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Discussion Thread on ARR's new albums
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A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by cynthia (@ 203.106.171.78) on: Tue Dec 11 11:22:46 EST 2001
cool movie
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Rahmana Kokka (@ 138.88.100.130) on: Mon Jan 14 12:49:27 EST 2002
LOVELY ...Super ...Great ...ALBUM
ITs GREAT!!! You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by komal (@ 210.212.195.10) on: Tue Jan 22 04:48:06 EST 2002
i would like to know the original lyrics of vande mataram.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by SUNDAR (@ 202.9.169.65) on: Sun Mar 10 11:45:43 EST 2002
it can only be done by rahman!
the real musician of india.
excellant songs.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Ksubramaniam (@ 203.125.6.130) on: Fri Jul 5 04:04:37 EDT 2002
i want to listen to asoka sons in tamil
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by UV (@ 134.113.4.207) on: Tue Aug 6 15:16:15 EDT 2002
The casette tag says
"Known is a drop,unkown is a ocean".
This movie's story is based on one man's self experiment and journey within in search of truth from being an atheist to a spiritual realized person.
Seeing the above story line
It should be a interesting score or is it ?
Will it have the usual jignostic songs of Rajini ?
Now for the review
1)Baba Theme Song(By Srinivas) - This is more of a mantra chanting . The sloka recited here is 'Ekamevaadwithiyam'(There is only one entity and that is paramathman-more on advaitic line) this song itself sets the mood of what you are expecting from the film. With a ambient sounds in background,the synths gently gliding on a scale close to panduvarali,setting the ambient atmosphere.
And an interesting ending with bells and voice reminding of Hans Zimmers score from Gladiator but put to good effect here. [Rating 5/5]
2)Maya Maya (by Karthick & Sujatha)- A melodious song with lots of philosophy into it and with romantic interlude!!?
Interesting arrangement of instruments with gently gliding of strings throughout the song once again very ambient and gentle choir and bass punches ,with foot tapping beat too. The heavy metaphysical lyrics is kind of pull down for me but still a very hummable and melo(toooooooooo)dious song.
[Rating 4/5]
3)Baba Kichu Kichutha -(SPB and Reena Bharadwaj)
This is the only romantic song of the movie. A very pep song indeed.
With interesting arrangements the BGM has the R&B,funk to Jazz feel to it reminded me of the 80s pop&r&b era.
Its a very different song I heard after a long time. There is interesting exchange between Bass guitar and Sax
in the first interlude. And ofcourse throughout the song you have bass guitar plucking its way :).
A nice keyboard punches after long time in tamil song.
If you listen carefully you can also hear our SPBs gentle humming inbetween(SPB rocks!!), new singer Reena Bharadwaj is also very good though her voice reminded of sadhana sargam.
Rating[4.5/5]
4)Dipu Dipu (Shankar Mahadevan)
A grand opening of a large scale than necessary and then dropdown to Bhangra,hmmm.... There is also a scale/octave change in charanam
This song is the mass number of the usual Rajini's song. Compares 3 stages of life with 3hr of cinema.
May be I heard too much of SM voice singing this kind of songs.
[Rating 3/5]
NOTE:Some of you might find this one very infectious sticking with you :)
5)Shakthi Kodu (Karthick)
I liked this song from the very first listening so will you. This song will wake you up. In this song Baba prays to Goddess Kalikagmba to give Shakthi to give him the power to fight the evil.
The song is set to Raag Yeman Kalyani. The Song itslef is set in 2 paces it goes with veera/ezhutchy bhavam and also with gentle bhakti bhavam.
ARR has used strings,backup vocals heavily for the ezhutchy bhavam and for the gentle bhakthi part he has used pleasant guitar strumming.
Nice lyrics and well sung by Karthik.
[Rating 5/5] Best Song of the Album.
6)Rajayama - This song doesnt fit the album may be more of a situational song to been seen with the movie. Still one can feel the influence of Sufi music on ARR in this song. Could have been better.
[Rating 2.5/5]
Musically one cannot find any fault with this Album. A very good one.
My personal take on this is that Mr.Rajinikanth wants to try something different from his usual movie style into more of a philosophical and insightful one.
It will be interesting to see how Mr.Rajinikanth's fans will react to this album. You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by dinesh scaran (@ 210.186.42.100) on: Fri Oct 4 00:03:43 EDT 2002
The album kicks in with the very catchy ye ye ennachu sung by
Vasundhara Das in manner that only she can. Next is a beauty of a
ballad sonnalum by Unnikrishnan and Harini.
Vaan nila by Srinivas and Karthik is a highly innovative rock-
n-roll track that would not let your feet rest. S P Balu is in his
usual fantastic form in the heart warming yenthan vanin. Rahman takes
off again into a very progressive FTV style track in bailmore with T
R Simbu and Tippu doing the vocal honours. And the album ends on a
grand note with Mano and Clinton going for the gut with o kadhale,
which also sits on an emotional high note in the movie.
