Piya Tose - Actual Version

One of the first few albums i ever listened to, in my life, was Dev Anand's 'Guide'. I did not know any music back then. Yet, i loved playing the songs, on the LP record my uncle used to have. Later, my Dad bought the tapes. Much later, i happened to watch the film and i realized that the tape versions are not complete, but edited ones. Among the songs that were edited was 'Piya Tose Naina Lage Re', which originally was over 7mins. The tapes, and subsequently the cds, contained versions which are only over 4mins.

Finally, i got the full version, ripped from the VCD of 'Guide'. I listen to this version, probably once in 10-15days, thus making it one of the most revisited songs in my entire collection. I cannot exactly say what draws me towards this composition. Probably it is sheer magic. It is indeed difficult to appreciate just 1-2 aspects of this song. There is always something new popping up, as the song plays on. What really sets this song apart? Is it the tricky rhythm patterns, which change very intricately? Or the highly imaginative interludes? Counter-melodies? Finer nuances in rendition? Lata Mangeshkar? I think this is one of those complete, full-some songs which has 'G-E-N-I-U-S' written all over it. What does it take to compose such a song?

Frankly, i am not qualified enough to review this composition. It still gives me goose bumps, to believe the fact that the entire soundtrack of 'Guide' was composed in, hold-your-breath, 5 days. By every measure, it is not at all an ordinalry achievement, given the fact the soundtrack had nothing but sheer Gems. And among them, shining brightly is this nugget, which leaves listeners spellbound. Can any current-era composer try to compose, if not the similar, but a song of this stature? If yes, how long it could take, for this sng alone? And to understand what all gives the song the stature it deserves, please listen to it atleast 3-4 times, paying attention to every note, instrument and tune running on the forefront and the background. I tried mentioning few master-strokes, as comments in the player-bar. The song, in my opinion, is a monument, much like the man behind it - S.D.Burman.

Piya Tose Naina Laage Re by maverick

A peek into Ilaiyaraaja's Tremelos

This topic was on my 'yet to blog about' list since long. A wonderful peek into the 'Tremelo effect' on string ensemble, as practised by one of the Indian Grand Masters of orchestra - Ilaiyaraaja. Even before I could blog about it, my friend Vicky came up with his take on his blog. Do read this wonderful post, where he cites few apt examples (if i were to write about same topic, i would also pick the very same songs) in which tremelo effect has been used to fine perfection, putting the painting (song), on a whole different canvas. I completely agree with the last words of Vicky, that no composer from South Asia has used tremelo effect in such evocatve way, holding listeners in a musically rapturous delight. Thanks to Vicky, for citing the right examples.

Is Accordion slowly getting back!

Last year, A.R.Rahman belted out an impressive melody "Ay Hairath-E-Aashiqi" from Guru which brought back an instrument now extinct in the current technoscape of film music - Accordion. Although the album credits did not mention who actually played it in the song, many believe that it was Rahman himself, because he personally picked it up from a music store in London (or Prague?). And he did play it well too.

Now, again, after a long time, i chanced upon another wonderful song with very good accordion work. The song, 'Muskuraa' from a new film called 'Dasvidaniyan', composed by singer Kailash Kher, reminded me of another exquisite composition, "Fallen from the Sky', from the film 'Once'. Although i cannot say that Kailash Kher copied it, because, to be fair, he did quite commendable job to the complete composition, I am sure that he got inspired from the song from Once. The similarity exists only in the initial lines, for few bars. But then, I must say, Kailesh belted out a very mature composition, simple melody and yet captivating, bringing back the glory of accordion which was once a regular instrument in Hindi Film Music, particularly by Shankar-Jaikishan duo. Listening to that instrument, aptly used in a melodious number calls for an applause. It rarely happens with current crop Hindi films, that a song catches my attention the very 1st time i hear it. This is just one among them. Kudos to Kailash, for this one.

Shaken, Not Stirred: James Bond Songs Part-I

This post could be seen as an eventful piece, in the wake of 'Quantum of Solace' euphoria that is catching up all over. But in reality, this came up because I recently indulged in a bit of childhood and watched couple of James Bond films, which I had seen earlier when I was a kiddo. And during this adventure, I discovered some beautiful songs, which were used in those films during title credits. So, why not a post about - Bond Music.

The character of Bond Songs - There is a unique quality about most of the Bond songs. Most of them have a mysterious, dark, enigmatic feel attached to them. Over that, they could be either suspense evoking (blaring trumpets using Bond theme motif) or very dreamy (usually sung by a female singer) sensuous melody. The orchestra usually consisted of String Section and Brass elements (trumpets, horn). After the 3rd Bond film, it became a norm to have the title song rendered by a contemporary pop singer. As time progressed, Bond theme songs adapted contemporary genres and sounds, such as more fiercy-rebellious in eary 70s, synth and disco-ish sounds in 1980s and more evolved electronic sounds and trance-based music in 90s and later. Yet, some of the songs managed to keep the inherent character alive, while some other songs had deviations, in the form of experiments and few, utterly failed in all aspects. And not to forget, most of the songs have traces of Indian Raagas most notably Keeravani and Charukesi (Ravi identified about 3 songs based on this raaga). That interested me more and thats why, Here is my take on all the Bond songs so far.

