Hello friends,
First of all, sincere apologies for such a delay...I just cudnt help it. I got the CD 3 weeks late & then there were time problems. I was too curious to write the review...but didnt want to do it in a hurry! I had to hear each song carefully before beginning to write. Afterall, its the most awaited & publicized album of the year (or shoud I say decade?)
Rahman doesnt let us down even one bit this time. After a series of mediocres like Udhaya, KV, KM, Parsuram, ARR was in a fix! Tamilians had lost faith in his music. Though we had some mind-blowing melodies in Udhaya & KV...they went unnoticed. Rahman's calibre & 'genius at composing' came in the way. Naturally, the public didnt understand the level & depth of the music. But the National Award for Kannathil broke the ground! It won both the Music & Lyrics award. Now, you see how much we miss the ARR-Vairamuthu combo! I think the musical score for Kannathil was soul-stirring. If u've heard the BGM, it was just amazing. There was so much pain & pathos...especially the last scene where Nandita Das leaves Keerthana. God...tears just rolled down!
So now, with BOYS hitting the markets & topping the charts...happy days r here again! ARR has indeed worked hard for the score. The hype was sky-touching but Rahman has delivered. Why not? Afterall, its Shankar-Rahman combo again, which has always given us the best. After listening to Boys, I cud only say "Hats off!!!" It pertains the rock flavour throughout sticking firmly to the boundaries of the script. It has totally a youth-oriented appeal. After a long time one can proudly say to the world that Indian composers can compose too! I somehow feel that Boys should have been a global release for ARR than B'bay Dreams. It has all the elements of global music. B'bay dreams was good...but Boys is mind-boggling! Shankar & the producer, A.M.Rathnam should have done more marketing for the film. I atleast expected the songs or promos to be aired on music channels like M.T.V or Channel V. Many Tamil songs did appear on these channels previously like Kandukondain, Alaipayuthey, KM, etc. The amount of capital they've utilised, it should get a national viewership atleast. But I was satisfied with the packaging & overall look of the album. Star Music has done a good job. The inlay cover has the lyrics of all songs with pictures & a short poetic introduction of all characters. Its very colourful & bright. The sound is good too...with all that 5.1 digital surround (I cudnt find it on my cover...is it there????)
Truly, its really tough for me to write a review of such an album, coz I've never been exposed to hardcore rock or International pop music..as people mentioned earlier that it sounds like Eminem, Backstreet Boys, etc. Nyways, I've tried my best to analyse the songs as per my knowledge & experience. Hope I'll not let u down. Thanx for the unanimous support u've always bestowed upon me.
Rating scale: ** mind-blowing; * good; * average; cud-have-been-better; * poor
GIRLFRIEND (Karthik, Timmy, Tipu):
Karthik is the hero of the album, getting the maximum songs & doing justice to them too! I think, he's the best discovery by ARR in recent times. The song is very catchy in all the departments, viz. lyrics, tune, rhythm, appeal. After the soundtrack released, people actually say that this song has become an anthem for the youth as it exactly describes the condition of college-going teens. Pa.Vijay handles the lyrics decently (I dont understand a word...but thats what I've heard from others). The song starts with modulated vocals & soon percussions follow. The best part of the album is the electic guitars by Christy. Absolutely stunning! The rhythm is very catchy with hard percussions & has the rock flavour. The song starts with claps & bass guitars accompanying the vocals. The best part is during the lines "inaiya thallathil..." where the melody enters. It reminds me of the song "Pookum malarai" from Udhaya. The support from the accoustic & spanish guitars is amazing. When the song returns to the pallavi, the punch of the rhythm & elec.guitars is groovy. Throughout the lines "Paal pole.." one can hear a fade pan-flutish sound which is very nostalgic. Actually, I m short of adjectives to write this review. What music! The 1st interlude is mainly the elec.guitar. Its very heavy metal kinds, just getting in to the groove. The charnams r pretty short, just 2-3 lines in the same tune. The chord progression is an added asset. These lines gradually lead to the pallavi. Its just the punch of the singers & the youthful lyrics that make this song so wonderful. Able vocal support by Timmy & Tippu. Computerised sounds & modulations can be found in all the songs. The 2nd charnam first starts without any percussions. Rest of the progression is same. Overall the song is apt to the situation & is already a hit! The picturisation is also cool. The songs have already set up an atmosphere before the film's release. This is the director's vision & expertise. Rating: ****