Kaadhal Virus has all the ingredients of a typical Kathir-A R
Rahman soundtrack. A great mix of upbeat youthful tracks and soulful
ballads
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by UV (@ 134.113.4.207) on: Mon Oct 7 15:24:03 EDT 2002
For long ARR has been put in a straight jacket by our Dirs, as to come up with the same kind of dance oriented(read Prabu Deva type) songs.
After years and Bombay Dreams finally he is breaking away from the usual stuff that now everybody is able to come up with.
ARR has moved on to the next stage where he can boldly go into a direction where he is not compelled to
make same kind of songs. And Kadal Virus comes in this category a superb album.
ARR has given a very youthful and interesting songs with new dimensions in sound and approach.
The wizard is at his best in spinning the magic.
Let us begin with
1)Ye ye Enna achu - The song opens with a great R&B,hiphopish hummming.
with the sensual voice of Vasundara das, you go girl !!
And when you think aha a hip hop song,more surprise coming in your way.
Soon the strings,cello join the main vocals setup a different pace.
The string bridges gives a very 'European pop' feel to it.
As the song progress you can see sound wizardy of ARR comes into play.
The voices ,vocals and external sounds are mixed in a unique way.
You get feel of Vasundharas voice and the vocals is surrounding you from all corners.
And so many intereseting things on this song.
Watchout for little 'Tisram' by the drums at(1:43,56).
The cello and violin used brilliantly they beautifully compliment song.(2:05 -2:18)
And an interesting counterpoint backing vocals(2:23).
This is one dynamic song, not a dull moment in this song
The only knee jerking point is that 'Mavane' threatning us in a cute way :).
This song is going to dominate the dance floors.
[8.5/10]
2)Sonnalum - The melodious song of the album wonderfully rendered by Harini and Unni.
The song has shades of Raag Bihag and Desh.
A very melodious accompaniments layout in this song we have veena,flute,thavil,kanjira and morsing.
They all add beauty to this wonderful song. And one more impressive feature is the strumming for this song,
very interesting it progress and matches throughout the song.
[9/10]
3)Yenthen Vanil- SPB ,Swarnalatha combination after long time. And SPB proves why he is still the Male
Lata Mangeshkar of South. Effortless singing from this evergreen voice.
There is also nice 'SPB harmonies' in this song.
And SPBs famous chuckle with swarnalatha is also there.
ARR sticking up to a straighforward melody in this song. But wait, for those who are looking for more there is coolbeats mix following SPB in the background if you keenly observe it takes its own course and havings its duel with dong bells.
[8/10]
4)Vaan Nila - A great blues opening ,setting up a dark mood but soon it picks up in high hip mode.
A great Jazz/blues oriented song.
The song changes the pace with sax accompanied by the piano and later joined by Vocals(Karthik).
And later again goes into those dark deep blues mode.
You can definitively say a "never before attempt in tamil songs"
Kudos to ARR for breaking a new trend in Film Song structure.
There is great interlude between Sax and Piano man this is simply mindblowing stuff.
There is so much into this song amazing piano rolls,rivetting drumming,soul stealing sax leads
A true blues songs in tamil. And my salute to piano and sax player great work.
[9/10]
5)Baila More - A foot tapping techno beat song. With interesting twist of panduvarali shades to it
And acoustics of songs is interesting is that when the pallavi repeated it is as if you are listening under water
(with wah wah sound).The let down on this song for me is the repeating sound sample(vocals).
And hard to follow lyrics,well with techno music usually there are no lyrics,so sadly lyrics doesn't matter here.
[6/10]
6)O Kadhale - A decent song but didn't gel with me.Eventhough there were some interesting backing pop stack vocals.
Manos voice somehow sounded very ordinary.
[4/10]
[PS]For those copying my review please atleast acknowledge before you post it in your site thanks -UV You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by dinesh scaran (@ 210.186.42.30) on: Wed Oct 30 23:54:53 EST 2002
In an interview to Ananda Vikatan,Shankar was asked how the absence
of any blockbusters from Rehman in recent times would affect on
Boys,Shankar had this to say...
" I dont care about Rehmans record.We had a good time once again and
we sat in long sessions experimenting with sounds since this is a
highly youthful subject.I am completely satisfied with the music.Its
no old sounds.All sounds are new.So expect a difference.Rahman and I
are goin in for a double hatrick"
___________________________________________________
Shankar has given an extensive interview in the latest (Diwali
Special) issue of Kumudam. One of the question is on Rahman and it
goes thus!
Q: Rahman has not given any big hits in recent days. How's the music
of Boys?
A: I'm demanding what I want as usual. We are working hard to create
what we call 'trend-setting' music. I can say that the music in Boys
will not be what we've been hearing so far. It would surely be new
and pathbreaking. I'm sure people will like the music in Boys.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by dinesh scaran (@ 210.186.42.68) on: Mon Nov 18 06:17:04 EST 2002
Two reviews of Saathiya from MouthShut.com
A.R.RAHMAN is back with a bang!The latest offering from him after the
moderately successful TLOBS and BOMBAY DREAMS is SAATHIYA which is
the directorial debut of Shaad ali(Muzaffar ali's son).Saathiya is a
remake of the Tamil film Alai Payuthey and stars Vivek oberai and
Rani mukherjee(interesting cast).Even the music of the film has been
redone in hindi and its absolutely brilliant as expected from
Rahman,though the original was slightly better.I just loved the
soundtrack of Alai Payuthey,but just could not hum the songs coz i do
not know the language but now that the songs have been translated in
hindi i can enjoy them even more.Rahman dazzles you with some
wonderful compositions in Saathiya combined with the poetic lyrics of
Gulzar.