1. Dr. No - Being the first film in the series, the only thing Bond-ish about it is the trademark theme, composed by Monty Norman and orchestrated by John Barry orchestra. However, the soundtrack also had a very non-Bond-ish nursery-rhyme-kind 'Underneath the Mano Tree', with more carribean touch. If we ignore the fact that the music does not have anything to do with James Bond, the song is quite a good one.

Rating - 9/10

2. From Russia With Love - The title song, sung by Matt Monro, appears in the end-credits. A wonderful composition to which Matt Monro's vocal suit the best. His base voice reminded me the base of Jose Feliciano. One of the best Bond songs indeed. Also, John Barry started his stint as full-fledged composer for Bond Films.

Rating 9/10

3. Goldfinger - Goldfinger started the trend of using a pop-singer for the theme song. The song, sung by Shirley Bassey, in a way set the trend for forming the character of the Bond song. With blaring trumpets and slow pace, the song has opera-feel in the way it is rendered, while the tune and orchestration establish the enigma, mystery brutality and suspense, which continued in many other Bond songs.

Rating - 8/10

4. ThunderBall - The song completely runs on the Bond Theme motif, while Tom Jones croons this noticeably difficult song. There is one more song, in the end, titled quite funnily as "Mr. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang". Even this song, sounding all Bond-ish with Trumpets and Horns and string orchestra, has carried the legacy started by Goldfinger.

Thunder Ball song Rating - 7/10;

"Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" song Rating - 6/10

5. You Only Live Twice - Nancy Sinatra was roped in for this phenomenal composition. In my opinion, this is one of the best bond compositions. Starting with a grand ensemble of string arrangements playing a melody, which later becomes an electric guitar melody in the background, while the actual melody of the song runs in a very relaxed tone, backed by guitars. A very sweepy melody. The usage of strong orchestra with horns, steals the show in this phenomenal song. Nancy Sinatra too.

Rating - 10/10.

6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service - This film, is the first film after Dr. No, which does not have a theme song during opening titles. Instead, John Barry makes it up with a trendsetting piece, which was not approved initially. It is the first Bond track to feature electronic elements, spiced up along with symphony orchestra. John Barry executed a stunning orchestration. Listen to it in ear-phones and you will realize that probably this track makes up for the quality of the film. The end titles however, had a grumpy ballad by Louis Armstrong, "We have All the Time in the world", melodic tune though. Although there is nothing Bond-ish about the song, the song could be seen as a post-cursor to "From Russia With Love".

Title Piece Rating - 10/10

"We Have All the Time in the World" Rating - 7/10

7. Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey again. In my opinion, much more than music, the song is interesting for the lyrics it had, comparing Diamonds with Men and a lady preferring former over latter. (At times, i wonder if this song inspired Sahir Ludhianvi to write "Sona Mile tho log aaj kal dil ko kabhi le", in Joshila). The song has a very dreamy rendition, with heavy base and electric guitars mildly mixing with the rhythm. In many ways, this song sounds like a precursor to 'MoonRaker' title song, sung by Shirley Bassey again. Exotic Melody.

Rating - 8/10

8. Live and Let Die - This song is a complete re-interpretation of Bond Music. John Barry took a break and Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney teamed up with a band named Wings, for this unconventional number. While elements of Rock and Ballad type of music are woven with simple piano strokes, the track has much more to it. The colour/mood of the song changes from soft to violent to brutal to spunk. For me, what stands out is sonorous and blaring trumpets, which repeats many times, sounding very eerie, backed up electronic elements. The tune actually potrays tension, intimidatingly.

Rating - 7/10

9. The Man With The Golden Gun - This could be probably one of the weakest songs in the Bond series. John Barry returned to Bond series with this song. The club-disco era has already started and this song imbibes just that. While the opening trumpets start off on the promising Bond motif, the bland disco cum into-the-face pop tune just doesnt work.The lyrics too, bring down Bond to a mere comics-hero.

Rating - 2/10

10. The Spy Who Loved Me - The song, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carl Simon, despite suggestive lyrics, works big time. It was the 1st song in Bond series which had title different from that of the film. Instead of John Barry, it was composed by Marvin Hamlisch. This song puts the Bond songs back into the trademark songs league, something which was missing after 'Diamonds Are Forever'. The song starts off on Piano, in a mere jazzy style and then emerges into the Bond-ish pop ballad. The strong string section and soft percussions with guitars culminate to make it sound like a perfect fusion between pop and opera music.

Rating - 8/10

11. Moonraker - John Barry returns again and so does Shirley Bassey, to create one of the classic Bond songs ever. Horns, String section, keyboards, haunting melody, sensuous rendition... probably it works in all dimensions. The song has two versions. While the slow version appeared in titles, the end-credits had a faster disco-version of the same song, done quite intelligently. In all, both versions are quite intoxicating.

Rating - 10/10

We are left with 11 more films. To be continued...