DATING (Vasundhara Das, Blaaze):
My favourite song...since the day I downloded the bits. It has always attracted my ears because of it novel structure: a rap song with Tamil & English lyrics with a total Indian melody. Its got an instant response. Wow! Finally, Blaaze gets a solo song & not just some lines to rap! When we met Vasundhara & Blaaze at the Mumbai Concert rehersals, they said only one thing about the song...just watch out! Its really worth the wait! Blaaze starts the song without rhythm with the bass & a peculiar sound that seems as if we were in space! Suddenly u get a jerk when the rhythm starts. Its kinda hip-hop pattern. Blaaze starts the prelude "D A T I N G..." & the guitar pattern that follows is exactly a replica of the guitars from "Vellai pookkal" of KM in Kalyani ragam. The melody is purely Indain with shades of Kalyani. Then a series of arguments begin between the girl & the guy. Sometimes the guy asks in Tamil while the other replies in English. Its an interesting blend of both the languages. The way Vasundhara sayss typical Tamil words like 'aiyo...poda...' with an accent sounds really cute. The song somehow reminds me of Aqua's "Barbie girl". The lines "love is not a game" has come out really well. Its hardcore classical, like a taanam. The 1st interlude has the girl & the guy chasing & teasing each other. The charnams r typically Carnatic. The structure is exactly same as in any Kalyani krithi. The languages r used alternately. The song has enough support from the strings section. The 2nd interlude has some wierd alaaps by Kunal..as if purposely done. The charnams r same. Its actually more of a philosophical song; the boy proposing love whereas the girl sticks to friendship. The lines "Friendship enbadhu RAC..." r really cute. Again there's use of pan-fultes in the interludes whereas the guitar progression is continuous throughout. In the end there is additional use of hard percussions & guitars to bulid up a climax. Vasundhara just leaves the song.."Just beat it friend..." Its one of the best compositions in recent times. It needs a great vision to think of a song like this. Usually, western rock or po songs only have a catchy rhythm but these songs have a soulful melody & thats why they have a longer life. Rating: *
BOOM BOOM (Adnan Sami, Sadhana Sargam):
Another favourite of mine. These r such songs that immediately capture ur attention. A word about the singers- Adnan Sami's debut in Tamil...good attempt. His voice tamil pronounciations sound really cute. What can I say about Sadhana. I think she's the only singer whom ARR has given so much of variety. Listen to 'Snegidhane' & then hear 'Konjum mainakkale'. She's the one who's sung 'Azhage sugama' & "Udhaya' & has also attempted a 'Kadhal vettukili'. Listen to the song 'Anbe idhu nijamdhana' from Rhythm & then 'Oone oone' from Alli Arjuna. Almost all types of songs! This is called versitality. Mainly, her voice suits subtle romantic & ligh songs, but Rahman has giver her all kinds of songs & she's done justice to all. Coming back to the song....its again a very melodious one. Hip-hop, light-hearted melody. Apt for Adnan's voice.The song starts with great percussions...lots of metals used. The rhythm is awesome. It peps up ur mood. The melody includes saxophones & trumpets. Its a genuine party number. Its roots can be traced in old hindi numbers composed by Shankar-Jaikishan or R.D.Burman. The words "Boom boom" r really cute & the way Adnan's sung it. Sadhana handles the Tamil parts. The 2nd time she repeats the lines "Kadhal idhudhaan..." there's beautiful male harmony. The best part is when Adnan goes "Oye hoy oye..." & Sadhana sings "Kootangoochi..." with half-notes. She takes beautiful harqats though. The 1st interlude has mainly sax & trumpets. The charnams cd have been better...atleast when the start is fantastic. Anyways...its just very simple..may be he wanted it like that. I dont know about Adnan's pronounciations but he's done a good job. Sadhana sounds a bit loud in the upper octave...but then its ok. She covers up for the rest. ARR joins for the chants "Boom boom" throughout. Only, if he cud sing more!!! The 2nd interlude has mixed harmonies & then the percussion changes to bongos. That part has come out really well. Charnams r same..no difference...even the order of the singers is same...boy, girl. When the song returns to the pallavi, the singers shift places. Sadhana sings the upper notes, while Adnan does the rest. The end is really interesting. Suddenly, u wonder whats happening? The melody starts changing...typical jazz style with saxophones. At the 1st hearing, u feel its absurd..but then u undersatnd that it must be the situation that has prompted such a drastic change. It looks like some kids stuff...basically circus-types. But its really cute. Its really difficult to keep a balance between melody & rhythm. But then its ARR...& u always expect some decent stuff! Then u have the typical ARR keys changing in the end like in "Humma humma" or "Ooh lalala". This all builds up a crescendo & then leaves u craving for more. This desire is not left unsatisfied, coz there's lots more for the album to offer. Stick on!!!! Rating: **** 1/2
