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People like you are dreaming that IR is ruling and best MD till now but dude, please wake up from your dream. It is already fulfilled for us. And as far as ARR substaining the day he will retire, he will retire gracefully unlike IR scoring for a platform directors and producers and asking money to compose symphony
hey guys, it was ARR's songs that threw IR's songs out, but it was never ARR throwing IR out.....IR is still the undisputed king in hearts of the ppl. of TN.......India Today attributes a change in face of TN to IR.....wat else is left to say???
ARR's fan base is the smallest with brahmins,economically low class still preferring IR to ARR......for brahmins, ARR is the epitome of western culture and they blindly support IR's gr8ness as he is a xpert in carnatic music.........low class ppl. cannot understand songs beyond pettai rap and ARR has never given songs like vaadi vaadi......when u take the age group, it is ppl. betn 15-28 who grew up to ARR like him.....ppl. above 30 simply hate ARR as they grew up to IR's music........and there r many more factors which makes ARR a very weak and almost a non-existing entity in TN.........
having said all this, his albums sell 10 times more than IR which is a prefect case for "X-files".....can anyone xplain this??? :D
Maddy,
>>>>>>>
ARR's fan base is the smallest with brahmins,economically low class still preferring IR to ARR......for brahmins, ARR is the epitome of western culture and they blindly support IR's gr8ness as he is a xpert in carnatic music.........low class ppl. cannot understand songs beyond pettai rap and ARR has never given songs like vaadi vaadi......when u take the age group, it is ppl. betn 15-28 who grew up to ARR like him.....ppl. above 30 simply hate ARR as they grew up to IR's music
<<<<<<<<<<<,
again a classic case of arguing without substantiation !! :-)
I hate to do this...I'm a brahmin (sigh -its idiotic to keep these tags of brahmin, thEvar, mudaliars) ....and I am 27 :-))
You know where my loyalty lies...its not just me, there are thousands (append a few more zeroes if you want) of 'brahmins' who still worship Raja.
Ultimately, any music director worth his salt should be able to penetrate all the classes of people...and I don't think arr has done it...Your arguments and stats are like sify's movie collection stats...they check chennai and chennai alone, and would claim this movie is a super hit...but the movie would've flopped bigtime in places like coimbatore, trichy, madurai etc...Whether you accept it or not...Raja is still the general public's Raja.
>>>>>>>
having said all this, his albums sell 10 times more than IR which is a prefect case for "X-files".....can anyone xplain this???
<<<<<<<
Precisely...how do you explain this...one possibility you might want to think about is the veracity of the source you get these info from :-)
IMHO, two popular fallacies I ever find on this forum
*Attributing ARR's audio sales just to Chennai – I personally don't think Chennai market alone is so big to award ARR a hefty salary for 12 years.
*Attributing IR's lack of audio sales to middle aged/old people who don't buy cassettes but believes in free music through radio. Any good music has penetrating power. Not many would buy Pithamagan cassette for 50rs just for one Ilankatru Vesuthey! People who are below poverty line would probably be content to wait till infinity to listen to their favorite song on radio, others who belong to the middle class would certainly spend 45RS if they find 3-4 good songs in an album. IMO, IR hasn't been consistent in packing an album with at least 4 good songs in last few years.
When he does that he'd sell 1 lakh cassettes in 2 days or even more!
Another biggest loss point for IR is the 'rehash factor' which has its direct impact on sales.
Jacky and alias,
Sure i do accept that Sales figures have always favoured ARR after his entry. But we dont have any Databank for the 80's or late 70's. which were IR's peak period. If at all they had some Then this case of ARR selling more than Britney, madonna etc., will become obsolete....
IR's music is very much movie oriented and he does not believe in giving a complete album to make it a hit. He gives songs for situations which are better watched along the movie. Even the movie 'pagalil oru iravu' had some songs apart from the super hit 'Ilamai enum poongatru' which are unknown for many of us. Sigappu rojakkal had only 2 songs, tik tik had only 3 songs, sathya had 3 songs, guna had 4 songs, which means IR believed that the songs are for movies and there was not a necessity to have 5 songs perse and making it sound great to make a hit album.
While ARR had this standard of 5 songs atleast for all his movies and concentrated more to make all 5 songs a hit.
So the case of complete album doest work out for 2 diff MD's who have different notions on making music.