Rock On

I know this review is coming in quite late. But heck, i just wanted to write it.
After lot of resistance, i finally listened to this album 'Rock On' and it took quite sometime for me to get into the premise of the album. I remember the day when i heard the track "Pichle saat Dinom mein" and the lyrics "Meri laundry ka ek bill, ek aadhi padi novel..ek ladki ka phone number, mere kaam ka ek paper" put me off completely. What was Javed Akhtar writing there? But later, i gave the whole album a patient hearing, only because Shankar-Ehsan-Loy are among the very few composers whom i admire these days. And the album did impress me quite a bit, which is why i am recording few notes about it, on this blog.

1. Socha Hain - The songs starts off like opening a door to rock music. Guitar tune, playing the main tune and bass guitar, then drums joining in. The song has a very lively flavour and Farhan Akhtar did surprise me with his rendition of the song. Keeping the synth levels to the minimum, the song borrows heavily from the Rock genre, true to the film's name. Javed Akhtar comes up with some thought-provoking lines such as:
"Ped hogaye kum kyon, teen hain mausam kyon..Chaand do kyon nahi.
duniya mein hain Jung kyon, behtha laal rang kyon, sarhadein kyon har kahi".
some very good guitar work, interspersed with nice bass. Rock songs, by nature, have some rebellious tinge in them and the usually, the lyrics tend to reflect the same. This song imbibes elements such as these, in lyrics and the rendition. Watch the way Farhan starts off "Aasmaan Hain Neela" at 3:00mins, a very dragged and coarse way of taking off, which works very well.

2. Pichle Saat Dinon Mein: This is the song i had much problem with. But then, the tune of the song is quite hummable. The song starts off with hardly any instruments and gets groovy when the guitars and drums get on. The charanams are quite short and simple and what keeps the song going is the hummability quality in it. The guitar piece towards the end reminded me of Knopfler. Putting an out and out rock song in the premise of Hindi song is actually difficult and this song justifies exactly that.

3. Zehreelay: Hard Rock is the genre. I couldnt attempt to listen to it more than twice, because the song is a major assault on my ears.

4. Yeh Tumhari Meri Baathein: One of the brilliant songs of this album, which evens out the scales, to match the kicky rock songs on the other side. This one is a pleasant melody, a simple one too. Backed only by a guitar melody, keyboard, bass and jazz-trap kit, the song is a wonderful western melody, with apt rendition by dominique. The song oozes beauty and romance. Javed Akhtar's simple and beautiful lines get into the tune like hand in glove. This is Shankar-Ehsan-Loy's one of the finest compositions.

5. Tum Ho To - This one is a soft romantic ballad, which has been rendered brilliantly by Farhan Akhtar. The melody is vintage, while the instrumentation is modern, although with minimal instruments. The beauty of the song lies in the shift from the slow melody to change in chords and carrying the song in the same pace. and Do watch out when Farhan does a brilliant job at "Tum mile to mili...Yeh Zindagiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii".

6. Sindbad The Sailor: The song starts off very anthemically and it really got me into it there itself. Rock buff would dismiss this song because this is essentially less of a rock song (compared to Socha Hai and Pichle Saat Dinom) and more of a Dance number, much on the lines of 'Koi Kahe kehta Rahe'. But heck, it got me tap my feet and even dance. The song's structure is not the usual mukhda-anthara, but it has 3-4 musical lines, woven into phrases which are sung again and again. Yet, the song doesn't bore a minute. Farhan Akhtar again shines and to his luck, his vocal inconsistencies got lost in the guitars and keyboard riffs which back the song. The best part of the song, is when the whole euphoria slows down and Farhan re-sings 'Tum Ho To' and picks it up to a height, re-igniting the euphoria again. watch the guitars and drums when he goes off "yeh zindagiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii", i could keep my hands silent and air-drummed everytime i listened to it.

7. Phir Dekhiye - Another soft ballad, with acoustic guitars and piano. A very impressive composition which is melodic rather than euphoric. Javed Akhtar's lines shine again here. The song sounds sweet more because it is a simple melody and very simplistic treatment given to it. A wonderful bedtime song, not to be missed at all.

I have many reasons to appreciate Shankar-Ehsan-Loy in this album. the foremost being the fact that they did not stick to pure rock songs alone. neither they gave conventional hindi music. Instead, they gave mellow western numbers such as "yeh Tumhari Meri Baathein" and "Phir Dekhiye", using same guitars and drums, without disturbing the mood or the melody. Then, their choice to make Farhan Akhtar sing actually works. Not that he has a great voice, for it is very coarse. It is only that the voice has been intelligently used be in rock songs or ballad (Tum To Ho). To give due credit, Farhan did not disappoint and did justice to the compositions. and ofcourse the last reasn being the likeable numbers. I liked 6 out of 7 songs and thats quite cool. Isn't It?

Rock On is indeed a very different album, which might not please every music lover, but only those who identify with the genre of Rock Music. Yet, for others, the albums caters with wonderful soft songs. For me, the album gave me much more than i expected - good but not over-done rock music, good instrumentation and soft melodies. Rock On!