appa nd V_S - I meant that initial dialogue piece only. The song is ofcourse Raja's in every sense
appa nd V_S - I meant that initial dialogue piece only. The song is ofcourse Raja's in every sense
Im sure even the initial dialogue is also rendered by our IR.Quote:
Originally Posted by Plum
Lovely review V_S. You have said most of what I wanted to say :)
venki: Nice description of 'kaathiruppen' song. My favourite from this album as well.
Thanks Suresh ji!. Yes 'Kaathiruppen Kaathiruppen' is one song which I believe everyone has been longing from Raja since long time. No styles, gimmicks, showing-off and Raja did not try to impress the listener, just as it flows naturally and directly from Raja's heart to listeners heart. It's that simple. Repeated listening is only to quench the thirst (as I said earlier) and not to understand the song. Singing wise also very open and natural and did not try to force it to keep it soft and stylish like usually we hear nowadays. We can feel the rhythm, Reeta's singing, flute all travel simultaneously, gelled together and cannot be separated. As Hulkster very aptly said, very earthy and directly takes us to the village setting. Outstanding melody and one of Raja's best ever!.
Feels like every song in this soundtrack takes us to our own village. What a musician! :notworthy:
I gave a first highly interrupted listen..
Did not find anything new in the songs, though, they were all equally pleasant and soothing. Sikkikuchchu and kaathiruppen remind a raja music lover of his 90s vintage. (Raaja has a vintage in every decade ). One song I was heavily reminded while listening was "vayasuppuLLa vayasuppuLLa" from a Ramarajan movie. Need to listen more - I loved the preludes to both the melodies more than the songs themselves..
When i visit the link, i just see 'illayaraaja' page with no link to songs .. any help ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Hulkster
minimalistic folkish pathos என் உசிரு....ஸ்ரீ.இளையராஜா with ரீடா
wonderful effort by ரீடா.
ஸ்ரீ.இளையராஜா himself would have missed ஸ்வர்ணலதா. நிச்சயமா ஸ்வர்ண வை think பண்ணிருப்பார்.
http://www.raaga.com/player4/?id=287...04885952241639
நான் மாமரத்து கீழிருந்து முன்னும் பின்னும்......என் தெம்மாங்கு பாட்ட கேட்டு... what a eternal folk .
miss you ஸ்வர்ணா.
Let me grab my சின்ன தாயீ - CD, wonderful folk compositions with Yesudas, Swarna, Bala, Uma , Sushila and Ilayaraja.
Vinatha.
Am I the only one who dislikes Reeta's (and the other female) voice? :huh: Bad choices, I think. I already dread the possibility of one of them singing a song with Sriram Parthasarathy very soon.
AM, I too felt she wasn't the right choice. But this girl's definitely better than Bela Shinde!
V_S, nice, detailed review! Somehow this album didn’t work much for me.
Sikkichu - pleasant song. Synth work sits pretty decently and isn't jarring. The resemblance of the starting lines to Deva’s Annamalai Annamali is a bit too blaring, no?
Oram po - classic case of digital-killed-the-folk-star.
Kaathiruppen, En usuru - passable melodies. Call me biased, but a certain Shreya Ghoshal could've made these two far more interesting.
Thiruvizha songs - scores on rawness but I dont know if IR has much of a contribution here.
Overall, its the back-of-the-hand tuning & instrumentation (yeah, I do realize this is applies to works like Thiruvasagam and HTNI also), that makes this album a very middling affair for me. Back to Ponnar Shankar!
It also takes me to Raja's own 'pAdha golusu pAttu pAdi varum pAdi varum'.Quote:
Originally Posted by KV
Totally agree with you on this album.
It can also be Attributed to 'Pathakolusu Pattu Paadi Varum' of 'Thirumathi Palanisamy' :) Both AM &TP Having been released in 1992 I sincerely hope TP released earlier to AM :-PQuote:
Originally Posted by KV
yes sir. I am calling you biased. This is like saying " a certain balu could have made kaadhal oviyam paadum kaaviyam song far more interesting. Let me know where Rita lacks? Pitching, tonal quality, bhavam, diction?Quote:
Originally Posted by KV
AM, RS, yes, Paadha golusu also comes close, but Annamalai feels closer due to its sandham similarity.
Venki, I aint saying Rita’s bad; she’s fairly adequate, but her singing seems (in peter tongue) uni-dimensional to me (in fluid theory/reality-singing-judge terminology, ‘dynamics kammi').
