Satham Podaathey & Thottal Poo Malarum - Yuvan's good form continues

Any 2-week stretch that sees the release of 2 albums from Yuvan is special and though this post comes late, I really did not want to not write anything about 2 good albums from Yuvan. The first thing that strikes you after listening to all the songs in these 2 albums is that Yuvan has not sung one song in its entirety in both the albums. He limits himself to a solo humming, a short rapping, joins the lead singer for a few lines and that is pretty much it. Usually whenever I start listening to any Yuvan album, I am anxious to find out whether Yuvan has spoiled a good song by his awful singing. So, with that major worry behind me, here is my take on the 2 new Yuvan albums:

Satham Podaathey - This is one of the Yuvan albums that I was looking forward to, ever since the project was announced sometime last year. Among all the contemporary directors, when it comes to extracting the best out of their music directors, I have always felt that Vasanth stands out clearly among everybody else. The reason why I rate him above the usual suspects like Mani Rathnam, Shankar, Selvaraghavan, Goutham Menon is very simple - all these directors have done it with mostly 1 or at the maximum, 2 different music directors. But Vasanth is one who gets the best out of any music director that he works with and that is his specialty. From the Maestro in Keladi Kanmani to the assorted composers in HNRAI, he has time & again gotten the best out of his MDs. Rhythm to me is definitely one of the best albums of Rahman whereas Aasai & Nerukku Naer (notwithstanding the lifts) are easily 2 of the best albums that Deva ever came up in his career. Even when Yuvan was just learning the ropes 7-8 years back, Vasanth got Yuvan to compose an amazing album - Poovellaam Kaettupar, which would surely rank among the top 5 albums from Yuvan. It is in this context that we need to judge Satham Podaathey, which IMHO falls definitely short of the expectations this album had generated among Yuvan fans.

It is not that the songs are mediocre. 4 out of the 5 songs are definitely good but except for Pesugiren and the Oh indha kaadhal songs, none of them can find their way into the awesome category and in an album of a Vasanth movie, that is precisely what one expects and definitely what a Yuvan fan like me expects. About the songs - Pesugiren pesugiren is easily my pick of the album. I am not sure who among the Viva girls has sung the Pesugiren song but it is too good. The saxophone bit in the interludes is amazing and soothing. And upon listening to the pallavi of the Oh indha kaadhal song, I was beginning to wonder sure why Adnan Saamy was roped in to sing this one. But it is in the charanams that Adnan Saami gets into his own and justifies Yuvan's decision. Anytime Yuvan uses some heavy beats, I love them. And here in this song, those heavy beats that he has used in the pallavi after the second charanam are just too good. Sudha Raghunathan's voice in Kaadhal periyadhaa is the only highlight. Endha Kudhiraiyil is a neatly-paced catchy song with Shreya Ghosal single-handedly carrying the song on her shoulders. That leaves us with Azhagu kutti chellam. The less said about it, the better. It could have been a way better song, if only the instruments that have been used were different. But something also tells me that this song might look good on-screen. We will have to wait on that one. Bottomline - Like I said earlier, definitely a let-down considering the pre-release expectations but nevertheless, an album whose CD will go into my Yuvan collection.

