KURUKSHETRA
HMV, Rs. 55
This is Himesh Reshammiya’s second complete film score after the super-hit music he composed for Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge. And though the music may not be as instantly catchy as his first film, the composer does deliver the goods, composing some hummable numbers, which grow on you after repeated hearings. Reshammiya borrows a lot from the old film tunes and international music, but he successfully concocts compositions which appeal. The album begins with the best song of the lot, Aap ka aana, which has good beat, and is already popular. Reshammiya seems to be largely inspired here by Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s music. Sukhwinder Singh composes and sings the next song Ban than, which has an upbeat rhythm, similar to Chhaiyya chhaiyya. Sunidhi Chauhan makes a good match with him as the female voice. Jaanam tere liye oozes sensuousness and is well-composed with a haunting feel. Ishq bhi kya cheez hai reminds you of the Saajan title song.
On the flipside, Chal shaadi kar lete hain is akin to Reshammiya’s Dulhan.. number Pyaar bada albela hain, with similar sound effects. This song is sure to catch on in a big way. The title song sung by Ravindra Sathe is inspiringly composed, drawing parallels to the Mahabharat war. Sunidhi Chauhan renders the concluding number, the raunchy Ghagra with aplomb. The ghagra item songs are becoming a permanent fixture in Hindi films, what with they being sure hits. Overall, on okay fare.

CHAMPION
Tips, Rs. 55
Anu Malik comes up with a humdrum score here, which bores you. Never thought the reigning composer could be so mediocre, especially after giving some great scores recently. Side A commences with the very amusing Ek ladki. Amusing because one can easily make out that the tune was composed first, and the lyrics fitted in later. The words don’t fit into the meter, compelling Anu to end each line with O o o, which sounds wierd. The next number, Tu kya cheez hai, sounds insipid inspite of heavy orchestrtation. What Anu has done here is pepped up the tune of a Saigal song Gham diye mustaqil from Shahjahan and made it into Tu kya cheez. So the song is actually a fast version of a Saigal song, and maybe that’s why it falls flat. Koi deewane ko is also an old tune, actually a qawwali modernised with some wierd sound effects.

Side B has the title song Aisa champion kahan, which has been composed by Vishal-Shekhar. It’s a mix of Western tune with Indian bhangra, and the composers have made Sunidhi Chauhan and Jaspinder Narula sing in a high pitch, a la Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Na baba na baba is based on an Arabian tune, with a lot of techno music, yet it doesn’t make its mark. Vishal-Shekhar again compose Lelo lelo, sung by Udit Narayan and Poornima, which is similar to Cheez badi hai mast mast. Anand Raaj Anand composes the last number Jatt lutya gaya, in his usual bhangra-pop style. Shankar Saini and Hema Sardesai sing it with verve.
The three composers here haven’t been able to come up with anything worthwhile.

SEETI TE SEETI
Tips, Rs. 45
Another singer joins the tribe of the ever-increasing Punjabi-pop singers, and her name is Kamaljeet Neeru. The singer makes her presence felt with this debut album, which, surprisingly, has a very uncomplimentary title for a woman’s album. Kamaljit possesses a very robust voice, which is the main requirement to sing the zestful bhangra-pop numbers, so she renders all the songs well. The title song Seeti te seeti is peppy, but it’s Dil de de which is more likeable. Kamlajit is good in the sad Rondi dillion Punjab tak, where she is able to convey the meloncholic mood of the song. On Side B, Chitthi sajana di and Balle balle are good.

Charanjit Ahuja, the composer of the album, does an okay job, considering the fact that he doesn’t have to do much for bhangra-pop numbers, borrowed as they are from traditional Punjabi folk music. What Ahuja does is pep up the traditional music well with modern sound. The album will appeal greatly to the people from the North.

GOOD LUCK MUNDEYA
T-Series, Rs. 50
When it comes to composing for a Punjabi-pop album, Anand Raaj Anand is among the best bets because he is now an old hand at churning out bhangra-based compositions. And blending techno music into traditional bhangra numbers comes easily to him. Also, one has noticed that Raaj Anand makes a good match with Shweta Shetty, since he knows what kind of compositions suit the singer’s husky, aggressive voice. The twosome have given quite a few bhangra-pop hits together, especially in films, the recent one being Tote tote.
Coming to this album, well it surely is not the one where Raaj Anand is at his best. The compositions here are just about okay, the run-of-the mill bhangra-pop numbers, with only a couple of numbers standing out. Shweta too is sounding a bit off-key in some numbers, especially in the song Dil dhak dhak dhadke. The better numbers are the title song, Main idhar se jaa rahi thi (which sounds like Maine cycle pe ja raa tha from Hero No. 1), the salsa-type Ik ladka mera dil kho ke and Kabhi hay kare kabhi hello, in which Shweta sounds good. One expected much more from a Shweta Shetty album, and this one definitely falls short of expectations.

