http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/2009/09/blue-soundtrack.html
I have to admit that I was not expecting much from "Blue" soundtrack. The
initial teasers with `Blue' theme and `Chiggy Wiggy' didn't create any
curiosity. So without any expectations, I started listening "Blue", considering
it as just a soundtrack for a massy commercial entertainer. In these movies,
Rahman has no limitations on the choice of instruments so to stick period in
which it is set in (like a Jodha Akbar), or for which Rahman need not keep a
coherent sound and feel throughout the soundtrack (like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na).
It is in these kinds of movies Rahman freaks out with his
anything-and-everything goes attitude, turns playful and unleashes few more
experiments breaking the un-written formulas with which an Indian movie song
should be composed. While Rahman has attempted all of these in the music of
"Blue", it isn't entirely ground breaking but that isn't a complaint it is
just a formality to say that (and probably cringe later for the same) and a big
barrier that an avid A.R.Rahman fan has to break through while listening to
every soundtrack of his in those initial days.
So when I broke through that barrier, even `Chiggy Wiggy' sounded genuine,
unpretentious, catchy and thoroughly enjoyable. `Chiggy Wiggy' is no doubt an
addictive phrase that gets repeated umpteen times throughout the song, but what
makes the Kylie Monogue's (except for the silky voice, there is nothing
spectacular about her singing or may be the composition doesn't demand anything
more) part magical is the madly running bass (slap or synth??) lines that
impose a heavy pull to keep frivolous melody lines grounded. The song suddenly
makes a not so comfortable transition from Kylie's pop to Sonu Nigam's Bhangra,
and on first listening, it sounded so plaintive, it wasn't bang on. The tempo
of the Bhangra beats should have been higher at the transition point to create
a greater impact, I thought. But the realization comes later that this is
actually a Bhangra without typical Punjabi dhols and that the song is meant to
be in this way because Rahman wants to create a Hip-Bhangra-hop music. The
euphoria of Bhangra is kept intact through chorus shouting `Hoi' in rhythm,
Sonu's diction and expression and Punjabi strings but the beats is that of
hip-hop. Rahman though entirely doesn't pull this off, the song as a whole is
good fun.
`Aaj dil' is colourful cocktail of style and substance, synth and melody. It
has got one of the finest layering of synth, e-sounds and acoustic instruments
we heard for a while. The best thing is that even without those infinite layers
of sounds, the spirit of song is so densely stuffed in its melody itself, which
has got a great momentum in it with never ending catchy phrases piling up one
after the other. But what those eclectic sound layers bring to the table
instantly is the aura, the ambience that the song wants to create. And Oh!
Those madly done interludes without any identifiable melodies transport us
directly to a dreamy water land. All these synthphonies could easily turn into
a cacophony if not done with utmost care but for someone who put together
something as magnificent as a `Potter's Village' this must be a child's play.
But nevertheless such attempts ceaselessly surprise the listeners. Adding to
the beauty of already colourful bowl of sounds is the `Saayasa' and a Piano
motif sprinkled throughout the song. Shreya Ghosal is unbelievably versatile
and extremely irresistible as she makes best use to the seductive range of her
voice in this song. And Rahman interestingly makes Sukhwinder singh (who adds
classical touches even in a song like this) sing this one and Sonu Nigam sing
the `Chiggy Wiggy'.
I doubt if there will be a song this year that is more thumping, more
addictive, more exuberant, catchier and hookier than `Fiqrana'. The song
instantly sucks you into its groove and takes us through an exhilarating ride
of rhythm and melody, right from the moment the main guitar riff starts to loop
around your ears. How does a composer choose a certain sounding guitar? Rahman
hits it bang on target with the choice of instrument for that guitar motif that
ends each stanza and begins the interlude. The sound of the guitar and the
melody played on it are ridiculously funky and hooky. The Rahmantic moment of
the song arrives with the melody that swirls around on the lines `Jeet-te hain
adh adh ka hum'. The song as a whole with it never ending rhythm, completely
sweeps you off your feet and makes your heart jump with joy.
When the `Blue Theme' was heard first in the teaser, I thought that Rap bit
would instantly bounce off from the very beginning but interestingly there is a
prelude to the RAP which is more interesting than the actual theme. The song
takes lots of twists and turns with varied rhythms of folk, rap, pop, hip-hop
and rock parading one after the other with all of thump. Amidst all the
shouting, rapping, Rahman has stuffed a genuine melody (sung by a female vocal)
which borders on Sufi. Though it has a pivotal theme (which could be used
umpteen times in the background score of the movie whenever heroes complete an
action sequence triumphantly), it doesn't meander by orchestrating the same
theme on different ways, it keeps moving on from one portion to another of
varied rhythms, tempos and melodies. We will have to wait and see what the
piece as a whole add to the visuals on screen.