There are nine tracks in the album out of which two are original.
The album opens with the title track SAATHIYA which is on air now-a-
days and is a sure shot winner.This song is very soft,soothing and
pleasant to the ears and also has a very catchy tune which makes you
instantly fall in love with it.Its a very fresh tune and is not your
regular romantic number in terms of music and lyrics.And what makes
this song stand out is the way it has been sung by SONU NIGAM......he
is just too good and so is the song.
CHALKA CHALKA RE is kind of a marriage song with the emphasis on
instruments like Dholak and Shenai,giving it a very traditional North
Indian feel.Its a very sweet and likeable song with some really nice
lyrics.The song has been brilliantly sung in unison by
MAHALAKSHMI,RICHA SHARMA,VAISHALI and SHOMA.Definately one of the
better numbers in the album.
AYE UDI UDI........well this song too has a nice tune,but i think
this song has been spoiled by the way it has been sung by ADNAN
SAMI,his voice is not suitable for these hindi film songs.Moreover
his diction isn't very clear........so its difficult to understand
what he is singing.It could have been a brilliant song had it not
been for the singing.
CHUPKE SE.....is a pleasure to listen(though the original SNEHIDENE
is still the best)and is one of the most beautifully composed song of
Rahman.The opening of the song is good with MURTUZA and QADIR singing
a few lines and then SADHANA SARGAM takes over with her magical voice
(Why don't our music directors use her voice more often?).The lyrics
are nice too though a bit complexed....and it takes time to
understand them.Chupke se is the kind of song which mesmerises you.
O HUMDUM SUNIYO RE\MAGALAYAM.........O humdum is my absolute
favourite fom the album.This song ROCKS.Its kind of a club song and
is great in terms of sound and music.The song is very catchy and has
a lot of funk and is sure to make you dance to the
tune.SHAAN,KK,PRAVIN MANI and KUNAL have sung the song with
elan.MAGALAYAM on the other hand is a much slower and shorter version
of the song O HUMDUM but is great nevertheless.Its a sad song and
starts off with a sanskrit sholak.The singing honours are done by
KK,SHAAN,KUNAL and SREENIVAS.Both these songs are just awesome.
MERA YAAR MILA DE(Original)is a brilliant song,the kind of songs we
associate Rahman with.Its a very passionate kind of a song and the
lyrics convey a lot of pain and sadness.The music in this song has a
very SUFIANA feel to it.........a bit like Satrangi re from Dil
se.RAHMAN has sung the song himself and must say he sounds impressive
coz it is not the most easy song to sing.Mera yaar is a great song
but also a kind of song which you may not like instantly.
NAINA MILAIKA(Original)is a very melodious and sweet song with a
classical feel to it.The instrumentation is also very good......and
this song also has a very North Indian touch in terms of music.Even
the lyrics are in Bhojpuri.Overall a very nice song brilliantly sung
by SADHANA SARGAM and MADHUSHREE.
The albm ends with CHORI PE CHORI which has been sung by the
versatile ASHA BHOSLE and KARTHIK.Its a very peppy and fast paced
number with heavy instrumentation........this song reminds me a lot
of JUMBALIKA from Thakshak,though i prefer the latter.Asha bhosle has
done a great job singing the song but musically i found the song a
bit too ordinary and also the English rap which has been used in the
song spoils it.
Overall the music of Saathiya is great and definately one of the best
of the year.If you have heard the original ALAI PAYUTHEY,you may not
find SAATHIYA that good but if you haven't heard the original you are
gonna love it.I have heard both the albums and i 'ld say both R-O-C-K.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by saregamaremix (@ 206.165.164.100) on: Mon Dec 23 17:21:33 EST 2002
A lyrics & music review of Saathiya,
a remake of the tamizh movie,
'Alai Paayuthey' available
via
http://browser.to/saathiya You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Nalla Sivam (@ 211.24.28.205) on: Sat Feb 22 04:04:23 EST 2003
This is the brief song listing in udaya.. Full review is coming soon.
Just to ARR fans !!!!!!!!
Pookum Malarkalai
Hariharan
Udhaya Udhaya
Hariharan,Sadhana Sargam
Thiruvallikeni Rani
Sukvinderi Singh,Karthiki
Enna Enna
Shankar Mahadevan,Gopika Poornima
Anjanam
S.P.Bala,S.Janaki You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Connoiseur of Music (@ 68.48.209.93) on: Sat Mar 8 21:43:53 EST 2003
After a long time, an exhilarating Rahman album.
