Recent Picks of the Month(January 2009)

Patte Saare(Swarathma)
Guitar all the way!..This song is one incredibly catchy number and the track that impressed me the most in this album

Whole soundtrack of Dev D(Amit Trivedi)
One of the best albums i've heard in ages!!
Amit Trivedi simply rocks!!

Ye Pal and Man Bhawra(Aasma)
This soundtrack is terribly underrated!The two numbers,Ye Pal and Man Bhawra are just charming!!

Sapnon Se Bhare Naina(Luck By Chance)
Shankar Mahadevan towers over the whole soundtrack-I liked this one of the lot!

Pichaipaathiram(Naan Kadavul)
Madhu Balakrishnan's endearing vocals is the major highpoint in this song-Ilaiyaraja is in amazing form in this OST!..

Love Mera Hit Hit and Khudaya Khair(Billo Barber)
Pritam's latest is certainly very likeable with special mention to these two tracks.The other version of Khudaya Khair,You get me Rocking and Reeling too is very good!

Mudhal Murai(Adhe Neram Adhe Idam)
Wow!..this track from Adhe Neram Adhe Idam is just mind blowing.The tune,arrangements,interludes,everything-And the way Haricharan sings with ease for this track is just fabulous!

Abbaji and Mother's Land(Mahaleela)
Out of all the releases last month,I loved Delhi 6,Dev D and Mahaleela the most.Sivamani's debut indipop album is just heavenly!

Anandama(Koncham Ishtam Koncham Kashtam)
Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal just rock this particular track-Especially from when "Pattuko Pattuko" starts! beautiful!

Rehna Tu,Masakkali and Dil Gira Dafatan(Delhi 6)
Delhi 6 is one of the finest attempts by Rahman as a composer-Beats Slumdog Millionaire by miles!!

Oru Kal,Oru Parvayil(Siva Manasula Sakthi)
I like the Yuvan's version of Oru Kal better than Adnan's.And of course,the lovely Oru Parvaiyil is my pick of the soundtrack!

Chinnan Sirisu and Kadaloram(Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum)
Yuvan's rustic score for this album is awesome.Personally,I love Chinnan Sirisu-Javed Ali and Bela Shende have a ball in singing this track!..

Thelusuko(Kavya's diary)
Manu Ramesan's Telugu debut is immensely likeable and is very competent-In this track,Karthik simply sizzles along with the beautiful tune!

Thoovum Poo Mazhai and Vizhi Moodi(Ayan)
To be honest,these two tracks from Harris Jeyaraj's latest are very likeable,in an otherwise insipid soundtrack!

Tu Hi Mere Rab Ki Tarha Hai(Tu Hi Mere Rab Ki Tarha Hai)
Mithoon's indipop debut is a big disappointment in terms of innovation,but the title track is very adorable-Looking forward to next OST by Mithoon!

Silent Invocation A,B,C(Connections)
Gets a tad boring due to the length of the tracks-Anyway Love them for the most part!

Tu Hi Mera Rab Ki Tarha Hai(Mithoon)

Its really a shame-I was shocked,blown away,and especially dazed when i heard Mithoon's earlier tracks-Maula Mere,Javeda Zindagi,Teri Tamanna,Tere Bin,Ke bin tere.All of them were complete knock outs.And it was literally carved in my mind that this guy's gonna be the heir of Rahman-And then he comes up with this kinda album where every track impresses but every track reminds of his earlier compositions.The title track,Mujhe Ishq De,Aashiqui(Sounds so much like Eq Shaqs from Junoon!) and Har Jagah are really listenable-All of them with the instantly likeable Mithoon'ish sound but the tune fatigue is evident in each and every track.But whatever said Iam not gonna lose hope-Waiting for an innovative next OST,Mithoon!

