Album: Classic-Dance of Love; Music: Bappi Lahiri & Sukhwinder S; Lyrics: Sameer
For music lovers, the name Bappi Lahri (BL) evokes mixed feelings. My experience with Hindi music was limited until the mid-90s. One of my friends gave me a song, & wanted to know my opinion. I saw the cassette cover, with an unconventional-looking individual, with those big-80s coolers & long hair.
Without any preconceived notion, I pushed the cassette in & for the next 5-6 min, I was transported into a completely different world. The album?s name was Habiba, & the one I heard was the title song. For the readers who might be wondering about the song Habiba, you should know that it has the record as the first Indian song to be featured on Billboard?s list.
Remember this was several years before the ?Rahmania?. If you ask most of the music fans today, as to who introduced Arabic & Western music to Indian film music, people might name ARR or RDB, but in fact, in a traditional sense, it is BL who first tried these mind-blowing innovations. Perhaps that might have lead to his slide. If you haven?t heard Habiba, you have to, & remember that it was tuned in the 80s.
BL?s music is highly innovative, in fact I would rate him as the most innovative of MDs. I know that RDB & ARR fans will disagree, but this is my view. When he fused ?Pug Ghungroo? (1982), I guess nobody had fused powerful guitar interludes with qawwali before? He could also be called as the ?King of Rhythm?. When you hear a BL composition, you have to be carefully looking for ?wild?-unconventional rhythms, which you?ll find no where else. It is powerful, & often make you sway. Also, you have to listen to his songs in a really good stereo system, or else, you will be forced to believe that the song is ordinary. The reason is that the vocal-tunes are often very ordinary & simple.
I am not an expert in western music, & hence I am not sure whether his music is inspired ?too much? from any western tracks. But definitely, there are some patterns we might be familiar through others, but those are not worthy of ?red-flags? so to speak. Rhythms are often based on pre-programmed patterns & hence the similarity. Now let?s go track by track.
Theme
Composed & Sung by Sukh. Singh
It starts with some sounds resembling the rhythm pattern, a melodious flute, & then followed by a keyboard using a pitch-bender (?). The rhythm suddenly starts with a massive thump interspersed with sliding sounds. The light pitched part consists of two different sounds, one a traditional sound, & the other resembling a tumbling sound.
I am impressed by SS's efforts to make it intensely foot tapping, by just using a light female chorus & the forceful beat. In between the rhythm cycles you can hear flute sounds, assisting the rhythmic feel. The first interlude has a ?sustain?-ridden e-guitar surprisingly toned down (probably to make the audience feel at ease). Listen carefully as he transforms the rhythm, slightly modifying it each time. There is almost a conversation between the e-guitar & the foot tapping rhythm. The charanam (2nd Para) is tuned in an ordinary fashion, but again look for some out-of-the-world rhythm innovations assisted by a soft instrument like the flute! An immensely rhythmic track sure to get you out of your seat & swaying!
Main Tujpe
Composed & Sung by SS
Another example of innovation applied to a highly ordinary vocal tune. Where is the innovation? Listen as SS sings the first few lines with no music. Now as he progresses, listen carefully as to how BL intro?es the rhythm. The volume of the rhythm is increased slowly & it slowly becomes prominent as the song proceeds almost into the anupallavi. Great innovation, & probably a ?first? in Indian film music. Otherwise, the song seems ordinary.
The structure however does not conform to the typical ?Pallavi-AnuPallavi-2-Charanams? of usual songs. The voice comes in & out irregularly. Again, this can be a track which we are not used to before. ARR had attempted a toned down version of this technique in the song ?Jadoo? (Rangeela). As I said, the actual vocal tune is ordinary. Look for an innovative (complimentary) fading away of the rhythm as the song ends.
Saiyyaji
Shreya
Again, look for amazing rhythm combos. The beginning of the song might remind you of ARR?s ?Dhakka Laga? (Yuva), not surprising as ARR himself might have used existing patterns. Just like other songs, the core vocal tune is intensely commonplace. At the same time, the rhythm is intensely un-conventional, & uses never-before seen combos of instruments. The use of a middle-eastern sounding drum (readers pls add if you know the technical name) as filling beats (and also as regular beats many times) is something you have to look for.
After Shreya sings ?Sayyaji??..Ab ye Dil Na?..?, look for mimicked (?) e-guitar sounds, which most of us might have heard before (ARR, Chandralekha, TT). However, BL himself had used it years before ARR in his own ?Habiba?. So, its nothing new to him! The rhythm changes to tabla in the charanams, which showcases Shreya?s singing capabilities. Her singing seems effortless, & my special compliments to her on her easy singing performance.
Saathi
<KAILASH< b>
Starts with the typical sound of KK singing high pitched notes. The song seems (for the most part) tuned in Sivranjini (Pls c comments). You might be familiar with the raag, as it is the one used for the sign-in tune for ?Akashvani?-Radio. The song is almost completely supported by acoustic guitar, but the pattern resembles one of the songs by George Michael, I can?t remember which one. The resemblance is only remote & I feel comfortable with it. Just my opinion. But look for an amazing first interlude.
IR once said that, universally, when people hear a solo violin, they think ?separation? & ?lost love?. BL uses an amazing solo violin piece, & with that painful emotion induced by Sivranjini, you are bound to be addicted to that piece! Just for that piece, BL intro?es a slow rhythm. An amazing job! Though musically impeccable, KK?s sound gets a bit different when he sings that typical ?G2* R2* Ga3*? sign for the raag (asterisks indicate thaarasthayi, or high pitch, beyond the high Sa). It looks like there is a second version, which has some heart touching flute interludes. KK falters a bit when singing some complex gamakams, but is ok for the most part. This track is an example of how you can induce emotions with a raag (pls C comments).
Please see comments section for more details on the rhythms, & the theme.
To summarize, the album is not for all listeners. By that I am not referring to the complexity of the album. The album, is fairly simple in the vocals. However, those fanatics who would like to keep their ?Harman-Kardons? & Bose-speakers in full blast, this album is a aural feast! It is not one of those techno-albums, which beats away. This has more variety, & has a mix of Indian, Middle-Eastern & Western drums.
Hence, I would recommend this album only for those rhythm-enthusiasts!