As to why I think Shreya could’ve made it better, I think it’s that ‘adhayum thaandi punidhamaanadhu’ thing in her voice and singing.
KV,
Somehow I am not convinced that Shreya singing would have made it any better. I love her voice but is it the voice for such type of songs? I am not sure. I would say that this song calls for Swarnalatha or Chitra more than Shreya. To be fair to Rita, though she struggles a bit in a couple of places, she is able to convey the emotion of the song quite well.
My take on this album: I like it :) This is no pathbreaking album but a typical Raja album of the 90s. I guess everyone agrees to that. I would compare this album with 'Azhagar Malai' which was released in 2010. I find this album better than "Azhagar Malai'. That album was a bit inconsistent while this album is more consistent in its sound. Ofcourse for old timers, this album would have a 'heard before' feel and I guess that is what the director would have wanted or that is what the story needed. I am just guessing here.
'sikkikichu' is a nice Mohanam based number. The interludes are done very well without the synth intruding any way. 'en usuru' sees Raja continuing his 'Kannukkule' experiment of giving a WCM touch to a native song. Listen to 'naan pirandha nerama' from 'Kannukkulle' and you will see the similarity between these two songs. 'kaathiruppen kaathiruppen', inspite of its tabla driven melody being very 'typical' Raja, is the pick of the lot for me. I love the way Raja slowly goes into Sivaranjani towards the end of the pallavi. A very emotional song and nice orchestration. Tiruvizha song is nice but very short and generic while everyone would agree that the older 'oram po' was better.
When I heard this album for the first time I thought there would three types of reactions to it: One would be the old Raja fan who is happy that Raja is sounding familiar to him :). Second would be the old Raja fan who is unhappy that Raja is sounding familiar to him :) The third would ofcourse be those who think Raja is an old man who uses only tabla. They would be a happy lot since they can now point to this album and say, "I told you so."
All said and done, I am loving this album. It breaks new ground like 'Ponnar Shankar' did but to be honest I have been playing 'kathiruppen kaathiruppen' at the cost of 'Ponnar Shankar' for the past few days !!!
Agree on that Suresh, Swarnalatha or Chitra would've suited better. Swarna has been snatched away from us cruelly and IR seems to pick Chitra very selectively. My automatic choice from rest of the crop is Shreya.(maybe its the effect of Ponnar Shankar; such lovely rendition in the earthy eduthu eduthu varum and malar villile, the spell from which I'm yet to recover). For the record, I'm quite a fan of Rita's Unnai patri sonnal.
ponnar sankar sila pAttukkaL kEttEn...so so (by IR Standards - I am not used to applying any other standards.)
kaNNai padaiththEn - yes the odathandil feel is there but somehow, when it comes to Malayalam, everything comes together perfectly - in tamil, in general, the tunes seem to be ones he himself previously rejected - stock clearance-la pazhaiya stocklAm cheap price-la sale paNdrA mAdhiri, indha mAdhiri padangaLai use paNNikarArOnnu thONudhu.
Not much else to say. The other 2 songs(bhavani varugiRA and the adi peNNE reminder - see I dont even remember the words.) are nice to hear when they are running but dont feel anything special otherwise.
Plum, Ponnar Shankar is quite a strange brew (my initial response was - sumaara oru alavukku romba nallave irrukku). I'm not that big a fan of the two melodies in it (Kannai pidithen, Thedi vandha). But the other three songs (Annamar kadhai, Bhavani varugira and Malar villilae), though interspersed with some synth/pop stuff, have some great folk elements that make them click for me; some very delicious bits of thavil, urumi, horns, etc. (Idhukku melayum naan Shreya patthi pesa virumbala).
P-S:
'aNNamAru kathaiya' is the pick for me, Madhu B notwithstanding. Raja always excels in this "story-telling" genre (katha kELu katha kELu of MMKR). This song also has "udukkai" and some other country drum sounds which are beautifully placed.
Also, this is a kind of song which is IR-only-possible at this point of time. The folk bits that appear here and there are enjoyable, though the lyricist seemed to have absolutely no imagination, wholeheartedly agree it needed VM or equivalent :-(
'bhavani varugira' is quite interesting (village worship song made in church style) and could be difficult for other composers of today to attempt.
'malar villilE' is sweet, quite tough for today's MDs (may be Vidyasagar can attempt and do a job after inspirations from works of earlier MDs).
