Hey chord
As always, another awesome review...
I usually read u r write up multiple times while listening to the songs..
Makes me appreciate the nuances in music much more while reading u r reviews
Thanks buddy for taking the time for the reviews.. And keep it coming please
Regards
Suresh
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 2, 2010, at 6:54 PM, "AJ" <purev...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Enthiran Music Review
I decided to write this review sooner than I thought due to the songs having a
more instant impact and having listened to the whole album at least 15 times
since it came out. Further time is not going to change my opinions. My comments
are only on the music, not the lyrics.
I wonder if we really understand and appreciate the difficulty of Rahman's job,
no matter how musically brilliant he is. He is human after all, and not a
robot. He has to keep in mind so many expectations and demands, esp. when you
have a leading film-maker and superstar with his own fan following….Rajinikant.
Post Oscars, the expectations for Rahman have only grown and I truly wonder how
he manages to rise to the occasion each time, whether we ourselves like an
album or not. With Shankar and Rajinikant at hand, boy, Rahman must try to keep
a lot of people happy all at once, yet creating music fitting for the movie
that's supposed to have sci fi, robo themes! If there's anyone who can do
justice to these demands, it's Rahman. The hype around the music release of
this album is one of the biggest I've seen in a while…..touted as one of the
finest films, most expensive films, etc.
Pudiya Manidha whisks us away to a land of robos and futuristic sci fi, and
man, does it ever leave a mark! One of the sleekest masterpieces Rahman has
ever come out with in my opinion, this song oozes with etherealness, groove,
punch, mystery, intrigue, and trance. This track takes me to another world
truly with Rahman's sweet touches….crystal, progressive synth sound effects,
warm ambiance, loopy synths, and the ever soothing and captivating string
arrangements. Post Khatija Rahman's soulful singing and bleating goat sounds,
the song picks up speed with rhythms and SPB's spritely singing. Notice how the
strings mimic the synth loop melody, only adding depth and character to an
already richly bestowed track. Based loosely on raaga Bhimpalas, the song takes
a soaring route during the heavenly string interlude. Beautiful choral
additions are appreciated, adding a stark spirituality and sonic texture along
with SPB's split octave singing, creating a very
balanced and satisfying bass/treble aural experience on all frequencies. This
track will likely go down as one of my favorites in ARR's entire repertoire for
the reasons outlined above and for reasons I just can't put into words, but can
only feel and experience. For a techno/trance number, it's very spiritual in
feel! A complete masterpiece from start to finish, what a way to kick off!!!!
A contrasting, more acoustic, upbeat and happier track follows as Shreya and
Vijay Prakash please us with lilting singing and joy in Kaadhal Annukal.
Rahman's use of rhythm acoustic guitar layered with the sweet accordion and
mouth organ/harmonica is extremely appealing aurally with incredible sweetness!
Beautiful interludes highlight this earthy and charming song with a
Scottish/Irish style using piccolo and accordion in the first, and a very
unconventional, out of the box mysterious and ambient synth section in the
second, showcasing ARR's brilliant creativity and craft. The second interlude
is truly outstanding as it gravitates away from the usual flowery mood and
organic sound and serves us something more electronic and spacey, but never
distracts the groove and momentum of the whole track! I just love how ARR uses
the strings so tastefully and craftily throughout the song creating a very lush
aural landscape, esp. in the end when Shreya's counter
melodic line joins in. A really sparkling track from start to finish for me
and this song just radiates freshness and innovativeness for an Indian film
song. The melody itself is very sweet with many hooks, though unconventional
for an Indian duet film song and at times hard to remember, but with repeated
exposures, I can't get this song out of me!! The whole song is beautifully
supported by a fresh, rhythmic groove that mostly unwavers alongside haunting
and unique chords and chord progressions.
Following the very techno and synth heavy first track, how beautifully
contrasting we hear a very earthy and acoustic one in the second…..truly
showcasing ARR's versatility and genius in the first 2 tracks alone!!!
The third track, Irumbile Oru, is techno to the core, but sounding like an
ordinary remix to me! Marked by some sexy grooves and female rapping along with
ARR's metallic tinged voice, this track has not yet impressed me much
musically. Maybe if I understood the lyrics, I would appreciate it more, but I
did notice how the lyrics and words seem to flow quite well. I don't know why
Rahman did not do more musically with this track, esp. using a kind of outdated
techno sound that has been used over and over! As my friend put it, "this track
is a lost opportunity for Rahman" in terms of sound, but I can see how the
youngsters are enjoying it for its sheer rhythmic groove, lyrics, word flow,
and ARR's voice. Nothing more to write here!
