Jillendru Oru Kaadhal album review - Rahman in better form
This is Rahman's second album in Tamil this year and the hype surrounding the album was quite unprecedented, with comments like he would be back to 'his scintillating best' with this album and 'back with a bang' doing the rounds. Well, trust me. For all the hype and build-up sites like Sify gave for the album, the album is a disappointment. Except for 2 songs, I am sure the other songs will be heard around for a few months and then will die their natural death. Now, to the songs:
Munbe vaa - Easily the pick of the album. A very nice melody. Almost a perfect Rahman melody, straight out of his 90s repertoire. One of those rare ARR songs which impress you on your first listening. The Rango Rangoli chorus is just too good. I particularly loved the way Naresh Iyer joins the song in the charanam. A great touch by Rahman by having him not sing at all during the pallavi and have him start at midway through the charanam portion. Looks like Naresh Iyer has become Rahman's favorite these days. A very soothing song.
New York nagaram - Can say the same about this song too. The way the song is sung (particularly the chorus) really makes you feel as though the New York city is sleeping. The song starts off with some really nice guitar pieces (like we saw in Rubaroo in RDB) and they in fact continue through out the song, in the background (sounding similar to the way he had used the guitar pieces in the Vellai Pookkal song). I used to be a big fan of Rahman's voice but somehow he sounds jaded in this one. Or is it just me, who is tired of hear him singing more often. I loved his voice in Lukka Chappi but somehow didn’t like his voice all that much in this song. Looks like he has tried to sound different on purpose in this song. A song to fall in love with.
Title song - Its a different attempt, in that he has tried a retro song. Lots of jazz in this one. Something like what the Maestro tried in Mumbai Express with the Yela nee ettippo song. Though the sounds used are kind of curious, the tune (if I can call it that) is very pedestrian and reminds you of many other popular songs. But I guess this is going to be used when the credits roll and hence should not really matter that this does not have a great tune.
Machakkaari, Kummi adi, maaricham - all pass muster. Nothing great to rave about. Kummi adi is slightly better, with a very catchy pallavi but then the song becomes uninteresting as it proceeds. Maaricham has more of Yuvan than Rahman. I leave it to you to decide if that is to be taken as a compliment or not :) Basically, all these are songs that would have been hits if they had come during the 90s when Rahman was ruling TFM. But now, with Yuvan and Harris Jeyaraj flooding the audience with the same kind of music, at a much better rate, these might be just one another of those songs.
Mazaa Mazaa - Just like there is the best number of the album, this should be given the distinction of the worst number of the album. Rahman has tried to do something different with this song but the song completely falls flat with a mediocre tune and some awful singing. SPB Charan sounds so exactly like his father at many places. But I am thankful that he didn’t have SPB sing this instead (one crap called Thazhuvudhu Nazhuvudhu is enough for someone like SPB)
2 great songs, 1 different attempt, 4 run-of-the-mill songs. That pretty much sums up the album. ARR has definitely tried to be more serious and focused here. By that I mean, this album is way better than duds like Godfather and ARR's other efforts of late but still a long way from those Rahman albums of the 90s. Bottom line - An above-average attempt from a once-great composer, who clearly seems to have lost his old magic when it comes to composing Tamil songs.
We all know this badly kept "secret" with ARR's songs - they grow on you, which used to be true then. But not anymore since the quality of his compositions have come down. And now when we have folks like Yuvan whose songs are instantly attractive & hummable, I probably do not have the patience to get used to these rather ordinary songs. So, I listened to these songs a bunch of times and then I was back to listening my current favorites - Thimiru and By2 (an album where all the songs are melodies and which will take no time to grow on you).
Munbe vaa - Easily the pick of the album. A very nice melody. Almost a perfect Rahman melody, straight out of his 90s repertoire. One of those rare ARR songs which impress you on your first listening. The Rango Rangoli chorus is just too good. I particularly loved the way Naresh Iyer joins the song in the charanam. A great touch by Rahman by having him not sing at all during the pallavi and have him start at midway through the charanam portion. Looks like Naresh Iyer has become Rahman's favorite these days. A very soothing song.
New York nagaram - Can say the same about this song too. The way the song is sung (particularly the chorus) really makes you feel as though the New York city is sleeping. The song starts off with some really nice guitar pieces (like we saw in Rubaroo in RDB) and they in fact continue through out the song, in the background (sounding similar to the way he had used the guitar pieces in the Vellai Pookkal song). I used to be a big fan of Rahman's voice but somehow he sounds jaded in this one. Or is it just me, who is tired of hear him singing more often. I loved his voice in Lukka Chappi but somehow didn’t like his voice all that much in this song. Looks like he has tried to sound different on purpose in this song. A song to fall in love with.