Thanks to their thorough study of "prior-era-IR-templates" and also having adapted reasonably well, the remaining 3 songs can be done by any MD of today. And, theirs may even sound better :wink:
Lyrics ezhudhinadhu yArO prabala isaiyamaippALar nu kELvi :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by app_engine
Very nice, short and sweet review Suresh ji! And interesting views about PS by Plum, KV and App. PS is definitely one of IR best in recent times. Even if other music directors will be able to compose few songs like in PS (as App told), you have to credit only IR for this as he is the one who gave on-job training to them for the past several years (few decades). :)Just imagining how they would have even compose like him when IR was not at all in TFM (MDs like Ajay-Atul which we talked about earlier).
<App wrote>
Thanks to their thorough study of "prior-era-IR-templates" and also having adapted reasonably well, the remaining 3 songs can be done by any MD of today. And, theirs may even sound better
</App wrote>
I don't think anyone could come with such a tune as Raja did for remaining songs (except Kodi kotti koduthalum). They might sound better solely because of good arrangements and sound/recording quality, but the soul which is the depth in the tune, I don't think anyone could come up. Also that complex and grand orchestration. No way!
I agree with you mostly .. but App also has a point. For eg. thEdi vandha dEvathaiyE is a pure popular format song..ofcourse discerning listeners like you might think that the tune is better than another MD..not sure many can discern this difference ..even my immediate impression was .. wow..if this had been in an urban/yuppie format.. it is the muqqala/muqqabula hit type of song.. So in a way I believe some current MDs (say ARR) can give equally good popular format songs like IR ..yes their recording/arrangements are better..(I dont think this takes way anything from IR..he has some unique skills which are very difficult to be challenged)Quote:
Originally Posted by V_S
Thanks kiru for your response. I agree many will not go for tune nowadays as today's concentration is mainly on sound clarity, arrangements and most of all 'immediate catch' (in the starting lines) for a song to qualify to be popular.
Since you brought up uniqueness about Raja's musical output and why such a song cannot be composed by other MDs. Just wanted to share my thoughts.
'Thedi vantha' is a good candidate. Yes if you listen to this song for the first time, it sounds very simple. But I would say it is a big experimentation by Raja in recent times. The way tune (melody) flows seems very simple, but uneven and very natural (not forced). This simple structure might tempt most MD's today that we can do it. But there comes the trump card. As Vel said, it is a beautiful Gowri Manohari (I didn't know about the raagam aspect until Vel told us) to classical lovers, a perfect folk song for folk lovers (any listener in fact) and peppy orchestration for today's music lovers. If you lose one of them you lost it to Raja. Since he has not compromised any genre here.
Even I was little skeptical when I first posted about the humming in the second interlude as it did not fit Raja's characteristic. But luckily it ended there within few seconds. But with today's compositional (don't know if we can call it composition) trend, this feature would have dominated in the tune itself and/or in the arrangement (leave alone that second interlude) and we would have lost its folk soul, leaning towards contemporary western (folk may be?) thereby losing to classical Gowri Manohari and thereby losing our indian nativity. Definitely the song would have been more popular by doing so as per today's trend, if that is the ultimate goal. But for me, it would be just another song. I cannot enjoy a song which is a pure contemporary western song (in main melody of course) in our indian languages, which I can listen directly to them.
This tightrope-walking is something Raja has done with enormous ease to just ensure his stamp is not compromised. That's why I feel it is difficult to do such a song.
kodi kotti - may be.....but kannai padithaen, and thedi vandha - tough to imagine any one (vidyasagar can try may be) dishing out such free flowing melodies that are built on classical structures..... and using that classical base in the best optimal proportion - neither too heavy nor tooo light.......just right....thats where he is the king ! the RAAJA!Quote:
Originally Posted by app_engine
as V_S said, the trump card is the midas touch of the classical music.....blessing the behags and the gowrimanoharis with his magical wand....setting these ragas free from their bondage and liberating them to freely express myriad expressions ranging from pathos to love to any sentiment you can imagine.....and reaching them to the masses! Blessed to have Raja with us !
Kannai Padithen is heavenly. One of the sweetest number especially the tune from IR in recent times. what a flow :notworthy:
I would agree with V_S and Vel on this one. 'kodi kotti' is nothing to talk about but 'kannai padithen' is superb in its free flowing gait. I definitely don't think any other MD can keep up this pace throughout the song. I love the interludes. So if you are looking at the complete song, no way others could have done this. I feel the same about 'thedi vandha devadhaye' as well. Yes, someone can point out to songs like 'thee pidikka thee pidika' in Yuvan's music and say that those erotic songs have become big hits but musically 'thedi vandha' is unique Raja.