Siva Manasula Sakthi(Tamil,Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Oru Kal is one astoundingly catchy number that you'd wanna listen over and again.The composer's voice is not that bad in this particular track and he scores hugely in the background department.And the other version by Adnan Sami just rocks-The strange backgrounds right through the song is just amazing!..But the intro song,MGR Illenge is a disappointment-The tune per se is not all that good(good only in parts!)and the bad lyrics adds to the boredom-Completely Opposite to the next track,Hip-Hop'ish Eppadiyo Mattikitten,with Yuvan's background infusions making it even more listenable.Shankar Mahadevan's punchy vocals along with the backgrounds make Oru Adangapidari appealing enough with special mention to the first interlude.The short track,Oru Parvaiyil sung extremely well by Ranjith is in one word,beautiful.The pacy rendering at the beginning which paves way to the Oru Kal tune-all adds to the beauty.The final track,Thithikkum Theeyai is delightful,mainly due to the arrangements and soaring vocals by K.K.Yuvan gets another Satham Podathay'esque(and Machakkaran'ish) soundtrack with Siva Manasula Sakthi!..

Swarathma(Indipop)

The lovely guitar in Patte Saare just rocks all through the track and the beautiful Violin pieces in the end of the song are just amazing.Pyaar Ke Rang is a tad disappointing in the beginning-It sounds more like the title track of Qismat Apnay Haat Mein by Shehzad Roy but the tune moves away when the song progresses and becomes immensely attractive.Jaana Kahan Hai Mujhe and Bolo Kya Hai are incredibly catchy with the Rock'ish tinge being the main reason.Ee Bhoomi just drifts away in terms of the tune arrangements to make it appropriate for a Kannada number-Again the violin peices in the middle are mind-blowing.The final track which i found interesting was the slow and soothing Pyaasi for which you warm up instantly.Buy this album-It provides adequate fun!

Credits:
Jishnu Das Gupta-Bass And Backing Vocals
Pavan Kumar-Percussion And Backing Vocals
Montry manuel-Drums
Varun-Lead Guitar And Backing Vocals
Sanjeev Nayak-Violin
Vasu Dixit-Vocals And Rhythm Guitar

Guest Artistes:
Suhail Yusuf Khan(Advaita):Sarangi on Pyaasi and Barsenge
Keshav:Thavil on Barsenge and Mrudangam on Sur Mera
Rakesh:Dholak on Patte Saare and Pyaar Ke Rang

Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum(Tamil,Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Javed Ali and Bela Shende get a cracker of a tune in Chinnan Sirisu with beautiful lyrics while Yuvan rocks completely in the Orchestral department.S P Charan's fabulous vocals in Kadaloram Oru Ooru along with the haunting backgrounds is just an audio treat while the Yuvan's version of the song is just passable.The self-Professed gramathu Pattu,Muttathu Pakkathil sung by Venkat Prabhu is addictive in a weird way with a quirky ring to it.SPB's Na Dharmanda,however is a misfit in this soundtrack with the loud singing by SPB not exactly pushing the proceedings.The final track,Nee Oru Nimisham symbolises sorrow in a very unconventional way-A spectacular attempt by the composer!..Yuvan's Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum is delightful for the most part-Beats his earlier rustic score in Paruthiveeran.The composer starts off the year on a high!..

P.S:My 100th post.By Pure coincidence,i got to write my 100th post for a Yuvan's OST!:-)
Cheers!

Connections(A.R.Rahman)

Surprisingly,the "Ude Le Ude Le" part is missing in the full version of Jiya Se Jiya but it sure is catchy.It would've majorly clicked if not for the extremely loud backgrounds which is just pissing off.Sukhwinder Singh springs a complete surprise with his vocals in Mann Chandre-Just when i thought he would be a misfit in this very slow track.But the song per se has some generous sprinklings of the composer's earlier work in Slumdog Millionaire,mainly in the orchestration.The Thirukkural verses by the female singer is more likeable when compared to Blaaze's rendering which almost sounds like the stupid slow rap he did in Loosu Penne.But the album is interesting and unconventional only due to the instrumentals.Mosquito,Mylapore Blues and Himalaya are amazing,right from the way it starts with beautifully arranged assortment of sounds to the way it ends in the end,especially in Mosquito.But the album belongs to the Silent Invocation A,B and C.All the three tracks are a complete knock-out in terms of the mood created by them and they are incredibly well packaged.The six instrumentals stand out in this latest album by Rahman.