Thottaal poo malarum - I am not a big fan of P.Vasu (was in fact hating Thalaivar for selecting him as the director for Chandramukhi) and in spite of him being able to get some very good songs form the Maestro (& repeatedly at that), I was not looking forward to this album. Primary reason being the generation gap between Yuvan and P.Vasu. Vasu is one of the typical old school director who needs to stop directing movies (KB, Bharathiraja & even Balu Mahendra have joined the list long back). So, started listening to this album with no great expectations and will have to say that this album fulfills whatever expectations I had of this album. The Arabu Naade song is easily the best of this album. Just too good and rocks completely. One of those songs that will sweep you off the feet and leaves you wanting more. Haricharan is just mesmerizing. I simply loved the way he casually sings the lines 'Urudhu Kavignan Omar Khayyam-in kavidhaiyaa'. The lyrics gel perfectly with the tune of the song, with the lines 'Enakkirukkum sakthi..parasakhthi purinjukko' being my favorite. I should say that I was surprised that Vasu has been able to extract such a good song from Yuvan. Vittal sooriyani is a surprisingly good song, given the genre the song falls into - hero introduction number. It is groovy and Yuvan's rapping in between the charanams is pretty good. For me, I will carry these lines from the song - Meendum modhuvadhil Ghajni...Modhi velluvadhil Rajini. The prelude of Ennai pidicha is very curious but the song itself starts off very ordinarily but it is in the charanams where it gets beautiful. The oodallaa oodaa oodaa humming and the beautiful charanams more than make up for the rather ordinary tune of the song. Also, this is one of the songs which made me look up the name of female vocalist. Loved her voice. The Yuvan - Vijay Yesudoss combo is at it again in the Valaiyal karangal song. My second pick of the album and goes on to prove how Yuvan has mastered the knack of selecting songs perfectly suited for Vijay Yesudoss. His voice is so pristine and its a song that will grab your attention the very first time you listen to it. IMO, this song is actually as good as the Arabu Naade song. Kadathuren naan is your routine kuthu song. Definitely catchy but will go off your mind in a matter of days, rather than weeks. Vaadi vambu pennae song is actually good, without being great by any means. Overall, definitely a more-than-expected album from Yuvan, with the 2 songs in an endless repeat mode in my player.

Aadavari Maataluku Ardhale Verule songs - Yuvan in amazing form

Though it is said that "Music does not know language", I have always found it difficult to enjoy songs from languages that I do not understand. It is not very often that songs from a language that you can not speak and that you can not understand impress you. But an album from the Yuvan - Selvaraghavan combination is always special and definitely has the track record and expectation around it to make you do that. The only Telugu songs that I have listened to before are songs from Anukokunda Oka Roju (that was mainly bcos I simply loved the movie), Bommarillu (when my Telugu friend kept playing the CD in an endless loop in one of our road trips) and of late the incredible Maayeraa from Sainikudu (If you have not listened to this song, please do. Harris has done magic in that song with SPB singing, well, just like only SPB can).

After both Senthil and Sanjeevi egged me on to listen to this album, I was still skeptical and not sure what to expect when listening to songs from a language that I can't understand. But one listen to the songs, all my fears were allayed and I was actually thanking them both as I was immensely enjoying the songs and feeling good about my decision to heed to their suggestion. Now, to the songs in the AMAV album:

Allantha Doorala is amazing. If there is a song featuring SPB in Yuvan's score, then I develop a special liking for that song even before I listen to the song. And when the song is so magical and exceeds your expectations, then it ought to be the pick of the album for me. If you are a fan of the Maestro's uncomplicated but addicting music, then this one is for you. The interludes are amazing in this one. Yuvan brings back memories of his dad in good measure.

Cheli chamaku is awesome. This is a song which does not even require a second listening for you to like. Though the tune has a 'heard before' feel to it, I think the place where Yuvan scores is in his choice of the singers. Adnan Saami and Anushka both just suck you in. Amazing stuff. If SPB had not sung the previous song, this would have been easily the pick of the album.

Yemaindhi Ee Velaa - The first time in a long while that I am actually liking a song sung by Udit Narayanan. The flute piece with which the song ends is just so lilting. Oh Baby - starts off very promisingly with the 'Oh Baby' chorus but starts sounding ordinary as the pallavi starts. But the charanam makes up for it and thus the charanam along with the 'Oh Baby' part of the song make you want to listen to the song more and more. Naa manasuki - another gem of a melody with a foot-taping charanam. Karthik's voice is just soothing. This is a typical Yuvan composition and you can feel that he enjoyed scoring this one. Manasa manninchamma - The beats and tempo are the highlights of this song.

Overall, Yuvan and Selvaraghavan have come up with another winner of a soundtrack. Usually each one of us have the least favorite song when it comes to any album but the fact that I do not have one for this album and can not skip any song when I play all the songs in the album is testimony to the fact that this is an album of very high quality. Though the album does not have much in terms of novelty or freshness of sounds (something that Pudhupettai had in loads and loads and which I still consider the best Tamil album to have come out in the last few years), it is a highly enjoyable and instantly addictive album. I would be placing this album on par with this combo's 7/G Rainbow colony bcos almost all the songs are so melodious and very catchy. Yuvan and Selva prove that you don't need to understand the language to enjoy and relish the music and Selvaraghvan, on his part, once again proves that he is the best when it comes to extracting the best out of Yuvan. Clearly, Yuvan's best of the year so far but I am a greedy fan and hence hoping for greater things (read Satham Podaathey, Kannamoochi Yaenadaa, Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam, Billa 2007) to come.