Pithamagan had Piraye and Adadaaa [ apart from the medley and elangathu] which were songs that enhahced the scene in the movie while they may not sound great listening to alone for many of the people. hence its sales would be definitely low comparitive to KKS/ E20U18.
I accept that There has not been a single Complete album from IR in the recent past according to your perspective or ARR's standard. But thats Ok for us as we view IR as a Film music composer not a POP album composer :) And its a world wide view too that they dont expect a Zimmerman or goldsmith to sell more than MJ, Madonna or britney :?
shankar, even i'm a brahmin, but i hate to be called one after their prejudice towards ARR.....
i'm not arguing w/o substantiation....me and my mba grad friend took a survey of 150 sample in chennai city.........so dunt think i bluff.....i dunt know,but u always think i bluff.......pls sir have respect on other's views......adhu seri IR-fan kitta ithulaam ethirpaarka mudiyuma???
one more thing, ARR hasd sold more than anyone in the history.....u can ask any tom,dick and harry in audio industry, they will say so...Boys revived audio market is a known fact........
IR being more popular is bcos he has gievn the music of the soil.......obviously he will get more support...u know real madrid fans like raul better than zidane and beckham cos raul is their own though beckham and zidane r gr8er.......
also, IR's music is simple w/o any complexities.......he is more popular than St.Thiyagaraja, that doesent make IR gr8er than the saint.........similarly ARR's music is very complex with fusion of western genres & a gr8 recording quality which IR never thought was necessary for tamil ppl..........so ppl look upon ARR as alien more than their own.......only open minded ppl. can accept ARR......
take the xample of u and me,shankar, i can listen to ARR and IR as well....but u cant listen to ARR or accept that he is gr8.......
And about this Rehash stuff - we dont have anything to argue as IR has himself accepted that he does Rehash and recycle playing with the 7 notes :)
And it seems ARR has more notes than 7 and he creates new tunes and orchestration for each and every song :lol:
Its not greatness to make sound a simple song complex. But it is definetely greater to make a complex song sound simple which has been the way of IR.Quote:
Originally Posted by MADDY
give me some links which analyse the songs of ARR in musical terms. i can flood you with analysis being done on IR's songs.
Even a dappanguthu like 'Singari sarakku' will have complex rhythm pattern and WCM orchestration but the fusion would be so seamless that no body will know it while listening.
As far Recording quality is concerned yeah ARR beats IR. but we can listen to a IR song in high end playing system as wel as village 'kozhai speaker' Its a balance between both. While try listening to ARR songs in a 'kozhai speaker' youll know why IR's recording were like that :)
[quote="rajasaranam"]One of the best genuine review on musical terms(100%), for an underrated album . Need more.....Quote:
Originally Posted by MADDY
Kangalal Kaidhu Sei
A. R. Rahman
Reviewed by Swaps (@ 202.149.218.62) on: Wed Jan 7 09:48:07 EST 2004
Bharathiraja returns after a long time with his directorial venture "Kangalal Kaidhu Sei" (Arrest me with your eyes). The important news is that he teams up with his one-time favourite music composer & our all-time favourite, A.R.Rahman (Isai Puyal Raghuman...as he says!). The last time the two teamed up was 'Taj Mahal' in 1999 which was musically a hit. The speciality of Bharatiraja's music lies in his love & admiration for folk music which was reflected in his previous films. Rahman's major folk tunes were for Bharathiraja's films. Listen to 'Kizhakku cheemayile' or 'Karuthamma' or 'Taj Mahal'; u'll find that Baharathiraja has always explored rich folk traditional tunes of Tamil Nadu. His special choice of singers reiterated the same point- Kunjaramma, T.K.Kala, Shahul Hameed, Sunantha, M.Vasudevan, Mano, S.P.B, Sasirekha, T.L.Maharajan, Sreeram, Kalpana, Arunthathi, Manoj, Chitra, Sumangali, Swarnalatha & others. Rahman-Bharathiraja's greatest magic worked in 'Anthimanthaarai'. Though it was a low-budget film with just 3 songs, Rahman's genius proved again. The song 'Sakhiye' by Unnikrishnan remains one of the best composed Carnatic songs by ARR. Looking back at these musical albums, one agrees that Bharathiraja is one of the few directors who has a musical ear & can extract the best out of a composer. Other such directors being Maniratnam, Subhash Ghai, Rajiv Menon, Shankar.
