Nice review, Chord. took some time to read the whole thing though. although i couldn't like the whole album. i do agree with the Puthiya Manidha. This one has really grown on me.
On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 6:41 AM, AJ <purev...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Gopal, > > Please add the following to my original post title: 1100110 > > Please resubmit. Thanks. > > --- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com <arrahmanfans%40yahoogroups.com>, "AJ" > <purev...@...> 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. > > > > > -- ----------------------------------- http://roshanravi.com http://ramblingsoul.com http://cssheaven.org