Chord, May be your title should just read "Endhiran Music Review - 1100110"..:) Nice touch & probably gels well with the theme of the movie.
Enjoyed reading your review. Good work..! Ganpy. --- In [email protected], "AJ" <purev...@...> wrote: > > Gopal, > > Please add the following to my original post title: 1100110 > > Please resubmit. Thanks. > > > > --- In [email protected], "AJ" <purevibz@> wrote: > > > > Enthiran Music Review > > > > I decided to write this review sooner than I thought due to the songs > > having a more instant impact and having listened to the whole album at > > least 15 times since it came out. Further time is not going to change my > > opinions. My comments are only on the music, not the lyrics. > > > > I wonder if we really understand and appreciate the difficulty of Rahman's > > job, no matter how musically brilliant he is. He is human after all, and > > not a robot. He has to keep in mind so many expectations and demands, esp. > > when you have a leading film-maker and superstar with his own fan > > following .Rajinikant. Post Oscars, the expectations for Rahman have only > > grown and I truly wonder how he manages to rise to the occasion each time, > > whether we ourselves like an album or not. With Shankar and Rajinikant at > > hand, boy, Rahman must try to keep a lot of people happy all at once, yet > > creating music fitting for the movie that's supposed to have sci fi, robo > > themes! If there's anyone who can do justice to these demands, it's > > Rahman. The hype around the music release of this album is one of the > > biggest I've seen in a while ..touted as one of the finest films, most > > expensive films, etc. > > > > Pudiya Manidha whisks us away to a land of robos and futuristic sci fi, and > > man, does it ever leave a mark! One of the sleekest masterpieces Rahman > > has ever come out with in my opinion, this song oozes with etherealness, > > groove, punch, mystery, intrigue, and trance. This track takes me to > > another world truly with Rahman's sweet touches .crystal, progressive synth > > sound effects, warm ambiance, loopy synths, and the ever soothing and > > captivating string arrangements. Post Khatija Rahman's soulful singing and > > bleating goat sounds, the song picks up speed with rhythms and SPB's > > spritely singing. Notice how the strings mimic the synth loop melody, only > > adding depth and character to an already richly bestowed track. Based > > loosely on raaga Bhimpalas, the song takes a soaring route during the > > heavenly string interlude. Beautiful choral additions are appreciated, > > adding a stark spirituality and sonic texture along with SPB's split octave > > singing, creating a very balanced and satisfying bass/treble aural > > experience on all frequencies. This track will likely go down as one of my > > favorites in ARR's entire repertoire for the reasons outlined above and for > > reasons I just can't put into words, but can only feel and experience. For > > a techno/trance number, it's very spiritual in feel! A complete > > masterpiece from start to finish, what a way to kick off!!!! > > > > A contrasting, more acoustic, upbeat and happier track follows as Shreya > > and Vijay Prakash please us with lilting singing and joy in Kaadhal > > Annukal. Rahman's use of rhythm acoustic guitar layered with the sweet > > accordion and mouth organ/harmonica is extremely appealing aurally with > > incredible sweetness! Beautiful interludes highlight this earthy and > > charming song with a Scottish/Irish style using piccolo and accordion in > > the first, and a very unconventional, out of the box mysterious and ambient > > synth section in the second, showcasing ARR's brilliant creativity and > > craft. The second interlude is truly outstanding as it gravitates away > > from the usual flowery mood and organic sound and serves us something more > > electronic and spacey, but never distracts the groove and momentum of the > > whole track! I just love how ARR uses the strings so tastefully and > > craftily throughout the song creating a very lush aural landscape, esp. in > > the end when Shreya's counter melodic line joins in. A really sparkling > > track from start to finish for me and this song just radiates freshness and > > innovativeness for an Indian film song. The melody itself is very sweet > > with many hooks, though unconventional for an Indian duet film song and at > > times hard to remember, but with repeated exposures, I can't get this song > > out of me!! The whole song is beautifully supported by a fresh, rhythmic > > groove that mostly unwavers alongside haunting and unique chords and chord > > progressions. > > > > Following the very techno and synth heavy first track, how beautifully > > contrasting we hear a very earthy and acoustic one in the second ..truly > > showcasing ARR's versatility and genius in the first 2 tracks alone!!! > > > > The third track, Irumbile Oru, is techno to the core, but sounding like an > > ordinary remix to me! Marked by some sexy grooves and female rapping along > > with ARR's metallic tinged voice, this track has not yet impressed me much > > musically. Maybe if I understood the lyrics, I would appreciate it more, > > but I did notice how the lyrics and words seem to flow quite well. I don't > > know why Rahman did not do more musically with this track, esp. using a > > kind of outdated techno sound that has been used over and over! As my > > friend put it, "this track is a lost opportunity for Rahman" in terms of > > sound, but I can see how the youngsters are enjoying it for its sheer > > rhythmic groove, lyrics, word flow, and ARR's voice. Nothing more to write > > here! > > > > ARR has a little fun in the next track, Chitti Dance Showcase, which begins > > as a cheesy robotic voice come on Rahman! You can do better! Why > > choose a clichéd, stereotyped robotic sound that we've heard over and over? > > Once again, Rahman using a very outdated sound! I can understand Rahman's > > attempt to be obvious and literal as he needs to cater to the masses, but > > still .there is no elevation of taste using these outdated and hackneyed > > robo sounds! But, on the plus side, this track has its interesting and at > > times brilliant moments, esp. with the beautiful and sweeping string and > > choral interlude, but alas, only lasts about 10-15 seconds! We hear all > > sorts of genres here .symphony, heavy metal, Indian tarana, but with > > jarring transitions. Oh, and I also like that little whistling, jazzy > > insertion that he put in there towards the end .showing the more humorous > > and playful side to ARR! Nice touch there! > > > > We switch gears to a much more heavy sounding number, Arima Arima, with > > Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, 2 singers we haven't heard in a long time in > > a Rahman's song! This track is full of valor and majesty, showcasing brass > > and pomp with militarized drumming and a dose or distorted rock guitar to > > add exclamation! I love Rahman's use of the symphonic strings in this song > > using them to accent rhythms and intertwining them delicately at times in > > 16th note fashion creating a beautifully crafted and intricate rhythmic and > > textured backdrop to Hariharan's and Sadhana Sargam's passionate singing. > > I love some of the operatic voices that are also used as transitional > > pieces. I also loved that little 16th note synth insertion during one of > > the song's transitions, adding energy to an already vibrant and punchy > > track! Did you notice how the trumpet interlude totally changes the mood > > of the song as we go into major scale? I love that part of the song!!!! > > The singing is semi classical at times, esp. during the antaras, which I > > really appreciate. The track both begins and ends with synth, creating an > > interesting contrast to the much more acoustic and earthy majority of the > > song. > > > > We go light in mood again with an African twist!!! Kilimanjaro is a real > > treat with extremely catchy lyrics and spirited singing by Chinmayi and > > Javed Ali! What a track! I love the mood of this whole song and the > > beautifully authentic African vocal tribal interludes add only icing to the > > cake! I don't know how Rahman created such an authentically earthy sound > > to the tribal choral parts! This song is just brilliant and so crafty! I > > love how the crisp tablas are used at times and the naughty singing by > > Chinmayi, who doesn't sound her usual self, but very convincing! This > > raaga Malkauns based track is punctuated by some very wholesome and crisp > > drumming, catapulting this track forward with every step! Check out the > > rhythmic variations during many parts of the song with added maracas (or > > another instrument) in double time, esp. during the second tribal part. > > Let's not forget the playful "click click" sound either, which is just > > perfectly placed! Rahman's versatility is simply mindblowing!!!! > > > > The final track begins with Yogi B's "Boom Boom Robo Da" bit which repeats > > kind of annoyingly through the rest of the song. I could have enjoyed this > > song without that part, catchy as it is!!! Brass hits and funky techno > > beats characterize this very rhythmic, colorful and varied track with > > multiple musical genres in jazz, latin, rap, heavy metal, hip hop, etc. > > For a change, it's nice to hear Yogi B, another rapper besides Blaaze, > > though no hard feelings towards Blaaze! The antaras are quite melodiously > > sung as the singing takes on a more semi classical turn in raaga Abhogi and > > occasionally Bhairavi. I very much appreciate the second interlude > > Latin/Spanish sounding section with the soothing female chorus and nice but > > brief acoustic Spanish sounding guitar. There are more acoustic elements > > to this song too as what sounds like a bright santoor plays an old > > fashioned melody in the beginning and acoustic guitar plucking briefly as > > the other musical flavors melt away for a brief bit during some later > > transitions. A patchwork track of sorts, much like its predecessor in > > Chitti Showcase, it's quite entertaining to the core with some splashes of > > sweet melody thrown in. Rahman's talent as a musically genius craftsman > > really shines in this track. > > > > So, another milestone in ARR's career if you ask me with heavyweights > > Pudhiya Manidha, Kadhal Anukkal, Arima, and Kilimanjaro totally carrying > > this soundtrack on all four of their shoulders. These 4 songs to me embody > > some of Rahman's finest musical work to date in terms of composition, > > innovation, sonic creativity, and mass and class appeal. This album would > > be worthy enough with only these 4 songs on the table. The other 3 tracks > > have bright moments contained within them, but seriously, the outdated and > > cheesy and cliched robo/electro sounds of the 1980s are a big turn off for > > me and I am quite disappointed by Rahman's choice here, also likely > > influenced by Pravin Mani. I really wish that similar sound templates of > > the ambient textured, progressive and futuristic sounds of Pudhiya Manidha > > would have been in more abundance in the rest of the songs, but perhaps > > Shankar had a big say in this to cater to more of the masses and Rajinikant > > fans and what fits in with the film ..I don't know. As an album overall, > > it's qualitatively very inconsistent to me and very gimmicky in parts, but > > with 4 brilliant songs in the mix, I will surely be playing this very > > entertaining CD as well as the Telugu and Hindi counterparts in heavy > > rotation for a long, long time to come! > > > > Numeric Values: > > 7/10 Compared to other Rahman albums (mostly for the 4 amazing songs I > > talked about above) > > 9/10 Compared to contemporary Indian film albums > > > > Copyright by iChord 2010. No part of this writeup may be reproduced without > > the sole written consent of this writer. > > >