'Kangalal Kaidhu Sei' came out at such a time when Tamil music had become mundane & monotonous. After the success of 'Boys' every other film was based on youth or adolescence & it had typically youth-oriented music. Rahman's 'E20U18' was no exception either. I remember a poll in some site where they had asked about ARR's future hits which included 'E20..', 'Ayutha ezhuthu', 'New' & 'KKS'. Unfortunately, 'KKS' was the least-voted album. When it came out, everyone felt that its gonna be just another regular ARR album. But, when I heard it, I was the happiest person! I was overjoyed listening to each melody which had a distinct flavour & all those who longed for ARR's 'Vintage' sound, 'KKS' was their end to complain. Truly, this is one of the best albums recently & is a collector's album. All those who cherished 'Roja', 'Bombay', 'Rangeela', 'Thiruda Thiruda' will definitely love this one. Bharathiraja enters the romantic-fiction scene in this film, leaving behind hsi usual folk-based themes. He laeves the bullock-carts running on the raw strets of Tamil Nadu villages & climbs upto BMWs & Mercedes' in foreign locales. This proved to be a boon to ARR. When someone experiments, ARR is the first one to be excited. Rahman has used a lot of young talent in this album as a part of his tradition. One more common factor of Bharathiraja-ARR albums was the prescence of Vairamuthu. This time Bharathiraja gives chance to the young & upcoming lyricist, Pa.Vijay along with Kabilan & Thenmozhi. This film introduces 2 new actors, Priyamani & Vaseegaran. The album kicks off with the traditional Bharathiraja speech (Cud he do without it?).
Rating scale- ***** mind-blowing
**** good
*** average
** could have been better
* nothing special
1. Azhagiya Cindrella (Hariharan; lyric by Pa.Vijay):
One more medal for ARR-Hari combo! This combo has always worked wonders from day 1...'Tu hi re', 'Nahin samne', 'Suttum vizhi', 'Nilakaigiradhu', 'Chanda re' & many more. This song is like those 'candy-floss', extremely sweet & diabetic. Its a soft, romantic number; rendered beautifully by Hariharan. Its very much like 'Pookum malarai' from Udhaya. The arrangements are soft with less percussions and oodles of chords. The song starts with soft beats along with guitars just as Hari enters the scene with the first 2 lines 'Aruvigal melanokki...'. Throughout the song, Rahman has enhanced the sound with lots of chords following each line. These 2 lines give us an impression of Bilawal (exact notations- Re Ga Pa Sa Ni Pa Ga, Sa Ni Pa Ga, Dha Pa, all shuddha swaras) but the very next lines "ennai ennake.." change the whole perception. The chords change while employing a Komal Dhaivat. Its so beautiful that the whole beauty of a song can be change just by adding a different chord. This is Rahman! After all this, Hari renders the punch lines "Azhagiya Cindrella" while one hears support from the piano in the backdrop. With these lines, one can make out that the lover is comparing his beloved to Cindrella (like a fairy tale)! Again the following lines have changing chord progressions...'ennai enakkethaan...' with a strong bass guitar (like in 'Enswasa katre'). Hari uses a seductive voice in these lines as he goes in the upper pitch and the strings follow. The interlude is harmony based. The female harmony takes centre stage to render the lines "konji konji vandhaal". It cannot be termed as an interlude; its a part of the song. ARR has not followed a typical mukhda-antara pattern (as most of his songs). The antara (charanam) is in the same tune as the opening lines of the song. I would like to highlight a portion in the antara. Listen to the lines "indru varai vaazhnthu mudiththen" & then listen to "ennai thoda aavi silirnththen". The 1st time its in the normal tune but the 2nd time, Hari beautifully slips down to a different note (when I heard it for the 1st time, I though he cracked his voice!). Instead of coming down to shuddha gandhar he slips down to komal gandhar; changing the overall mood of the song. This is the best part about the song. Otherwise, the song would have sounded too monotonous & repetitive. The rest is same. The 2nd interlude starts with the female harmony again but with Hari doing different alaaps in the higher pitch (almost like the line 'Preyasee' in Nahin Saamne from Taal). When he's just about to finish, the heavenly saxophone enters. Rahman has got a personal favouritism for the sax of late ('Sabaq aisa' from Tehzeeb, 'Kama kama' from E20, 'Boom Boom' from Boys). The overall melody is based on western symphony with more influence of jive, ballads & blues. The 2nd antara is again the same. If u go to see, the tune is pretty much ordinary; but Rahman infuses such minor elements which lift up the song to become one of the memorable ones. For a layman, its a very simple tune, only a connaisseur can pay attention to the minute details he's worked on. Truly mesmerising! This song has already captured young hearts & is going to become one of Rahman's best romantic numbers.
