Apr 28, 2005 06:24 PM
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(Updated Apr 28, 2005 06:24 PM)
After turning out successful albums continuously with A.R.Rahman, Shankar moves to Harris Jeyaraj whom he thinks as the next best in Tamil, to score for “Anniyan”. This album is bound to undergo lot of criticism with questions from all different perspectives like Has Shankar extracted the best from Harris? (No), Does Harris reserves his best only to Gautam Menon?(Yes), Is the breaking from A.R.Rahman is a bad decision made by Shankar?(Yes), Does the album have new sounds and catchy tunes like songs of all previous Shankar movies?(No) Can Harris be original without being repetitive or being inspired by his own old tunes and ARR tunes?(No) Can he recreate the magic with music as equally as A.R.Rahman did for Shankar?(No) And I don’t think Shankar extracted the best from A.R.Rahman even. To sum it up, Shankar misses A.R.Rahman very much in this movie. But in spite of all these Yes&No’s, I enjoyed listening to the songs of this album. Also I believe that we all will love the songs more only after watching the movie.
All these questions and comparisons are inevitable and Harris Jeyaraj was really under great pressure so that all those questions result in a positive answer. Even Shankar is also under pressure as he has to prove that his movie can survive even without Rahman’s music. But we have to wait for the movie to be out to see whether Shankar has done it or not. But let us leave all these viewpoints aside for sometime and let us just concentrate on the song and analyze just from the music perspective without comparisons or mentions about how ARR could have handled the same song.
The album is a mix of all type of songs like two melodies including a pure classical number, two techno fast peppy songs, a ‘dappanguthu’ song and also theme music. The lyrics are penned by Vairamuthu, Na. Muthu Kumar, and Kabilan.
Adangakaka
This song sounds horrible on first listening. It is not as catchy as any of such songs are supposed to be. There is no any new element in the beats or sounds and it is a typical gana number. They could have opted to some other tune and the rhythm that are catchier than this. But I feel it will click with the masses after the release of the movie. The “randakka” sounds okay but “Yela…ola” chorus part irritates. The surprise element is Shreya’s voice in such a mass number, which makes her a more versatile singer. Her voice fits in any kind of song with ease. The lyrics are down to earth and funny. Much hyped Jassie Gift has nothing much to do.
Iyengaru
This song is the pick of the album. It is pure classical number with all pretty elements falling in place. The song starts with harmony rendering the swaras and is a real treat to classical music lovers. I think they have used a lot of singers for this harmony and this gives a whole new sound to the song. The Gatam with techno beats is a nice combination. Harris uses all possible instruments like morsing, veena, tanpura and flute pieces at apt places in the background. Hariharan and Harini is an ideal pair for such a classical duet, they have done a great job in enhancing the melody with their mellifluous rendition. Vairamuthu is back to form in this song with some nicely woven words.
Kannum Kannum Nokia
It is fast and peppy Tanglish number rendered by Leslie Lewis and Vasundhra Das. It is not catchy but will grow on two on three listening. The beats are similar to that of “Oru Nadhi” song. The only sound that I found interesting is that of a different Guitar used in the prelude and the interludes. The repetitive beats take a nice twist to techno folk when Vasundhra starts as “En octopus”. On the whole it is an easily forgettable song which may be more appealing on screen.
Kathal Yaanai
It is again a fast techno peppy number but it is much better than the previous one. It has got a catchy rhythm and the new group of singers (Nakul, Melwyn, G.V.Prakash) adds a fresh element to this song with their unique voices and stylish singing. The beats, rhythm and loops are all definitely not original and will remind us lot of songs but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying this number. Na.Muthu Kumar does a fine job in writing a meaningless, junky, Tanglish yet enjoyable lyrics for this song.
Kumari
It is the next melody again based on some classical raga. Shankar Mahadevan is apt choice for singing this song in Bhagavathar style of voice and does a great job. Harris has ripped off the beats of his own “Oh Moghalai” song for this song. The piano pieces sprinkled all through the track are pleasant to hear. The second interlude is nice deviation to western in a classical song with a nice blend of Guitar, Saxophone, drums and Mirudangam. Harini joins at the end and gives a fine performance. The chorus part is quite different and sounds good. Vairamuthu again does a good job with his pen in this song. On the whole, it is a good melody which takes a little time to grow.
Stranger in the Black
It is the theme music of the movie. Performed by Sunitha Sarathy and Chennai Chorale, it has a Latin music feel in it similar to what we heard in “Passion of Christ”. The track gradually raises the tension and mystery with chorale and percussions accompanying the Latin chant of Sunitha. Watch out for an adventure on screen with this music in the background. Definitely a nice track but I will more than happy if it is an original effort.
It is not a must buy album unlike other Shankar’s albums but not at all a bad one.