1.Enna Enna - This is a peppy song, at the same time, Shankar Mahadevan is able to add emotions into the song!!! I havent heard songs like this for a long time, where a catchy song has melody + emotion.Great lyrics too 10/10
2.Thiruvallikeni Rani - Another great song. The only possible flaw is Sukhvinder's pronunciation. His voice is a major asset, so is the "rehanuma". A definite hit, sure to be popular with the masses.Catchy lyrics here too. 10/10
3.Pookkum Malarai- This is a melodious song. However, it reminds me of certain other tunes of Rahman, and towards the middle, it sortof starts to get boring. But heck, a great song nonetheless.
9/10
4. Sirikkum Thamizh - A decent number. I would rate this as the weakest link of the album. The only flaw, which in my opinion is its greatest flaw, is Janaki's voice. She sounds like an old hag!! There is no way that this voice can represent simran! Except for the female singer, fine song, catchy. 8/10
5. Udhaya Udhaya - This is a duet, but it is a melancholy melody. The best words to describe this song are "sad" and "beautiful". 9.5/10
On the whole, a great album. Great music, and excellent lyrics. Rahman has delivered the goods yet again.
You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Connoiseur of Music (@ 68.48.209.93) on: Sat Mar 8 21:44:33 EST 2003
After a long time, an exhilarating Rahman album.
1.Enna Enna - This is a peppy song, at the same time, Shankar Mahadevan is able to add emotions into the song!!! I havent heard songs like this for a long time, where a catchy song has melody + emotion.Great lyrics too 10/10
2.Thiruvallikeni Rani - Another great song. The only possible flaw is Sukhvinder's pronunciation. His voice is a major asset, so is the "rehanuma". A definite hit, sure to be popular with the masses.Catchy lyrics here too. 10/10
3.Pookkum Malarai- This is a melodious song. However, it reminds me of certain other tunes of Rahman, and towards the middle, it sortof starts to get boring. But heck, a great song nonetheless.
9/10
4. Sirikkum Thamizh - A decent number. I would rate this as the weakest link of the album. The only flaw, which in my opinion is its greatest flaw, is Janaki's voice. She sounds like an old hag!! There is no way that this voice can represent simran! Except for the female singer, fine song, catchy. 8/10
5. Udhaya Udhaya - This is a duet, but it is a melancholy melody. The best words to describe this song are "sad" and "beautiful". 9.5/10
On the whole, a great album. Great music, and excellent lyrics. Rahman has delivered the goods yet again.
You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Jaiganesh (@ 208.246.35.240) on: Mon Jul 14 11:04:45 EDT 2003
Hi all,
Boys is definitely a new kind of album in tamil film history. I thought it might be a "Dil Chahta hai" kind of album. But I was surprised. It was 3+3 songs. Side A had 3 great songs and Side B (in cassette) had 3 songs which could have been done better(ARR u have a higher standard). The best of the album is Alle Alle(Egiri gudhithen) by Karthik and Chitra Shivaraman(Good voice). The lyrics are by Kabilan (incidentally This album has only two tamil songs and both of them are written by Kabilan). The song expresses the moment of Joy and the joy of the moment when one expresses Love. Beautiful lyrics (nothing fancy but earthly words) and as usual ARR has decorated the lyric with a fast + melodious (ARR style) song. Karthik is bustling with joy in this song and so is Chitra.The other tamil song in the album is boom boom (Kadhal adhu dhan idhu dhan) by adnan sami and Sadhna sargam. Again beautiful concept and lyrics (Kabilan wonder ful imagination about mushrooms and leaches and earthworms ). Sadhna sargam's Tamil diction is great. Her voice simply puts you over the top in this song. Let down is Adnan saami's voice. I was confused whether I was listening to a remix or original, coz the voice was so synthetic and stale. He is a good singer could have been used like Sonu Nigam, but ARR has let this song down by using Sami in the way he has. all said and done it is a good song. Te Dating song is a good piece to hear if you don't care about the lyrics. If you do then this song is not for you. It is about boys begging girls for converting their friendship into Love(how stupid!!). Compared with the Alle alle song this song is so shallow and lacks bite. But the saving grace is the voice of vasundhara dass . Another similar song is Girl friend vendum. Rock music kind of song with liberal use of Electric guitars , is good to hear again. But sadly lyrics are a let down. Voice of Karthik saves the day for ARR in the end. B side songs are unbearable. I only listen to A side songs (Girlfriend vendum, Dating is a fantasy, alle )and Kadhal idhu dhan(adnan sami). If I see the movie, i may change the opinion abt other songs. (Lucky ali sings in an inconsequental song). I read a recent interview in which shankar said that the album has new sound to it.But the sound should be good. ARR has done better sound already (remember thiruda thiruda). Seems only Manirathnam can get the best out of ARR.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by rosario (@ 219.65.96.199) on: Wed Oct 1 03:12:33 EDT 2003
rahman continous to be the best md through boys.he is at his percussion best.boys has some excellent foot tapping numbers like girlfriend,dating,maro...&secrat of success!!!!and a beautiful melody ale ale...!boom boom is simply superb.rahman rocks!!!
