The Rising : A Good Attempt!!

Hie..its my 10th hearing of this wonderfull soundtrack...while I am writing this review .I think Rahman's outcome this time was beyond expectation of many, i dunt understand why the melody failed to reach many, whereas in my case it glued to my soul just after the first hearing. If bose was a delight presentation of various hue of melody, some classy some fused to be modern. The Rising has a different story to tell...Amazingly rahman has fused both classical and Modern music elements together once again superbly. The Classical aspect is more evident in this album. Another element to be credited is the tala or rhythm, geniusly arranged together with the orchestration resulting in a chemistry to suite the ear drums of listeners. I find hard for me to digest comments such as "Rahman is repetative" and in this case adhering to the rhythm loops. Rahman has always been the mega-genius who exploits micro-music (detailed Music Presentation). Rahman has done a great job handling the folk genre too. What amazes me, is how he comes out with such original tunes leaving listener to just hear on without any distraction. Truly speaking I've only experience this with rahmans songs only. Now feeding into the soundtrack..

Mangal-Mangal- THe initial rhythm, promises an immortal music sanctuary ahead..A vigouros affort..great rustic voice contributing to evoke a folkish ambience.Get the hold of the intricate details behind THE CHORDS..Rahman signature composing element it flows abundantly sparking magic. You will realize that by the time. you've begin to enjoy the song its ends in a dash leaving your ears hungry for more divine melody.

Main Vari Vari - After that promising start comes the stormy classical number by kk and reena. Its kick starts with the tabla and sarangi duo...for short but believe me so melidious. Once again a fresh tune (Mixing many hues of it together).With the usage of KK the song sounds divine. The supportive chorus have been helpfull too.The song ends mysteriously..I am already craving

Hori Re - One of those folkish number that I' ve been expecting for long from rahman. The highlight of this song is the rhythm, notice how it is geniusly woven with the melody of the track. Nice to see that Chinmayi and Srinivas giving their fair share for this song. Looking forwad for a duet from them soon. A good number nice adorned with fine arrangement. A feast for the soul.

Rasiya - Before I start commenting. The song seem to be the crossbreed effect of sufism and indian classical music call it a new genre in film music (meenaxi had more tendency towards sufism music). Its starts with the strings which haunts the song all over. The melody is fresh, taking dark and bright sides altenatively..which creates the ultimate listening pleasure till the end. The husky voice vs. the melodius is another supreme effect. And Boy! before i forget the Interludes are just breathtaking...

Mangal-Mangal (Agni) - The break which I've been waiting for. This version has some extended lyrics and melody which is added on gradually. The conch blowed initialy might give you the picture of rahmans eminence in music (rasa aspect or convence of emotion and feeling through music).This version is themed around Agni which is the methaphor of valor. The number is nicely inserted into the album conveying various shades of moods and ethics of the movie.
Takey Takey - Ajao! Ajao! phrases initialy gives us the feel that the music journey has just only begun and has much more to unleash on its course and advising to follow it genuinly. Nice blended bhangra genre with techno upbeats. I noticed that rahman have used his prodigy in the making i mean daugthers as supportive chorus for this song. They create hype all over the the song with their sweet and cute hindi dictions.A racy number good voice modulation and not forgeting the interesting intreludes.

Al Maddath Maula - Wow! Rahman Rahman Rahman, His high picthed delicate vocal chords is soaring high ever since Yeh jo Des and Aazadi. He is sounding very polished, this time conveying pathos in a great extend. The ragas(Shivaranjini,Puriya,Keervani etc) finely blend in with the support of orchestration behind and vocals are heavenly.You wont wanna miss even a swara/note when the song is gradualy builds up pace. Very intricate melody form as I said earlier, it ends with the the harmonium fading away in thin air withs rahman revived vocal. This is indeed the highlight of the album.

Mangal Mangal (Atma) - "Lokha Samastha Sukino Bhavanthu" May all the people in all the worlds be happy. This version describes a strong message of victory..with some initial pathos conveyed and the rhythm loops is up again as usual. The jathiswaram "tha na na is beautifully aligned with the rhythm and the the akaaram (singing of aaaaaa!) towards the end of the bids farewell to the exclusive musical journey. I have noticed that the story of the movie is conveyed through the 3 different versions of mangal- mangal which signifys the theme of the of the movie. Where in this case being strong in nature--enraged valor-- Sacrife resulting victory and peace among humanity.