Break the rules (Karthik, George, Kunal, Sunitha, Anupama):
Looks like ARR has composed this song for Sivamani! Lot of percussions...drums, djembes & other heavy percussions. The song is based on the spirit of teenagers who r carefree, independent & fun-loving. It celebrates the sentiment of youth. Thats why words like "Maaro maaro..., le le salaam..., names of places..., break the rules.." Among the singers, Karthik's voice is most prominent. Others also leave their impact & r mainly young, upcoming singers. Kunal is geeting promoted by ARR of late. He's got a very unique voice. Sunitha is probably Sunitha Sarathy who's done some harmony for ARR films like Love Birds, En swasa katre & recently "Thudu varuma" from Khakka Khakka. She's totally a western singer. Ditto for Anupama. The lyrics by Valee provide enough weight keeping in mind the theme of the film. The song has lot of punch & force...thanx to the singers & Sivamani! The lines "Break the rules" is sung in different ways..sometimes off-beat & sometimes before beat. Thats typically ARR! When the boys sing "Maaro maaro", the female voice sings the same line with lots of energy. Again, electric guitars provide the interludes. What amazed me was when they sing "Break the rules" he's used people's voices (more of kids) which keep on saying "Yeah". This adds to the genuineness of the situation (Shankar has shot this song on the streets of Chennai with huge crowds). This type of arrangement was used in Michael Jackson's song "They dont really care about us". The 1st interlude has the male harmony going "O ya he...." & then Sivamani tries his hands on different percussions. The charanams r again very simple...with girls following the boys. The harmonies r good. Throughout the album, Rahman has stuck to simple tunes rather than complicating them. Coz this album is for the younsters & the appeal has to be universal. The 2nd interlude has terrific guitars by Christy again. He's the soul of the album. In the end, there r lots of rhythmic calculations...handled very carefully by Sivamani. Actually the credit goes to the sound engineers & editors for doing such a great job. 3 cheers to Sivakumar, Sridhar, Aditya Modi, Pravin Mani, Joshua!!! This song has a mass-appeal & is sure to become a hit. Its instantly catchy & attractive. Rating: ****
SECRET OF SUCCESS (Lucky Ali, Vasundhara Das, Blaaze):
Lucky Ali debuts in ARR's periphery. There was lot of curiosity as many fans wanted Lucky Ali to sing for ARR. Rahman had mentioned in some interview that he liked Lucky's song "Na tum jaano na hum" from Kaho Na Pyar hai. May be this led to giving Lucky his due. He's a good singer...atleast when he gets his kind of songs. To get a song from Rahman & that too in Tamil with such a huge banner is an absolute honour. He's in full form in this song. Vasundhara is at her usualbest; accompanied on rap by the inimitable Blaaze! This is the grand finale song in the movie & it has style, glamour, pep, energy & the right blend of melody+rhythm. The song starts with ususal cosmetic sounds & percussions...followed by the lead vocals. Its a crowd-puller song. So the singers actually involve the audience to repet the words. Its really strange that they say Sa Ri Ga Mey..Pa Dha Ni Say. Its the slang or stylised accent of the youth. The mukhda is definately captivating. With lots of English words it has a global appeal. Again, Rahman utilises the electric guitars to the maxim. Lucky Ali's vocals excel throughout the song. He has put in efforts to get the diction right & putting in the punch. After the dialogue the best part is when the chorus goes "Oho ho ho..." in the upper octaves. Its truly energetic...totally pop-ish. The 2nd time Lucky sings "Sa ri ga mey..", theres a descending progression of church-bells. This is something very unique..that too with the right chords. The overall song is very melodious...specially the lines "Love kaakkilo....". The lines "To be a star.." sound like Britney Spears song "Hit me baby..." or "Oops I did it again!". The 1st interlude has an interesting blend of vocals "we'r the boys" & manjiras. Now this is what I call a true fusion. There is no definite structure of the song...it does not follow the regular pallavi-charnam structure. If u go to see there's only 1 charnam. After returning to the pallavi, there's a rap by Blaaze followed by the alaaps "Oho ho...". These alaaps end with Lucky's lines "vetriyil ragasiyame" & then again the chords change to a higher note. This continues till the whole scene builds a climax. There's use of cymbals & heavy percusssions, also Vasundhara doing a typical western opera kinds. The song ends with a bang leaving only the chords to do the needful. Its one of the best songs in recent times. This album is a winner already! Rating: *