Rating: ****1/2
2. Anaarkali (Karthik, Chitra Sivaraman; lyric by Pa.Vijay):
Rahman's current favourite singer-couple, Karthik & Chitra Sivaraman (Star, Boys & KKS), croon this beautiful song. It is implied since last few years that there will be atleast 1 track by Karthik. He's a good singer (I loved 'Sakthi kodu' from Baba; a young teenager singing such a mature song for Rajnikanth!). This song is very unique both in terms of treatment & flavour. It has a predominantly Hindustani (North-Indian) flavour with a treatment of fusion. The song starts with a duduk-like sound with lots of manjiras, immediately followed by sargams (solfa notes)...'Ga Re Re Sa Sa...'. The sargams r sung in harmony, the interesting part being, they say the same notes while actually singing different ones. The 1st time its 'Ga Re Re Sa Sa, Ni Sa Sa Sa...', 2nd time its 'Pa Ma Ma Ga Ga, Re Ga Ga Ga', & lastly 'Ni Ni Ni Pa Pa, Ma Pa Pa Pa'. He's maintained the same swaras to avoid chaos & confusion. If all the 3 pieces had to sung differently, it wud have sounded like a mess. This is followed by a traditional Hindustani bandish (pallavi), "Jaa jaa re apne mandirawa". Again ARR uses digital modulations to make the sound more techno-fusion. Interestingly, they havent mentioned the singers who've sung this part. The credits go to brother-singer duo Murtuza & Qadir Ghulam (Fiza, Saathiya). The song is based on Rahman's all time favourite raga Bhimpalasi (Abheri). The song has an interesting Qawwali feel, the main percussion being tabla. This is one of the few songs which can boast of fantastic tabla-work. After singing the lines 'jaa jaa re..', the cymbals create entry for the main song to begin, which is dutifully done by Karthik. The song has the interesting word 'Anaarkali', used from History (Prince Salim's girlfriend; extremely beautiful) while describing his beloved as the most beautiful woman on earth (u r the sky & u r my earth). Karthik 's vocals cannot be doubted, he's one of the few singers whose talent has been rightly exploited by ARR. While Karthik is singing, the tabla continues but it has been faded. Chitra Sivaraman, too, gets her due. Immediately, she follows Karthik to render the pallavi. She's becoming one of ARR's regulars (Boys, E20 & KKS in a row). But when she sings, u can hear a crystal clear Tabla. The guitars supporting the lines 'kaadhal kaatru nee naan paaymaram' is very soothing. The 1st interlude marks the return of Rahman in his vintage days. The rhythm is like a typical qawwali with claps (like in 'Kehna hi kya' from Bombay). The guitars take the centre stage for a while, then Naveen's flute take over. The flute is similar to that of the interludes of 'Khamoshiyaan' from 1 2 ka 4. After that one wonders which instrument has ARR used; it sounds so different. After concentrated hearings, it became clear that its a simple case voice modulation. The voice 'Anaarkali' has been digitally modulated. The charanam, quite usually, doesnt follow the Abheri structure. It shifts from the raga to a western feel. The vocal style is also quite westernised. The strings provide ample backbone thruout. But again, when Karthik sings his lines, it returns to Abheri, with the tabla. The best lines come during the end. 'Nadai nadanthu pogayil..' by Karthik is just very nostalgic. And then the surprise...the last word of the charanam 'nee ilakkiyame' uses a flat/ komal dhaivat (not at all close to the main melody). When Karthik returns to the pallavi, u can hear a pan-flutish sound in the background. The composition is first rate with many minute complications. How must he be thinking of all this? The 2nd interlude is the highlight. Though it has the same opening lines 'Jaa jaa re...', its the tabla that makes u go bonkers. If u just close ur eyes & listen, u may mistaken it for Zakir Hussain! But, its our own Neelkanthan whose tabla speaks. U can acually visualise the intense spees of his fingers. The sound of the 'bahya' (left hand of the tabla producing the bass sound) is something to hear. Its accompanied by ghungroos, manjiras & claps. Then it shifts to a western symphony. The 2nd charnam is identical. The song has come out very well in all the departments. Towards the end, while singing the concluding lines of the pallavi, the beats of tha tabla change. It ends with the sargams & 'Jaa jaa re..' which is again digittaly modulated. The duduk ends the song with the manjiras. What a treat! At 1st listening, the song may not impress much, but I advise u to listen to it with great detail.
