Music Review (Tamil): Dhilluku Dhuddu

Music Review (Tamil): Dhilluku Dhuddu
Music Composer: Thaman

The title song is a routine hackneyed templatized tune percussion laden tune and autotuned vocals of Deepak and M M Mansi's irks at some places, However, compared to the arrangements, vocals being the only highlight in this track.Overall, pedestrian lyrics and tune makes this one mediocre song in the soundtrack.Thaman does best in his forte, lovely breezy melody Kaanama Pona where composer kept the rhythm mellow and throws out some pleasing violin solos in the mid-way. Nivas and Sanjana breeze through the melody effortlessly and processing in the Nivas's vocals didn't create much hindrance to the flow of the easily accessible tune. Sivan Magan starts off promisingly but dives down into frenzied song dominated with the heard before tune sung with enough verve by the string of singers led by Saicharan. Though, the background is dominated by the elements relegated to the typical song of this genre, Nadaswaram solo in the first interlude is a nice touch by the composer.

Verdict: Short soundtrack from Thaman for the horror movie where one melody stands apart in an otherwise typical album filled with sounds from composer's repertoire.

My rating: 6/10

Pick of the Album: Kaanamal Pona

Music Review (Malayalam): Anuraga Karikkin Vellam

Music Review (Malayalam): Anuraga Karikkin Vellam
Music Composer: Prashant Pillai

Manogathan Bhavan's enticing classical melody in the fore delivered with absolute finesse by both singers Mathangi and Haricharan while at the background Prashant Pillai employs pop sounding cues throughout the track. Apart from all this eargasmic ambience, Prashant topped up the song with fantastic Josy's Sax in the interludes. Vaikom Vijayalakshmi's idiosyncratic vocals in Neeyo Njano hooks up the listeners while Prashant incorporates the upbeat sounds in the background in sync with the song's tone. The lovely Prakash Hariharan's Mandolin base amidst the punchy percussion is the highlight of this track. Poyimaranjo's resonant tune evokes the memories of Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal title song, however composer upped the ante with brilliant string progressions. Govind Menon's wonderful violin solo is enough to enjoy the foot-tapping melody of the title song which Peethamabaran Menon and Govind menon renders earnestly.

Verdict: Prashant Pillai is one of the composers I always look out for and he never disappoints and Anuraga Karikkin Vellam is also top-notch work from this brilliant composer.

My rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Manogathan Bhavan, Poyimaranjo, Anuraga Karikin Vellam

P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Youtube

Music Review (Tamil): Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada

Music Review (Tamil): Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada

Music Composer: A R Rahman

Showkali's techno loaded track's main drawback is mishmash of assorted sounds in the background which didn't blend together as a cohesive enjoyable track. As a standalone pieces, middle eastern touch and kuthu portions are effective with ADK and Sri Rascal's rap props up a song further along with Aditya Rao's melody. Rahman fares better in another techno track Thalli Pogadhey, which starts with an instantly catchy sound and upped by Sid Srirams's effective singing accompanied by Thamarai's lovely metaphorical lyrics. The humming portions by the uncredited female singer gives pleasant touch to the proceedings.

Avalum Naanum's serene arrangements with mesmerising flute sections and western classical violin in the interludes amped the beauty of the song. Rahman set the Bharathidasan's beautiful lyrics with ethereal sounding tune and ambience music in the background while Vijay Yesudas sounds fabulous from start till end. The album's undeniable winner is Raasaali, where eveything fits the bill perfectly from eagle sounds in the start, the song has string of awesome elements like utilization of Patnam Subramaniyam's composition, lovely Kanjira set to the tune of muthai thiru in charanams. The icing on the cake is the top-notch singing by Satya Prakash and Shashaa Tripati. Thamarai's poetical lyrics deserve a special mention where she beautifully portrayed the feel of the girl and the boy during bike ride. The only melody track which didn't work much is Idhu Naal, where the tune borders around Omana Penne andf interludes reminds us the Hosanna from VTV while Aditya Rao and Jonita Gandhi sounds fabulous till the song ends.

Verdict: Rahman's association with Gautam Vasudev Menon for second time sparkles less when compared to their previous album VTV. However two stunning melodies by Rahamn is a keeper in this soundtrack.