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by sureshkumar (@ 203.129.195.138) on: Fri Nov 14 06:00:57 EST 2003
to read my review on Lagaan album
click here
http://www.mouthshut.com/readreview/46797-1.html
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by sureshkumar (@ 203.129.195.138) on: Fri Nov 14 06:02:47 EST 2003
TO READ MY REVIEW ON TOP 20 SONGS OF ARR
CLICK HERE
http://www.mouthshut.com/readreview/46797-1.html
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by simran02r (@ 210.210.32.59) on: Sun Nov 30 08:33:07 EST 2003
hi guys check out rahmans latest?!!!!!1 You can listen to this album here.
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Balasubramaniam Jayaraman (@ 12.14.115.37) on: Fri Dec 19 15:48:40 EST 2003
It is a pity someone (Karthick) give 5/5 for the Shakthi Kodu. Ayo yebha. If you listen (rather view the song in Film) to that song, a believer would become an atheist. Wrotter picturisation and Dance sequence. God would never get impressed by this song after seeing so many good Bhakti songs. Certainly, i am not a Rajni hater. I like good films. I remember seeing 4/5 for Kich kichu thaa. Hello it can be give 7/5 (good lyrics and for the slokam (as the tuned looked a slogam rather than a song).
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Swaps (@ 202.149.218.62) on: Sat Dec 20 08:27:51 EST 2003
Sri Surya Movies & A.M.Rathnam return after successful innings of "BOYS" with their latest offering "Enakku 20 Unakku 18". This is their home production as its Jothikrishna's (Rathnam's son) directorial debut. After Boys, the Tamil Film industry is abundant with youth-oriented ideas. E20U18 is no exception. The tagline clearly says 'Strictly for Uth'! Creatively speaking, there's nothing new to offer. It has the same appeal as any other teen-film would have. But when we'r talking of creativity, it does not only restrict to the story or direction or even the cast. It was said somewhere in a news magazine that Jothikrishna was hell-bent on signing Rahman to score the music & A.M.Rathnam had warned him about Rahman's time delays. But Jothikrishna stuck to his will & went ahead. The movie went thru 2 long, interrupted years in the making. Will the movie succeed? Well, we can decide that only after it releases. But what really matters is the music. Last few years, Rahman has faced a lot of criticism & discomfort with Tamil films. Thats the reason why ARR is cautious while choosing his Tamil films. Boys could be marked as a returning vehicle for him & thanks to Rathnam to have faith in Rahman. Rathnam-Rahman combo has worked wonders in the past with 'Mudhalvan' & now 'Boys'. E20U18 is being simultaneously released in Telugu as "Nee manasu nakku telusu". The music is already creating waves, I hear. Afterall, who else can be trusted than Rahman to churn out some great songs which have a universal appeal?
The film has 6 youthful songs & ARR introduces a lot of new talents as usual. The lyrics r handled by the talented Pa.Vijay. After Vairamuthu & Valee, ARR has a good rapport with Pa.Vijay. The cast includes young actors like Tarun, Trisha, Shriya & the ever-dependable Vivek.
Rating: *****Mind-blowing; ****Good; ***Average; **Cud have been better; *Worse
1. Azhaginna azhagi (Surjo Bhattacharya, Shreya Ghoshal):
After a long time, Rahman returns to what he's best at- Folk. This song reminds me of old, vintage Rahman stuff like Pudhiya Mannaragl, Karuthamma, Vandicholai, Kizhakku Cheemayile, etc. Typical folk beats, rhythm & rustic percussions. This song introduces the immensely talented Shreya Ghoshal into Rahman's forray. Shreya has already sung many Tamil songs with Illayaraja, Karthikraja, Bhardwaj & a hoard of telugu composers. After listening her in Devdas, I always felt that she should sing for Rahman someday. She has one of the sweetest voices in the industry after Lataji. On the other hand, Surjo sang the tarana form "Thakshak" & if I'm not mistaken, its the same person who sang "Kathakalli" from Parsuram. Its a novel choice to make such singers sing a typical folk song.
