Re: [arr] Missing the Mark

[uday kiran]

An awesome review, but not explaining about Mannipaya is lamentable and left
a bit of sadness!

Thanks a lot Gopal Bro for sharing this!

On 30 January 2010 20:02, Gopal Srinivasan  wrote:

>
>
> Missing the Mark
> BY SUMITA SAMI  29 JANUARY
> 2010 142 VIEWS 8 COMMENTS
>
>
> 
>
> “What is this?” asked a befuddled friend, when I gave her a link to A. R.
> Rahman’s latest soundtrack. “Harris Jayaraj?” And that was when I wondered
> if the maestro had, perhaps, missed the mark this time.
>
> I don’t mean to imply that Jayaraj isn’t a great musician in his own right,
> but Academy Award winner Rahman simply composes in a different plane of
> music. Which was why *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* is a let-down - although
> flashes of his genius are present, the album as a whole is unmemorable.
>
> Some songs are peppy enough to escape that judgement. *Anbil Avan* works
> with a simple but effective melody and Chinmayi’s perfect high notes. The
> rhythm, with its interplay of the mridangam, is particularly good. I hadn’t
> thought much of this song at first, but then I found myself replaying it
> again and again.
>
> Rahman experiments with sounds in *Hosanna*, and the track, combining a
> gentle yearning with Blaaze’s rapping, mostly succeeds. I didn’t see why
> Vijay Prakash (whose *Manmohini Morey* is frankly brilliant), had to be
> squandered here, but I can see why his voice is eminently suitable for *
> Hosanna*.
>
> The title song is, for the most part, lovely. *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* uses
> Karthik’s vocals and some excellent guitar work to create an achingly tender
> track. Halfway through, however, Rahman switches to a more conventional
> melody that seems to lose the melancholy - and the novelty - of the first
> half.
>
> *Aaromale* is perhaps the track that most thoroughly embodies Rahman’s
> style of music-making. It’s deliberately non-Indian in its use of the
> guitar, with the kind of menace you might find in spaghetti Westerns -
> especially when the beat picks up towards the end. Somehow, the electric
> guitar riffs, Alphons Joseph’s voice, and the Malayalam lyrics come together
> to make something darkly interesting.
>
> The rest of the soundtrack didn’t make much of an impression. *Omana Penne
> * is sweet, even charming, but Rahman displays an unhealthy obsession with
> auto-tune that detracts from that a little. Also similar is *Kannukul
> Kannai*, which begins promisingly enough with a smooth violin chorus, but
> then has little left to offer. Even Naresh Iyer’s vocals seem
> indistinguishable from the other male singers. And about the only opinion I
> had of *Mannipaaya* was that it was nice - Shreya’s vocals are crystal
> clear, and Rahman’s voice makes for a great contrast, but beyond the opening
> melody I couldn’t find myself liking it much.
>
> *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* is billed as “another unique love story”, its
> posters drawing inspiration from at least four hit movies in the past
> decade. Perhaps director Gautham Menon desired the same effect with the
> soundtrack - in which case he should have employed a composer more drawn to
> the conventional. Rahman’s songs do have a reputation for growing on the
> listener, but right now I’m not holding my breath.
>
> The music of A. R. Rahman is usually a combination of the bizarre,
> beautiful, and bold. Not much of any of this is present in *Vinnaithaandi
> Varuvaaya* - which is why this soundtrack is ultimately disappointing.
>
>
> http://nazaronline.net/arts/2010/01/missing-the-mark/
>
>  
>



-- 
Regards,
Uday Kiran

Re: [arr] Missing the Mark

[Ram Motipally]

Interesting. I also had similar thoughts in the first few days of listening,
but now, I am changing my mind. Also, many people miss this point about film
music. The music is a reflection of the essence of the movie. Though I liked
it a bit, I really started loving Anbil Avan after understanding the
background story.

Also, I see a lot of reviewers fall in the trap of writing the review too
soon or rushing to judgement too soon and mostly before the movie judging
the music as a standalone piece of work instead of the fact that it is the
essence of the movie. I am sure many reviewers of ARR's music write a review
and probably will itch to change it after 3 months of writing it. Maybe all
ARR's music should be reviewed after 1 month of listening ;-)



On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 10:02 AM, Gopal Srinivasan wrote:

