 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Reviews
BEST BUY
UNFORGETTABLE LATA
Sony Music, Rs. 65
There seems to be splurge of Lata Mangeshkar albums in the market, what
with the ‘Nightingale Of India’ completing 50 years of her singing
career. But no one’s complaining because all the albums on the inimitable
singer are welcome. This album is different from the others because it
has Lata’s hits recorded live at a concert in Mumbai, on March 9,
1997, which surely makes it a cut above the rest. Firstly because a live
performance offers a good change from listening to the oft-heard recorded
songs, and secondly, live versions are often sung with a lot of variations,
which makes for an interesting listening. Not to forget the feel of the
live orchestra.
Side A begins with the Dil Apna Aur
Preet Parayi hit Ajeeb dastaan hai yeh, followed by the haunting Aaja
re pardesi from Madhumati. Naina barse from Woh Kaun Thi is rendered by
Lata with a lot of variations, and it sounds real good. The unforgettable
cabaret Aa jaane jaan from Inteqaam sounds very different, in the sense,
that you can gauge the change between a young Lata and the mature one.
That zing in the earlier one is surely missing here. Lata still brings
tears to our eyes with Kavi Pradeep’s ode to the soldiers, Aye mere
watan ke logon.
On the flipside there’s Dil hoom hoom kare (Rudali), Paani paani
re (Maachis), Yaara seeli seeli (Lekin) and a superb medley of 18 evergreen
songs. The medley’s the best since one song beautifully merges into
the other. This one’s a must buy.
PAPA THE GREAT
T-Series, Rs. 50
Though there is a melee of music directors composing eight songs for this
film, the most (i.e. three) are by Nikhil-Vinay, which is why they must
have got the sole credit on the inlay cover. Besides Nikhil-Vinay, the
other composers are M.M. Kreem, Sajid-Wajid, Naresh Sharma and Jaidev
Kumar. But the two best compositions in the album are by Nikhil-Vinay,
who steal the show. The duo who exhibit a flair for light n’ easy
numbers, have an idea of what appeals to people. Take for example the
first two numbers composed by them. There couldn’t have been a better
ode to a father, than the catchy title song, which conveys the beautiful
bond between a father and son, both through music and lyrics by Faaiz
Anwar. And with Udit and Aditya Narayan singing it, exhibiting camaraderie,
the song gets that required punch. The romantic Apni si lagti hai comes
next, and the soothing composition oozes love with Sonu Nigam rendering
it superbly. Nikhil-Vinay have a sure winner in this one. After these
two numbers, the downslide begins. M.M. Kreem’s Mausam badal raha
hai is monotonous and boring, while Sajid-Wajid’s Aao humse pyar
kar lo can be ignored.
The flipside too has nothing much to offer. O rabba mujhe kya ho gaya
composed by Sajid-Wajid has that heard-before feeling, and so does Nikhil-Vinay’s
Bindiya saji nahin. Husn jawani malomaal sung by Harbhajan Mann sounds
like his pop hit Oye hoye, with composer Jaidev Kumar repeating himself.
But since it has a peppy rhythm, you unintentionally start humming it.
Four lyricists have penned the songs, but Faaiz Anwar is the hero, with
his sensitive, simple lyrics reaching out to your heart. Worth a buy if
only for the first two numbers.
EVENING RAGA
Classic, Rs. 40
Immediately after Ustad Bismillah Khan’s shehnai album devoted to
the Morning Raga, Classic Music has now come out with the maestro’s
new shehnai album titled Evening Raga. The ragas played on the shehnai
by the Ustad, included in this new album, are Puria, Yaman, Bhoopali and
Kajari. Their masterly rendering is exquisite and sweet to the ears, and
every music lover would like to possess this audio, like the earlier one,
in his collection.
Would it not have been better for the audio company to have marketed the
two albums together in a single pack? That would have made for a complete
set, and would have guaranteed brisk sales.
AAP AA JAIYE
Sangeet, Rs. 55
This is an album of ghazals by Jaswant Singh. Characterised as, “A
call of love,” the audio offers eight ghazals (four on each side),
which have been written by Madan Pal, Israr Ansari, Tabish Kanpuri, Pyam
Saidi and Qaisarul Jafri, and set to music by Shekhar Sen.
Mashvara de mujhe, Dhala hai shaam ka anchal, Pal bhar tujhe bhi chain
na aaye and Jis din no dekhoo main chehara tera are the pick of the lot,
and singer Jaswant Singh has rendered them with uncanny ease, effectively
conveying the varying moods and meanings through appropriate voice modulations.
It is a good album to have in every ghazal lover’s collection.
Salma
Khatib And Pandit Shimpi