The song has a unique start. For beginners, it may sound like a mess. One wonders what's going on? Its only after reapeated, concentrated hearings that one is able to figure out that he's playing with the rhythm meter. It starts with heavy drums & other folk percussions. There's a constant digital voice going on in the bakground. Rahman utilises the same technique what he used in "Manmadha masam" from PP. He keeps on changing the meter of the song from 2/4 to 6/8. The rhythm is instantly catchy as it has whistles, guitars, nadaswaarams & lots of hard percussions, typical 'kooththu' stuff. It sounds as if a competition is going on between 2 teams. This all has to be Sivamani's inputs. When the beat becomes 2/4 double, it resembles the starting beats of "Madrasa suttippakkum" from May Madham. The beats stop for the main song to commence. Harmony takes its lead to sing a typical jathi "Takathimi takathimi taa". The main rhythm enters with the ooudh piece leading to the vocals. It resembles a lot like the rhythm used for songs like "Dolna" from Parsuram. Dholak & chenda being the main percussion. After a long time, Rahman uses the Ooudh (a string instrument form Middle-East sounding very much like a mandolin or a rabab). He had used this instrument long back in 'Indian'. Surjo starts the song which has typical telugu-sounding words like 'askaava', 'vastaava'. This is because of the film's bilingual nature. The harmonies used in these words r worth an ear. The phrases "panavendaam...nagaivendaam" r instantly catchy & hummable. Shreya repeats the lines. Her voice has been used for both the actresses & hence u'll find double-layered voices. Thru out the song, u'll hear rhythmic permutations & combinations excellently executed by Sivamani. The 1st interlude has soft thavils jamming up with the ooudh. The ooudh piece resembles a lot like the interlude piece of "Lucky lucky" from Ratchakan. Its based on Raga Peelu employing both the gandhars. But again, its got a typical folk appeal. This type of tune was used by Naushad during yesteryears. After the ooudh piece, Rahman jazzes up the melody with a tihaai.The charnams are apt & mostly based on a question-answer situation. Its clear when u see the picturisation. Its between 2 teams- boys & gals. Shreya doesnt get much to sing as most of the lines have been sung by the female harmony together.The male & female harmony stands out in the whole song. Moreover, some may debate about her pronounciations. I m nobody to comment on that as I dont understand a word. But what comes instantly to my mind is the word "Azhagi" which Shreya has pronounced as "aLagi". Its a very minute observation. The tamil listeners cud judge that better. The highlight of the song is the 2nd interlude. I love this typical folk instrument. I think its called the pambai or urumi. It gives a resonating effect with high bass. It had been used in "maanothu mandhayila" from KC & Padaiyappa. The nadaswaram is nostalgic. It reminds of the olden days. I m sure the local public is gonna love this bit. The beat doubles after a while with an amalgam of different percussions. The charnams r same. Shreya's voice in the upper notes becomes very shrill at times. Actually, she should be given more romantic numbers. She was terrific in 'Jism'. But this is just the beginning. She has a long innings to cover. The song as usual has lots of percussions & side-rhythms. Its an instantly catchy song- typically dance-gaana number. But again, I was disappointed with the end. It just ends abruptly. Rahman should have ended it with a tihaai or faded it out. The beat just stops till u come to know that the track has ended. But its a good start for the album.
Rating: ****
2. Santhippoma (Unnimenon, Chinmayi, Anupama):
This i one of the sweetest songs in recent times. Great melody! Typically western-ballad kinds. Chinmayi's becoming a favourite of ARR nowadays. After an excellent rendering of 'Kannathil' & a bit-song 'Please Sir' from Boys, she regales this song with apt emotions & innocence. She's got a different voice-culture, very polished. It wud be great to hear semi-classical or ghazals from her. Unnimenon too joins ARR after a long time. The last time it was "Macha machiniye" from Star. Till now, people used to title him as 'Duplicate Yesudas', but this time they wud be wrong. He sounds so young & different here.
The song immediately starts with Chinmayi's sweet vocals without any beats. The background has lots of cosmic sounds as if someone's travelling in space. The song has words like 'jupiteril', 'neptune', etc. Someone was complaining about Chinmayi's high-pitch, but after some hearings, becomes normal. The beat starts with techno stuff- heavy bass while Anupama whispers the first 2 lines. Unni humms the lines where there's a cute whistle-kind of a sound. The beats r very peppy with great melody.The lines "mudhal murai kadhal vayam" have come out very well. Whenever Chinmayi sings 'Santhippoma' without the beats with just chords, its amazing. Gradually, the rhythm enters & the song paces up. ARR has used African congos at this time. Bass guitar work is mind-blowing as usual. The 1st interlude has the same humming by female harmony along with the strings. The charnams have tpical recreational words like beaches, icecream, snowball, meeting, dating, coffee, billiards. Its like a conversation between two teens. I love the melody & chords during the lines 'oru spoonai vaiththu icecreamaipathipathi thinnalaam eppada...'. The harmony lead the charnam by "ooaaooaa..." towards the end for the main pallavi. The 2nd interlude has heavely strings section. The changing of chords during 3.35 mins is something very touching. Typically Rahman stuff. The percussions get heavier towards the end to create a climax. The charnam structure is the same.
After returning to the pallavi once, ARR signs the song with his regular key-change. He lifts the pitch by a note higher like in many of his songs-'Oohlalala', 'Sa ri ga me', 'Humma humma', etc. The strings give beautiful support thru out & the same piece of the 2nd interlude has been used towards the end when the harmony sings. Chinmayi ends the song aptly. Overall, the song is very hummable, & stands in league of many good melodies created by ARR.
Rating: ****
3. Kama kama (Anupama, Aparna, Kunal, George, Blaaze):
This song directly slips in from the 'Boys' arena. Nowadays, ARR is giving lot of stress on Rap & this credit goes to Blaaze. After 'Chori pe chori' & 'Dating', Blaaze has been singing in practically every movie. He even writes the English lyrics. So, its a package deal for Rahman. This song is no diffrent. It follows the tagline 'Strictly for Uth'. The song does not have anything new to offer, but is a peppy, youthful number.
