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By
Manoher Sreekumar ( NewYork, USA) with inputs
from Arun Gopinath ( India ) |
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It is 12:15 AM (EST, USA), April 3rd. A severe
headache, didn’t sleep the previous
night and have nothing in mind but just to
hit the bed. 12:25 AM (EST), my Editor gives
a call, checks on the status of the music
review of Sivaji and hurriedly hangs the phone.
Well, I switched on my music system and for
the next four hours found myself doing nothing
but listening to ‘The Boss’.
If
you are just about to catch a flight or on
your way to your office, I just have one line
for you. “Sivaji audio is a magic, which
needs to be experienced, cherished, remembered
and revered for decades to come”, period.
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Athiradee |
A.R.Rahman,
Sayanora | Lyrics : Vali |
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I
started with Athirade – had special
instructions to start with this song, and
took six replays before I could switch over
to the next song. Rahman for Rajini –
the two thalaivars of millions, will have
millions more swinging, millions asking for
once-mores and millions dumb stuck, when the
song hits the silver screen. Rahman is unstoppable
– thank the Lord, for making him pick
this one for himself – “Billa,
Ranga, Badshah thaan…evan pistol paesum
bayshah thaan”. The female voice of
Sayanora and the chorus are just great. Special
mention for lyrics – its fun, frolic
and frisk. Can someone tell me, is lyricist
Vaali a 21 years old bloke out of New College?!
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Balleilakka |
S.P.Balasubramaniam,
Raihanah, Benny & Chorus | Lyrics : Na.Muthukumar |
Are
you a big fan of his breath taking walks, his mesmerizing
styles, his charming smile and his numerous trademark
gimmicks, then rest assured you are just about to
be taken on a memorable ride by the Superstar in
this song. Hear this number and you cannot stop
letting your imagination run wild, picturizing one
of the biggest idols of all times just creating
destruction on the 70mm screen. The intensity of
SPB is too good to be written, he has sung as if
he is making his debut with this album. Raihanah
is refreshingly folky. Lyrics by Na.Muthukumar are
just straight from heart!
“Annan
vantha TamilNadum America” – thaliva
nee vararuthukku thaan nanga thavam kadakarom.
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The
Boss |
Blazee,
Naresh Iyer and Raqueeb Alam | Lyrics : Na.Muthukumar |
Seven
punch lines, three rappers and a three minute
stunner. It would be a crime to review this
piece more without the visuals. Written as
a theme music for Superstar, the percussions
used are definitely new to Tamil Film Music.
Watch out for the last 30 seconds high finale!
“Sachin adicha sixer thaan da, Sivaji
adicha puncher thaan da”….lyricist
Na.Muthukumar will hit big time if Rajinikanth’s
fans lap up this song.
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Vaaji
Vaaji |
Hariharan,
Madhusree and chorus | Lyrics : Vairamuthu |
A.R.Rahman might not be as innocent as he looks.
He is a big timer teaser, starting the song with
some mystic sounds resembling Buddhist musical notes.
When you are all set expecting some slow paced melody,
he changes the tempo with the chorus chanting “Aambal
Aambal”….. “Muval Muval”.
Well, if you are wondering what these words are,
they are the two most researched words in Tamil
now, after Vairamuthu used them in this song.
The song sung by Hariharan and Madhusree is a classic
example of a genius at work. Though it looks simple
from outside, it has little bit of everything –
Qawwali, Punjabi, Mediterranean and of course Tamil.
(Maybe that is what the maestro himself is all about!)
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Sahara |
Vijay
Yesudas, Gomathi Sree & chorus | Lyrics : Vairamuthu
& Traditional lyrics of Thiruppaavai |
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Vijay Yesudas, Gomathi Sree & chorus |
Lyrics : Vairamuthu & Traditional lyrics
of Thiruppaavai
A
haunting irish pipe seamlessly transitions
itself into a flute, with the mellifluous
Vijay Yesudas bolstering it further to give
the song a great start. Vijay has given his
best to make the most of the big opportunity.
His efforts have paid off. But the surprise
element is Gomathi Sree, her voice resonate
and reverberate as she recites the Thirupaavai,
with a subtle guitar in the background. Yet
another master stroke from the Mozart.
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Sahana |
Udit
Narayan, Chinmayi | Lyrics : Vairamuthu. |
If it was Munbe Vaa in 2006, then it is Sahana
in 2007. Rahman just loves doing the soft
melodies. But the best part about Rahman is
that he is able to consistently break the
bench marks he sets himself and keep pushing
his music further to the next level with constant
improvisation and re-inventions. He does it
again this time with Sahana. Udit Narayan
and Chinmayi are picture- perfect for the
song, though Udit might need some more intensive
Tamil classes to catch up. Rahman’s
interlude is just the icing on the cake. Watch
for the way Chinmayi signs off at end, talent
written all over!
Vairamuthu
comes up with a masterpiece. It is said that
Rajinikanth wished the poet personally for
his work on this song.
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Style
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Rags,
Tanvi, Suresh Peters, Blaaze | Lyrics : Pa.Vijay. |
Have
you heard of anything like this before in
Tamil music….no. Has Rajini done anything
as flauntingly flashy as this before…..no.
But still the guts and imagination of Shankar
and Rahman make them experiment here and in
the process brings Hip Hop to Tamil audience.
The song has been getting good reviews so
far from various quarters, though it is expected
to take off once it has Sivaji Rao Gaekwad
shaking his leg.
“Black or white, it really doesn’t
matter!!”….hmm what does
that mean….is there some hidden fact
there. Pa.Vijay comes up with some very catchy
lines to make it interesting.
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The
album |
Looking
back at the album, Shankar has succeeded in extracting
the best out of Rahman, now the big question….will
he succeed in extracting the best out of Rajini?
Finally, for few frowners who are still not satisfied
with the music, I have just this to say… “Rest
in peace, you will be conquered!”
And for the rest of the people who are still reading,
Go get the CD, cause its Rahman who is rocking!!
Go get the CD, cause there will be nothing left
over!!
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