oft quoted examples. Though outside the scope of this thread, let me present a similar analysis in another thread - Ilayaraja copy adiththa paadalgaL. After 2 years of efforts the DFers have come up with 10 songs (rounded to the highest 10) which may be called copies/inspirations etc. BIG DEAL!! Compared to the 3,500+ songs he has composed that is insignificant and definitely an outlier. Placed against the 30,000 songs which SPB has sung, surely, there are probably 100 songs (pick a number) which could have been done better by somebody else, or by him.
  You are saying his 'vaigaraiyil' sucks. OK. However, he has done en kaadhalEy, naan paadum mowna raagam, nilaavEy vaa, kaadhal rOjavey....etc. etc... which all have varying degrees of pathos, and presented them effectively. If you disagree with all of them, then end of discussion - I can't go any further. However, if you agree, then it follows that while SPB has not rendered vaigaraiyil or vandhaal Mahalakshmiye (arguably) to your level of satisfaction, he has delivered tons of other similar songs as perfectly as only he could. My question is have UK and HH shown command over a wide variety of songs? NO. Both of them have certain types of songs which they can handle and certain other types which they, almost predictably, mishandle. END OF COMPARISON TO SPB. BTW over acting (Sivaji accused of) and over the board expression (SPB accused of) at least shows that there is acting/expression. Being 'flat' in these areas by other actors/singers, as the case may be, is not by 'careful intent'- it is a latent deficiency.
  
  Chandy,
  
  Please pay attention to the recording when you listen to peNNEy in veNNIlavEy. In both charanaMs these are non continuous with the earlier lines, which means HH was given adequate time to drum up all his energy and focus in delivering the line. I am sorry for sounding harsh in comparing HH/UK to SPB. But that is exactly how I feel. Hey, Udit Narayan has probably sung a lot of songs too. Would you like to have a discussion comparing his merits (if any) with Rafi/KK/Mannada. Before anybody starts pointing fingers, NO I'm not saying UK/HH are comparable to UN. I do not dislike them so much!!!!
  
  HH and UK,
  
  No offence to you guys (in case you are surfing!!). It is just that Anand roped you guys in with SPB, and I am sure even you two will shudder at such a thought:-)
  
  
• From: bb (@ franck.crhc.uiuc.edu) on: Fri Apr 30 15:13:44 EDT 1999
  
  rajaG: unga argument about SPB ellaam sarithaan, but pray, how r u justified in taking one bit from one song of HH and say he didn't sing it well, then?
  
  also, does variety play a role in justifying who is a best singer? if HH is most suited for ghazalish songs, then that should be taken as the strong point. one shouldn'tcriticize for what is not there:)
  
  
• From: Srinath (@ ss04.nc.us.ibm.com) on: Fri Apr 30 15:17:29 EDT 1999
  
  Oh ! All this while I thought ARR had sung the lines "pennae, pennae" from "Vennilave" !!! Now, don't get me wrong, Vennilave is one of the few songs of ARR that I really like ! Maybe HH can really sing in the nth octave, but if he is going to sound like ARR while doing that, how much credibility does it add to him as a singer ?
  
  
• From: Srinath (@ ss04.nc.us.ibm.com) on: Fri Apr 30 15:25:32 EDT 1999
  
  bb:
  rajaG mentioned one bit probably because sooner or later people are going ask him to quote examples. It is not that one single bit of HH that is bad, but a sample from a large portion of his songs, which he has sung badly. These small bits added together would probably be a significant portion of what HH has sung so far, but you can keep on adding similar bits to SPB's record and the flaw is going to be a negligible percentage.
  
  Variety is what brings about comparisions and with it questions on the mantle of greatness. If you do not criticize what's lacking, what do you expect to criticize ? :-)) That which is not lacking ?
  
  

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