Title song - Its a different attempt, in that he has tried a retro song. Lots of jazz in this one. Something like what the Maestro tried in Mumbai Express with the Yela nee ettippo song. Though the sounds used are kind of curious, the tune (if I can call it that) is very pedestrian and reminds you of many other popular songs. But I guess this is going to be used when the credits roll and hence should not really matter that this does not have a great tune.
Machakkaari, Kummi adi, maaricham - all pass muster. Nothing great to rave about. Kummi adi is slightly better, with a very catchy pallavi but then the song becomes uninteresting as it proceeds. Maaricham has more of Yuvan than Rahman. I leave it to you to decide if that is to be taken as a compliment or not :) Basically, all these are songs that would have been hits if they had come during the 90s when Rahman was ruling TFM. But now, with Yuvan and Harris Jeyaraj flooding the audience with the same kind of music, at a much better rate, these might be just one another of those songs.
Mazaa Mazaa - Just like there is the best number of the album, this should be given the distinction of the worst number of the album. Rahman has tried to do something different with this song but the song completely falls flat with a mediocre tune and some awful singing. SPB Charan sounds so exactly like his father at many places. But I am thankful that he didn’t have SPB sing this instead (one crap called Thazhuvudhu Nazhuvudhu is enough for someone like SPB)
2 great songs, 1 different attempt, 4 run-of-the-mill songs. That pretty much sums up the album. ARR has definitely tried to be more serious and focused here. By that I mean, this album is way better than duds like Godfather and ARR's other efforts of late but still a long way from those Rahman albums of the 90s. Bottom line - An above-average attempt from a once-great composer, who clearly seems to have lost his old magic when it comes to composing Tamil songs.
We all know this badly kept "secret" with ARR's songs - they grow on you, which used to be true then. But not anymore since the quality of his compositions have come down. And now when we have folks like Yuvan whose songs are instantly attractive & hummable, I probably do not have the patience to get used to these rather ordinary songs. So, I listened to these songs a bunch of times and then I was back to listening my current favorites - Thimiru and By2 (an album where all the songs are melodies and which will take no time to grow on you).
posted by Filbert at 6:57 AM
10 Comments:
hey, i think you have to listen to Maaza song again, it is weird accepted but good....
Exactly what I felt about the album. First 2 songs were great but the others were pretty ordinary. I have to say it is going to be difficult for Rahman to come out with an album wherein all the songs are great. He couldnt even do it for Mani Rathnam (the master when it comes to getting the best out of him) and hence I dont have any hopes on that front.
Theriyala Suresh, that song put me off completely the moment I heard it :) I heard it for couple of more times and it only got worse. So, I stopped listening to it. Somehow, Rahman is not good when it comes to such item number kind of songs. BTW, expecting your take on the album. If you have written a review in Mouthshut, do give us a link in your blog.
That is true Nattamai. Particularly, when all he is doing is 1 or 2 albums a year. Yuvan is definitely the hottest MD in TFM and I am sure that is not going to change for the next few years atleast :)
Thats great news you have given me about Paruthiveeran. I am actually starting to India tonight and so I will be able to write about it, only after getting back. My gut feeling is that Paruthiveeran is going to be an experimental album, a la Pudhupettai. Lets keep our fingers crossed.
Just now saw your blog. Good to see you back. Songs are good. But I am sure the movie is not going to be anything special. The same old love story with a different twist. So, that would have definitely been the reason why Rahman didnt exert himself too much.
First things first - As big a fan of Yuvan's music that I might be, I am no big fan of his voice (except for in a very few select songs like Ore Naalil). I might not have criticized that in my reviews of Yuvan's albums but that does not mean that I love his voice :)
And as much as I am opposed to ARR, I have always been a big fan of his voice. To me, his best song to-date is Vellai Pookkal and one of the reasons for myself liking the same is his husky super cool voice. But somehow, I did not like his voice in the New York nagaram song. Though the number of songs he has sung is less than 20, the frequency at which he is singing has definitely increased of late (1 song each in Aa Aah, Godfather, JOK and 3 each in RDB & Bose). His is a voice which appeals to me only if he sings rarely. That is the reason why I mentioned that 'tired of him singing more often'
hi filby,
I am yet to pen a review on JOK.. Will post it in my blog soon...
thimiru.. ur current fav? haha.. this shows what kinda music taste u got.. I agree yuvan is too good.. but his music really sucks in thimiru.. and reg By2.. only if de movie demands u can hav all melodious numbers.. u cant put a soft romantic song in a dance floor.. that will be stupid..
its not only me who didnt like thimiru.. almost de entire theatre.. all guys move out for a fag when song comes..
I feel that Mazaa Mazaa song is a good one. It gives a feeling of intimate chemistry the couple is going thorugh. I haven't seen the movie. In fact I havent even seen the video of that song. But I have heard that song 'N' times. Hence, I think I am able to picturize. Hail ARR!!! you Rock!!
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