The Golden Era of Dr.IR and Dr.SPB

[Sureshs65]

Lovely posts going on and unfortunately unable to write bigger comments. Anyway, let me try and support app on the 'mounamaana neram' song.

Here is a contestant singing the original Telugu song, "mounam elanoyi". Forget about her singing. Check the comments that K Vishwanath and SPB give after she finishes the song. To those who don't understand Telugu, here is the gist:

Director K. VIshwanath (he is the chief guest): I asked Illayaraja that I needed a song, similar to old Geeta Dutt songs, giving us the feeling of evening breeze. Let's do a soft song like that. Based on my request he gave me this song.The words have merged so well that you cannot make out that words were written for the tune. And that orchestration. In lot of songs, orchestration and the tune do not merge together. The orchestration will be doing something tangential to the tune. In this song, the tune has merged beautifully with the words and the orchestration merges with the tune as if they are Parvathi and Siva.

SPB: (After the initial humming, turns to K Vishwanath and says) I am sure his inspiration for the song came from this humming of Geeta Dutt, since you had mentioned Geeta Dutt to him. I think this is from the movie 'Bandini'. Raja was a great fan of Dada Burman. (Turns to KV again) You know how much he respected Burman. He even has his photo in his recording room. (Sings part of the songs and stops at 'letha gaali' and exclaims) Who is this fellow? Isn't it like 'letha gaali' here (tender breeze). The second note gives that effect. This song has so many nuances. (To the contestant) You tried to get that laugh there but it did not register. (Sings again) The voice sounds like an Hawaiian guitar here. (Sing again) No one will compose such a 'sangathi' here except Illayaraja. If they ask me to improvise I would done like this (sings) but not like what Illayaraja did. No one can think of it except Illayaraja, because that is how it is. It is just that he is a bit more closer to Saraswathi than others. (Sings again and at 'ta tha ra raa points out) Initially there was no voice here just music but hearing the way she sang either Raja or KV told her to join in. (Asks the orchestra to play the flute bit again.)



Truly inspiring stuff.

[Sureshs65]

One more clip of the same 'mouna melanoyi' song and again SPB comments



The kid sings quite well and went on to win the competition.

SPB's comments: If anyone other than Illayaraja in the whole of India can compose such a song, I will quit singing. (Luckily for us, there is none and hence Balu is still singing ). We (me and Janaki) had a tough time making this our own. We had to sing each and every sangathi designed by Raja. We did not add anything at all to the song. Every single bit is that of Illayaraja.

[kiru]

Plum..dont mean to frustrate you. I should have added 'religio-cultural' aspects also are difficult to translate. For eg. how would you translate - sivanEnu irundhEn .. ippadi *********** .we do get your point - Vairamuthu patently made it secular. Well, as an artist we should give him some freedom. Inspite of all criticisms about him here, he is a damn good poet (see foll. example by V_S) so some of us might tend to ignore such transgressions which you might find non-trivial.

@app - now that youth has slipped thru my fingers like fine sand.. I am probably clutching on to these memories to feel younger All those teen years marveling Vairamuthu's lyrics glorifying the beauty of a woman or nature has given way to IR's kaaranam inRi kanneer varum really bringing the tears out !!!
@a-to-a - - not sure how many people here would have 'seat pidichchufied in the mess way before 7pm when the serving actually starts' !!! app any stories related to mess ?. you would say it better.

[Plum]

Kiru, I don't mean to be an arrogant prick. Atleast, I don't MEAN to.
But the point is that I did objectively say that vm failed to capture nuances. Both you and gen agree on the point. The bit about me saying that vm is inferior because of ths is strictly in your imagination only

[app_engine]

Great links, Sureshji! mikka nanRi!

SPB, arumaiyAna rasikanayyA neer! vAzhga!

[app_engine]

kiru,
Since there are lot more songs to post in this thread, I'll make sure most interesting experiences related to mess get captured

Yes, that'll include the rush to D mess before 7 PM on occasions

[app_engine]

#142 அழகான பூக்கள்
(அன்பே ஓடி வா, 1984 )

AhA! What a sweetie!

Perhaps one of the songs that I had enjoyed max number of times on headphone during hostel days! Ofcourse, on each occasion, listened to the SJ version as well. Interestingly, I've not ceased to enjoying the SJ version ('kanavOdu Engum iLam poongodi' where it almost sounds like a ghazal when she sings the pallavi in the end). Even now - it's a regular on car often unlike the SPB number which is not on any of my special-cut CDs.

A guitar special, with some novice-like stereo tricks - perhaps IR gave a free hand to the sound guys till the first half of eightees. It was possibly from the 'enga ooru pAttukkAran' times that the mixing / disti of instruments to left & right were of some standard ('sheNbagamE' is great).

Until then, it wasn't handled professionally IMO (including the celebrated priyA and pattAkkAththi bhairavan - even the likes of payaNangaL mudivathillai). anbE Odi vA is another example where the disti between left-right is laugh-worthy by today's standards but I thoroughly enjoyed the gimmicks during student days. (Interestingly, I was also listening to the likes of beat it , thriller & billie jean a lot during the same time period on headphones. Strange that I liked both sets of music on walkman despite the 'ENi vachchAlum ettAtha' recording standards).

Ofcourse the TDK sponsor was our Thanjavur thalaivar! He continued his dedicated rAsA service to the Emerald hostelers each week. IR's albums during 84 were like flood - practically one each week and we had laddu supply from thanjai almost weekly! My movie viewing had come down a little bit (after whole-year-topper-of-almost-250 in sem 2, I was close to class bottom within the 40-strong ECE in sem 3... so working on some damage control from sem 4, got great dividends topping the class in sem 6 & 7). Still, it was only a "little-bit" as none during the Saturday shows on audi got skipped. Neither did the cycling to bhelec or thuvAk-city tooring talkies reduce.

However, there were fewer trips to rockfort-citty theaters and don't remember watching anbE Odi vA...

[Plum]

I've also settled on the SJ version but I prefer the imperfections of recording as you call them of the 80s to the clarity of Ramarajan days. I can't see a problem with pattakththi bhairavan etc. Thank God for my music tech ignorance.

The SPB bersion lacks something - wholesomeness, perhaps, that the Janaki version offers

[balaji]

App_engine

IMHO SPB took a little more liberty while singing this song and thus losing the IR touch (May be IR was not in the Studio when the recording happened). SJ if you notice would have sung in a controlled manner.

People always blame IR for not giving too much a free hand to the singers while singing. Not that I am a musical expert, but I am on IR's side. Songs singing with controlled alaaps always sound better..

None the less, a good song and SPB always shines (except for the too much Kuzhaivus..)

Bala

[Avadi to America]

@a-to-a - - not sure how many people here would have 'seat pidichchufied in the mess way before 7pm when the serving actually starts' !!! app any stories related to mess ?. you would say it better.

APP, neenga padichathu enga... CEG laya...