Ayan(Tamil,Harris Jeyaraj)

Nenje Nenje is pure embarassment,what with the intake of such songs composed by Harris reaching a very uncomfortable level.Benny Dayal simply rocks in the incredibly catchy,Thoovum Poo Mazhai but is undone by the monotonous(Big time!)additions that Harris always tends to do in all his compositions.Vizhi Moodi is shocking to say the least-The song sounds oh-so-much like Siru Parvaiyale from Bheema but for some change in the backgrounds done purely to differentiate both the tracks.But not considering the tune resemblance,the song is just a pure delight!..Pala Pala has some unbearable lyrics and the song as such is passable,but for sure rubs in more of the ennui in the soundtrack.In the final track Honey Honey,the composer tries to accomodate funky backgrounds to make up for the messy tune and rhythm,but with bad results.Harris Jeyaraj's Ayan is terribly uninspiring.The composer is running out of his stock for songs,and how!

Kavya's Diary(Telugu,Manu Ramesan)

Hayire Hayire,by Hemachandra is very impressive with interesting backgrounds while O Pranama is totally Harris'ish right from the start with ambient and eerie sounds and is very listenable.Thelusuko is awesome,with Karthik's vocals completely blending with the fabulous tune(Especially in the charanams).Tippu rocks big time in the jazzy Po Velipo,but otherwise the tune is only mildly interesting.The last track,Yenno Yenno is instantly likeable and the overall catchiness is tremendously improved by Geetha Madhuri and Pranavi's beautiful vocals.Manu Ramesan's debut was Pidichirukku,which was in tamil and was very under-rated but had very competent songs.His telugu debut,Kavya's Diary is immensely likeable!..

Delhi 6(Hindi,A R Rahman)

Hey Kaala Bandar has curiously funny lyrics,marked by the catchy rhythm with Karthik mouthing the track with his ever-attractive vocals.Rekha Bharadwaj's vocals in Genda Phool along with western backgrounds make it mighty interesting and unconventional!..The next track,Dil Gira Dafaton goes a step ahead and just sizzles from the start with spellbinding backgrounds by Ash King and Rahman.The way the song progresses along with the tune just makes u go Oh my god!!..Tanvi,Blaaze,Vivienne,Claire and Benny just rock completely in the mind-blowing title track with special mention to Tanvi,Viviene and Claire's vocals!..Arziyan and Aarti just epitomizes classical purity in every sense and both the tracks just get you hooked to it completely!..Amitabh Bachchan's Shayeri in Noor is commendable and is a worthy add-on.But the best songs in the soundtrack are Bhor Bhayi,Masakkali and Rehna Tu!..Shreya Ghoshal along with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan just soak the listeners with their nothing-short of-endurable vocals in Bhor Bhayi while Masakkali is just a typical Rahman track With the assortment of sounds infused to make it like an extremely mouth-watering Aloo-Paratha!..The last track,Rehna Tu is just magical with a beautiful tune done completely by Rahman's vocals-One of the Best tracks composed by Rahman.Oh my god!..Coming to think of Slumdog Millionaire,it sounds like nothing when compared to Delhi 6-Hats off,Rahman!