Thus ends the divine journey of the music extravaganza The Rising. Rahman is always the ray of hope for mega-budget movie production and experimental movie. The rising is indeed another feather to the hat. Rahman seems to be very bold in composing. There is no verdict to justify his creation. And for those who complaints rahman being repetative it up to them to lament since rahman has establish his own music regime which borders on thick and rich music walls globally. Looking foward for such genius attempts in River Moon, Ah Aah and Godfather.

regards
r.@.J.j

Ah Aah Review

A precious Attempt: Ah Aah!! Looking into depths of music creativity


The soundtrack for film's such as Bose: The forgotten Hero and The Rising were pretty much set back in time with some contemporary features. These film's had distinct music form which were destined to be heard constantly.A.R.Rahman, the music whiz, is highly credited for having such amazing talent in executing music at any given circumstances. He has indeed been dominating the Indian Music Industry for long and has always been a delicate music trend setter. A.R.Rahman is the only known individual who matches the chemistry between the ear drums and his composition. The Rising, had been beautifully adorned by various melody and rhythm, bringing genres such as folk, contemporary and classical in to light. Having adapted such rich and exquisite manner of composing music, A.R.Rahman makes a colossal comeback to south India making his composing style a total makeover. Yes he is back; it's the moment that all die hard tamil fans of his had to wait for. The wait has ended and the outcome is par beyond excellence. Director S.J.Surya who directed Vaali, Kushi and New is back with Anbe Aaruyire (Ah Aah). Vaali has done a splendid job (refrained from English words is a wonder) penning the lyrics for all six songs in the movie. A.R.Rahman lends his hand composing in the New Age genre; the tunes are as usual fresh and innovative. Let's feed into the tracks;



Anbe Aaruyire : Sturdy occurrence.
A.R.Rahman.

The song starts with a different voice (aahhhh flange effect) and drum loops and all of a sudden you have A.R.Rahman entering the melody with an unusual note, which breaks the curreambiancence. A.R.Rahman sounds so different in this number, not with his high pitched vocal but kinshuttletle version this time. He seems to be maturing.

The song seem to have the strong bhava of raga saramathi. The lyrics arraira kodi perghalil oruvan adiyaen Tamilzhan nan unggal nanban which translates: "amongst 6 million human population (India), as a Tamil servant I am your friend", is so touching and delivers a strong message straight to your heart. This is a promising start for A.R.Rahman's tamil musical venture and will be a trademark for his return down south. The Tamil syllables ÂAh Aah is used all over the song, even in some part of the lyrics. The rhythm of the song is sophisticated plus peppy loops woven around it, creates an energetic ambience. This song is at its own class. The strings are beautifully added in the 2nd charanam and the female and kids chorus are amazing. Some delicate usage of strings could be heard from 03:07 to 03:12. Repetitive effects such as echo and flange have added beauty to this song. The song ends with "neengal illamal naan inggay illai" I am nowhere without you, A.R.Rahman is ironically referring to his fans.



Mayilirage: Soothing and smooth as a peacock feather
Madhushree and Naresh Iyer

Wow! The initial traditional south Indian instruments thavil, naadaswaaram and kartaals amplify the south Indian music ambience. Later, joined with the tabla and chords A.R.Rahman creates a melodies tune flowing smoothly over your soul. Madhushree sounds sweet in her rendering and not forgetting Naresh Iyer (SS finalist refer to the image 1.1) for his marvelous voice and a promising debut. Naresh, naturally with good tone and voice modulation is well exploited by A.R.Rahman. The naadaswaran which is replicated

Image 1.1

Digitally(tenor sax or oboe), portrays an unusual feel. The rhythm rules over this song, it's a great experimental effort in combining both thavil and tabla to convey music. The chords and tingling effects help create a vintage feel moving freely behind the song unnoticed. The pallavi and charanams varies in different aspect of music. Both of them have different melody hues and music arrangements. This is a style A.R.Rahman has adept to convey diverse music forms.

The sequence of the song you would most expect for is when madhushree goes "Uyirai thodun...." moves so divine with the orchestration. The pallavi communicates in raga manirangu whereas the charanams have some anya swaras(foreign notes) like suddha dhaivatham and prati madhyaman. The song has simple interludes with powerful effects to deliver the melody. It's true to say that A.R.Rahman is at his best in executing such rare tunes. The tingling effect bids the song goodbye.



Varugirai : Reinstating your soul
Hariharan and Chitra

Hari and chitra duo had been missing for a while and A.R.Rahman has revived them in a splendid pop music presentation. The song start with hallucinating music ambience accompanied by the drum beats resembling the human heart beat. Then with vigorous attempt the violins cry in mercy. Hari moves in with his rustic voice rendering the lyrics and later accompanied by the mesmerizing chitra which her share of pathos. The overall melody of the song seem to be based on raga Keervani with some exceptional subhapantuvarali bhava when chitra goes "varugirean varugirean..."