Sivaji album's beta release - ARR finally gets it right, courtesy Shankar

Regular readers of this blog know how big a fan of Thalaivar I am and in fact, the name of this blog was named after the real boss, Sivaji. I was feeling bad that I wasn't writing anything about the movie after naming the blog after it. But the real culprit was Shankar and not myself. Until now, the release date of the movie has not been officially announced and all we know as of now is the audio release date of April 4th.

But today morning, I start browsing and come across the news that AVM has released some promo CDs with 3 songs to a select group of people and some folks from among them have taken the burden to upload the songs to a site from where we could download them. The tension in the air was almost unbearable as I was downloading the songs. After almost 15 months of waiting, these 3 songs were the first feel of how The Boss has shaped out. Shankar had successfully quarantined us from any news about the movie for these 15 months and I have been hating him for that. But all those thoughts vanished as I started listening to the songs. Though it is not a moral thing to download stuff from the net, I went ahead & did it bcos I know for sure that I will buy the audio CD of the movie whenever it comes out. So, no feelings of guilt in this.

First thing to note is that I am not going to review the songs. Being the Thalaivar fanatic that I am, I can not 'review' the songs. Rather, I will go about appreciating the highlights of the songs and that is what this post is. I mean, when it comes to anything associated with Thalaivar, rational thinking and reasoning just disappear. You get so much involved in it that its is difficult for me to pass a measured judgment.

Before I start writing my thoughts on those 3 songs, I have to mention that IMHO there has not been a better album for a Thalaivar album since Annamalai got released around 15 years ago. And ARR frankly has been a major disappointment in that regard with his first 3 albums for Thalaivar - Muthu, Padaiyappa and Baba. Except for the awesome intro music for the Oruvan oruvan mudhalaali song, ARR has nothing to show for. To bring in a cricket analogy, scoring music for a Thalaivar movie is to be able to be playing a Sehwag innings. Though his technique is suspect, not all of his shots are just wild slogs. Basically, his innings is a good mixture of textbook cricket shots and some wild slogs too. Same is the case when it comes to scoring for Thalaivar's movies and frankly nobody has it done better ever since Deva gave us Annamalai. Vandhendaa paalkaaran is still my favorite Thalaivar intro song (may be the way it was picturized too had something to do with). There are 2 melodies in Annamalai - Annamalai annamalai, Rekkai katti parakkudhaiyya annamalai cycle and I still love listening to them. Then comes the Thalaivar thathuva songs in Vettri nichayam and Oru penn puraa. And the album signs off with the song for the masses - Kondaiyil thaazhampoo. What an album it was...

But the problem with ARR is that he is someone like Dravid who only knows to play classic shots and so when ARR tries his hand at composing a Thalaivar-style mass song, he completely messes it up (say, the En peru padaiyappa song or the more notorious Baba…cinema cinema song). He is basically caught in the middle of nowhere when it comes to scoring music for Thalaivar songs. But that definitely appears to have been changed with Sivaji. And I feel that the man behind that change is none other than Shankar. He is clearly the one who is calling all the shots and all these 3 songs have Shankar written all over them. But to me the hero of the album so far has been Vairamuthu. He has come up with some awesome lyrics in all the 3 songs.

Oru koodai sunlight - Typical Shankar song. This is the song that was shot in Spain with Thalaivar in all those funny costumes and get-ups. Highly techno song. Only sore point is the presence of the beats which we have become familiar with the karu karu vizhiligalaal song from PMC. There is no tune as such in this song. There is someone smiling at couple of places in the song. Wonder if its Thalaivar. No matter who actually smiled, I am already looking forward to Thalaivar flashing his magnetic smile on-screen. The lyrics in the song sing Thalaivar praises all through. So, here is how it goes:

ada ada ada asathudhu un style
nada nada nada nadapadhu un style
gada gada gada siripadhu un style
pada pada pada pesuvadhu un style
suda suda suda thoduvadhu un style
thada thada thada adhiradi un style
adikadi mudi kalaivadhu style
vara vara ellamay style....