Nandhalala(Tamil,Ilaiyaraja)

To be honest,Mella Oorndhu Oorndhu is outdated and is just a recycle of one of his famous songs(I cant recall now!..Just a gut feeling!) but is changed altogether to a different genre!..Onnu Konnu is excellent with magical vocals by Yesudas and beautiful backgrounds.Thalattu Ketka Naanum and Oru Vaandu Koottame are typical Raja songs which just pass muster.Vijay Yesudas,Madhu Balakrishnan and Swetha are adorable in Kai Veesi and the tune is instantly likeable.Saroja Amma's rendering in Elilea Elilea is actually very funny,as though she was forced to come into the studio and sing!..Ilaiyaraja's Nandhalala is good but Naan Kadavul was better!..But It is heartening to see that Ilaiyaraja seems to be doing what he knows best rather than keeping with the trends!..

Jugaad(Hindi,Sachin Gupta)

Tu Hai Rab Mera,by Krishna is lilting and has amazingly added layers in the middle while Neeraj Shridhar's title track has bits of composer's earlier reggae-based Utha Le Ya Phenk De from Dil Kabaddi.Mushkil Halaton,despite that forced chorus works well while Tabahi Tabahi,is bland and is one painfully boring track.Adeel's work in Kise Awaaz Doon is excellent and the song almost sounds like a Pritam track while the final track,Jai Sai Ram is incredibly well packaged,for a devotional track and is again sung beautifully by Krishna.Sachin Gupta's first soundtrack,Dil Kabaddi was not a path-breaking soundtrack but i just loved Ehsaan from that soundtrack.Similarly,Sachin pulls off another above-average soundtrack with Jugaad!..

Padikkathavan(Tamil,Mani Sharma)

Mani Sharma was never that skilled at composing folk songs,with Hey Vetri Vela being the witness for the fact.But the singers,Naveen and Ranjith raise the tempo considerably.Mani Sharma uses his Rathraina from Athithi with Hey Rosu Rosu and sounds completely bad even though the tune is equally catchy.For the next track,the composer uses his super-hit song Ramma Chilakamma from Choodalani Undhi(Which came approx 10 years bak)and sounds completely outdated now.Now for the next track,it is the recycling of his amazing Yevarunnarani Neekaina from Yuvatha but thankfully it sounds nice solely because of Karthik.Definitely Mani seems to have a soft corner for Ranjith and makes him croon for the third time with Appa Amma Vilayattu,which is a lame rehash of Aaresukoboi Paresukunnanu!..Mani Sharma's Padikkathavan is just pure agony!..

Koncham Ishtam Koncham Kashtam(Telugu,Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

Egire is all noise right from the start but S-E-L touches are evident as the song progresses to make it fairly listenable while Aanandama,with that neat tune and catchy rhythm is alluring.Abacha is totally a telugu styled track and is only passable with a childish chorus while the title track is a typical SEL styled tune with telugu'ish touches with Shankar Mahadevan towering over the song completely.Evade Subramanyam and Antha Siddanga too asserts the fact that the trio has drowned completely into the telugu-styled song composing.The deliberately slow,Enduku depicting sorrow is sung well by UnniKrishnan and Shankar Mahadevan while Panchirey,despite the catchy sound is cliched.Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's debut is a mixed bag and falls massively short of their work in Bollywood but their intelligent adaptation to the telugu style epitomizes the fact that they are incredibly special talent!..

Mahaleela(A Sivamani)