`Bhoola Tujhe' is relatively an underwhelming song of the soundtrack. The main
melody in Mukhda is really nice and soulful; it is a melody that I would
definitely hum even after having stopped listening to the soundtrack, but it
begins to meander in the middle with stretch-the-last-word-of-the-line
technique used to make the melody fit into a preset rhythm. The song's melody
and orchestration seems to be derived from the intersection of `Do Kadam aur
sahi' and `Kahin toh' but it isn't as effective as either. Rahman tries too
hard to add more soul and feel to the song with a soft bed of symphonic strings
running throughout the song, while string section sounds heavily, it can't help
much when the melody playing over is weak.
The moment I heard those shrill hit-hat hits and deep bass in the beginning of
`Rehnuma', I thought this is going to be Rahman's yet another true-to-genre
Jazz songs in the lineage of `Jaane Tu' title song and `Jillunu oru kaadhal'
title song, but soon as Shreya exquisitely begins to scream `Qaatil Ada',
Rahman takes a stunning route to a Rahmanish John Barry Stuff with that yet
another additive and funky guitar motif of the soundtrack. Also to move far
away from his other Jazz numbers, Rahman goes in for synth pads instead of
syncopated acoustic drums that mostly accompanies Jazz songs and there is a
delightful dense string section backing throughout. The flashy orchestration
adds more attitude, style to the substance that is truly western. Shreya Ghosal
and Sonu Nigam sing the lines incredibly without ever sounding like an Indian
voice soaked and trained in Indian classical music, they have poured sweat,
heart and soul into this song. The crescendos with multi overlapping layers of
`Rehnuma' chants, guitar motif and the string section are perfectly placed and
are just out of the world (though you wish sound mixing could have been much
better rarest of complaints on a Rahman's song).
`Yaar mila tha' is a song for which we cannot easily attach a genre to, it
sounds like one of those early 90's saccharine melodies with a touch of
Rahman's trademark cuts in flow of the melody, and with a new age rhythm that
is part folksy and part hoppy. Adding further to that feel is Udit Narayan's
and Madhusree's voice and singing. The melody in the Mukhda that perfectly sits
on an unusual rhythm makes it an instantly catchy song but it faces the same
problems as that of `Bhoola Tujhe'. In the antara, Udit starts to sing the
lines with a melody that takes a random path with unpredictable pauses, which
leaves us wondering where all of this is leading to (I immensely liked the
maddening flow that the melody takes in the middle of `Behka' or `Vaan nila
tharum oli' songs). Usually when such issues come up Rahman use to give a
walking stick to the listeners like say that guitar motif in `Rehna Tu' which
was so helpful in initial listening to go through the middle portions where
Rahman bothers little about fitting the melody to beats and sings passionately
straight from the heart. But here, the rhythm though catchy is repeated
endlessly and turns monotonous, so it doesn't serve the job of a walking stick
convincingly. This problem often comes up when Rahman composes melody for
already written lines. Why do lyricists write such prose without any setting a
definite meter so a composer can fit them easily into a rhythm and melody? Or
if the music was composed first, how on earth a composer can come up with a
melody that is as zig-zag and random as one in this song's antara?
Few days before the release of this soundtrack, A.R.Rahman released a note like
this
"This is my first film after the Oscars. So expectations are scary. It's
important to work with a great team to create great music and we've done that
with Blue. What's special about Blue is that it's an underwater adventure. So,
it was very exciting to do this score as a composer. It's important that you
don't get typecast. It's also important to give the kind of music the film
requires and have fun with it! Drown into the music of Blue."
It seems he was genuinely worried about the post-Oscar expectations of his fans
and that was utterly unnecessary with a soundtrack like `Blue'. Of course there
are some misfires and water is mudded here and there but that doesn't stop me
from drowning into music of Blue.
On a different note, I wondered why there is so much fuss about A.R.Rahman
doing music for an action movie. In India, even in an action movie (for which
if it truly is, there is no need of songs), the soundtrack is going to be a
standard mix of love ballads, duets, a theme song, an item number soundtrack.
Blue being an action movie and with a special mention of `Music and Background
Score A.R.Rahman', one thing I eagerly expect is the background score. Let us
see if A.R.Rahman could pull a John Powell or a Hans Zimmer with this.
Posted by Suresh Kumar