My rating: 7.75/10

Pick of the Album: Raasaali, Avalum Naanum, Thalli Pogadhey

Miscellaneous Listen - 2

Title song - Dhanak : Tapas Relia's composition is astonishingly beautiful and the tenderness in Monali Thakur's lullaby'ish rendition is soothing while Tapas pitched in with serene arrangements backed by the lovely mix of flute and Sarangi throughout this gorgeously composed track.

Dum - A- Dum - Dhanak : The evergreen classic Dum-A-Dum has been reimagined by Tapas also and the composer blends Chet Dixon's English verses and Devu khan Manganiyar's earthy vocals reciting the famous stanzas. Tapas brilliantly fused the folksy percussions and also backed  by guitar laden arrangements while it's amusing to hear Chet Dixon rendering the Mast Kalandar verses towards the end.

Aaha Identha: - Niruttara: Zitar maestro Niladri Kumar's debut album in Kannada is absolutely brilliant and turned out to be totally non-filmy Kannada soundtrack. The best of the album is Aaha Identha, serene tune accompanied by soothing arrangements with minimal drums and enticing harp-like sounds while Balachandra Prabhu aces with his engaging vocals.

Music Review ( Tamil): Kabali

Music Review ( Tamil): Kabali
Music Composer: Santosh Narayanan

Ulagam Oruvanukka is more conventional inspirational number with soaring strings along with spirited vocals of Ananthu, Santosh Narayanan and Gaana Bala. Although Santosh Narayanan's vocals didn't work much, RK Sundar's percussion (reminds me of Maaro Maaro from boys) and cool whistle strains make it listenable. Santosh Narayanan easily scores in the haunting melody Maya Nadhi where Pradeep Kumar and Shwetha Mohan's (especially humming in the second interlude) involved rendition makes this one easily listenable album. The melody is upped by the wonderful arrangements especially Keba Jeremiah's acoustic guitar (that lovely prelude) and strings section by Pradeep Kumar and Oleg).

In Veera Thurandhara, Santosh Narayanan bring out his Jigarthanda Swag exactly in the arrangements and Roshan Jamrock's Rap verses blends seamlessly in the imaginative orchestration piece. Composer brilliantly used Gaana Bala's vocals while potpourri of delectable sounds mixed in the background highlighted by Tapass Naresh's drums and Vijay's trumpets amidst the techno sounds. Vaanam Parthen's flute prelude (by Vishnu Vijay) has Sundari kannal reminiscence, however what follows is the wistful melody delivered in the pitch-perfect manner by Pradeep Kumar. Santosh aces in the interludes with moving piano and string sections by Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra. Soundtrack's best is undeniably Neruppu da, Santosh delivered one of the fine thematic piece for Rajini movie and the goosebump inducing Jhanu Chantar's Electric guitar work, blaring sirens and the brilliant bass line by Pradeep Kumar. The icing on the cake is Rajinikanth's resonant vocals and Arun Kamraj's grungy vocals. Santosh Narayanan's eclectic sound matches the expectations of the theme track for Rajini undoubtedly.

Verdict: Santosh Narayanan delivered the crackling soundtrack for Rajini album without moving away from his trademark sound and style.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Pick of the Album: Neruppu da, Maya Nadhi, Veera Thurandhara

P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Youtube.

Music Review (Tamil): Amma Kanakku

Music Review (Tamil): Amma Kanakku
Music Composer: Ilayaraja

     Maths tough starts off with cool guitar riffs but the song transcends into weak clumsy rhythms and uncalled random sounds. The rough edges in Srinisha's vocals and uncredited singer's rap brief also didn't add any value to the song and lyrics got subdued by the cluttered arrangements. Overall underwhelming output from the maestro.Ilayaraja makes up for the disappointment by the Maths tough with quite an engaging Unakkum Enakkum. Vandana Srinivasan and Ramya NSK's effortless rendition of the serene, sing-along choir-like  tune and Raja's background dominated by keys and soft rock base with live drums blends together and make this song easily accessible.