Rating: *****
3. Ennuir thozhiye (Unnimenon, Chinmayi; lyric by Pa.Vijay):
If I go over the board praising this song, I mean it in every sense & with full confidence. This song deserves every bit of praise. The Rahman magic works wonderfully here. After listening to the song, I was assured that all those who requested ARR to compose like his vintage days, will stop complaining. This song has the 'Roja' sound- the freshness of Roja, the experimental nature of Thiruda thiruda, the uniqueness of Bombay & the simplicity of Pudhiya Mugam. I've rarely heard such a beautiful & sweet song in my entire life. Each line of the song is like a honey-drop. The song opens with ARR's solo piano. The sound of the piano is scintillating. ARR attempts a jazz like treatment while sticking to the roots of the main melody. The song is based on the pentonic Raga Durga (Shuddha Saveri- Sa Re Ma Pa Dha Sa), which is premierly used by Rahman. The strings (cellos & violins) support the piano. The piece goes on for about 30 secs & u already crave for more. Its like an alaap any singer starts before performimg a raga in a classical concert. He sets the mood of the song with his magical fingers. The rhythm is set by the heavy bass guitar accompanied by the accoustic guitars. Unnimenon sings the lines 'Ennuir thozhiye'. Unnimenon's real genius comes out in this song. He comes out of the Yesudas mould to deliver an original. The bass guitar used towards the end of the lines reminds me of the title song of Enswasa Katre. Suddenly, the melody shifts to build a musical crescendo. The piano glides over the notes with the cymbals to create a western symphonic sound, employing totally different notes (Ni Re Ga Ma Ga, Re Ma Ga, Re Ma Ga, Re Sa Sa Pa Pa Re, the underlining denotes the notes of the lower octave). The percussion arrangement is also of a western nature. Unni returns to sing the pallavi in Raga Durga. The composition is very smooth. It explores the essence of the raga. After 2 lines, the song changes (as the previous music changed). The lines r 'Ineeyavale...' which r sung in a higher pitch. The 1st interlude is very unique. For once u feel, how beautiful the violin sounds! But no, its not the violin, its vocals. Chinmayi humms the taanams flawlessly. Its done so baeutifully. The piano follows her, when at times just glides from the upper notes to the lower ones as if a river is flowing. The 1st charanam belongs to Chinmayi. She does a fantastic job. Her voice seems so fresh & calm! The opening lines of the charanam 'Ottrai jadayil..' r very catchy. The beauty lies in the way it has been composed. Listen to the 2nd line 'enathu kalla sirippazhagil...'. It beautifully drops from an upper note to a lower one. Immediately, the very next line picks up from Sa Re, Re Dha, Dha Re` (Kattidithe thangam imay paarthathundaa...sign ` denotes the notes of the higher octave) with the strings. This really pours in the tenderness & subtleness in the song. After the lines 'Oru nanjam undu...' u can hear the violin plucks (another favourite ARR style). Lastly, the charanam ends with a rather cross-treatment of notes like Sa`-Pa-Dha-Ma-Dha-Pa-Ma-Re-Sa (Poo-Poo-en-aasai-theernthathu). Unni returns to the pallavi. The 2nd interlude starts with a moorsing-like sound & then pan-flutes enter (both reproduced electronocally). The pan-flute piece resembles a lot like the 1st interlude of 'Thengizhakku cheemayile' from Kizhakku cheemayile. These types of interludes remind u of golden ARR days. The pan-flutes were a common feature then. There's this percussion with heavy bass (dont know the name) which appears in the 2nd interlude & continues till the end. Its played after every 4 counts. Its the kind of percussion used in 'Chinna chinna aasai' from Roja. Coming back, The 2nd charanam is identically same, only difference is that both the singers distribute their lines. The string arrangement is more evident here. Interestingly, when Chinmayi sings the lines 'Endhan seviyil sinungukiraay', u can hear the pan-flute in the background which does not follow the Durga pattern; instead it uses a shuddha gandhar. U'll have to haer it very carefully. In the end, both the singers sing their parts of the pallavi. Unni wraps up the song by extending the word 'enna enna' in a typical classical finale fashion, i.e. in alaap. This song is an absolute treat to listen. It caught my interest from day 1. It can be listed in ARR's best composed romantic sons ever! Singers+Composition+Arrangement+Emotions+Appeal= Full Marks!
