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Discussion Thread on IR's new albums Ilayaraja Reviewed by Srikanth (@ nscs23p4.remote.umass.edu) on: Fri Dec 31 01:36:35 EST 1999 1.Thavikeran : Hari haran as usual does a good job, and Bhava blends well in spite of her limitations in the past, the score sounds like thalata varuvayo. The chords are placed well. Major Draw backs felt in the song was using a synth like sound for counter point scores, why? Raja who is a master in writing violin scores, should have opted for natural violins -- any budget cut! (7/10) 2. Kadal neethana : Great song, I really like the tune, though resembles thendral than tingal than.... Drum programming is good with well-structured bass parts. Unni renders it pretty well. Sujtha blends in with here sweet voice. The way she says the world "choolli" in the saranam is really cute...There is brass interlude coming in between saranams, a synth like brass though the score is good --- it sounds odd, Once again raja should have opted for natural brass section. In a nutshell, the tune is very crisp and sure it is a first time impresser. (9/10 ) 3. Muthu nilve ..Only good part is tune sung by bhava (does not sound like her voice at all), Tune is well thought but the dishti in the song is KR's voice and the way he tries to sing it is very poor. Notable Drawbacks are poor tune, poor voice and harmony on the chorus. Overall a total failure. (1.5/10) 4. Nenachai padi : ok , should be a family song, sounds like a group song from solathudikuthu manasu. Somewhat s.a.rajkumarish, Thevan ; a new singer I think , Subha -- tries to sing like thaiya thaiya, she should change - (5/10). 5. NAN Thanga roja ; a very rajaish sounding tune, good drum parts, Swarna add great feel, Spb blends well , starts on a lower pitch, adds a great weight to the song musically (and physically!), words are also new (we have had too much of diamond's thoughts going around in TFM), interludes are pretty and neat, makes you listen again, proves raja is still around. 6. Neram pirthu; I would say this the best song from raja in past 5 years. Simply a great score, I love playing it on the keyboard each and every part, I enjoying it every time I play it. I posted this some time ago, the songs moves like a feature that falls from a height, we do not know which direction it will move next, so smooth, reminds of old MSV's song from poikal kudurai. Msv's song did not have so much chromatic scaling, this has many parts in chromatic scale. Oboe, cello, double bass, violas, violins, piano --- every classical instrument we know, (I heard even French horn and brass) has a part in this song, and basically set in G, moves around wonderfully, Sujatha renders it with a great feel. (9.5/10) I wish Raja works on more scores like these in future. The CD is really good and the recording quality is remarkable. The Songs were recording with perfect fidelity. It is worth a buy. You can listen to this album here. Ilayaraja Reviewed by MS (@ 129.252.22.112) on: Sun Jan 2 02:18:53 EST 2000 Review of TIME : (all IMO) This is a review after hearing the songs in the mp3 format. Let me try to get you the picture of songs with my limited verbal abilities. First of all it is a commercial. Hence I suggest DFers not to have great expectations (like Avathaaram etc..). Kaadhal neethaana:(sung by Sujatha and Unni krishnan): An impressive choral start similar to " Mere mehboob mere sanam" of Hindi. By this I mean only the formulation, not the tune. The song is catchy as UK's voice gently glides into the song. His voice is similar to a serene landscape gently sliding along the song. The very first line of the song reminds me of "kaavEri aatrin Oramthaan kaatrodu serum aanandham" (song - thendral thaan thingaL thaan from kELadi kaNmaNi). But the rhythm is totally different. The percussion is similar to rap. The first interlude is reminds me of " en veettu jannal etti". The reason is simple. Both have a haunting flute piece based in the same raga. In the second interlude IR goes away from the melody for a rap - punch start. After a few twists and turns UK takes over. IMO it is a good song. Definitely worth shelving. Muthunilave (sung by KR): enna sollannu theriyalai. intha naadhiri entha MD kittayum paattu kEttadhillai. One song which comes close to comparison is "Oh baby baby" of KM. But it lacks the great bass work of the KM's counterpart. The most attractive part of the song is the solo guitar pice that comes in the beginning giving you a false impression that it could be a very soothing melody. KR is the WORST choice. IMO, such a song would have been sung better by ARR ( :-)). KR's voice is a misfit. Sorry for the inane description of the song. I do not know if I like it. sometimes I like it and sometimes I do not :-) Nenachapadi (sung by Srinivas ?): "Let the day begin.Let the sun shine in. Let the feeling reign ? when we start to sing. LEts get the moon somehow. Lets have a good time now. Its a happy birthday" (irunga ithu tamil paattu thaan :-)) - This is sung by female chorus without any percussion instrument. "Skies are green and cloudy" from KM is the one which comes close to this choral portion. The song suddenly enters the qawwaali beat. ILA arun (?) sucks. She is terrible. I can identify male / female/ Ila arun voices - I believe :-) the song is meant for a happy situation as inferred from the overtone of the song. IMO, the qawwaali beat is not very impressive. this song IMO will be just another song for which IR would have taken not more than a minute to compose. Very general tune. You can neither like nor dislike