Watch out for the chord progression from 2:45 to 2:55 simply outstanding. The charanams are simple and is flourished with major string executions i.e. 5:20 to 5:28.The song is built out of associated efforts from the rhythm and orchestration section. The interlude supports the song by lingering around the theme of fear and hatred (3:56 to 4:14) by using some feverish ambience. The song overall is a great effort.



Thigu Thigu : Depicting hunger for music.
Sadhana Sargam

The song starts with a radio edition effect having sadhana executing her vocals set to mujhra rhythm loop. Then, boom! Out pours the rhythm arrangement which is the exact of WOHE's Dacoit Duel, it’s a delight having such rhythmic pattern in tamil songs. Sadhana accompanied by a male singer??? (is It Blaaze) renders the pallavi with grace. The tabla again has its share of fame in this number moving about freely in the melody. Sadhana’s voice is at her finest from 2:23 to 2:25. The melody again varies in 2 shades setting apart the pallavi and charanam. The song is constructed with sophisticated melodies (bearing usage of raga shivaranjini) . This song has some creative usage of tamil vocabulary which is evident in the lyrics i.e. sarama sarama avasarama and anggam thangam mridhangam. Hat's off to vaali for such language exploitation.

The interludes are stressed by the usage of rhythms. The slow moving rhythm loops fits the lyrics well and creates that lustful mood for the song. Some notable interlude sequence is present from 4:02 to 4:25. Way to go sadhana a notable effort.



Thazhuvudu : An Exceptional bliss a musical downpour
S.P.B and Shreya Ghosal

The peak of the album and my dearest. The melody is exceptional with R&B style rhythm, having shreya rendering her lustful best making me doubting her voice, oh! My God is it she! A.R.Rahman should be credited in bringing her out of her usual classical envelop. S.P.B is another tremendous phenomenon lending his growling voice which evokes in mind, his valor of the 80's. Before I go further, I’ve never even dreamt of having a tamil song rendered in R&B genre, but looks like reality rules in the case of Thazhuvudu. The rhythmic pattern and the rendering styles are indeed meant to represent that genre. I was in tears hearing this song. The lustful mood prevails all over the melody.

The song starts warm, with tingling effects in the background and some Caribbean drums filling the melody. Shreya enters, seductively whispering the lyrics, S.P.B joins her with some expressions emmm Ahhh!!, and starts to growl on the lyrics, a blissful start. There is no more turning away, the peak of the song is at 1:23 to 1:47 where three major music elements unite: orchestration, rhythm and voice,so supreme. S.P.B.'s beautiful harmony rendering "kathai ondru...." is notable. The melody seem to closely woven around raga ratipatipriya (22nd mela janyam) and suddha dhanyasi. Many might notice the "wah wah" effects used all over the song, this effect play a major role in upholding the mood. Striking Caribbean drums join the melody boosting it along with the electric guitar at 3:29 to 3:50. Shreya's sphuritham (micro note execution) is remarkable at 4:17 to 4:20. The chorus “oru dhaaram” is delivered in harmony by both sound very polished and diversed..

The interludes shines with wonderful rhythmic expressions with little string's supporting it. The song has many musical expressions towards the end keeping us surprised. A magnificent number, fresh effort, hail A.R.Rahman!



Maramkothiye : A soul pecker
Shankar Mahadevan, Pop shalini, Vasundara Dass and Blaaze.

The remix version of mayilirage. After the much famed “thottaal poo Malarum” A.R.Rahman does again, and the outcome is spectacular. The song contains heavy techno beat loops. Shankar lends his ultimate along with Vasundara and shalini. Blaaze breaks into the song with some rap phrases (3:58 to 4:05). The voices, filtered with phase effect seem to blend well with the background melody. I am amazed to see that the sarangi is filling the song (1:48 to 2:02) joining the league western instruments and effects. The lyrics are similar to mayilirage with only an uplifted beat. The rhythmic loops are maintained throughout the song. Music effect’s such as flange, phase and vibrato are evenly spread over the song. I am sure this number is going to be a repetitive listening number among youths since it portrays the commercial aspect of music. Peppy blow for the ear drums.


Thus ends this exclusive stride of exceptional music experience. A.R.Rahman nicely blends into the current Tamil music market with a remarkable effort. With this album A.R.Rahman has given us the pleasure of listening to some amusing and sincere tune directly from his heart. We in return must be a submissive listener to experience the bliss in his composition. His decent approached have always been warmly accepted, Anbe Aruyirea fit's all needed requirement. Looking forward to more of such exquisite music presentations in future.


Regards

r.@.J.j