       Ilayaraja builds up the Unakkum Enakkum's tune for Kadavul Padaippil also and lyrics seems to be an ode to the mother while Haricharan aces the simple tune like a pro while the composer kept the arrangements of the song intact without any changes.Ilayaraja rounds off the soundtrack with short Kanavugal and Indha Vaazhkai. Kanavugal's ultra short tune fails to create much impact and also background rhythm sounds bland while Vandana's Surmukhi's (Vandana's tweet) soulful rendition being the highlight of this track. However Ilayaraja easily scores in Indha Vaazhkai and the beauty lies in the blissful tune and Shaasha Tripathi's brilliant rendition. The song ends abruptly and the only grouse being the short duration of the track.

Verdict: Amma Kanakku is a passable soundtrack from the maestro and the album has very few standout moments.

My rating: 6.5/10

Pick of the Album: Unakkum Enakkum/Kadavul Padaippil, Indha Vaazhkai.

P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Saavn.

Music Review (Tamil): Thodari

Music Review (Tamil): Thodari
Music Composer: Imman

Adadaa Ithuyenna's prelude is enough to showcase Imman's flair in adapting Ilayaraja's orchestral musical score. Imman continues to show his prowess in employing sweeping string sections throughout the song and the background train like rhythm sound is the nice touch from the composer. Though the tune falls back into familiar Prabhu Solomon- Imman's soundscape, Haricharan and Vandana Srinivasan holds the listeners supported by the composer's nifty touches in the background.
Oorellam Kekkudhe's lyrics, as well as sounds, traverse through various cultures where Imman does fairly well in spirited European'esque sounds in the fist interlude and Chenda Melam combination in the second half of the song. Shreya Ghoshal aces as usual and shows her versatility whereas Mario Rao pitches in towards the end for the brief operatic verse. Once again the tune falls a tad behind when compared to the orchestral brilliance.

Manusanum Manusanum is the weakest link in the album where Gana Bala's coarse vocals annoy persistently and also Imman's arrangements didn't work which results in the mediocre one in the album. Yugabharathi's lyrics being the only standout one in an otherwise passable song in the album. Pona Usuru starts off promisingly with the whispery vocals of Shreya Ghoshal and but sooner confines within the conventional Imman melody which is enjoyable till it lasts. Haricharan lends fabulous support to Shreya, However Imman's hackneyed arrangements repleted with heard before feel bogs down the listener's zeal despite Yugabharathi's easily accessible lyrics and the lead singer's pitch-perfect rendition. Love in wheels is bit long for the instrumental, nevertheless, Imman tried to keep the listeners engaging with the brilliant usage of woodwind sections and rousing string background towards the end of the song. Toting up, Imman delivers an average passable theme track for the movie.

Verdict: Imman- Prabhu Solomon combination in Thodari is enjoyable for its rich melodies but begins to falter when compared with the combo's earlier albums mainly because of the repetitiveness in the overall soundscape of the album.

My rating:7/10

Pick of the Album: Adadaa Ithuyenna, Pona Usuru, Ooellam Kekkudhe

P.S You can listen to the album in Saavn.

Music Review (Kannada): Run Antony

Music Review (Kannada): Run Antony
Music Composer: Manikanth Kadri

Jhanak Jhanak is neat listen despite the limitations of Puneeth Rajkumar's singing, the song is quite an engaging listen with exciting brass sections especially trumpet solos in the first interlude. Kanna Kareyu, faux-qawwali tune embellished with brilliant veena solos in the interludes and rhythmic tabla base while Soham Chakraborty's rendition (Bengali singer, don't know how far he is perfect with Kannada diction) elevates the feel of the song. Ninna Danigagi by Manikanth Kadri is the all-time favourite of his composition and Supriya Lohith returns for the another tantalising track Marule from the composer. The tune is adequately lilting while composer spruces up with wonderful classical violin and veena cum flute combo in the interludes. Supriya along with Soham did a neat job behind the vocals especially humming by Supriya is the lovely touch from the composer. Manikanth Kadri is in fine form in Summane also and the enticing tune is backed by sweeping string sections, flute interludes and Javed Ali's fabulous vocals. Run Run Run comes off lively because of the Varijashree Venugopal's classical sargams and although the Soft rock-carnatic fusion is pretty much conventional sounding, the tune and the singers hold the listeners till the track lasts. Manikanth rounds off the soundtrack with Run Antony Yuva mashup which doesn't entice much interest and ends up being the unwarranted listen in the album.

