Note: a collection of my live facebook reviews for the entire album assimilated into a single write up for the reader's convenience. :)
Rockstar .... Imtiaz Ali and Ranbir Kapoor's magnum opus, has been one of the most awaited albums of the year....mainly because it marks the return of A.R.Rahman to the indian music industry after a pretty long hiatus. And Boy!!!! Has the maestro delivered or what!!! Tremendous....14 songs...each one brilliant in it's own right.
Phir se Ud Chala.....magical sound....Mohit Chauhan is unbelievable.....when bass, harmonies and rhythms kick in after 90 seconds....song is outta the world!
Jo Bhi main.....loved the promo!! and Love the song even more...yet another leaf taken from Pink Floyd's book...Rahman has decided to bring progressive rock to Indian industry! Superb feel......awesome bass by Keith Peters!!
A.R.R's mastery over indian folk music continues with 'Katiya Karun'.....has a Kabhi Neem Neem touch initially but then westernizes due to impressive arrangements....rustic vocals.....will be a rage in the north!
Kun Faaya Ku....let's see....a sufi song ....qawwali with A.R.Rahman and Javed Ali...already a divine combination...love the way the initial chords are played on the harmonium! :) FTW!!!
Sheher Mein - a simple song...but great concept....shows the way a band develops a song and evolves it's structure...... Karthik and Mohit Chauhan's vocals compliment each other very well...i am sure the video will be very interesting! :) after 2 minutes....when the guitars and strings join in....then the song improves dramatically! :) then a mystic qawwali interlude....people will love this on multiple hearings!
Haawa Haawa is ARR's genius work exploring world music...fusing elements from Turkey, Israel and Spain....with ARR's trademark strings and melodian ..A masterpiece/..... this is for the elite music savvy audience...second guitar interlude is fantastic.....Great number!
Aur Ho - A.R.Rahman has used the feel he generated in the bgm of 127 hours to create this song....great arabian touch to all the western arrangements! Sung brilliantly by Mohit Chauhan once again.....great anger and melancholy in the lyrics and tune.....
Nadaan Parindey.....a great start....awesome drummings! THen ARR's voice kicks in! :) superb bass....live drums is always a treat to hear it....A dream for me ...always wanted ARR to sing a Rock song!!! Mohit Chauhan starts of tangentially with beautiful chords on the guitar...the guitars and drums sound phenomenal..superb sounding....then a scale shift... great to hear...and now a Guitar Solo! :) a complete musical package.....one of my favorites in this album!
Tum Ko - its been a while since we heard Kavita Subramaniam sing! when the chords and tabla kick in, that's when ARR's touch comes in....song is very much in the ARR feel of Puthiya mugam, Roja and Anjali...KS's vocal tone is superb ....ARR brings out the best in her....this is so far the best track melody wise .... Amazing Strings.... main forte....
SADDA HAQ!! great singing by Mohit Chauhan....superb guitaring...nice rockish organ tones used for providing chords.....amazing harmonies to boost the 'Sadda Haq' 's feel! This song scores the highest in terms mass appeal..Will be the cover of this album for sure! guitar solo in the first interlude is outta the world....great support by piano and pads....some awesome jazz and blues chords inserted in certain portions...might be difficult to detect..but the presence is definitely felt....the end is a resonating example of musical grandeur by the Mozart of Madras!
Tum Ho - the love melody that we can generally associate Mohit Chauhan's voice with...naturally he has done complete justice to it...Suzzane's voice is very soothing in the background....great chords and bass..... This track will be a sure hit.....it is 'THE LOVE SONG' of this versatile album.....tune is got an unique flow to it....
Tango for Taj ..... mesmerizing instrumental music by A.R.Rahman.....the bass guitar and strings support the accordions and piano in such a manner that we tend to forget the world and begin our own tango......superb music!! FTW ARR!!!
The Dichotomy of Fame - uniqueness to the core.....no body can use the shehnai in this fashion...western fusion.....taking the melancholy out of a shehnai is a tremendous achievement and A.R.Rahman makes it look very easy!...after a minute, there is some superb guitaring as well.....and the chords....OMG! :) ARR you are in ur elements for sure....suddenly when the bass kicks in...the feel becomes more darker....superb transition...Love this piece of work
The Meeting Place.......celestial start....chords have a heavenly feel...and he has used the tone of signal disturbance as a music tone ...the Genius!!! OMG!
CONCLUSION:
Rajinikanth is the SUPERSTAR of movies...
Rockstar is the SUPERSTAR of Bollywood music ....
A.R.Rahman is the SUPERSTAR of music....
When a person can give you a music album that has 11 songs and 3 instrumentals...each one ...exemplifying musical excellence...with genres transcending from sufi to Rock to Pop to Turkish and Spanish music ... a kaleidoscope of international music... What is left to review!!
Rockstar is A.R.Rahman's most perfect work in Bollywood till date....
Time for another filmfare and National Award! Jai ho!
RATING: 10/10....Two thumbs up.....must buy for this season!
1 comment:
It's nice to know that Rahman is a fan of Rumi (the poet who wrote 'The Meeting Place').
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