On TOI review, Not sure about the reviewer of Hey ram, but Subhash K Jha is an adrent fan of IR & has consistently written highly abt him in TOI/Filmfare in all his reviews/articles. He's also consistently enlightened Hindi listeners about copies of IR tunes in Hindi songs on most of reviews from Anand Milind days.
raagas,
I fully appreciate how you feel. I probably felt the same a few years earlier. At the same time I feel an artist dies once he knows his audience well and just caters to them. I am sure Raja knows what lot of his hard core fans desire and he can give it in good measure as 'swapnangal', 'yenidu', 'kunnathe' and 'chinna polike' shows us. Instead, he is pushing himself into newer and newer territories since he wants to keep himself alive as an artist. We may or may not like what comes up newly but we need to accept the fact that Raja is also evolving his aesthetics in the new environment, as RS says. So you will have some songs which will not make an impression on us like some of the synth hero introduction songs in recent times. But at the same time we will get songs like 'ilavayasu', 'hodadavane' which are quite good. We also get some superb stuff like 'mudi mudi' from this new Raja.
Finding the old Raja may be a bit of a problem in some of the songs, no doubt but if I listen keenly he appears!! In the sense, his precision is still there and the song structure has an unity which he always brings along but even there he is experimenting. The interludes to charanam nowadays has jumps a la jazz stuff. While first it may be a bit disconcerting, you will get used to it if you think of it as a new deliberate style.
And BTW, IR fans are much much more critical of Raja's synth usage than they are about other MDs synth usage. Infact many of them are in awe with the way other MDs use the synth and wish Raja uses it like them. Many of their dreams have come true through 'Paa' :)
Very True. At least for IR, his output seems to be better with the number of films he's doing . His songs this year, when he has done about 21 films (17 straight films & 4 dubbed ones) is one of the bast in recent imes, than when he has done about 5 films in a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramk1
It's remniscent of the hey days when he used to compose for close to 50 films & still almost every film used to have some memorable scores - at least 1 ever lasting song. This year too, even the worst of films has at least 1 song that would outlive the life of the film or be remembered for the song atleast , even if the film is forgotten.
Hope we have a regular 3 course in 2010!
Any idea of the films in the pipeline for 2010?
I am quite worrying because i don't find any big films for himQuote:
Originally Posted by Saagar
Suresh,
I am facing the same problem as u have stated while listening to SK and OM Shanthi - The PR/Paa hangover is pretty dominating and seems to mask my objectivity on these songs..
On a first listen, Chinna Poolike is impressive though running on predictable IR lines..
In SK, Mauni Naanu made me hit repeat for a couple of times.. Solpa soundu is foot tapping but may not last long..until i discover some unique IR signatures on subsequent listens..
As of now, it looks like both are average albums but i have been pleasantly baffled by Kannukule like this very recently so i reserver my final judgement.. but either of these are going to topple NK/PR/Paa from the top 3 slots for 2009
Cheers
MSK
MSK,
I understand your feeling. I think Suryakanthi would take some time to sink in since the 'Raja signature' is not very obvious in every song. I had to listen to 'edaya baagilu' multiple times before getting an hang of its structure as well as Raja's signature. You need to concentrate a bit more on this song while 'mouni naanu' is more vintage Raja. Same way I am getting a hang of 'Flying on the moon' from Om Shanthi. This is turning out to be an amazing song. Again 'chinna polike' is probably the easier to grasp from the vintage Raja angle. So we need to give more listens than usual for the new Raja in order to get a hang of what he is trying to do.
Hulkster, Suresh,
the song reason some songs done work for me is not plain synth.because there are lot of songs, loaded with synth that get me excited.I dont know how they work. A case in point could be "Ninnu Vethiki vethiki" from Anumanaspadam.For that matter, even some of his 80s songs had futuristic synth (Kiss me Hello wrong number from Shiva). They worked. I am still to understand why certain synth songs work for me and some dont.A song like "Kalikonda Chamundi" from Pachakuthira or "Marachoru" from SMS, i feel, blatantly cries out that ilaiyaraaja is compromising to please certain audience. I find the soul missing. Something hints, in some songs, that Ilaiyaraaja himself doesnt enjoy so much of synth and is forced to add those loop-y layers just to make the song a hit.As if it is not coming from his heart.There are many examples, in his post-2000 works, where i felt so. At the same time, there are also many examples, in post 2000 works, where he used lot of synth, to make it groovy and i still liked them. For that matter, if i never heard "Thumbi Vaa" before, I would have worshipped Gumsum now.Just because i heard Thumbi Vaa, i feel Gumsum has excessive synth.
