Music Review (Telugu): Oh Baby
Music Composer: Mickey J Meyer
The title song has the splash of retro Jazz with ample support from Nathan Bray's trumpet solos and the frolic tune is aced by Mickey J Meyer's current favourite Anurag Kulkarni. Lakshmi Bhupala's lyrics bring out the attributes of the protagonist Baby effectually. Overall fun start to the album by the composer. Changu Bala's tune has Mickey J Meyer's signature all over it with the tinge of folk and contemporary sounds mixed and the composer delivers an enjoyable song. The start of the song indicates the tribute to Ganesha but following lyrics by Bhaskarabatla sounds totally different from the English lyrics. Nutana Mohan aces the rendition and the punchy rhythm base along with the fabulous keyboard in the interludes by the composer himself elevates the song.
Mickey J Meyer easily scores in the melancholy Aakasam Lona and the composer's soaring arrangements punctuated by string sections and keyboards gel well with the earnest singing by Nutana Mohan once again. Lakshmi Bhupala affecting lyrics which goes as khusalamadige..manishi lekha..oopirundho ledho emphasize the overall tone of the song.Naalo Maimarapu which featured in the trailer is the easy listen with the breezy tune accompanied by dreamy arrangements especially Mohana Bogaraju's whispery vocals makes this one an enjoyable listen. Though the charanam tilting towards sounding weary, the singer able to hold the tune really well.Anaganaga is another wistful tune backed by the acoustic guitar solos throughout the song while Sriramachandra's earnest rendition makes this one an enjoyable serene listen from the composer. Lakshmi Bhupala's shines once again with the beautiful lyrics. Maha Adhbutham is easily identifiable as Mickey J Meyer's signature tune with the arrangements and the catchy hook bordering towards the folk sound while the main melody continues to be an enchanting listen in the vocals of Nutana Mohan who happens to be the lead singer for Samantha's band in the movie.
Verdict: Oh baby is high on melody and enjoyable despite featuring the apparent signature tunes from Mickey J Meyer.
My Rating: 7.5/10
Pick of the Album: Aakasam Lona, Changu Bala, Maha Adhbutham
P.S You can listen to the songs in JioSaavn. The edited version of the review is published in Moviecrow
Music Review (Tamil): Pon Manickavel
Music Composer: Imman
Imman gives a wonderful start to the album with the unusual tune for Uthira Uthira with the shades of Ding Dong Kovil mani. Shreya Goshal and Imman combination hardly goes wrong and Uthira Uthira is no exception. The sensual rendition by Shreya and Imman's tune makes this one an enjoyable listen while Karky impresses with the unique lyrics. Sreekanth Hariharan and Maria Roe Vincent ably support while Prakash Hariharan's mandolin in the interludes deserves special mention. Jittaan Jittaan Jinukku is the dance number while the tune is typical Imman number which rides mainly on the thumping rhythm structure. Shika Prabhakaran's exceptional singing helps the hackneyed tune while GKB's off-putting lyrics are the sore point in an otherwise listenable tune.
Bongu Bongu also rides on the Imman's stock tune and structure dominated by the folk sounds with ample support from Kaviraj's percussion. However, the tune falters despite the gripping lyrics from Kabilan while Thiagaraja Subramaniam's rendition stays true to the spirit of the song as well as lyrics. Magaraasaney tune comes in two versions with slight modifications in Viveka's lyrics about father-daughter bond rendered by Srinivas after a long time for the male version and by Varsha Renjith for the female version. The affecting tune is backed by serene orchestration and Imman employed Devi's veena effectively. Both Srinivas and Varsha aces the calming tune effectually despite the tune doesn't match up to the composer's earlier hit Kannana Kanney.Imman ends the vocal tracks of the album with the motivational number Vizhuvathum Ezhuvathum. Though the tune has nothing remarkable to offer, Ashwin Sharma's rendition and Imman's pleasant arrangements make this one an enjoyable listen till it ends. Pon Manickavel's theme sounds fit to the genre of cop thriller with intrigue and mystery. The track features splendid work on the Electric guitar riffs from Keba Jeremiah and Manoj Kumar's violin despite the voiceovers lacks the punch required for the theme track.
Verdict: Imman strictly adheres to his loyal soundscape with a couple of tracks and superior vocals salvage the album.
My Rating: 7/10
Pick of the album: Uthira Uthira, Magaraasaney
P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Jiosaavn. The edited version of the review is published in Moviecrow.
Music Review (Tamil): Raatchasi
Music Composer: Sean Roldan
Rekka Namakku is predictably buoyant fuelled by the optimistic lyrics from the director himself. Sean Roldan kept the arrangements adequately engaging, Thanks to Vijay's flute and Vikram Rozario's mellow percussions. Srinidhi steals the show with her brilliant rendition of the tune and one wishes that tune is more impactful. Thadai Illai Odu's thumping anthemic tune gains immensely from Rahul Nambiar's spirited singing. Sean Roldan fills it with the screeching guitar and live drum sections which gel well with the Yugabarathi's lyrics. However, the rough edges in the tune make this one average stuff from the composer.