>
>
> Missing the Mark
> BY SUMITA SAMI  29 JANUARY
> 2010 142 VIEWS 8 COMMENTS
>
>
> 
>
> “What is this?” asked a befuddled friend, when I gave her a link to A. R.
> Rahman’s latest soundtrack. “Harris Jayaraj?” And that was when I wondered
> if the maestro had, perhaps, missed the mark this time.
>
> I don’t mean to imply that Jayaraj isn’t a great musician in his own right,
> but Academy Award winner Rahman simply composes in a different plane of
> music. Which was why *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* is a let-down - although
> flashes of his genius are present, the album as a whole is unmemorable.
>
> Some songs are peppy enough to escape that judgement. *Anbil Avan* works
> with a simple but effective melody and Chinmayi’s perfect high notes. The
> rhythm, with its interplay of the mridangam, is particularly good. I hadn’t
> thought much of this song at first, but then I found myself replaying it
> again and again.
>
> Rahman experiments with sounds in *Hosanna*, and the track, combining a
> gentle yearning with Blaaze’s rapping, mostly succeeds. I didn’t see why
> Vijay Prakash (whose *Manmohini Morey* is frankly brilliant), had to be
> squandered here, but I can see why his voice is eminently suitable for *
> Hosanna*.
>
> The title song is, for the most part, lovely. *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* uses
> Karthik’s vocals and some excellent guitar work to create an achingly tender
> track. Halfway through, however, Rahman switches to a more conventional
> melody that seems to lose the melancholy - and the novelty - of the first
> half.
>
> *Aaromale* is perhaps the track that most thoroughly embodies Rahman’s
> style of music-making. It’s deliberately non-Indian in its use of the
> guitar, with the kind of menace you might find in spaghetti Westerns -
> especially when the beat picks up towards the end. Somehow, the electric
> guitar riffs, Alphons Joseph’s voice, and the Malayalam lyrics come together
> to make something darkly interesting.
>
> The rest of the soundtrack didn’t make much of an impression. *Omana Penne
> * is sweet, even charming, but Rahman displays an unhealthy obsession with
> auto-tune that detracts from that a little. Also similar is *Kannukul
> Kannai*, which begins promisingly enough with a smooth violin chorus, but
> then has little left to offer. Even Naresh Iyer’s vocals seem
> indistinguishable from the other male singers. And about the only opinion I
> had of *Mannipaaya* was that it was nice - Shreya’s vocals are crystal
> clear, and Rahman’s voice makes for a great contrast, but beyond the opening
> melody I couldn’t find myself liking it much.
>
> *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* is billed as “another unique love story”, its
> posters drawing inspiration from at least four hit movies in the past
> decade. Perhaps director Gautham Menon desired the same effect with the
> soundtrack - in which case he should have employed a composer more drawn to
> the conventional. Rahman’s songs do have a reputation for growing on the
> listener, but right now I’m not holding my breath.
>
> The music of A. R. Rahman is usually a combination of the bizarre,
> beautiful, and bold. Not much of any of this is present in *Vinnaithaandi
> Varuvaaya* - which is why this soundtrack is ultimately disappointing.
>
>
> http://nazaronline.net/arts/2010/01/missing-the-mark/
>
>  
>

[arr] Missing the Mark

[Gopal Srinivasan]

Missing the Mark
BY SUMITA SAMI  29 JANUARY 2010 142
VIEWS 8 COMMENTS



“What is this?” asked a befuddled friend, when I gave her a link to A. R.
Rahman’s latest soundtrack. “Harris Jayaraj?” And that was when I wondered
if the maestro had, perhaps, missed the mark this time.

I don’t mean to imply that Jayaraj isn’t a great musician in his own right,
but Academy Award winner Rahman simply composes in a different plane of
music. Which was why *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* is a let-down - although
flashes of his genius are present, the album as a whole is unmemorable.

Some songs are peppy enough to escape that judgement. *Anbil Avan* works
with a simple but effective melody and Chinmayi’s perfect high notes. The
rhythm, with its interplay of the mridangam, is particularly good. I hadn’t
thought much of this song at first, but then I found myself replaying it
again and again.

Rahman experiments with sounds in *Hosanna*, and the track, combining a
gentle yearning with Blaaze’s rapping, mostly succeeds. I didn’t see why
Vijay Prakash (whose *Manmohini Morey* is frankly brilliant), had to be
squandered here, but I can see why his voice is eminently suitable for *
Hosanna*.

The title song is, for the most part, lovely. *Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* uses
Karthik’s vocals and some excellent guitar work to create an achingly tender
track. Halfway through, however, Rahman switches to a more conventional
melody that seems to lose the melancholy - and the novelty - of the first
half.

*Aaromale* is perhaps the track that most thoroughly embodies Rahman’s style
of music-making. It’s deliberately non-Indian in its use of the guitar, with
the kind of menace you might find in spaghetti Westerns - especially when
the beat picks up towards the end. Somehow, the electric guitar riffs,
Alphons Joseph’s voice, and the Malayalam lyrics come together to make
something darkly interesting.

The rest of the soundtrack didn’t make much of an impression. *Omana Penne* is
sweet, even charming, but Rahman displays an unhealthy obsession with
auto-tune that detracts from that a little. Also similar is *Kannukul Kannai
*, which begins promisingly enough with a smooth violin chorus, but then has
little left to offer. Even Naresh Iyer’s vocals seem indistinguishable from
the other male singers. And about the only opinion I had of *Mannipaaya* was
that it was nice - Shreya’s vocals are crystal clear, and Rahman’s voice
makes for a great contrast, but beyond the opening melody I couldn’t find
myself liking it much.

*Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya* is billed as “another unique love story”, its
posters drawing inspiration from at least four hit movies in the past
decade. Perhaps director Gautham Menon desired the same effect with the
soundtrack - in which case he should have employed a composer more drawn to
the conventional. Rahman’s songs do have a reputation for growing on the
listener, but right now I’m not holding my breath.

The music of A. R. Rahman is usually a combination of the bizarre,
beautiful, and bold. Not much of any of this is present in *Vinnaithaandi
Varuvaaya* - which is why this soundtrack is ultimately disappointing.


http://nazaronline.net/arts/2010/01/missing-the-mark/