it. Niram piriththu:(sujaatha) Oh Man!!!Greatness manifested in just one song in the album !!! If we replace Sujaatha's voice with a set of high pitched violins, we are getting a symphony class music !!! the whole song has been enriched with violins and bells. Think of the beat "aasai adigam vachchu" at the pace of " veNNilaa veNNilaa veNNilaavE vandhadhEy mudhal kaadhal" with a tune totally unheard from IR till this day !! This is the BEST of IR I have heard oflate after "Ponveyilile" of "yaathramozhi". A must in the personal favourites !! ThavikkirEn (Bhavadhaarini, HH): The song is typical of latest IR's songs. Bhavdhaarini's voice - suththam - gamakam endraal kilO enna vilai case:-) It seems she had sung for IR in "Anjali". athOda niruthiNdu irukkalaam. Her voice is still extremely childish - she sings it like a rhyme. This song reminds me of " Kaadhal meethu" from KK and the beat is similar to "ennai thaalaatta" from KM. IMO, this is a good song and nothing great to rave about. Naan thanga roja: IR intha paadalil thuLLugiraar. I mean it. It is based on Mohanam and sung by SPB/ Swarnalatha with a beat similar to "Muththirai ippOdhu kuththidu thaapaadhu" (beat only). A good song, I won't say it is great. You will not dislike it. On the whole the album is a very good buy as all the songs are good except one which is way too good. MS You can listen to this album here. Ilayaraja Reviewed by srikanth (@ 216.32.18.74) on: Mon Jan 3 18:09:41 EST 2000 1.Saranam : sounded like Yemen Kalyani –Song is just Ok. 2.Malaiyil : Unni/Arul Mozi/.....Sounds like Hamsaddwani.... We can feel raja is Trying hard, but!… 3. nenachi .... Total waste, might sound harsh but --- Sounds like Hawa Hawa. . Keyboards counter point scores are totally poor. 4.Enge selum in padai ---- Typical raja stuff, bgm is somewhat good, but still it is just another one from Raja. Sounds like keeravani. --- The Usual soga number... 5. Chicaga situ : Old stuff, reminds old raja songs. Chorus ... frankly why can’t they pick some good words. Sounds like tamrai pooviku etc etc song. 6.Kadal enna : Pallavi has a very nice tune....lyrics is also catchy!.....happa enga pa ponar!....intha feel than required, raja peeps out!....at last. Gutiar whamps are totally rajaish. But the saranam drags, somewhat Swarna sings in a hurry. . Reminds me the old song Poova parandhu pogam pathu poochi aka...Ok of the lot 7. Varathai : Raja sings again, mmm...slow tempo....so so. 8. Anna sethu : ….Vetuku vetuku vasapadi venum....raja should come out of this musical format. 9. Kana krukuyeele : mmm. The chorus that comes in oyilalo (Guna) and margazi (Thalapathi) is repeated. Can be used for Manvasanai etc…etc… argument here, that’s it. Total use of keyboards, why? I don’t know when others used key boards their creativity were questioned, Now this applies to raja. He had 9 tracks, had a great scope but wasted it totally. Finally Sethu is good movie and raja shines in the BGM, good he is great bgm composer but as far as tfm goes songs comes first and raja wasted 9 songs, he had good batting pitch and should have scored. Some time ago here we had arguments on BGM V/S SONGS, I feel bgm is like tamil paper one, thought the second paper contains all the grammar and other tamil language fundas, marks count only for paper one, hence I wish raja concentrates on songs a little. I would hesitate to buy a CD. Ilayaraja Reviewed by Swaminathan (@ nat135022.ericy.com) on: Tue Jan 4 15:38:29 EST 2000 Ok here is my impression after a couple of hearings.... Oru Naal Oru Kanavu Soothing melody. Minimal use of instruments and excellent guitar arrangements. Please Mr.IR, give me more guitar movements like this. The only thing I hated was the use of synth in the first interlude. Had it been a solo violin, it would have reached heights. Also the use of synth violin in the second interlude. Summing up, quite a different tune. Can someone tell me what raga this song is based on? Nilavu Paatu I just don't understand why the song has a totally un-correlated starting. But quite a diferent song from IR. I felt the bass should have been high in the song. I don't expect natural instruments for this song. Again the synt bit in the second interlude made me irk. Roja Poonthottam A nice medium paced duet. I just loved the interludes (the guitar in the first one) in this song. Felt the bass should have been higher. But a nice and a diff song from/for IR. I hope this will be a chart finder. Extensive use of guitar and he's once again proved he's the best in guitar, ever in TFM. After a couple of hearings my feet started tapping. Adida Melantha Quite an ordinary song. Nothing more to write. Disappointed to see SPB used for a song like this. Chinnanjchiru My pick in the album. Man this is excatly what I want from IR. Esp the violin interludes and progressions. It just soothes my nerves. This song will with no doubt enter my personal fav's for 2000. Can someone tell me what raga this song is based on? Iravu Palgalai Theda Agian a song with minimal use of instruments but for the interludes. Felt natural instruments should be used for the interludes. This song reminded me of "Nalladhoor venai" from Marupadiyum. Nice song. Overall this album will (should) make it high in TFM as a melody rich album. Definitely its not a buy for fast paced song lovers. But melody lover's, trust me, U can buy this album right of way. I'm going to get this album today :-) Thanks, Swami. You can listen to this album here. Ilayaraja Reviewed by Srikanth (@ 216.32.18.74) on: Tue Jan 4 18:17:38 EST 2000 The album is out
color=black>Finally!, had a chance to hear .
