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