Rating: ***** (Can I over-rate it???)
4. Theekkuruvi (Harini, Mukesh, Johnson; lyric by Thenmozhi):
This song can be termed as having the Bharathiraja trademark. Its folkish yet classical. The raw folk numbers in Karuthamma & K.Cheemayile like 'Maanothu mandhayile', 'Ethukku pondatti', 'Ondra rendu', 'Kadu potta', & many more fall in this category. But here Rahman tries to make the sound more appealing to all kinds of audiences. In short, it has a universal appeal. ARR chooses Harini to sing (she's got an extremely sweet voice with a strong classical background) along with 2 newcomers- Mukesh & Johnson. Mukesh is the Mega-Final winner of the popular music talent show called 'Raj Geetham' on Raj T.V. Johnson gets to sing the folk parts whereas Mukesh does the lead singing. The song starts with a fast moorsing-like instrument immediately followed by Johnson's lines. The lines r quite interesting, 'Edhoma edho maadhiri...' which instantly catch ur attention. Johnson has a typical raw folk voice (like Maharajan, M.S.V., Shahul, etc.) & this proves to be an advantage here. Thruout the song, u'll hear temple bells which adds to the ancient/ vintage flavour of the song. After that, u'll really have to lend ur ears close to ur speakers. In the beginning, u'll not understand a word. Its sung so fast., 'thalaival ivathaan sillendru pattaa, kaadhal ivathaan sullunnu suttaa'. Its like those folkmen singing while working or travelling. After these lines, ARR creates an ambience for the song by reproducing wind & wave sounds. Harini begins the song which somewhat seems like a tongue-twister! For others, it may sound wierd. But the melody used is extremely engrossing & captivating. ARR has used a blend of ragas like Hamsadhwani, Shankarabharanam, Arabhi, Kalyani. The chords which he gives in each line r amazing. Its like filling empty spaces. In the last lines 'Theeyinai thee nadhiyinil thaedukiraay thandhiraa', Harini stops at upper Sa & then beautifully decends to the lower Sa with a brisk taanam encompassing all the notes(Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa). Mukesh takes over the rest of the pallavi which is prettymuch the same. The percussions r westernised while the melody is purely Indian. This can be called a true fusion. Everytime, they finish the pallavi, Johnson takes over with the opening lines. The 1st interlude is quite brief, with just a small piece of the flute. It reminds me of the 2nd interlude of 'Vellai pookkal' from Kannathil. The piece tends to shift towards raga Kalyani employing the Teevra Madhyam towards the end. The charanams r equally challenging to sing. The female part is handled very well. Harini's voice has been blended cleverly where she sings the same lines in both upper & lower pitches. In the 1st charanam, Harini sings 2 lines & Mukesh takes over. The lines 'Idayoara moondraam piraye muththam aendhi vaa' employ a Shuddha Madhyam which really enhances the beauty of the song. This is the part where the raga shifts to Shankarabharanam. The 2nd interlude is awesome. After Johnson finishes his lines, ARR uses an electronic Mandolin (previously heard in 'Malargale' from Love Birds). Its quite a short piece but is played with great speed & command. U wish this cud continue for longer! When Mukesh starts the 2nd charanam with an alaap, his voice has been digitally modulated with cuts. Harini sings the rest of the charanam. But the real mgic starts towards the end. While Harini ends the song, ARR layers her alaaps. She begins from the Upper Sa to the lower one, Upper Re to Lower Re & finally to upper Ga. This is called Meend in Hindustani terms. And then, everything stands still when u hear her double-speed taanams. God! she's too good. Its really difficult to take taanams at this speed. U feel like applauding already! Finally, Johnson & Harini attempt a jugalbandi. Johnson sings his lines 'Thalaival ivathaan sillundra pattaa' & then Harini sings the taanams Pa Ni Sa Re` Sa Ni Pa, 3 times. The 'vote of thanks' is done by Naveen's ever-dependable flute. He plays the main tune of the song in his style while the temple bells create a climax & by rounding up with the notes of Hamsadhwani. This song has a typical Kerela flavour & u'll agree when u listen to the song 'Padakaali' from Yoddha. Malayalam folk songs have this speciality of singing in double-speed. Other Kerela-flavour songs composed by Rahman r 'Jiya Jale', 'Anjanam', 'Kuluvaalile', etc. This is definitely one of the best composed songs. Actually, the lyrics r so catchy that even if u dont understand a word, it amuses u to the core. There's a certain degree of anxiety & curuosity of what they r singing. Marvellously composed & arranged. Mukesh sounds fresh (very much like Karthik), Johnson's raw voice suits the mood & there's nothing more to say about Harini. Her singing speaks for her.I wish Rahman had used some traditional Indian percussions like thavil or mridangam. It would have added to the beauty of the song. ARR hasnt used the mridangam since a very long time.