ps:I tried to make the review colourful. Orenal oru kanavu… Pallavi starts like
Nilavu Patu…
Roja Poonthottam/ Enthan
Adida melatha : Spb speaks and starts the songs. Sounds like a telugu song (especially emma and the banjo whamps are reserved/owned by
Orenal …. Comes again
Chinnanjchiru ….Raja
Iravu Palgalai Theda:
Since the songs are not up to
Thanks
Ilayaraja Reviewed by H.K.KARAN (@ 203.197.129.182) on: Wed Jan 5 04:09:55 EST 2000 HEY RAM AUDIO RELEASED TODAY: ISAIGNYAANI'S & KALIGNYANI'S MUCH AWAITED HEYRAM AUDIO RELEASED TODAY. There are totally 8 songs in the cassette 1) Ram Ram singers: Kamal & his daughter shruthi Unarchigal pongum song. 2) Nee Partha singers: Asha bhosle, Hariharan,Rani mukheerji Extremly good song nicely sung by asha. 3)Polladh madhana bhanam. Singers: Mahalakshmi,Anupama deshpandey North Indian folk+koothu type song Western classical notes comes in the end. 4)Vaishnavajantho+Varanam 1000 Singers :ganapadigal, Vibha sharma(naam iruvar namakiruvar fame) a very different song. 5) Isaiyil Thodanguthamma singer: Ajay Chakraborthy Superb tune and good lyrics(Ilayaraja) 6)Ram Ram repetaion of song 1 7)Saniyasa manthiram Singers: Kamal, Hemamalini hamamalini reads a letter from saketha raman and kamal reads some slokams. Very different. 8) Ramaranaalum Kamal,jolly mukerji. It seems kamal and sharuk singing in the movie. Very rythmic&catchy song. totaly it is very different from normal TFM. A Must buy for a music lover. Ilayaraja Reviewed by ¶Visiri (@ bonobo.tesserae.com) on: Wed Jan 5 16:27:17 EST 2000
Ilayaraja Reviewed by Srikanth (@ 216.32.18.74) on: Fri Jan 7 16:13:04 EST 2000 Ram Ram: It is totally different. Voice track is given a preference, a raja song with not many interludes. I liked Kamal’s voice and pitch (very high scale) and the female voice following the male voice in saranam, I was not able to identify it. Is it Kamal’s daughter! The Sax piece in the second bgm…is very interesting, When the song ends it blends with greatly with raghu pathi ragava raja ram..the sax piece sounds like Egyptian...sure with good choreography , it will wake you up,. When the song opens, the brass section has an unmatched Delay (echo)…. Keyboards the way to go! The (keyboard) bubble bass is played well. . Overall people will like this song. (7/10), This will as theme music for his title/re-recording scores Second song: Raja being a master in recording song moves wonderfully over the Bengali dialogs, then the song start with good WC notations. The piano score is interesting to play (Naveen can do a sequence). Female voice is not clear, HH does the job well, we have wait and see how the song is shot. (5/10) 3rd song, somewhat boring sounds like a Hindi song. Nothing much, notable point -- tabla/dolak I suspect Prasad playing for raja. But song as such is dragging. When I was thinking raja is missing. He pops up with good string section, an agamark raja western classical score., it sounds like somebody has scored for the main song and raja just added the tail. But still the first part --- romba sumar.(4/10) Vaaaaishanava (that’s how she sings it) Janotho: Sung with a mirudangam accompaniment, usual (Hamir) kalyani raja’s, I think he should have selected a different raga like lalitha/vasantha/abogi., then comes the Thirupavai like rendering….to highlight it is an Iyengar! Family story., need to see how it is shot? Raja is not required for this song. (3/10) Isai il : Good Hamsanadham , has a slight Hinduthani flavor., tune is good and surprising to see so many Brigas (usually it is flat), might be due to kamal’s request. This is also a situational song, has lot of gap just with percussion. Who is singing?, I am not able to find it, still guessing. Has anyone heard the song veenaiku natha kunju …sung by Raja. In spite of same raga I feel the same song has been recycled. (5/10) Ramaranaul : Nothing to say. Kamal tries to sing in braminical accent!. I did not like it when he did it in Ohranga srilanka it still remains the same. We can find few counter points here and there with brass and piano. The violin scores are usual raja. Song has been recorded without any much of orchestration., With a good bass and drum pattern this song would sound nicer. Beat pattern is pathetic, changes to typical raja Tabla stuff (Ref:Vellai roja song), There were other voices I heard, I was not much bothered about it. (2/10) Overall the first 2 songs are Ok. Others are not up to mark we need to see the movie. Raja collectors will go for the Tapes/CD. Ilayaraja Reviewed by ¶Visiri (@ bonobo.tesserae.com) on: Fri Jan 7 16:57:28 EST 2000