I loved the way the stanza ended - vara vara ellaamey un style. Awesome. Thalaivar is the epitome of style. Everything the man does is style and what better way to put it than this way. And then the songs ends with these 2 lines:

hero hero heraadhi hero
staro staro nee superstaro

Whenever the mention of Superstar is made in the lyrics, I just get so excited and it is no different here.

Sahana saaral thoovudho - I don’t get this. Looks like neither does ARR. What in the world makes him use Udit Narayanan for Thalaivar. We already have a bad experience in Muthu. I can't understand how Shankar let this happen. There is this 60 year old man called SPB who could have done a great job with this song. But the good thing is that we do not have too much of Udit sodhappalgal in this song. Awesome melody. Better than the Vaaji vaaji song. This truly is a vintage ARR melody. Easily the best melody that ARR has composed for Thalaivar. ARR pitches in the interludes for the theem thana thana na bit. I loved the female voice in this song. Don't know who it is. Would have enjoyed and appreciated this more if somebody else had sung this instead of Udit.

Vaaji vaaji Sivaaji - One of those rare ARR songs that is instantly likable. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this is a trademark ARR melody since the freshness is definitely missing. Charanams are rather average. But the plus side of this song is that ARR has got the Thalaivar factor right. This song will go down well with Thalaivar fans. Hariharan is perfect for this song. The aambal aambal...mouval mouval chorus is catchy. I am sure there will be a big research launched by Thalaivar fans as to what the words aambal and mouval mean :)

No matter how the songs are, we, the mighty army of Thalaivar fans, will lap it up and make the sure that the audio becomes the biggest hit in the history of Tamil cinema. I am sure that is going to happen with this album too. I have already listened to the songs almost 15 times. One thing is for sure though - the songs are sound so much better than the songs in Chandramukhi. There are reportedly 6 songs in the album and thus the SPB song and the song which Thalaivar has sung are still pending. Just can not wait for them to be released.

The Boss has started his reign ,starting with our ears, in style...

Chennai 600028 album review - Hype kills!!

They say that Hype kills and that is what that has happened with the Chennai 600028 album. This is actually a pretty decent album from Yuvan. If only Indiaglitz had not hyped up the album to dizzying heights, this album would not have been a slight disappointment which is what it is right now. The fact that everybody involved with this film is an youngster in their 20s and mid thirties shows in the songs too, both in the lyrics (amatuerish at some places) and in the tunes. Now, to the songs...

Yaaro...yaarukkul yaaro - Both the versions of this song are outstanding but it is the SPB - Chithra version that is a lot better and easily my pick of the album. The kind of retro beats used in the SPB version are very interesting. But more than anything else, the veteran singer shows that 100s of singers might come and go, but SPB will stand forever. Chithra only adds to the magic created by the song. Only when we hear songs like these, we realize how much we miss these legends. This was one song that I was very much looking forward to ever since I read about it in Indiaglitz and the song sure lives upto the expectations. Totally addictive song.

Un Paarvai mele pattaal - Vijay Yesudoss seems to be fast becoming Yuvan's favorite. IMO the 2nd best song in the album. I loved everything about this song - the prelude, Vijay's rendition and the interludes too. The wordplay in the charanams is very interesting and catchy. Just like the Maestro - Yesudoss combo of yesteryears, we have this Yuvan - Vijay Yesudoss combo now and they are fast emerging as one to look forward to.

Natpukkulle - This is a song that the "Yuvan, please do not sing" brigade will be happy about bcos it has given them one more case to argue for. The guitar strumming with the which the song starts is stunning and all is well with the preludes too, until Yuvan starts singing, from where even the biggest Yuvan fan will shift uncomfortably in his seat. This could have been an awesome typical Yuvan short melody if only somebody else had sung this song.

World cup jeyikkapporom - The song starts with a neat rap. Yuvan's voice is not very bad in this one. The lines "roattula edhiriya adikkalaam ulla vaa...ground-la neeyum naan modhalaam ulle vaa" are very catchy. I think the rapping during the interludes has been done by the Yogi B Natchathira folks. The thing I loved in the song is that both the rapping and the lyrics in the song is completely on cricket. Decent song.

