Couples Retreat is an Aural Treat! Fantastic work! Amazon is accepting Pre-orders for CDs. -Raghu I only wish that the movie gets atleast good enough reviews to spread the music.
--- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@...> wrote: > > COUPLES RETREAT MUSIC > REVIEW<http://www.musicaloud.com/2009/09/25/couples-retreat-music-review/>Posted > by VIP On September - 25 - 2009 > > [image: couples > retreat]<http://www.musicaloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/couples-retreat.jpg>I > didn't quite like the vocals in *Sajna* (which I believe is done by Vince > Vaughn, he is supposed to have recorded a song for the movie), mainly due to > the corny lyrics, but Rahman's mesmerizing arrangement is more than enough > to have you hooked to the track. The big surprise comes in the next track. > How often do you get to hear Tamil song playing in a Hollywood soundtrack? > Well here is one for you, Rahman crooning a chirpy *Kuru Kuru* set to a > mildly folksy orchestration. A really addictive track this one, as I am > discovering at this precise moment (thanks to a close friend for deciphering > the lyrics). *Jason and Cynthia Suite* on the other hand begins on a more > solemn note, Rahman employing all his orchestral splendour to a gradual > buildup over three minutes before springing a surprise mode change to a more > folksy segment led by the flute for the next two minutes. *Nana* which comes > next, has a lot of tribal sounding words interspersed with rap in a > carnivalesque track. I couldn't discern Blaaze's voice among the rappers. > And I think the kid's voice belongs to Rahman's son Alim who had reportedly > recorded a song in this movie. > In spite of a slight resemblance to *Jaage Hai*'s orchestral sequence in its > grand opening, *Tour of the Villas* is an absolute treat, an instrumental > and more elaborately orchestrated version of *Sajna*. Strangely enough for a > minute-long segment in between the song goes into a karaoke mode without a > leading tune, just the backing instruments playing on. Of course that takes > no credit off this short and sweet track. *Meeting Marcel*, the next track, > is a spiritual song, albeit arranged in a sinister manner. While the first > half with a folk tinge is dominated by the flute, the latter half taking on > a darker tone belongs to the violins. *Itinerary* is typical background > track material rather than something intended for a CD. It is made up of a > sequence of different tunes which wouldn't make much sense unless listened > to while watching the movie. *Undress* sounds very Indian and very nicely > so, thanks to the extensive use of ghatam, no negative connotation intended > mind you. Lasting just over 1.5 minutes, this track would have been a > perfect fit in a movie like *Lagaan* or *Swades*. It will be interesting to > see how the picturisation of this happens (my interest has nothing to do > with the title I assure you!). > *Sharks* is another mindblowing track albeit a totally classical-oriented > one (*Puriya Dhanasri/Panthuvarali* the raga is I guess). With the violins > playing at a frantic pace to an equally frenzied percussion, this song took > me back to Rahman's classic *Hai Rama* for a moment. *Luau* refers to a > Hawaiian feast. And John O'Brien's sole score for the movie is quite > evocative of the party mood with its very native arrangement. *Salvadore* is > superb fusion, Kailash Kher's well executed Hindustani tarana (similar to > thillana in Carnatic) mixed brilliantly with a Latin/Middle Eastern > instrumentation. *Intervention* is another track marked by its orchestral > opulence, and the combo with Rahman's soulful humming is quite deadly! The > result, another totally riveting track. > Similar to *Itinerary*, *The Waterfall* also features a collation of varied > tunes which would be better viewed than listened to. Rahman produces an > elegant reprise to *Jason and Cynthia Suite* with *Jason and Cynthia Piano > Theme*, cutting down on the orchestral elements and making it more easy on > the ear. Things are rounded off with another bouncy track, *Animal Spirits*, > which starts off as a spruced up version of *Jason and Cynthia theme* but > then moves on along a different line for about two minutes where things take > a turn, with a revisit to the opening sequence of *Tour of the Villas*. > After a long hiatus post winning the Oscars suddenly there is a deluge of > Rahman songs. While *Blue* was more commercialised and *Passage* at a more > esoteric one, *Couples Retreat* combines a bit of both. Honestly I didn't > expect a Rahman soundtrack to displace *Passage* from the position of his > best soundtrack this year, so soon! And now the million dollar question is, > will the movie turn out to be worth such a brilliant effort. Hope it does. > You can listen to the soundtrack > here<http://www.couplesretreatsoundtrack.com/> > . > Music Aloud's rating *8.5/10* > Recommended tracks *Kuru Kuru, Salvadore, Intervention, Tour of the > villas, Undress* > > * > * > > *http://www.musicaloud.com/2009/09/25/couples-retreat-music-review/* >
