gaayam 2 has raaja doing some weird magic in tunes. Orch is largely reminiscent of paa. but the tunes are very special
Andaala lokam is my pick in a limited listening.
Ilaiyaraaja sung telugu songs are rare ones and his song in this movie is very special - somewhat similar in template to the Shiva 2006 song. IT works big time.
Random thoughts on "Eluthundru" from Gaayam-2
http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/201...-gaayam-2.html
Still waiting for the CD of Gayam 2 to be available in Bangalore. As of now, my review of the album after listening to it in the raaga site.
1. Lets start with the most favoured song by everyone.
Endhukamma Prema Prema'. The song starts with a guitar like sound and the keyboard piano playing. The pallavi is accompanied by the piano. No rhythm till the pallavi is played once completely. A very leisurely pallavi. The interlude starts with a nice keyboard run followed by the synthesizer run. The rhythm picks up and flows into the charanam. The charanam literally picks up speed and as usual for Raja's charanam, it twists and turns and keeps building up the melody until it joins the pallavi. The second interlude too is on the keyboard (sounding like the piano). The interlude is short. Overall a superb melody. Based on Mohanam scale. I wonder how this man can still milk something new out of this scale!!!
2. Lets now take up the other song which has also caught everyone's fancy. This song starts with the violins sounding very similar to the 'kaatu vazhi' tune / Paa theme. Then the song starts 'andhala lokam' sings Sriram Parthasarathy to be later joined by the new singer, Saraswathi. The first interlude in keeping with the overall orchestration has the keyboard, synth and synth violins playing together wonderfully. A small theme from the interlude is continued in between the lines of the charanam. The charanam as usual builds up the melody beautifully and very charmingly merges with the pallavi. The second interlude starts with the keyboard and the violins and later what sounds like synth flute. The theme movement played throughout the song is top class and it binds the whole song together. The basic aim of this song is to evoke a sense of an ideal life and it does it with elan. The lokam (world) becomes 'andala lokam' (beautiful world) when you listen to this song.
3. Third, we take up a song which many people seem to have liked the tune but not Raja singing it !!! Something we hear often. The prelude sets the tone for the whole song. A sort of tragic tone. The tune is lovely and to me Raja's singing is good but it could have gone to someone like Vijay Jesudas, who did a nice job of such a song in 'Mallepoovu'. I love the anu pallavi in the song (or tundu pallavi as it is sometimes called.) There is some justification in the criticism against Raja singing the song as you can hear him strain sometimes. The emotion is perfect though. Overall, a top class tune. Wish someone like Veturi was alive to write lyrics for this song. The whole orchestration is in keeping with the mood of the song.
4. While the three songs above have sort of been accepted by most people as being class, this song did not evoke such reactions. I would say the reactions have been mainly neutral. 'masakenuka mandu undhi' sung by Anita is obviously an item song. It reminds me of most of the modern Tamil songs, especially those tuned by Yuvan. The structure is very similar I would say in the pallavi. As usual the charanam is typical Raja, building it beautifully. Probably one of the more contemporary 'item number' song by Raja. The accordion playing in the second interlude is interesting.
5 & 6. 'Eluthundru' and 'Ramarajyam'. Both the songs (which are different words for the same tune) have been dismissed by most people as Ramki has stated here, 'inducing ennui' or as typical filmi revolutionary songs. To be very honest I have been very impressed by both these songs. Let me try and explain why. If you take the case of 'Eluthundru', I agree with people that it sounds like a typical filmi revolutionary song but what impressed me was the tools used by Raja to achieve this!!! Raja starts the song with very typical orchestration. A typical drum beat in the background, a chorus to support the main voice and the main sounding very harsh and strong. The lyrics very in your face. Then comes the transformation. After the pallavi is done for the first round, the rhythm pattern completely changes without us realizing. The regular drum pattern is replaced by a very irregular beat in the background. It is almost as if a jazz drummer has now entered the mix and is playing according to his whim. The single drum beat gives the required power in the interlude as does the chorus. The charanam is very atypical because the beat is a free flowing one and not the powerful one. In between the tune almost turns tragic and finishes with a powerful twist. The second interlude is on the synth with the rhythm reminding us of some places of 'adi ushas' from 'Pazhassi Raja'. What impressed me about this song were: a very atypical beat for such a revolutionary song, eschewing most of the devices for such a song: not much of chorus, no saxophone, no trumpets, no thundering rhythmic explosion like 'Om Sivoham' or 'Aalamadangana' or no huge string segments. In short, Raja achieves an 'old revolutionary effect' using the new devices. In my opinion, this is superb experimentation. Making the synth and the drum pad sound as if they were always made for the revolutionary songs!!! I don't know how many will agree with me but that is how I feel.
It is clear that Raja is now fully into the jazz / synth mode and we are now more used to this style. Everyone has been calling this the 'Paa' style but I could hear the same style in 'Kadhal Kavidhai' as well. It is just that we have taken a lot more time to come to grips with that style. At the same time Raja has been tweaking his style so that it now appeals a lot to us. Old timers may have the same issues. Smaller interludes, lack of real instruments, very little violin play and no flute whatsoever. But answer is, how that matter when he can still deliver 'anadala lokam' and 'endukkamma prema'.
Final verdict. Definitely an album worth buying. You cannot go wrong with those two songs, even if others don't affect you much.
Nice review! Endukamma Prema and Andaala Lokam form the cream and infact, even the song that IR sang too,though i agree that this song should have gone to someone like Vijay Yesudas. Or why not even Yesudas.
Overall, a nice album that can keep me going for few days(and ofcourse years too). But still, that doesnt stop me from waiting for more: What happened to Thyagayya, SRK, etc?
I said Vijay Yesudas because he did a good job of similar song in 'Mallepoovu'. Added to it is the fact that the Yesudas of today is no where close to the Yesudas at his prime. This is a typical Yesudas song and he should have sung it at his prime.
Good Review Suresh and the time spent for this.
when u say that , I want to know if it is due to an mistakes in pronunciation or lack of feel?Quote:
Originally Posted by raagas
I found Raaja song absolutely impossible to skip. It is very arresting.
However I would like to know why a Vijay yesudas might have done better justice to this song.
Will gayam be a hit ?
http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010...u-gaayam-2.htm
http://www.teluguone.com/cms/cinema/...ewId=REV000290
With Ilyaraja scored music, all the songs in the movie are melodious and pleasant to the ears. Re-recording too is good and elevates the mood.
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/tel...ew-030910.html
Music by Illarayaraja needs a special mention. Though the background score is excellent, the tunes provided for the songs could have be done better if the maestro would have concentrated a little more.