http://passionforcinema.com/connections-music-review/ Music Review: A.R. Rahman's Connections
Review, review pe likhaa hai ji review writer kaa naam. Yup, that's the second thought that came to my mind when I did a quick Google search for music review of A.R. Rahman's *Connections* and realized that there really aren't any complete reviews of the album. What was the first thought that came to my mind?—WHY THE HECK AREN'T THERE ANY REVIEWS???!!! I can't believe, that despite A.R. Rahman being immensely talked about after bagging the Golden Globe for the music of *Slumdog Millionaire* and being nominated for the Oscars, no music reviewer out there has bothered to offer online space to a review of such a beautiful album. The thought that *Connections *might disappear into the realms of overall forgotten-ness like *Bose*, *Tehzeeb*, *Water* <http://passionforcinema.com/water-still-waiting/>,*Meenaxi*, etc., is quite scary. Well, well, lucky me…looks like the first music review of* Connections* par 'Amanda Sodhi,' matlab, meraa hi naam likhaa hai. [image: :)] By the way, the "real" name of the music album is *Nokia Connections*, but it's Rahman's album so don't you think it should be called *Rahman's Connections*?…Oh well, hum sey pooch kar album kaa naam-karan thoddi naa karne waale they yeh log. Interestingly enough, the album is for their Nokia Xpress Music devices, which means God knows when the album will make it to stores and how many people are even going to bother to buy the album when it finally does comes out in stores because everyone is probably downloading the album like crazy since patience is the *last *virtue any Rahmaniac possesses when it comes to listening to his music! Okay, enough side commentary—back to the music review of *Connections*! Just in case you didn't know, *Connections* (which features nine Rahman compositions) was recorded and mixed by the Late H. Sridhar<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Sridhar> . Most of you have probably heard and/or seen *Jiya Se Jiya*<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf_muP0z5w0> (4.18) much before the release of this album. Woah! This is just one cheerful, uplifting, celebratory, catchy folk-song-type composition heavy on contagious percussion beats (dhols, claps, nagaadaas, and the works). Sivamani <http://www.sivamani.in/new/> and Drum Café (Musthafa Kutoane, Mpho Masinga) must have had loads of fun [image: :)] It reminds me of the grandeur of 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shehenshaah' (*Jodhaa Akbar*<http://passionforcinema.com/jodha-akbar-music-review/>) and of the masti of 'Saiyyan Saiyyan' (*Nayak*) and also brings back memories of Vishal Bharadwaj's 'Chappa Chappa' from *Maachis*. Karthik sounds so different from his 'Behka Main Behka' (*Ghajini*<http://passionforcinema.com/ghajini-music-review/>) performance. Lyricist Raqueeb Alam <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1193605/> also provides superb vocal backing in this song. According to Rahman, 'Jiya Se Jiya' is a "relevant" song "as it gives the message of embracing everyone irrespective of their region, religion or language." Aadat sey majboor, I just have to bring Raqueeb Alam's wonderful lyrics to your attention— *Udde re umang, Binaa dor ke patang, Ek doosre ke sang, Judd gayaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa.* *Koi gaaye dhun, Koi naache chun chun, Koi kahey sun sun, Judd gayaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa.* *Ambar se sur taal barse, Gul barse, Gulhaar barse. 2x Judd gayaa re, Judd gayaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa.* *O— O—* *Raat hai aaj gulaabi, Raat gulaabi, Naach rahi murgabi, Haan murgabi, Judd gayaa re, Judd, Judd gayaa re, Judd, Judd gayaa re, Judd gayaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa.* *O— O—* *Udde re umang, Binaa dor ke patang, Ek doosre ke sang, Judd gayaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa.* *Koi gaaye dhun, Koi naache chun chun, Koi kahey sun sun, Judd gayaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa.* *Ambar se sur taal barse, Gul barse, Gulhaar barse. 2x Judd gayaa re, judd gayaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa, Jiyaa se jiyaa.* I just love the comparison of 'umang' to a kite! *Mann Chandre* (7.48) is also one of my favorite songs from *Connections*. I really wish I knew who the female singer is—her soft and sweet voice pierces your heart with its sadness. Sukhwinder Singh enters into the song at about 1.34—his vocal range and ability to express pathos like no one else always leaves me astonished. Very few instruments seem to be used (sitar, tabala)—the matkaa-type sounding percussion instrument (I think it's called a Ghatam) reminds one of a village setting. The Punjabi lyrics are quite moving, and the repetition of the following lines by the female singer, Sukhwinder, and the Chorus of Karthik and Raqueeb Alam (3.53 into the song) is beautiful— *Mann chandre nu raas naa aave, Mann chandre nu raas naa aave, Naa aave darwaas. Jiggar daa saudaa kyon kar baithaa? Mukdi jaandi aas.* *Je lut jaandaa te lut jaandaa dil, Hauke khaa ke chup jaandaa. Je lut jaandaa te lut jaandaa dil, Hauke khaa ke chup jaandaa.