The song starts with heavy bass & crowds shouting loud. The digital voice keeps counting '1..2..3..4...' thru out in the background. The punchline 'Bling ding-a-ling' is very catchy & something novel. The female harmony repeats the lines & the church bells (also used in 'Secret of Success' & 'khoyi khoyi aankein') follow. The greatest surprise is the voice. Whose voice is it? It instantly resembles that of Shaggy. It cud be George or he must have digitally manipulated the voice to sound a bit like Shaggy. Whatever the case, it sounds great. The entire song is a blend of English-Tamil. Blaaze's voice can be clearly heard in 'Fall in love' while the female voices support. Aparna is a new singer but her voice has been mixed with Anupama. The second time when they repeat the lines 'Fall in love', chords enter with a hevy french-horn+sax kinda instrument. Most of the instruments in this song have been reproduced either digitally or on the keyboards. Again, needless to say, the song has been composed keeping the international standards in mind. The interludes r short & to the point. no specific instrument used. Only focus on percussions. The charnam is very sweet & has melody. The chords progression needs special mention. The song doesnt have a set structure. In the interlude, one can hear a sitar kinda sound(definitely on the keyboards) but thats something very normal with other composers who dont use a lot of live instruments. This piece is losely based on Raga Abheri (Bhimpalasi). The punch lines 'bling ding..' go on which become like an anthem of the album. The song has only 1 charnam & the rest of the time, its just playing with the lyrics & the punch lines. The song is quite peppy & will be a hit among youngsters. It follows the 'Boys' trend. Its become a trademark of ARR to give one such tune in each film these days.
Rating: *** 1/2
4. Oru nanban irunthaal (Chinmayi, S.P.Charan, Venkat Prabhu):
Rahman seems to be favouring Chinmayi a lot. She deserves that. She has a great voice & a very different one indeed. Charan returns after a short stint in 'Boys'. A new find, again...Venkat Prabhu is the son of the popular singer Gangai Amaran.
The song has a baeutiful start. One of the best preludes composed by ARR in recent times. It has mouth-organ with hawaiin guitars. Like the start of 'Khamosh raat' from Takshak. The immediate follw-up on the keyboards reminds me of Rahman in olden films like 'Kadhal Desam', 'Minsara Kanavu', etc. Its a very sweet melody. The male singer starts the song by humming & faintly u can hear Rahman's voice going 'Eeyoo' in the ambience. Bass guitars compliment the heavy, youthful percussions. Its more of a college rock-band type song. A similar sitar-sounding instrument then plays the melody (like in 'Nahin saamne' from Taal or 'Enthan vaanil' from Kadhal Virus). He layers the sound of the sitar with the piano & the outcome is excellent. The main song starts with Chinmayi's vocals. The male portion has some musical harmonies. The lines 'Nam peyiril...' by the boys sounds great; almost like chanting! The flow from an upper octave to a pause on Shuddha Dhaivat in the lines 'inthu ulagil migapperum ezhai' is mind-blowing. It sound like Ragam Shahana. The 1st interlude has guitars, mouth-organs & then Chinmayi's alaap. The charnams have the male singers sing one-by-one while Chinmayi rounds up to return to the pallavi. In the charnam, the beat singles down putting more emphasis on the melody & lyrics. The last lines of the charnams where all the singers sing, has an amazing chord. Very different from the rest of the song. These r the special moments one treasures from ARR's songs. The 2nd interlude has hard percussions alosng with trumpets. The percussion melows down for a guitar-trumpet conversation. The trumpets give a jazz-like feel. The 2nd charnam is same. The song has aan amzing blend of melody+energy. Its sure to become a rage among teenagers. The song inspite of being youth-oriented, has lots of Carnatic influence at many places. Thru out the song Rahman has tried to create diffrent harmonies for male & female singers. Whenever the female sings in higher octave, the male hamonise in the lower octave. It gives a picture of totality. Overall the song is great & is sure to list in one of the better-composed songs by ARR.
Rating: ****
5. Yedho yedho ondru (Karthik, Gopika Poornima):
This is most romantic number of the album. If u hear the song, it instantly reminds u of 'Udhaya udhaya'; the biggest reason being Raga Charukeshi. Even the treatment & arrangements r similar. I think ARR was disappointed that such a great tune was wasted as the film never saw the day light. Udhaya was a brilliantly composed song- technically & emotionally. Same cud be said here. The song has the passion, feel & the right balance of romance with sensitivity. ARR is fascinated with this Raga I assume. Its also used in 'Blue Light' from WOHE. No other composer has explored this Raga as ARR has. He ropes in his current favourite, Karthik to team up with another upcoming singer, Poornima. She has sung "Poorkalam" from Thenali. That was a beautiful composition & I had liked her voice immensely. She sounds close to Chitra & Sujatha. She was also a part of "Enna enna" from Udhaya. She's got this husky, soft voice which just flows thru ur ears.