Nee En Anbanae is right out of Kalyani Nair/ Santosh Narayanan territory, the mellow tune backed by Sean Roldan's gentle guitar strums. The immersive tune which gets better in Charanam portions is adorned with effective arrangements especially lovely Sarod solos by Gowri Shankar. Brindha Sivakumar gets to croon the lovely tune and she aces the pensive tune brilliantly. Sigarame also falls in line with the Thadai Illai Ondru but fares better because of the slightly more engaging tune crooned by the composer himself supported by Ravi G. Andy's foot tapping rhythm works to the song's favour. Sean Roldan ends the soundtrack with the rollicking foot tapping folk tune Kondattam enlivened by Sean Roldan and Bamba Bakiya's stupendous singing supported by kids chorus sections. The arrangements are consistently engaging due to the wonderful mix of Sean Roldan's guitar riffs and Karthikeyan's Nadhaswaram Solos.
Verdict: After splendid Mehandi Circus, Sean Roldan's Raatchasi turns out to be predictable and lacks the punch one can expect from the composer.
My Rating: 7/10
Pick of the Album: Nee En Anbanae, Kondattam
P.S Youcan listen to the songs in Youtube. The edited version of the review is published in Moviecrow.
Music Review (Tamil): Sivappu Manjal Patchai
Music Composer: Siddhu Kumar
Mayilaanjiye features the wonderful arrangements which are surreal especially Balaji's violin and Shubani's string section. Siddhu's tune works magically especially the Pallavi and the title hook but fizzles out in the charanam portions. Anand Aravindakshan and Shashaa Tirupathi are in fine form with respect to the vocals. Siddhu shines once again with respect to the arrangements in Raakachi Rangamma and undoubtedly Anitha Karthikeyan's quirky vocals work to the song's favour but tune suffers and lacks the punch. Mohan Rajan delivers the bull eye with his amusing lyrics especially when the lines go as Ranveer'um Ranbir'um mix aaki kekkuraan ivanoda Akka enna Deepika Padukona.
Siddhu fares well both with respect to tune as well as arrangements in the melancholy Usure where the composer employed Jothi Pushpa's vocals and Bhavani's Veena for the classical-tinged interlude. Sudharshan Ashok easily sails through the enchanting tune in the verses of Mohan Rajan.The debutant Siddhu composer delivers another smashing melody Idhudhaana and the lilting tune is elevated by Naresh Iyer and Shashaa Tirupati. Siddhu arrangements also feature a brilliant amalgamation of soulful violin solo by Balaji in the prelude and Nakul Abhyankar's kazoo along with Vishnu's flute in the interludes makes this one a beautiful listen. Siddhu ends the soundtrack with another melody Aazhi Soozhnda where Manoj's enchanting violin and Mohan Rajan's lyrics on brother-Sister relationship stands out. Srikanth Hariharan's earnest singing prods the average tune and makes this one a passable fare from the composer.
Verdict: Debutant composer Siddhu fares well with respect to the arrangements but the tunes of Sivappu Manjal Pachai turn out to be a dealbreaker.
My Rating:7/10
Pick of the Album: Idhu dhaana, Usure
P.S You can listen to the songs in JioSaavn
The edited version of the review is published in Moviecrow.
Music Review (Tamil): Sindhubaadh
Music Composer: Yuvan Shankar Raja
The prelude and Pallavi of Nenja Unakaga sound more like Santosh Narayanan's composition than Yuvan Shankar Raja. The tune takes time to get through the listener but Haricharan's vocals and the lovely arrangements especially Balesh's Shehnai towards the end make this one an interesting listen. Another beautiful thing is the Charanam where Yuvan's minimal arrangements with keys to support while Haricharan leads the show to pave way for the effective Othanela Kenikulla title hook.Rockstar Robber's prelude reminds of the Yatchan's KaakaPonnu and the techno club mix by Yuvan works largely because of the enjoyable Rap portions by ADK. However, the tune fails to stick despite enjoyable arrangements and Pav Bundy's adequate vocals who collaborated with Yuvan earlier for Goa
Unnaalathan is a typical Yuvan styled song and it's a perfect throwback to numerous Yuvan's melodies. Yuvan delegate the vocals to similar sounding Al Rufian instead of his own despite the tune easily falls into his territory. The winner is undeniably Priya Maali's singing who leads the show easily in Charanam.Yuvan churns out another winner in the melancholy Neeyum Naanum where Santosh's singing elevates the song effectively. Yuvan kept the arrangements simple filled with thrumming techno rhythms and paves way for the singer to deliver the gorgeous melody. Also, deserving credit is beautifully written words by Karthik Netha.
Verdict: A melody heavy soundtrack where Yuvan is in fine form and Arun Kumar continues to extract enjoyable music from all the composers (Nivas K Prasanna for Sethupathi and Justin Prabhakaran for Pannaiyarum Padminiyum) he has worked with.
My Rating: 7.5/10
Pick of the Album: Nenja Unakaga, Neeyum Naanum
P.S You can listen to the songs in JioSaavn. The edited version of the review is published in Moviecrow.