Verdict: Manikanth Kadri continues to churn out highly listenable stuff in Kannada. Another brilliant set of songs from the composer after Savaari 2.

My rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Marule, Summane, Jhanak Jhanak

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.

Music Review (Hindi) : Raman Raghav 2.0

Music Review (Hindi) : Raman Raghav 2.0
Music Composer: Ram Sampath

Quatl-E- Aam has an eccentric techno package soundscape with addictive electronic sounds mixed in a brilliant manner especially loved the konnakol bits and Yash Divecha's coarse vocals give the gloomy touch to the overall song. Ram Sampath's brilliant tabla beats weaved around the incredible persuasive Sona Mohapatra's vocals. The tune's melodic base becomes prominent in the unplugged version where once again Sona Mohapatra's impeccable rendition holds the song along with Pawan Rasaily's guitar strums. 

Behooda's enigmatic and James Bond'ish techno sounds layered with wonderful string sections sounds awesome in Nayantara Bhatkal's husky vocals while Viveine Pocha and Nalini Krishnan lends adequate support. Paani ka Raasta's soulful tune is elevated by Siddharth Basrur's pitch-perfect rendition while Ram Sampath rules the background starting from lilting guitar laden backdrop to frisky soft rock end with undermined frenzied violin sections in the background. Ram Sampath ends the intriguing soundtrack in style with intense techno Raman Raghav theme where manic techno beats hold the track very well whereas composer teases the listeners with mighty innovative sarangi solos in the middle of the exciting techno package.

Verdict: Anurag Kashyap continues to extract the best work from the music director in his movies. Anurag's first collaboration with Ram Sampath also turns out to be the winner with thrilling techno package sounds throughout the album.

My rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Quatl- E- Aam, Behooda, Paani Ka Raasta

P.S You can listen to the album in Saavn.

Music Review (Hindi): Te3n

Music Review (Hindi): Te3n

Music Composer: Clinton Cerejo

Haq Hai's soft rock base and Clinton Cerejo's vocal does the wonder to make this anthemic although conventional tune enjoyable till it lasts. Cymbal sounds throughout the song gives the wonderful effect to the whole song. Clinton Cerejo's expansive percussion laden arrangements in Rootha, prop up the song further while Divya Kumar and Benny Dayal lends fantastic support. However, the highlight is undeniably whispery Bengali brief verses by Bianca Gomes. Kyun Re's resonant tune is backed by minimal ambient guitar laden arrangements in both versions and vocals by Clinton Cerejo and Amitabh Bachan in their respective versions are handled beautifully. Composer ends the soundtrack with gloomy melody Grahan rendered by vocal powerhouse Vishal Dadlani while composers match the vocal grunginess with an equally thumping rock arrangements and programming.

Verdict: Though not as exquisite as Clinton's debut soundtrack, Te3n is fitting follow-up after Jugni for the composer.

My rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Kyun Re, Rootha, Haq hai

P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Youtube.

Music Review (Hindi): Sultan

Music Review (Hindi): Sultan
Music Composer: Vishal- Shekhar

Baby Ko bass pasand hai starts off with an engaging folk sound but song turns into pretty ordinary techno song although marginally made better because of Vishal Dadlani and Shalmali Kholgade's vocals. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan aces the lovely melody Jag Ghoomeya like a pro and Vishal did a fantastic job with the arrangements also especially loved the folk strings in the interlude along with guitar prelude. The song's female version has better arrangements dominated by minimal yet lovely folk elements (oud?)  throughout the song and the soulful melody is more effective in this minimalistic version. Neha Bhasin's rendition is icing on the cake.

440 Volt's tune meanders inconsistently, however Mika singh makes up for that with his excellent vocals while guitar riffs render fantastic support throughout the song. The title song's tune is sufficiently anthemic with thumping live drums and hard rock guitar riffs.Sukhvinder Singh's energetic vocals fit the bill perfectly while Shadab Faridi steals the show with lovely sargams in the midway. Sachi Muchi is a fantastic listen especially for its splendid bluegrass arrangeemnts domianted by european sounds with harmonica,banjos and brass. Mohith Chauhan and Harshdeep Kaur rendered the song fabulously and the song detours to anthemic pop sound in the midway. In Bulleya Vishal Shekhar gives modish treatment to base Quawwali tune Bulleya and Papon's nifty vocals elevate the level of the track. However undeniable winner is composer's brilliant fusion of quawwali sounds and rock elements. Tuk Tuk rides on the punchy vocals of Nooran Sisters and Vishal shekhar too ups the ante with brilliant mix of punjabi and techno sounds whereas Vishal Dadlani's rap protions didn't work when compared to other entincing elements in the track. Composer duo ends the soundtrack with rousing, grandly orchestrated song, Rise of Sultan and Shekhar Ravjiani's chanting vocals gives enough support.