AMERICAN PIE
THE GREATEST HITS DON MCLEAN
Milestone, Rs. 125
Thanks to Madonna for re-vamping the golden oldie American Pie, because of which the present generation knows that such a beautiful song existed in the past. Well, Milestone furthers the good deed by releasing a compilation album of Don McLean, who shot to fame by writing and singing this song, inspired by the tragic demise of Buddy Holly. This album has 20 compositions of McLean, one of the most popular country singers, gifted with a honeyed voice. The best part of the album, of course, is the original smash-hit American pie in its eight-minute long version, the lyrics of which have been provided on the inlay cover. Other hits in the album include Castles in the air, Winterwood, Everyday, Sister Fatima, The birthday song, Vincent, Crossroads, If we try, The grave and a cover version of Roy Orbison’s classic number Crying. Country music buffs will of course grab this album, but even others need to listen to this album for the beautiful and profound lyrics on different aspects of life.

SHRI VIDYASAGAR AMRIT VACHAN
Venus, Rs. 30
An audio devoted to the teachings of Vidyasagar Muni. These teachings have been given a lyrical form by lyricist Subhash Jain ‘Ajal’ and set to music by Triveni-Bhavani. The meaningful teachings will be appreciated not only by the devotees of the saint, but also others as well, since they pertain to the do’s and dont’s relating to human activity and behaviour. Well-known singer Mahendra Kapoor has rendered the verses with appropriate devotional fervour. The chanting of Jai jai hey Muniwar jai Vidyasagar by chorus singers is interspersed throughout the main singer’s renderings and enhances the devotional fervour.

SHEGAWICHA RANA (MARATHI)
Prism, Rs. 35
An album of Shri Gajanan Swami hajans written by Raghunath Matkari and rendered by Nitin Diskalkar, Vaishali Samant, Meenakshi Gunaji, Sharmili, Sanjay Sawant and Liladhar Waghmare, with Paresh Shah as the music arranger. Deserving special mention are a few solo renderings like Tej sooryache pragatle and Ananta darshan dyawe by Nitin Diskalkar, Gururaya yogeshwara and Deepstambh samadhi Swaminchi by Vaishali Samant, and Gan ganaat bole by Sharmili. The album appropriately concludes with an aarti rendered by Liladhar Waghmare.

SHREEJEE MALA (GUJARATI)
Prism, Rs. 35
This is the third volume of the Shreejee Mala series of devotional albums, and presents eight lyrical offerings in the voices of Kishore Manraja and Vaishali Samant. The lyrics have been written by Jayanti Katekar (Algari). Paresh Shah and C Vanveer are the music arrangers. Embellished in popular tunes, the renderings will find favour with the devotionally-minded listeners. Mewa male ke na male sung by Kishore Manraja and Aaw Shreejee bawa rendered by Vaishali Samant are the pick of the lot.

BEST CHOICE

SING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
EMI-Virgin, Rs. 125
Super-entertainer and ‘Quixotic’ Robbie Williams releases his new album which is a winner alright, with 12 great songs, rich musically and in its lyrical content (Robbie has written the lyrics with Guy Chambers). Some of the tracks in the album are so inspiring and beautifully written that they touch you deep within. Like the first two numbers - Let love be your energy, which boasts of some fantastic orchestration; and Better man (the thoughts in this song will definitely make one a better human being).

Rock DJ is a happening composition and is already a rage, thanks to its controversial video being played on music channels in late nights. Supreme, the next number, lives upto its name, and is a supreme composition, with great rhythm, follwed by Kids, a rocksy duet with the sexy Kylie Minogue. If it’s hurting you is a ballad about suffering after break-up, inspired from Robbie’s real-life incident.

On the flipside, the feel-good Singing for the lonely has some lovely guitar-playing, Love calling Earth has beautiful thoughts, and The road to Mandalay, which has the 60s feel, is happy-go lucky. Robbie, the thinker and entertainer wows you completely with this album.

Reviewed By Salma Khatib And Pandit Shimpi