ஆஹா, நான் சும்மா ஒரு பேச்சுக்கு சொன்னா ("என்கரேஜ் அடுத்த ஜென்") எல்லாரும் அதை சீரியஸா ஆராய்ச்சி பண்றீங்களே :-)
Well, that gave out a wealth of rAgA and other highlights of IR's recent compositions, so good trigger, I can raise my collar in front of Plum :wink:
kodi kotti koduthaalum post lude - maththa MDs - konjam kashtam .. illai illai.. rombave kashtam.Quote:
Originally Posted by vel
Andha postlude endha patternlayum fit aagaadhu.
thanks V_S and Vel.. very educational.. I guess this adherence to the raagam for the whole song is what gives IR songs a continuity and character throughout..
Was talking to fellow hubber 'eagle' and he mentioned one interesting point about the prelude of 'kannai padithen'. He said that the instruments in the prelude try to sound like the voice and when the voices join in they try to sound like an instrument. So I heard the song again today and I must say 'eagle' was right!!! Do listen to the prelude of the song keeping this in mind and you will be pleasantly surprised.
This brings me to the observation that Usha always makes. That we are like blind men trying to describe an elephant. You think you have analysed everything in a Raja song and will be pleasantly surprised when someone comes up with a different POV.
and did that prelude have bhavatharani singing what i hear sometimes as thai thai and next as 'baby' 'baby....pls clarify :)
I am total surrender in front of the trio, PS+AK+SB. Paadalgal vehu azhagu :notworthy:
Raaja :ty:
The real wonder is whenever I hear one album among them, it dictates me to declare this is the best album among three. awesome
Sanjeevi,
Same blood :)
Kannai PadiththEn - I have to come realize that this song is simply awesome and can be addictive! The 'ludes are amazing, and the whole song flows like a gentle stream. But, why did have to use that annoying "hip" percussion loop for this wonderful song ...
My 5 yr old won't allow me to skip / FF 'kOdi kottikkoduththAlum' in the car. She says 'நல்லாருக்கு, மாத்தாதீங்க' :-)
Exactly.. it put me off too. The pallavi seems to have a hangover of valmiki song .. kooda varuviya.. I listen to both back to back to be sure.. but I cannot be that sure. Music savants pl clarify.Quote:
Originally Posted by writeface
Write Pa.Raghavan reviews 'Azhagarswamiyin Kudhirai' after watching a preview show. Has one para dedicated to Raja's background music.
http://www.writerpara.com/paper/?p=2220 (Review in Tamil)
Suresh, thanks for the link. Kittathatta Nandhalala range-ku hype and expectations irukku.
"இளையராஜா. என்னத்தைச் சொல்ல? நேற்று வரையிலான தமிழ் சினிமாவின் இசை என்பது ஒரு பாகமென்றால், இந்தப் படத்தின் பின்னணி இசை, இரண்டாம் பாகத்தைத் தொடங்கிவைத்திருக்கிறது. சராசரி மனிதச் செவியும் மனமும் உணரமுடியாத காற்றின் இசையைக் கவர்ந்து வந்துவிடுகிறார் இந்த மனிதர். இவர் எப்படி இதை எழுதுகிறார், எப்படி இதை எழுதுகிறார் என்று ஒவ்வொரு இசைத் துணுக்குக்கும் மனம் கிடந்து அடித்துக்கொள்கிறது. கிராமத்தில் நடக்கும் கதைக்கு ஒரு சில இடங்களில் ராஜா வழங்கியிருக்கும் மேற்கத்தியப் பாணி நாடோடி இசை, ஒரு வகையில் நமக்குப் புதிது. ஆனால் காட்சிகளுடன் அது பின்னிப் பிணையும்போது இடமும் காலமும் இலக்கணங்களும் கரைந்து காணாமல் போய்விடுகின்றன. நேடிவிடி முரண் என்று இதனை யாராவது பெரியவர்கள் சொல்லக்கூடும். இது மண்ணையல்ல; மனிதர்களின் விசித்திரமான மனநிலைகளையே முதன்மையாகக் காட்சிப்படுத்துகிற திரைப்படம். காட்சியாகும் சம்பவங்களை மட்டுமல்லாமல், காட்டாமல் கடந்து செல்கிற உணர்வுகளையும் இசையால் காட்டிவிடுகிறார். இந்தப் படத்தின் பின்னணி இசை ஓர் அபூர்வம். இதற்கு முன்னால் ஹே ராம் வந்தபோது இப்படித் தோன்றியது."
Couldn't get enough of "en usuru" and "kAttiruppEn kAttiruppEn".