http://hotgas.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/music-reviewbluear-rahman/
Music Review:Blue(AR Rahman) If Vishal Bharadwaj had `fun' making Kaminey,a film that was as much rollicking to the audience,Blue might as well end up as one effort where Rahman let his hair down.For once,he lets go of his densely layered sound of say a Delhi6 or a Guru,albums that apparently took *time* to grow on the listener and unravelled their charms incrementally,Rahman's Blue is imbued with a heady mix of groove & thump that makes it instantly addictive. The OST opens with the much touted and publicised Kylie Minogue number Chiggy Wiggy.Incredibly rhythmic right from the start,Minogue's soothingly chic and marvellously fluty vocals are it's crowning glory..i.e. till Sonu party poops and gets into the act.What starts off as delectable international pop descends into a tangled mess of stale Bhangra pop.Of course the idea cannot be faulted.It has always been our cherished dream to fuse ourselves with the West.East meeting the(or atleast trying to meet)West has been part of Bollywood's bloodstream since eons.But a more sophisticated attempt would have been that much more palatable than this unimaginative pastiche of sorts. Things do brighten up with the amazingly light on it's feet Aaj Dil Gustakh that gushes in like a gust of fresh minty breeze.Rahman suffuses the track with deliciously fleeting piano-guitar notes and a hint of jazz.With Sukhvinder and Shreya in terrific form the result is an exotic interplay of sounds that are pure aural bliss.Also the rushed in vocals,mighty inventive on the part of the composer,add a layer of impatience and immediacy to the song. Fiqrana is sheer nostalgia doused in a munificent dosage of punchy techno.The song works primarily for it's creative use of electro funk and those strikingly Rahmanesque freestyle verses,that are underscored with bursts of racy rendition. Rashid Ali is back,as if to remind us as to how much we missed him after Aditi,though it is not his vocals but Rahman's filigree like detailing to the orchestration that stands out in Bhoola Tujhe.It is a wistful song alright with the mandatory and increasingly moribund sufi affliction,but the composition rises above the mundane thanks hugely to the composer's magnificent arrangements. Rehnuma is the stunning of all the songs from Blue.To use the adage,it is literally a bolt from the blue.But what makes it that?For starters it is not a regular number with neatly etched out antaras,mukhdas,hooklines.. whatever.It starts of with Shreya's eerie vocals that build up gradually to the final cathartic outburst through Sonu's devastatingly effective vocals.For me the final portions were truly hair raisingÂ…Sonu's adrenaline drunk vocals and Rahman's brilliantly dramatic orchestration make for a deadly combo. Yaar Mila Tha is probably the closest Rahman gets towards the conventional.But after a round of impacting demonstration at experimental music,this one's ends up as a routine effort although Rahman does spike it with his inventive embellishments(The cycle bell like trills et al). The high octane Theme Music is nattily done up and works for its congregation of impressive sounds. Rahman's score for Blue is marked by an imperious testosterone driven yet sensible sound. My Picks-Chiggy Wiggy(Only Minogue please!),Aaj Dil Gustakh,Rehnuma My Rating-Three Cheers!!!
