Chord, Your review is outta this world. I liked it. I bet you'll give more marks after a few more hearings. Had you written the review after a week, you'd have given more marks.
For me, all songs are simply superb.I can't rate'em. I'm extremely happy about VTV songs. ARR-GM combination has really worked well. Many thanks to ARR! Rafid --- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, "ichord" <purev...@...> wrote: > > After some corrections and additions: > > If there's a distinct trend that I see in ARR's music over time, it's his > reduced emphasis on musical adventurism and acrobatics and increased emphasis > on > subtle musical forms within a composition, often perceived subjectively as > "not > living up to his own standards". I don't agree with that notion since it's ARR > who recreates his own standards with each release, just like destroying his > own > ego before a compositional session. The burden of responsibility to recognize > this is up to the listener, who may be challenged and confounded by > expectations > and biases, which is normal and natural. Again, these are trends only and just > from my observational standpoint...nothing is black and white or exclusionary. > This trend may be a function of two forces: 1)Age (emphasizing more of a > gestalt perspective) 2) Progressive evolution as part of a unique artist whose > mindset is bent on conceptual expansion and really trying hard to avoid being > typecasted, escaping from his own set trails to form new and distinct roads. > The music of VTV is a major step in AR's evolutionary process as an artist > who's > never content with the status quo, or even his own previous success. Remember, > it's the artist over the entertainer, and in VTV, it's the pure artist within > ARR, even beyond musician, that is in the driver's seat. I will not comment on > the lyrics since I don't understand Tamil. > > 1) Omanna Penne: > Steady and soothing.....a composition that oozes with spiritualism and > introspection. I love how AR juxtaposes the Western rhythms with the Carnatic > raagas first by the female voice, and weaving throughout the stylistic > Nadaswaram, whose roots are deeply Carnatic, but expressed so universally in > this track. Wonderful singing by Benny and the Nadaswaram ending is surely a > page from the Rehna Tu continuum outro. Nothing fancy in this composition, but > the feeling left behind is extremely elevating and cleansing. Fantastic start. > (8/10) > > 2) Anbil Avan: > ARR at his playful best. He must have had a lot of fun putting this track > together. There is nothing heavy or mind blowing about this track, but what > makes it work for me is the joyful innocence in the melody and the very > interesting sonic arrangements using a Shehnai type sound juxtaposed with a > church organ sound. The musical interlude that has this also has some very > nice, quick chord progressions that defy banality. The melody sticks easy and > would be a fun song to dance with. (7/10) > > 3) Vinnathaandi Varuvaayaa: > Wow......what a minimalistic impact! Minimalistic impact is something that I > have been missing from Rahman's oeuvre in recent films, but here it is, in its > full glory and form. Using a minimalistic sound template for a title song is > quite bold and outside the box, but boy does it work for me!!! The acoustic > strings (guitar? harp?) along with vibes and small bells create such a unique, > peaceful ambiance in this song that transports me into a dreamlike world. > Beautiful string additions in the mid section only add depth to amazing > vocals, > chords, and heartfelt emotions in this gem, but likely to be underrated track. > Delicate, subtle, dreamy, ambient, soft, restrained, soothing, warming.....I > can > go on and on..... Again, a track doesn't have to be complex and adventuresome > to > be powerful....this is the genius of AR....he can create such a powerful > ambience using minimal quantity. (8/10) > > 4) Hosana: > There is no other composer in India who can arrange better than AR. In this > song, many of AR's strengths are showcased.....sound structure, layered, > thick, > yet uncluttered arrangements, symphonic textures, haunting melody, soothing > ambiance. The sound layers are so clean and crisp....that beautiful strumming > acoustic guitar is so nice!!! Also worthy of metion is the high toned Scottish > flavored flute and the subtle mandolin rhythms in sync with the main rhythms, > punctuated by the pulsating string sections. The female choir with the angelic > expression is one of the most beautiful choir sounds I've heard. This song > sticks to you and won't let go. A complete masterpiece IMO that is one of the > best songs that ARR has composed in recent years. (9/10) > > 5) Kunnukkul Kannai > Another playful techno oriented track with some pleasing electronic > arrangements. The unique feature of this track for me are the string quartet > type