"Slumdog Millionaire" Soundtrack Various Artists N.E.E.T./Interscope * * * 1/2
The love that game show hero Jamal nurses for fellow orphan Latika is at the center of Danny Boyle's fairy tale set in Mumbai, but the soundtrack for “Slumdog Millionaire” is smitten with a different woman: M.I.A. Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman wrote most of the soundtrack, but this first release on M.I.A.'s Interscope label N.E.E.T. coalesces around her sensibilities. Most tracks stir the pulse; a few evoke the film’s overarching tenderness. Rahman’s trademark sound is polyrhythmic, nuanced and utterly polished but without sacrificing an edgy contradiction that keeps all the songs spinning on their heads. On "Ringa Ringa," featuring playback singer Alka Yagnik and Indian actress-singer Ila Arun, Rahman updates a classic Bollywood song. "O . . . Saya," the collaboration between M.I.A. and Rahman, opens the film with subcontinental tension cut with fantasy. "Mausam & Escape" pins classic guitar and sitar against racing tablas and muscular synths. For many ears, M.I.A.'s single is the choice cut. "Paper Planes," and especially the bombastic DFA remix that exchanges the gunshot-cash register motif for a funk bass line and choppy disco synths, are indeed standouts but the treasures of “Slumdog Millionaire” only spread out from there. (MW) http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2008/12/album-reviews-r.html Krish. Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