Sivamani's work in the aptly titled Dancing on the moon is impeccable even as the tune propped up by him for the chanting is fabulous.The second track,Kriya is haunting and the assortment of sounds infused in the second half of the song along with the music is completely mesmerizing while the third track Abbaji,dedicated to all the masters is simply magic with Ustad Allah Rakah and Zakir Hussain doing a stunner along with Sivamani's excellent tune that merges completely.Infinity,based on Child birth too is beautifuly packaged with Osho's vocalists while Santushti with strange sounds throughout the song is just a treat with Sivamani's excellent percussion work being visible right from the start.Mandolin Srinivas' display is the highlight in the groovy Basin Bridge while Sivamani intelligently uses some mild Kuthu beats in the backgrounds in the beginning which sounds completely amazing along with the tune.Naveen's flute display is simply lovely(Iam running out of adjectives!!)in Mother's Land while Rangbir and Tanvi's vocals add to the beauty.Shankar Mahadevan enters the scene with his rousing vocals in Vasi Vasi and so does Hariharan with Jam Packed and both of them deliver with considerable ease.The two instrumentals,S M Anandan and Aadhar are executed incredibly well with the Percussionist in Sivamani just going out of control in the former(Understandable,because S M is his father and this instrumental is an ode to him)while the the latter impresses just due to its earthy simplicity.The last track,Thank You with Sivamani(And Blazee in the background)saying the vote of thanks is just a novel way to end this heavenly soundtrack.The best thing about this album is that the composer in the Sivamani simply sizzles and the fact that his percussion display is non-imposing just makes the album even more beautiful.I recall Rahman saying Sivamani is the rarest of the rarest talents in the launch function.His words rightly sums up the album!..

1977(Tamil,Vidyasagar)

Except for the composer's interesting additions in the background department in Arabi Kadal,the song as such is only mildly catchy while Havaai Theevil clearly apes some english song to a very uncomfortable level.Sadhana Sargam and Madhu Balakrishnan's vocals are the highlight in the mellow Yenathu Uyire while it is the same with Krithika's vocals in Ore Oru but Vijay Yesudas' vocals has been kinda tampered with.The last track,Vangakkadal too with Shankar Mahadevan's vocals is catchy enough to give multiple listens.This soundtrack clearly does not complement Vidyasagar's standards as a composer,but is surprisingly good for a Sarath Kumar movie.The Vidyasagar's latest OST,1977 is just about bearable.

Adhe Neram Adhe Idam(Tamil,Premgi Amaran)

Premgi gets into the Adiye En Annakkili mood again with the Adhu Oru Kalam and is just passable but Haricharan is simply amazing even in this relatively simple track.Mudhal Murai is another simple earthy melody with Haricharan sizzling again with his mesmerizing vocals,this time along with Harini.But it sounds a lot like one of his own earlier tracks,Neraa Varattuma from Nenjathai Killadhe.Vennilavu is impressive with some interesting infusions by Premgi and sounds almost like a Yuvan track,in terms of the tune.The final two Folk'ish tracks,Toshiba and Nammooru Chennaiyila sung by Premgi and his brother Venkat Prabhu are repulsive and are outdated big time!..This soundtrack by Premgi Amaran is just functional and has nothing inventive in it.

Billoo Barber(Hindi,Pritam)

Marjaani is one incredibly catchy number that holds on instantly while the thankfully slow You get me rocking is equally good,with Neeraj Shridhar's vocals being a huge plus.But Ae Aa O is a tad banal,with all the predictable elements thrown in while Love Mera Hit Hit has a good neat rhythm flowing throughout the song but is again undone by the mundane tune.Billoo Bhayankar is a very enjoyable track done with funny lyrics to make it very lively.The next two songs literally add up to make one sparkling soundtrack.A first listen to the heartwarming Khudaya Khair is enough to make you go Wow with Raahat Fateh Ali Khan and Soham Chakraborty joining in to sizzle while the last track,Jaaon Kahan too works mainly due to the pleasant and hummable chorus.Despite the several accusations of Plagiarism regarding Pritam,This is actually very good stuff by him.He starts off the year with a bang!..

Freedom(Akon)

The much hyped Right Now(Na Na Na),Over The edge,Against The Grain(Feat.Ray Lavender)and Troublemaker(Feat.Sweet Rush) are the only tracks that are marginally interesting in this contrived soundtrack.The cheesy "I wanna make out right now" chorus in Right now,and some interesting additional hooks in Against the grain and Troublemaker and the typical Akon'ish tune in Over the Edge stand out in the above tracks.Apart from that,this soundtrack is so incoherent and each song is so overwhelmingly similar to every other track that you start wondering the fact if the emphasis was laid only on the sheer amount of songs rather than the quality.Very sad,because Akon's brand of music was so enjoyable till now and the creeping in of the monotony in the songs is really saddening.I dont wanna waste any more time writing about this.Give a miss to this one!!..