Verdict: Vishal Shekhar's best soundtrack in recent times and the superlative singers makes this wide range of songs easily an appealing listen.

My rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Jag Ghoomeya (both versions), Bulleya, Sachi Muchi

P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Saavn.

Music Review (Tamil): MeenKuzhambum ManPaanayum

Music Review (Tamil): MeenKuzhambum ManPaanayum
Music Composer: Imman

Sathyaprakash and Shashaa Tripati excel in the charming retro melody Athea Nila while Imman's arrangements feature brilliant violin solo in the interludes. Shashaa Tripati's rendition evokes memories of Aye Mr. Minor from Kaaviyathalaivan and though Elfe choir is not utilized as extensive as in Oruthi Mele, they render fantastic support to the lead singers.Wako Wowra's uninspiring  and typical tune  bogs down the listener's interest while Neha Basin and Varun Parandhaman's energetic vocals being the only enjoyable enough offer in this monotonous track. Imman's spruces up the arrangements with thumping guitars, hip hop beats and enjoyable terse middle Eastern tinge in the second interlude.

Shankar Mahadevan's involved rendition of the semi-classical melancholy Yellam Naadagam yendrayo along with his improvisations coupled with Imman's excellent layering of string sections throughout the song  makes this one easily winner in the soundtrack. Madhan Karky's brilliant melancholic lyrics and sporadic ominous flute bits set the tone of the song in a brilliant manner.Imman experiments another stylish upbeat  song Hey Putheajaya Poove and once again tune didn't help the song much. Imman's rhythmic beats and a melange of assorted sounds in the first interlude alone unable to salvage this song while Jithin Raj and Sunitha Sarathy does justice to the song with their upbeat vocals.MeenKuzhambum Man Paanayum's theme track is the delectable one especially for its enjoyable mix of brass sounds along with sequencing and brief dialogues. Overall Imman rounds off the soundtrack with neat theme sound which has nothing extraordinary to offer but listenable till it lasts.

Verdict: In MeenKuzhambum ManPaanayum Imman's formulaic tune continues to work whereas digressions impress partially. Overall another average outing in the composer's repertoire.

My rating: 7/10

Pick of the Album: Yellam Naadagam yendrayo, Athea Nila

Miscellaneous listens

Yegiraney Yegiraney - Okka Ammayi Thappa: Abhay Jodhpurkar seems to be regular in Mickey J Meyer compositions recently and the young singer handles the typical ear-pleasing tune fabulously along with Ramya Behara. The tune has the shades of various Mickey's compositions, however, the lilting tune and singers make up for those minor issues.

Halli Srihalli -  Mudhugauv - Though the tune is not great as a standalone, the song turns out to be funky listen especially for the Chinmayi's sensual never heard before rendition  (read rarely - Guru's Naan Mutham thinbaval being the only song I can recollect which is similar to this one in her discography). Rahul raj spruces up the average tune with exciting Nadaswaram bit.

Ankhiyon udeek, - Suno: Shilpa Rao's take on the popular Quawwali Ankhiyon Udeek is insanely addictive, partly due to the charming original tune and dominating rock elements in the song. The icing on the cake along with Shilpa's rendition is breathtakingly beautiful esraj solos throughout the song.

Duma Dum - Suno : Shilpa Rao's Suno has another evergreen classic Duma Dum Mast kalandar and the modern variant is absolutely endearing as original. Thanks to the incredible Shilpa Rao and blissful Sharat Chandra Srivastava's violin lending the singer fantastic support. Loved the way the song ends on the musical high where both singing and instruments reach the crescendo.

P.S - Miscellaneous listen is the column where I'll be sharing my thoughts on the favourite song in the album which is not reviewed in my blog.