PLEASE SIR (Charan, Kunal, Clinton, Chinmayi):
I feel that its the best melody I've heard. Agreed, it has a hangover of "Smaiyai" from Kandukondain, but its still a brilliant attempt. Clinton handles the vocal arrangement intelligently. Its a genuine effort of harmony. The song starts with "Please Sir" with different harmonies touching all notes of the octave. There's no rhythm as such, only a digitally modulated voice. Charan gets his chance after Alaipayuthey. He sounds exactly like his father. But he's got only two lines. Throughout the song, the harmony "please sir" continues. The subsequent lines r handled by Clinton & Kunal. If u hear it properly, he's used the panning effect. U'll hear Clinton's voice in one speaker while Kunal's voice will be heard only in the 2nd one. The most promising talent of-late, Chinmayi sings the rest. Her lines r the best. When she's singing, the male harmony continues in the background. A very beautiful harmony indeed! U automatically start to snip ur fingers. She shows her range in those 4 lines. The male harmony takes off from where Chinmayi ended, but this time its off-beat. They return to the main lines on beat & then thats all. The song is too short...one of the bit songs. The remaining part has the bass guitar, humming & then the dialogues "I'm on my knees sir....Please sir". Finally, the lady speaks & the song ends. Brilliant song...I wish this was a full-length one. I loved it...very much like those Western Choir songs. Hope they release other bit songs too! Rating: **** 1/2
ALE ALE (Karthik, Chitra Sivaraman):
Finally a full song in Tamil! Rahman returns to his roots...composing an Arabic tune. This song reminds me of "Moonrezhutthu" from PP, "Dholna" from Parsuram, "Sundari" from KM. It has a blend of Bhairavi, Keervani & Darbari Kanada (Hindustani). The rhythms r heavily inspired from North-Indain Bhangra (favourite of ARR these days). It has got a North-Indian+Arabic flavour. This is the only romantic song in the album.Karthik proves his mettle again. He's good in all kinds of songs. I just loved his "Sakthi kodu" from Baba. He pairs up with his debut singer Chitra Sivaraman after "Nenthukitten" from Star. She's a great singer too! Very unique voice..husky but sweet at the same time. She's a better version of Anooradha Sriram. The songs starts of with guitars (sounding like rababs). The rhythm catches on with drums first & then dholaks & dhols. The composition as such is nothing novel but the arrangement is fantastic. The string arrangements & harmony r worth hearing. The catch phrase "Ale ale" is sung in different ways, mostly using all chromatic notes. The best part is in the lines "Kaadhal sonna...". The 2nd time Karthik sings it normally but Chitra gives the harmony in both the lower & upper notes. The 1st interlude has guitars & then the female harmony (almost like Italian choir as in the chants of Mudhalvan). Again, the charnams r kept simple. No complications at all. They r very short..4 lines only & return to "Ale ale". The chord progression in the lines "Kaadhal sonna.." is out of the world. The 2nd interlude mainly consists of a wind instrument that sounds like a duduk followed by opera-kind of female harmony. It builds a crescendo with rhythmic alterations. The charnams r same. The phrases "ale ale" r the most catchy ones. The end is splendid. Just listen to the different chords in "Kaadhal sonna...", with the strings first & then the harmony. Its sounds really divine! The exact notes of the strings progression in the upper octave with Komal Re,Ga & Dha is 'Pa Sa Re Ga Re Sa Ni Dha Pa). Simple song but great arrangements. This is what makes the difference. The question is not to compose difficult, but to compose difficult with simplicity! Finally, ARR cuts all barriers & shuts the mouths of criticism. Rating: ****
Overall album Rating: **** 1/2
Now with Boys becoming a huge hit, I cant wait anymore. Where r the albums..."E18U20", "New". "Kangalil Keidhu Sei", "Meenaxi", "Tehzeeb"??? Reportedly, "Tehzeeb" may release by September. So, keep ur fingers crossed. Long Live ARR
---Swapnil
P.S.: The review is completely based on personal judgement, does not attempt to hurt anyone's feelings or sentiments & is free from bias. Please send in ur valuable comments...they'r like tonic to me.
posted at: 14:47 | permanent link to this entry