Saroja saamaan nikaalo - High energy song. Will be a huge hit if this is picturized aptly. Shankar Mahadevan is the perfect choice for this song. The tempo of the beats doesn't lag a bit from start to finish. I am a big fan of songs with beats like these and so this is my 4th best song of the album. But I feel that Yuvan should start trying different beats for fun songs like this. The beats in this song are identical to the ones that have already been used by Yuvan in songs like Ammaadi aathaadi from Vallavan and En aasai mythili remix from Manmadhan.

Jalsa pannungada is a rather ordinary song and the bad choice of singers by Yuvan does not help the song lift from its mediocrity. The remix version of the song is actually better. Oh oh ennammo by Anouska is probably my least favorite song of the album and naturally, I don’t want to delve on the negatives in the song, starting from the way she has sung this song to why should Yuvan always keep turning Anoushka's way for such sensuous songs.

Even given the fact that the album does not live upto its pre-release expectations, its a highly enjoyable album. And for Yuvan fans like me, this is an album that should go into the Yuvan CD collection.

Paruthiveeran album - Yuvan's laudable attempt at folk

As a Yuvan fan, this was one of the most expected albums (along with Vasanth's Satham Podaathey). Coming on the heels of their stupendous musical hit in Raam, the Yuvan - Ameer combo has come up with an authentic rural theme based album, this time around. To be very frank, I was not surprised at the genre to which this album belongs to. With the kind of stills of the movie that were released, Ameer had made us to expect exactly this kind of a non-commercial album. Total of 6 'songs', 3 of them are proper songs and the rest are folk numbers. With the recent Sivappathigaaram album too having a substantial number of folk songs, we might be seeing the revival of the lost genre.

Ariyaa Vayasu - A neat melody with simple orchestration. Mottai has rendered the song in a soulful way. Hearing the song it makes you wonder if it was the Maestro who actually composed this song too, which I think is a huge compliment for Yuvan. The second time you listen to the song, you will start humming along with it.

Aiyyaiyyo - Quite easily my pick of the album. Shreya Gosal's voice is like honey to the ears. Krishna Raj, who has sung some notable numbers before, is actually the surprise highlight of the song (Just read from Suresh’s take on the album that he is the same one who sang numbers like Thanjaavooru manneduthu). Oh, the place where he starts the song "sandaazhi un paasathaala" is just awesome. The song's simple tune just sucks you in. Yuvan comes in for the usual humming part and he does not do a bad job (that is to say he could have done better). This is the only song where the lyrics stand out and draws your attention.

Sarigamapathanee - This has my favorite Madhumita singing. That itself is enough for me to like the song. Along with the catchy tune which Yuvan has thrown with it, this is another of those short & sweet songs (it only runs for 2:16 mins) that you will start liking it, in a few listenings. But I also feel that this song will appeal better when seen with the movie. It also has Ameer listed as one of the singers. There is only a high pitched humming that can be credited to a male voice in this song and if that is Ameer's, then he definitely should have a great talent for singing.

The remaining songs are folk songs which you would be able to hear if you go to any festival in rural Tamil Nadu. The Tukka dunga number in particular is the highlight among the 3 and is like a medley of numerous songs. The number Naathaswaram has been credited to some Sanmuga Sundaram group and is completely instrumental - a daringly different attempt from Yuvan. The dialogues interspersed in the other folk number - Voororam puliyamaram - are actually very entertaining and make you look forward to the movie even more.

In conclusion, Yuvan has treaded his father's way in this album and Virumandi is the album that comes to my mind when I think of a recent movie by the Maestro. Like Virumandi, this too has couple of awesome melodies and then the rest are all situational songs, suited for the movie. Bottomline - a must-buy album if you are a Yuvan fan. You got to appreciate this guy for what he is doing - first he comes up with a completely unconventional AIBI, then a path-breaking Pudhupettai and now, this completely off the track album. Frankly, when was the last time we had an album like this? The MD should have the guts to even think of doing an album like this. Yuvan is getting better and his growing maturity shows in his compositions. Laudable effort.