Touching a Note..

Even though I appreciate movies and music more than just listening to it, and have a musical persona to my side, I have never reviewed music and movies. Its probably because I feel that I am not qualified to do so or simply do not have the knack to do so.
Recently two of my absolutely favorite composers released back to back albums..the first being Vishal-Shekhar, two of the most talented musicians out there. Right from their debut movie, Jhankaar beats till date..these guys have their uniqueness in most of their songs which is extremely refreshing and innovative. The other composer needs no introduction, the Mozart of Madras- AR Rahman.

Vishals earlier album Honeymoon travels Pvt. Limited was an ensemble set of music, Right from the extremely addictive, creatively composed and brilliantly sung Sajnaji vari, vari to the hindspanic tango song, that album was path breaking (speaking of sajnaji vari vari-Its got an amazing video as well, KK Menon's dance is worth its wait). They follow it up with the next production from the sarkars of Bollywood, Yashraj film's Ta ra rum pum, which stars Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan. I was really curious to hear the soundtrack of this album, firstly because Vishal and Shekhar were back in action and secondly, their previous effort for this production house was not that bad. I was never so wrong..In my opinion, this is probably one of their most pedestrian efforts to date. The Cliches never stop, u have this happy family song, these 2 romantic duets, a back-to-your-feet-and-have-a-go motivation song and of course the punjabi numbers. Its this tune of been there heard that and disappointment which is heard repeatedly.
Similarly, Rahmans Sivaji was out last week, and i was excited to hear his sounds since I felt that after a lackluster 2006, where his best efforts were only Rang de Basanti and parts of Guru, he made a fantastic comeback with Pray for me Brother. For those who haven't heard it, its vintage Rahman back in the good old days. Minimal instrumentation, awesome voice control-the music, lyrics and vocals blend in such a way, that you are spellbound..listen to it using headphones and you will know what I am talking about. The instrumental version stands out on its own, especially the mridangam bit towards the end..it brought back memories of andhimandharai and Pavithra, some of Rahmans unsung works of wonder.
and now we have Sivaji, with all the hype surrounding it ever since its procreation, one did expect a good album, within commercial restraints due to the unanimous reason-Rajni. I know I will be making a lot of enemies here, but the album is sort of a letdown.
Though Rehman had to deal with the pressure, I felt that he could have justified himself better. The Vaaji, Vaaji song starts of well actually and amalgams a blend of middle eastern, hindustani and oriental tunes-the song generates a wierd feeling of deja vu.
The pick of the lot is the dulcet Sahana. However there are two words which brings back terrible memories-Udit Narayan. I feel that Udit Narayan should be allowed to sing songs with simple wordings, laced with ample english and hindi interspersion. However, we have him singing pure tamil. In the middle of the song, he goes into orgasmic overboard with "pookal", "Bhoomi" and "Vaanam". The results are heavenly. Chinmayee does a great job as usual, She is Rahman's Brahmastra.

Its saddening to see talented composers succumb to commercial constraints. It affects their credibility, confidence and skill. I feel a composer should be given a relatively free hand in doing what they do best. It would enable them to work from the heart.

Happy Listening.