Ada Music Review: Rahmans Ada leaves you wanting for more Geshan Manandhar
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Its been a while we had not got chance to listen to the musical gems by the
musical maestro A R Rahman. Ada came as a surprise to me and with the bid to
remix songs as a competition this was surely going to be a power packed album.
The initial TV promos are also worth while and the black background with white
text and ample photos give you the overall feel of the movie. The inlays covers
are descriptive, narrative and pact the punch visually and in words. Lets
scrutinize the songs in this album one by one.
The album kicks off with Ishq Ada Male version impeccably crooned by Rashid
Ali. From the first guitar pluck you seem be getting deeper in the quick sand
in this song. The composition is groovy and lyrics define what love is and I
think Raqueeb Alam has penned a passionate piece of art and the singer has done
full justice to the composition and the lyric. The instrumentation is of the
fusion kind with guitars up front. Next number is Hawa Sun Hawa featuring the
silk voiced Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik in the vocals department. Nusrat Badr
has written a very heart felt lyric that highlights the need of two lovers to
meet and see each other. Composition and music is signature A R Rahman with
some synthetic music but very well blended with earthy instruments like flute,
piano, tabla etc. Consequently appears Gumsum sung by Sonu Nigam and Alka
Yagin in a euphoric fashion. Lyric by Nusrat Badr this time reminds of spring
of a new year, Rahmans arrangement and
instrumentation truly stands out in this song. Its a feel good song with
ample percussions from the conventional instruments and synthetic sounds to
support the arrangement. Subsequently its time for Gulfisha, for this track
the vocals have been lent by Sonu Nigan, Sunidhi Chauhan & Viviane Chaix.
Starting with some crooning by Viviane the duo of Nigam and Chauhan have
executed the song in a classy way. Nusrat again scores with his impressive
lyric. Composition is relatively simple but the arrangement makes you adore
this song from the first listen. After it the next song is Meherbaan which is
vocalized by A R Rahman himself which packs a punch from the first note.
Starting with a piano rhythm when you hear Rahmans voice you just fall in love
with this song. The lyric is beyond comparison by Raqueeb Alam that signifies
the need of love in ones life. A very simple composition but the passion put
in this song by maestro makes it irresistible and you end up listening
to it again and again.
At track 6 Chitra, Sukhwinder Singh with Naresh Iyer sing Tu Mera Hai penned
down by Badr. Talking about achievement of love the back vocals by Naresh is
the USP of this song. Sukhwinder sings in this song rather than just shouting,
no offense. The composition is amazing and the instrumentation go in sync with
the lyrics. Next track is Hai Dard vocalized by Udit Narayan Jha. Jha has
done a formidable job in this song. With tragic lyrics by Badr this song has
that dark feel in the composition department as well. Singer selection may be a
question in this song but overall its a good song saved primarily by Rahmans
efforts. Again Isha Ada comes to view but this time the Female Version
crooned effortlessly by Parul Mishra. With an unplugged experience this song
resembles the male version but has its own qualities to be reckoned with. As
the male version this song is also fully packed with overflowing emotions.
Towards the end we have Milo Wahan Wahan executed in an
ideal way by Alka Yagnik & Jayachandaran. Mainly the high notes are done in an
unspoiled manner. Bards lyrics stand out in this song and the composition is
also on target. The slow tempo and the right instrumentation make it easy to
like this track. Last track is Meherbaan Instumental on guitars by Sanjeev
Thomas. The sound is clean and spot on. Its a very good style to end an album
with an instrumental piece and leave the audience wanting for more and more.
On the whole, getting a gem of an album by Rahman after a while was a good
experience. You can even remix Gumsum or Gulfishan as a part of the deal
with Rahman and Nokia at http://www.remixrahmansada.com so try becoming a DJ.
Regarding the album Rahman strikes again, be it old new singer selection mix,
composition, arrangement or the overall fell of the album. If you liked
Rahmans songs in the past this is a must buy for you.Enjoy the stylish ada of
the maestro as he will never go out of fashion.