Naan Kadavul(Tamil,Ilaiyaraja)

Shreya Ghoshal sounds her usual self in Kannil Parvai,while the other version with Raja's raunchy vocals is predictably,less appealing than Shreya's version.Madhu Balakrishnan's Pichaipathiram is a typical Ilaiyaraja'ish amazing track which grows on you after several listens like how it did for me.Om Siva Om,is punchy with all the chanting and the predictable sounds required for this situational track.Sadhana Sargam's vocals in Amma Un Pillai gives a good amount of charm to this track and if not for the painfully slow rendering,it works while its shorter version,Maatha Un Kovilil is too short to comment.Raja's propensity to Classically driven songs for this soundtrack is understandable and he does justice to it big time because thats what the script demands.

Luck By Chance(Hindi,Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

Shankar Mahadevan hits with vengeance in Sapnon Se Bhare Naina,an awesome compilation with imaginative backgrounds and his thumping vocals.The folk'ish Baawre too is wonderfully sung by Shankar Mahadevan while Loy and Shekhar Ravjiani,rock this time in the delightful Yeh Zindagi Bhi,a typical SEL track but with the soundscape reminiscent of their work in Taare Zameen Par.Pyaar Ki Dastan,too works with beautiful vocals by Mahalakshmi Iyer especially in the charanams.Sunidhi Chauhan's Scintillating vocals in Yeh Aaj Kiya Ho Gaya is the only thing that works in the song while Shankar Mahadevan wraps up the soundtrack with O Rahi re,which reminds a lot of their previous works but is all the same catchy.SEL kickstart the year on a high with Luck By Chance but is definitely a step behind their previous venture,Chandni Chowk to China.

Aasma(Hindi,Afsar,Sajid)

The pleasant chorus and the hummable tune makes way for the delightful Ye Pal,which is sure to stay in my playlist for quite a while!..The Haunting tune in Man Bhawra is impressive but its painfully slow and therefore becomes a tad somniferous while its Lounge mix doesn't deserve a mention.Chalte Rahein,despite the lively start meanders when it progresses to the paragraphs.On the same lines,The title track too goes haywire after a good start,only to get into the never ending "Choo Le Aasman" chorus.Despite the fact that there is zero hype for this OST,this soundtrack just passes muster mainly due to the first track,Ye Pal.

Dev D(Hindi,Amit Trivedi)

Kshithij and Shilpa Rao try their hand in a folkish melody for the first time in Dhol Yaara Dhol and succeed big time while their other track,Ranjhana is a typical appeasing number expected out of them every time.Amit succesfully tries another Haara'ish track with Aankh Micholi while his other tracks which he's sung include the awesomely added subtle touches in Saali Kushi and Nayan Tarse,Chakkar Ghumyo'ish Duniya and those zingy backgrounds done with the sing-along tune in Toshi's Pardesi.The best thing about the above tracks is the assortment of amazing sounds the composer has added to make them very interesting.Shruthi Pathak's vocals does magic in the stunningly beautiful Payaaliya and Dil Mein Jaagi.Joi Barua's Ek Hulchul Si is decent but has nothing to rave about while Labh Janjua's Hikknaal is routine while his other track,Mahi Mennu is more interesting just like its sad version.Aditi's haunting vocals in Yehi Meri Zindagi make it mighty interesting just like how Amit's jazzy infusions does it so for the Dev chanda Themes.The highlight of this huge soundtrack,however is the innovative and zingy Emosanal Attyachar and its rock version which grows on to you as you keep listening to it.Amit Trivedi's second OST for Hindi is better than his first and I must say that he is on his road to Superstardom! I dont remember even Rahman doing such stuff when he was a beginner!..