*Sugarcube. Sweeeet!** * It's been ages since I went gaga on my blog about a Rahman album, though I was presented with several opportunities to do so in the last coupla years. Here I go again! :)
Sakkarakatti Taxi Taxi - Benny Dayal, Blaaze, Viviane Chaix, Javed Ali Whacky. Unfettered. Sheer unadulterated fun. It's like revisiting Bombay Dreams all over again! Ambient traffic sounds, a lady's voice humming something which is bound to get on your mom's nerves if you try it out at home, a pulsating rhythm... throw in Blaaze's funky rap and you have a winner that's gonna be played on FM stations every other hour. If Naresh Iyer was the next Karthik, I guess Benny Dayal's the next Naresh. Wish Rahman would make up his mind. :) Or maybe not. His voice has the perfect hint of youthful zest to pull it off. It's amazing how Rahman structures his songs. The track meanders to a halt, not very unlike a rickety yellow and black ambassador coming to a sputtering stop at a heavy traffic junction, and when you expect it to come to complete halt, Rahman surprises you with the sound of a car starting and the song regains momentum. Brilliant. Marudhani - Madhushree, AR Rahman, Hentry It's got the same formula of one other female solo that gained immense popularity. Madhushree's rendition and Rahman humming in the middle. Rahman plays too tiny a role though. His portion doesn't quite have the punch as Sandai Kozhi (Aayitha Ezhuthu) had. Me slightly disappointed by that. :( But overall, it's the kind of soothing romantic melody that we've (a tad unfairly) come to expect ARR to churn out in every single album. That way, I'm definitely not disappointed! Public opinion seems to suggest it's the next Munbe Va. Maybe it is. I Miss You Da - Chinmayi, Indai Haza Trust Rahman to make you scratch your head when you try to slot his song in a specific genre for your oh-so-meticulously maintained iPod. No seriously, where would you put this song? An interesting experimentation that takes some repeated listening to grow on you, Rahman puts Chinmayi's vocal acrobatics through some pretty complex hoops! You have Stop-Start beats. You have whispered singing. Before you know it, you have heavy-duty beats and a (soft) high pitch twist that threatens to rip the singer's vocal chords into two. Patterns be damned. :) Chinnamma - Benny Dayal, Chinmayee I was very unsure about this one when I heard Rahman was reusing his hit Meenaxi track. I'm delighted now. :) I love the way he has adapted it to suit the tamil palate. Benny's spirited effort to match up to pretty high standards Sukhwinder had set in the original and Chinmayi's stylish counterpoints in the middle stanzas stand out. Someone give Rahman an award just for the way he makes the female singers laugh! After Madhuraiku Pogaadhe Di, ARR threatens to create an all new genre. Classical kuththu! :) Elay - Krish, Naresh Iyer What do you get when you throw in a pinch of Roobaroo (RDB), a dash of Adhisaya Thirumanam (Paarthaale Paravasam), a drop of Smiyai (Kandukondaen Kandukondaen), a fistful of resounding orchestration from Vanessa Mae's Choreography, some brilliant guitar riffs and a whole barrel of soul? You get Elay, where the whole is greater that the sum of its parts. Oh, and the old Benny Dayal is back! :) Currently my favourite in the album (you cannot do without the "currently" word when talking about Rahman albums!), the violin pieces blew my mind. College bands are gonna have a blast with this one at their culturals. God bless their violinist though! Naan epodhu - Reena Bharadwaj I love that woman's voice! Why doesn't she sing more often? I'd always felt Yeh Rishta was pretty underrated. I'm glad Rahman reused the tune. I hope it gets the appreciation it deserves at least this time around. Verdict: Would I recommend the album? Nope. Because I'd be busy glowering at you for not having bought it already! http://magixncurses.blogspot.com/2008/07/sugarcube-sweeeet.html -- -A http://viewsnmuse.blogspot.com
