AR RAHMAN'S MUSIC

Originally Posted by GuessMe

Did anyone read Raja Sen's review on Ghajini soundtrack at Rediff? Either the guy has gone completely mad or he is trying to be overly sarcastic.

Rahman goes gloriously wild with Ghajini

Sometimes you just can't help but gush.

An AR Rahman album is often cause for celebration, but I've always been partial to the albums where he seems to be experimenting even more than usual. There's a palpable childlike enthusiasm in tracks where he riffs with such constant improvisation that the results are as close to jazz as Bollywood can get.

Putting it simply, Ghajini is a phenomenal album. You'll find -- and argue over -- your individual favourite tracks, but very honestly, this could just be one of his finest albums ever. Not just are the tracks great, but each one segues into the next with perfect unpredictability. There is much chaos and musical anarchy packed into this taut album, but when the revolution is in the hands of this man, well, don't you know it's gonna be alright?

As soon as the opening bars of Guzarish kick in, you know you're onto something special. Rahman structures the deceptively simple-sounding basic melody almost into a fugue, the melodic lines intertwining around each other into a wonderfully complex tune. Javed Ali's vocals start easy before they progressively reach a point where his tongue is excitedly tripping over the words, before AR tosses in some space for refrain. This is ballad as it should be, an intoxicating song best left played on loop for a good half hour. Let the brilliance seep in, you'll love it.

Aye Bachchu starts off with a raspy-radio feel, hiss and crackle barely masking the aggression displayed by a couple of punchy guitars revving each other up like duelling bikers. It doesn't seem very Rahmanesque at first, but the way he builds up something this arbidly belligerent around a series of simple melodies, each cutting unpredictably into the other... wow. It's a 3.49 long track, but Rahman fills each second with pure energy, making it seem way longer. This one's destined to be a college anthem.

The nearly-headbanging vibe gives way to Kaise Mujhe, a mellow duet sung by Benny Dayal and Shreya Ghoshal. Dayal is made to sound somewhat like Rahman himself, and the only problem with this innocuous mush-track is the fact that the composer's structure overwhelms Prasoon Joshi's deftly balanced lyrics. The words are less accessible than they deserve to be. Yet when Ghoshal kicks in, she's given enough room to play. Of course, in all likelihood we'll be worshipping the track after forty listens.

Behka has one of the most intriguing opening seconds of any Rahman song, a flirty keyboard tangoing merrily around a heavily thudding snare drum. So heady is the rush this start gives you that you want it to go on for longer, but AR cuts you off craving more as a youngster called Karthik proceeds to rock the vocals.

Joshi's lyrics are fantastic, and when the langurous Behka-Behka chorus kicks in, it's hard not to be swept away. And just when you know which way the track is headed, Rahman mixes things up with all the glee of a mad scientist. And what a funky Frankenstein he serves up. A very hard track not to grin immediately at.

"Houston... the eagle has landed"? Perhaps the last words you expect to hear in an ARR soundtrack, but the man is clearly having fun with Latoo, a joyous ditty where the composer goes into sampling mode with an eclectic bag of sounds. The sounds seem poured sporadically into the mix, but the layering is a silky masterclass. Ghoshal does well, almost as well as the male chorus singers -- who seem to be singing, um, 'Zimbabwe!'(?). Living up to its name, this is a very standard track except poured through an aural kaleidoscope. Much madness ensues.

The Kaise Mujhe instrumental, honestly, is basically Rahman showing off. Heh. It's the master showing off an immaculate composition without letting singers and vocalists get in the way. And it works beautifully.

Ah, damn the review. Buy it now.

Rating:

Originally Posted by KarthikeyaN

AR Rahman has a knack of hitting just the notes you want to hear, and the tendency to make music that is slightly ahead of its time. The genius' work was last heard on the soundtrack of Subhash Ghai's ambitious Yuvvraaj, which had a couple of memorable songs.
There are six tracks on the music CD of Aamir Khan's Ghajini, and one can't help but notice that many Bollywood soundtracks nowadays have only half a dozen songs or less.
The opener Guzarish is very good modern Bollywood music, very AR Rahman. Javed Ali has sung this (very well!) and Sonu Niigaam is the 'guest vocalist'. Operatic vocals by Kavita Baliga and mandolins add the required weight to Guzarish. Little wonder then, that this tiny gem from Ghajini is getting heavy rotation on all music channels.
Rahman has made good use of the electric guitar on Aye Bachu. Sung by Suzanne, it has English words inserted in Hindi sentences. The music sounds fresh, but there isn't anything that makes you come back to the song for a second round.
Kaise Mujhe is an excellent track! Not something that'll hit you instantly, this song is one of those that grow on you after a few listens. Benny Dayal sings well, and Shreya Ghoshal is even better. Rahman displays tremendous control here, he lets the song spread over time and it's definitely good to let things settle down on their own instead of being anal about them.
Karthik gives the 'south Indian film music' feel to Behka with his vocals, but even the innovative music does not ensure any kind of repeat value to this.
Latoo is alright...Shreya Ghoshal sings this decent but forgettable number.
The instrumental version of Kaise Mujhe is even better...no words being sung here, but Shreya Ghoshal's vocals are the perfect layer for this thoughtfully-crafted piece.
The thing with Rahman is the music is always good, but he often fails to hold your attention, and this could be because of his work coming across as half-hearted at times. His control over his art is undoubtable, and his genius undeniable. With Yuvvraaj and now Ghajini, fans of the maestro will just have to wait a bit for him to come up with yet another few masterly pieces of music that'll blow us away.
Rahman's score for Aamir's Ghajini has fresh, innovative modern music and quite a few moments, but it's not something that will stay in your CD player for too long.



RATING: 2.5/5

Originally Posted by reality

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