Rating: *****
5. Aaha tamizhamma (Mathangi, Reyhana, Blaaze; lyric by Kabilan):
This song is a shift from the other songs in the album. The other songs r either classical-based or folk or romantic. This is a more youth-oriented, carefree number. It carries the 'Boys' & 'E20' tag. Mathangi is ARR's current favourite among the freshers. Reyhana joins her after a long time. Blaaze (Balaji, as written in Tamil on the cover) doesnt get much to do here but again, its just the association & importance one gets after being with ARR. The song does have a Carnatic base but the treatment is totally of a pop song. The song starts with female harmony 'Booyekku booyekku shock...na na na..."(thats what I can hear) with unique percussions (like banging a dish). Thruout the song, u'll hear digital sounds & samples. The main rhythm is similar to that of 'Shakalaka Baby'. Its very catchy & groovy. The song definitely reminds me of the title song of 'Paarthale Paravasam' with the female harmony singers. The keyboard piece which follows is very innovative. Like the voice-cuts, ARR has cut the sound of the entire keyboard piece rhythmically. This piece, as told by someone, is an old Bharatiyaar song. Rahman has remixed it(he's gonna remix an old Tamil number for the film 'New'). The song has some amusing lyrics like 'Aa..ee...uu..ae...oo' (like teaching small kids). The highlight of the song is definitely the female harmony. There r layers of harmonies going on at the same time. When they return to 'booyekku shock...' there's a clarinet-like instrument going in the back. As ARR's trademark, he leaves no corner untouched! The bass guitar needs special mention. When Mathangi sings her lines, u can hear Blaaze singing some wierd words like 'Kaa..kaa..chaa..chaa'. Mathangi infuses a degree of sensousness in the song. There's no fixed structure of a pallavi-charanam. The lines r alternatively sung by the 2 singers. I love the harmony created in the lines 'mooru moorai nee paarthu'. The chorus part after 'thumbikku koondhalai' which is sung in double speed ('sudathida varuvaa)really catches attention. The song gets ample support from the chords department, especially in the charanams. The 2nd interlude is an extension of the opening keyboard piece with ghungroos & hard percussions(seems a lot like the interlude of 'Thiruvalli keni rani' from Udhaya). The charanams r similar. The harsh voice is Reyhana's while the sweet one is Mathangi's. The entire pallavi is repeated in the end. The female chorus sings only in one tone the last time (without the harmony), as if they're chanting. Blaaze ends the song with his wierd sounding words & giggling sometimes. The same interlude piece is used to conclude the song. But, the song ends very abruptly with a Blaaze's strange voice (as if someone's hit him!). The song is unique for its treatment & appeal. It'll appeal to both classes & masses. I'm sure, the youth is going to like it. If they've appreciated Boys & E20, they'll surely love this. Even if the song doesnt have the standard of a master composition, its charm lies in its simplicity & appeal.
Rating: ****
I'm sure many will agree with my comments (though they've come in very late), I would love to recieve ur feedback as usual. I can proudly put this album in the league of Roja, Bombay, Rangeela, Taal, Jeans, etc.
Overall Rating: ***** (this is from my heart!)
P.S.: This review is based on personal judgement & does not intend to hurt anybody's personal feelings.
Long Live The Genius
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