Ilayaraja Reviewed by Swami (@ abdf146b.ipt.aol.com) on: Sat Jan 8 01:05:02 EST 2000 After toiling my Real Player for the whole day with Hey Ram, here are my comments on the songs, Ram Ram... The song which struck me instantly, for being totally (again I say totally and radicallly) different for IR. Minimal interludes. The synth is not irritating. That sounds enacouraging. Lovely and simple lyrics. Choice of Kamal (for his high pitch) is very apt. For some reason, the female voice trembles (or is it done intentionally). When I played this song to one of my friends, the word which came instantly from him was, "mottai semaya kalakittar ". Nee Paartha... Slow and a very simple tune, yet melodious number. Somehow it reminded me 'niram pirithu parthen' from Time. I just loved the piano movements at the back. Guess this will go well with the movie and I have a wild guess that this will be the "usual Kamal love making" song. :-) Manmatha Paanam... Typical North'ish type song. Analogous to the "oyila lo, oyila lo" bit from the song "unnai naan ariven" in Guna. The second stanza is different and nice. I don't have much to add regarding this song but for the last piece of WC movements. I want to hear more like these. Raja sir please release the symphony. Waiting to hear this song in Hindi. Vaaaaishanava Janotho/ Vaaranam Ayiram...... Basically what I can infer is, this song will progress from "pen paarpu" to "kalyanam" in the movie. So this song is composed more for the specific situation. So U cannot expect a disco rap with a high bass :-) Isaiyil Thodanguthamma..... IR comes out with an another "paartha vizhi paarthapadi....". Not everyone would like this type of music. But I just yearn for this. Ajay Chakraborthy has done an excellent job, as far as rendering of Tamizh goes. Lovely drum usage and my pick of the album. I could breathe in the air of natural instruments, throught the song. Nice lyrics too. The way the songs ends is good. Raamaraanaalum.... The start of the song reminded me of "pudhu maapilakku" from Apoorva Sagaodharargal. Felt the pace of rendering should have been a little slow. Beat patterns were not impressive. But still the violin bits at the back sounds good. Should see it along with the movie. I found the following things new in this album, 1. New synth 2. Good lyrics 3. Fresh air of natural instruments I would compare this album in lines with Guna. No great and lenghty songs. But each good in its own way. Overall one thing should be kept in mind, IR entered this project towards the end. I really have no idea what LS did. But IR has done justice to the work. Waiting for the BGM to come out. You can listen to this album here. Ilayaraja Reviewed by Karthik (@ netcache1.mot.com) on: Mon Jan 10 12:07:34 EST 2000 Hey Ram! Reviewed by Karthik...
Ram Ram
Song on the lines of Manidha Manidha and Vande Matharam. Starts
Nee Partha Parvaikku Oru Nanri
OUTSTANDING. The song is probably picturized on the lines of "Nee Oru
Polladh madhana banam
Again, some dialogue at the beginning of the song. Some voice
Vaishnavajantho
Not really a song. Raja's own version of Vaishanavajanatho with
Isaiyil Thodanguthamma Viraha
Again, very different and interesting tune and again a very apt and
Ramaranaalum Babaranaalum
When it comes to scoring catchy, and light hearted songs like these,
Overall verdict on the album 7.5/10. Good album, the best
Other things of note:
1. Lyrics dont stick out like a sore thumb. Decent.
2. After a long time Raja has fit his tunes to lyrics, and see what
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