rhythmic accents throughout that give this youth song a very Western > classical feel. Relatively simple by composition and sound, but again, a nice > dance number with good melody. Rahman not living up to his standards on this > one? Well, that's up to you to decide, but it's an enjoyable one for me, > though > If I had to pick my least favorite in this soundtrack, it's this one. (7/10) > > 6) Mannipaaya > I was looking forward to this song ever since I knew Shreya and AR would be > singing it, a romantic duet. The song has everything I could hope for in a > romantic duet....breathtaking melody, beautiful soundscapes, sophisticated > arrangements, gentle ambiance, subtle symphonic artistry. I love the piano > backdrop and so many of the symphonic instruments can be heard in > isolation...oboe, clarinet, tympani, flute, etc. A very subtle masterpiece in > my opinion, that can only be appreciated by those with a certain musical > sensitivity and emotional open-ness, and of course, who like mushy romantic > numbers! The melody is quite drawn out with long contours, so it's not a song > that's easily melodically remembered the first time go, but certainly sticks > with you with repeated exposure. There is a certain musical abstractness to > this song, like a modern painting that takes time to sink in and be > registered, but only appreciated by those with such a taste and open-ness. > Strengths of this track...mood, delicate > arrangements, subtle artistry, certain melodic sections, innocence, sincerity. > One of the album's highlights for sure and I hope it's picturized well (9/10) > > 7) Aaromale > Wow.....just wow!!! AR takes a page from the Pink Floyd era, but nothing here > is lifted or copied. Sensual, stylistic, clean acoustic guitar playing along > with passionate and mind blowing vocals by Alphonse make this track simply > stunning. The string type sounds which weave in and out add a whole new > dimension to the sonic architecture of this gem. What is so unique about this > song is again, minimalistic impact with sound, instruments, but also chordal > architecture.......there are only 2 alternating chords being used in the > entire song!! Can you believe it? The > chorus part which begins with the Malyali "Swasti Swasti" harks on raaga > Bhimpalas to create a magical effect....imagine...juxtaposing a 2 chord > bluesy guitar riff with a raaga > based melody.....only AR....only AR.... The added percussion increasing the > pace only add to the intensity and sinisterness to this path breaking and out > of > the box track. And man, what an ending...the way the vocals fade out......oh > man!!!! The ambience created is just out of this world....it leaves me > stunned, > mesmerized, in awe. (10/10)!!! > > General highlights of this album include minimalistic impact, originality, > very > sophisticated and classy arrangements, incredibly strong ambience and sound > quality, and soothing influence. I don't think anyone will be complaining > about > sound issues in this album like we saw for Blue, as ARR I think paid a lot > more > attention to that aspect this time around, perhaps keeping our "Blue" feedback > in mind??? The soundtrack also has a wide range of styles, sounds, musical > forms that keep you interested. Because of the highly international, > situational, and somewhat unconventional nature of the songs, these will only > be > appreciated most with time, post movie visuals, and by those who are most open > minded about music in general. Those who only like the antara-mukhda type film > songs will find the listening experience to be awkward and just too esoteric. > Also, except for the first track with Carnatic raagas, most of the rest of the > album is void of obvious ethnic Indian sounds/styles/forms, consistent with > the > international and more universal musical approach. This again, may be a turn > off to some due to non exposure. Like all new ARR albums, esp. ones like this > that have some unconventional and new elements, it will take time to grow for > many, if at all. > > A special mention must be made for the singing in each song. All singers > have done a fantastic job in rendering with great emotion and passion. I esp > liked Shreya Ghoshal's heartfelt crooning in Mannipaya and what more can be > said about Alphonse in Aaromale? Amazing rendering and much credit goes to > ARR too for bringnig the best out of him. Other singers such as Benny, > Karthik, Chinmayi, Kalyani, Blaaze, Suzanne....all deserve high praise for > their parts. > > My overall rating....9/10. A distinct highlight of ARR's career...one of the > very finest musical packages you will find anywhere in the world today, not > because of its complexity, wizardry, or dynamics, but for pure artistry, > sincerity, ambiance, mood, minimalism, subtlety, and overall spiritualism. A > nice instrumental > track addition would have made this album perfect for me. >