ARR has a little fun in the next track, Chitti Dance Showcase, which begins as
a cheesy robotic voice…………………come on Rahman! You can do better! Why choose a
clichéd, stereotyped robotic sound that we've heard over and over? Once again,
Rahman using a very outdated sound! I can understand Rahman's attempt to be
obvious and literal as he needs to cater to the masses, but still….there is no
elevation of taste using these outdated and hackneyed robo sounds! But, on the
plus side, this track has its interesting and at times brilliant moments, esp.
with the beautiful and sweeping string and choral interlude, but alas, only
lasts about 10-15 seconds! We hear all sorts of genres here….symphony, heavy
metal, Indian tarana, but with jarring transitions. Oh, and I also like that
little whistling, jazzy insertion that he put in there towards the end….showing
the more humorous and playful side to ARR! Nice touch there!
We switch gears to a much more heavy sounding number, Arima Arima, with
Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, 2 singers we haven't heard in a long time in a
Rahman's song! This track is full of valor and majesty, showcasing brass and
pomp with militarized drumming and a dose or distorted rock guitar to add
exclamation! I love Rahman's use of the symphonic strings in this song using
them to accent rhythms and intertwining them delicately at times in 16th note
fashion creating a beautifully crafted and intricate rhythmic and textured
backdrop to Hariharan's and Sadhana Sargam's passionate singing. I love some of
the operatic voices that are also used as transitional pieces. I also loved
that little 16th note synth insertion during one of the song's transitions,
adding energy to an already vibrant and punchy track! Did you notice how the
trumpet interlude totally changes the mood of the song as we go into major
scale? I love that part of the song!!!! The singing is
semi classical at times, esp. during the antaras, which I really appreciate.
The track both begins and ends with synth, creating an interesting contrast to
the much more acoustic and earthy majority of the song.
We go light in mood again with an African twist!!! Kilimanjaro is a real treat
with extremely catchy lyrics and spirited singing by Chinmayi and Javed Ali!
What a track! I love the mood of this whole song and the beautifully authentic
African vocal tribal interludes add only icing to the cake! I don't know how
Rahman created such an authentically earthy sound to the tribal choral parts!
This song is just brilliant and so crafty! I love how the crisp tablas are used
at times and the naughty singing by Chinmayi, who doesn't sound her usual self,
but very convincing! This raaga Malkauns based track is punctuated by some very
wholesome and crisp drumming, catapulting this track forward with every step!
Check out the rhythmic variations during many parts of the song with added
maracas (or another instrument) in double time, esp. during the second tribal
part. Let's not forget the playful "click click" sound either, which is just
perfectly placed! Rahman's
versatility is simply mindblowing!!!!
The final track begins with Yogi B's "Boom Boom Robo Da" bit which repeats kind
of annoyingly through the rest of the song. I could have enjoyed this song
without that part, catchy as it is!!! Brass hits and funky techno beats
characterize this very rhythmic, colorful and varied track with multiple
musical genres in jazz, latin, rap, heavy metal, hip hop, etc. For a change,
it's nice to hear Yogi B, another rapper besides Blaaze, though no hard
feelings towards Blaaze! The antaras are quite melodiously sung as the singing
takes on a more semi classical turn in raaga Abhogi and occasionally Bhairavi.
I very much appreciate the second interlude Latin/Spanish sounding section with
the soothing female chorus and nice but brief acoustic Spanish sounding guitar.
There are more acoustic elements to this song too as what sounds like a bright
santoor plays an old fashioned melody in the beginning and acoustic guitar
plucking briefly as the other musical flavors
melt away for a brief bit during some later transitions. A patchwork track of
sorts, much like its predecessor in Chitti Showcase, it's quite entertaining to
the core with some splashes of sweet melody thrown in. Rahman's talent as a
musically genius craftsman really shines in this track.
So, another milestone in ARR's career if you ask me with heavyweights Pudhiya
Manidha, Kadhal Anukkal, Arima, and Kilimanjaro totally carrying this
soundtrack on all four of their shoulders. These 4 songs to me embody some of
Rahman's finest musical work to date in terms of composition, innovation, sonic
creativity, and mass and class appeal. This album would be worthy enough with
only these 4 songs on the table. The other 3 tracks have bright moments
contained within them, but seriously, the outdated and cheesy and cliched
robo/electro sounds of the 1980s are a big turn off for me and I am quite
disappointed by Rahman's choice here, also likely influenced by Pravin Mani. I
really wish that similar sound templates of the ambient textured, progressive
and futuristic sounds of Pudhiya Manidha would have been in more abundance in
the rest of the songs, but perhaps Shankar had a big say in this to cater to
more of the masses and Rajinikant fans and what fits
in with the film…..I don't know. As an album overall, it's qualitatively very
inconsistent to me and very gimmicky in parts, but with 4 brilliant songs in
the mix, I will surely be playing this very entertaining CD as well as the
Telugu and Hindi counterparts in heavy rotation for a long, long time to come!
Numeric Values:
7/10 – Compared to other Rahman albums (mostly for the 4 amazing songs I talked
about above)
9/10 – Compared to contemporary Indian film albums
Copyright by iChord 2010. No part of this writeup may be reproduced without the
sole written consent of this writer.