ARR's glides his fingers on the piano to commence the song. The beats r normal as the emphasis is on the melody. Karthik & Poornima begins with a short alaap in the tune of the song. The main song starts. Karthik's vocals in the lines 'aayulreiga neelachcheigirathey' r amazing. His base voice is very much impressive. The halt on Pancham in the lower octave (Mandra saptak) creates a passionate ambience. 'Uyire idhayam...unakke unakke' r the lines of immense energy. The cymbals drift thru with the tympani for the interlude to begin. The most enchanting piece of the violin makes u crave for more. Kalyan is the magical man behind the souful violin. Charukeshi's pensive mood suits the melancholy of the violin. The piano takes over with a change in the melody along with the strings. The charnam is upto the mark. Both the singers excel in rendering this beautiful masterpiece. ARR shifts a bit from Charukeshi in the lines 'Sooriyanai pole..' just to give the song more freedom. After the charnam, both singers sing alternate lines in a faster tempo. First Gopika sings while Karthik remains (harmonises) in the lower octave & vice-versa. Thru out the song, Gopika sings the lines 'Yedho yedho' with different harqats. Thats just magical! The 2nd interlude has the marvellous Strings section (ably executed by Srinivasamurthy) bowing to their violins & cellos. This piece in the beginning resembles a lot like the strings in 'Chale chalo' from Lagaan. It is played in traditional Symphony manner, not adhering strictly to the raga. Again towards the end, Kalyan enters with his violin with church bells in the background which sounds very Irish+Scottish. The most beautiful moment is when he returns to Charukeshi by mildly touching the Komal Dhaivat at the end. Rest of the charnam is same. The addition here, is the violin is constantly playing behind the singers (just as ARR doesnt leave any empty space). This song has many highlights- piano, violin, strings, vocals & ablove all, the arrangement which I dont think any composer other than ARR acn boast of! The strings gather momentum towards the end. The voice-synchronisation in the alaap during the end is Rahman all the way. Full marks! This song is a relief from the usual rock & pop songs that we mostly hear these days. It reassures that Indian Classical music is there to survive! The picturisation compliments the song very well. Jothikrishna has taken pains to create the magical effect by shooting this one song in 95 international locations. Thats quite a thing!
Rating: *****
6. Asathura (Srinivas, Chitra Sivaraman, Mathangi, George):
The last song on the album. Nowadays we feel that ARR should compose more number of songs. All his latest films carry only 5-6 songs. Paarthale had 9 beautiful songs while TLOBS was abundant with 10. We can undersatnd the immense pressure he must be going thru. On one hand he has hand-full of Hindi projects & otherside, balancing International assignments. And then, whenever a film gets delayed, the blame is conveniently put on ARR.
ARR's one-time favourite Srinivas returns after a long gap. These days he's prefering Karthik. Also, Chitra Sivaraman gets her due after Star, Thenali & Boys. She has grown as a singer from participating in MTV Talent Hunt to crooning songs for the Maestro. Mathangi & George just give harmony support in the song. The song starts with catchy rhythm & rockish percussions. From the very start u realise that its a youthful, teen track. Very much in the lines of 'Secret of Success' from Boys. After seeing the trailor, its evident that its a stage-performance with huge crowds. The pecussions used r very different from normal. It has a lot of Daburka. Also one can hear the crowds in the backdrop. The male harmony enters the song by singing the sign line. It has a good harmony, very western. Again ARR has used chromatic progression in the lines 'sanananana...'. Mathangi enters with a brisk alaap with the flute which sounds very Arabian-Lebanese. This kind of arrangements were used in 'September matham' in Alaipayuthey. Chitra main lines 'Maanavare...' r instantly likeable. The quick alaap that Srinivas takes in the lines 'Hooo...paadhilo...', has its moments; mainly bcoz of the excellent harmony. The 1st interlude has Rahman's signature claps & the inimitable flute. No one can beat Naveen's flawless rendition. Thats one of the biggest asset Rahman has! The charnams have a conversational structure with the chorus going 'Oye o..' after each line. But again, they r very short. Just 4 lines...& then Srini returns to the cross lines by taking that alaap in the upper octave. Thru out the song, u'll find different sounding percussions used which create a unique feel. After the 1st charnam, when the singers return to 'Asathura', there's this horse-beat kind of rhythm used. Chitra's 'sanananane..' jugalbandi with Naveens intricate flute embellishments is the highlight. The 2nd interlude is totally percussion-oriented. Give the reigns in Sivamani's court & he goes crazy. While hearing this piece, u can actually visualise the drumsticks flying off in the air! He's another precious asset. The charnams r same. The flutes & chords in the end behind the vocals r amazing. But the highlight has to be the excellently arranged Harmony. In the end Mathangi jamms up with the flute to create a mesmerising effect. The voice & the flute r so weel synchronised that it feels as if 2 intruments r being played simultaneously. Its a difficult task made easy by the sound geniuses- Sridhar & Sivakumar. The song is already an hit with the youth.
Rating: ****
Overall Album Rating: ****
After a long time ARR's soundtarck is said to be doing well down south. Thats just a sign of revival. May he keep giving us surprises & lots of good music as its like a precious herb for music-lovers like us. From whatever I've heard, Kangalal Keithu Sei is sheer magic! I cant get off my ears from 'Ennuyir thozhiye'. Its the one of the best melodies created by ARR.
Hope to get ur feedback as usual...
Swaps
P.S.: The review is strictly based on personal judgement & does not tend to hurt anybody's feelings or sentiments.
Thanx!
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by SURESHKUMAR (@ 203.129.195.138) on: Mon Dec 29 05:10:09 EST 2003
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