* *Beparvaa daa ki kehna? Haaye! Naa aave darwaas, Jiggar daa saudaa kyon kar baithaa? Mukdi jaandi aas!* *Darad sautondaa, Bedardaan nu, Bedardaa daa ki jaandaa? Darad sataundaa, Bedardan nu, Bedardaa daa ki jaandaa? Bedardaa daa ki jaandaa?* *Kural *(5.23) is an extremely rare, unique and outstanding composition—the song actually fuses Tamil lines from the 97th chapter of the philosophical * Thirukkural* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirukkural>with soft and slow English rap! The serious humming by the chorus helps establish a contemplative mood in the song. I really wish I knew who the female singer is. Kural <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kural>, by the way, is a form of classical Tamil poetry which the *Thirukkural* follows. Unfortunately, I do not understand Tamil, however, below follows the English linesBlaaze<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaaze> (starting from 1.47 into the song) renders with utmost seriousness and softness— *Fortune and fame, Don't really matter, Win this game. Respect, Respect. If the honor of the self, The self does stain. Respect. Respect. And to do no wrong, And to do no bad. With power and glory, What do they have? Honor. Respect. And in happy times, Bow down thy soul. And when times are sad, Lift your heart for sure. Respect. Respect. And when dignity comes dropping dead, It's like the hair fallin' off the head. Honor. Respect.* *Though small, like a berry seed, A deed, done so mean, Diminishes respect, And makes the mighty man so weak. And the gates to the land of God, Don't open up, No, no. So why follow men like those? Follow them no more! And with honor to die, Is indeed a better price, Than to follow them, Ooh compromise. Respect. Respect. And without honor, Without dignity, There is no use of life to cure the body. Respect. Respect. Respect.* *And like the tears that die, when they hear them fall, When respect is gone, people'd rather die, y'all.* *And those who refuse to live, When dishonor prevails, Are worshipped by all, In times, endless trails, Respect! Respect! Respect!* Goodness! What a hypnotic composition! *Silent Invocation A* (8.39) is so soul-stirring. Only the flute and the tanpura and some very soft tapping sound percussion instrument are used in this composition which is profound in its simplicity. There are certain moments when the composition reminds me of 'Tum Bin Humara Kaun Laage' tune of 'O Palan Haare' from *Lagaan*. *Silent Invocation B* (8.50), which also use the tanpura and flute, is such sorrow-filled composition! It'll actually bring tears to your eyes as it triggers a vast array of emotions and memories. Seriously, you've just got to listen to this divine composition and experience it for yourself. *Silent Invocation C* (5.20) relies almost solely on the flute. Don't worry though, it is much less depressing than *Silent Invocation B* [image: :)] There are some moments in this composition which somehow remind me of the tune to some of the lines of 'Shyaam Rang' from *Water*. *Mylapore Blues* (6.03) is a nice song to relax to. The use of the Carnatic percussion instruments, guitar, piano is an interesting combination. It seems to have both jazz and blues flavors to it! Rahman always knows how to fuse genres, doesn't he? I'm really enjoying all these instrumental pieces, especially the fact that in most of these pieces the number of instruments used is kept to a minimum. In *Himalaya*(3.23), we get to hear the piano and the flute. At .39 seconds, the piano notes get louder, taking you by surprise. Towards the second half of the song, the flute is also incorporated. The composition conjures up the image of the icy Himalayas and a picturesque winter wonderland. This song is full of plenty of positive vibes! Although I despise those irritating, khoon-choos mosquitos, my favorite instrumental piece in *Connections* is *Mosquito* (9.06). It's just one extraordinary composition. The twists and turns of the sarangi is beautiful, absolutely beautiful! I'm guessing, based on the title of this track, that the sarangi harkats are a creative depiction of the mosquito, however, the composition is quite serious and moving—at parts it may actually leave you teary-eyed. It's always a great experience to listen to Rahman's instrumental compositions. They say music is a universal language…However, Hindi music relies so heavily on lyrics that one tends to forget this concept…that's when instrumental pieces like those in*Connections* and *Slumdog Millionaire * come in hand…They remind us that music itself is a beautiful language, which can a evoke feelings, emotions, images and ideas that vary for each listener, hence communicating more than lyrics can at times. Definitely check out Rahman's *Connections*—Rahman and his entire team (singers, lyricists, musicians…) all do a great job! Punjabi folk, Rajasthani flavors, Hindi, Tamil Kural from the *Thirukkural*, Instrumental pieces—*Connections* is very rich in its exploration of different music genres and should definitely "connect" with music fans of all sorts—there is something in this album for everyone. -- -A http://viewsnmuse.blogspot.com