My review of the Om Shanthi album.
Om Shanthi Om: (Singer: Toshi, Lyrics: Ananth Sriram): A trendy song. The song emphasizes the need of Shanthi for everyone. (No, not your next door neighbor but peace.) The synth starts the song with the 'Om Shanthi Om' chorus coming on. The synth continues the prelude and the beat loop continues into the pallavi. The pallavi ending is followed by the 'Om Shanthi Om'. A very nice peaceful effect in a beat driven song. The synthesizer work continues in the first interlude. The tune is quite nice in the charanam and keep up the energy. The lyrics are OK and are in keeping with the latest trend. The second interlude also starts off the same way as the first. Though supposed to be a beat dominated song, the melody does come through and I love the overall is peaceful. The surprise in this song is the voice which sings a Hindustani style 'Om Shanthi' towards the end of the second charanam.
Ottesi Cheputa: (Singer: Karthik, Lyrics: Ramajogayya Sastry) : Looks like a hero introduction song. The singer tells that he is bound to become a super star in the film world. Somewhat similar to the sentiments expressed in 'sullikuppam ganapathiku' of Madhiya Chennai. This is also a beat dominated song with Raja doing experiments with synth sounds, which start the prelude. Lot of energy in the pallavi section. Both this song and 'Om Shanthi' remind me of the songs in 'Sambhu'. The interlude has the synth playing a nice melody before experiments with sound are done. The synth then plays a shenoy like tune. The charanam keeps up the energy. The shenoy like playing of the synth continues in the second interlude followed by a veena like playing on the synth!! The lyrics are very simple and conversational. How big a hit this song would be will depend on the picturisation and the fate of the movie.
Flying on the Moon: (Singer: Priya, Lyrics: Vanamali) : The prelude starts with the synth guitar like sound. Then a chorus sings an English portion. A lovely rhythm follows the singer initially and more rhythm instruments join the singer. A lovely melody reminiscent of some songs that Raja gave for 'Kokila'. The first interlude is played on the keyboards and slowly the piano like sound ends the interlude. The charanams have more vigorous rhythm going on. The melodic quotient keeps increasing as the charanam proceeds. The second interlude has some lovely sax passages to which a chorus provides the counter melody. You can easily get Raja's signature if you follow the charanams closely. A superb melody with lovely orchestration. I thought the singer is just about OK. I like the way she sings 'Flying on the Moon' in a natural way without trying to be too western. Gives the song a different charm.
Chinna Polike: (Singers: Kunal Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chauhan, Lyrics: Ananth Sriram) : A superb prelude opens this song. What a play on the keyboard before the synth violins come in. The tune is such that you get sucked in immediately. The rhythm loop is very nice and the tune has all the twists and turns you expect from Raja. The first interlude is a lovely one played on the keyboard. The lovely melody continues in the charanam. What makes it more special is the way bass follows the charanam. Older melodies of Raja peep in now and then during the song. An excellent sax plays in the second interlude. Very jazzy second interlude with some nice drumming accompaniment. I found Sunidhi's diction very good. Kunal is so-so but both do a nice job in this song. The lyrics are good as well. As I had said earlier, this is one song which Raja fans will relate to easily and it is a lovely melody.
There are two more very short versions of 'Chinna Polike' by Kunal and Sunidhi respectively. Both neat numbers and very nice orchestration.
Overall I am very happy with the album. Two songs which sound similar to what Raja did in 'Shambu' and two songs more in tune with Raja of the yore.
Nice to see Raja working with new lyricist and new singers. Sunidhi has sung a few numbers this year for Raja and so has Kunal. (Maybe when they come from Mumbai, they make them sing more than one song?)
And for the hero introduction song, in the past thalaivar just used to give the song the cold shoulder with just simplistic synth and less experimentation. In other words a just-to-fill-up-album space song.
But ever since Hodadavne his style seems to have changed for such songs. The orchestration flow continues in every aspect of that song and there is a more thalaivar-styled polished outlook for such songs. And they do get very addictive after a while :D