Thursday, January 7, 2010

Gorgeous, Overwhelming, Astonishing 'Goa' - Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja

One of the most awaited soundtracks is out. Yuvan-Venkat Prabhu combo is back with a bang.

The breezy duet "Idhu Varai" has a gorgeous tune to it, superbly sung by Andrea and Ajeesh, the winner of Airtel Super Singer 2009. A striking melody with a mind-blowing orchestration and scintillating interludes, that showcase Yuvan's versatility.

"Kadhal endral" sung by composer himself is a shorter version of "idhu varai". Yuvan, the king of bit songs, proves it again here. This song has an interesting Violin prelude and has soothing keyboard in the background. The peppy title track "Goa" has youthful feel to it with a flawless music arrangement. The club mix version is equally appealing, however, i did not listen to the club mix version as I'm addicted to the original version.

"Ezhezhu Thalamurai", the village, folk'ish track is overwhelming. Yuvan has done an Ilayaraja in this song. The foot tapping thiruvizha song "adida naiyandi" is another IR'ish track with lively orchestration that adds charm. SPB Charan and Yugendhiran have done their part well in this song. The pathos song "Ooru nalla ooru" sung by Ilayaraja isn't that appealing except for the orchestration and the flute interlude that make it worth listening.

Creative hunger Yuvan arrives with the astonishing "Idai Vazhi", one of the most experimental tracks in recent times. A fast paced erotic song with incredibly brilliant orchestration and excellent vocals by Mamta Mohandas and Benny Dayal. The former does it with perfection.

Thanks to Yuvan for bringing the veterans SPB, IR and Chitra together in the peppy song "Valiba va va". The song so beautifully switches to classical music in the second half. The "na na na na" humming that comes in between is hyper-catchy.

Verdict: What an album to start the year! Yuvan starts 2010 with an extraordinary note. Looking forward to more and more.

Regards,
Vinith...

Keywords: Goa songs review, goa music review, yuvan shankar raja, venkat prabhu, ilayaraja, karthik raja, premgi amaren, goa album.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Yuvan doing an Ilayaraja

This is a song review. I'm writing about a song that had an impact on me over the past two days. The interesting part here is that the album has not come out yet. Likely to be released this week.

Song: Ezhezhu Thalamuraikum
Genre: Village Folk
Movie: Goa
Composer: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics: Gangai Amaren
Singers: Yuvan, Karthik Raja, Venkat Prabhu, Premgi Amaren, Bhavatharini

The song is all about the musical family. Lyrics of Gangai Amaren proudly tells us about their native village 'Pannaipuram', mom 'Chinna thaayi", elder bro "Pavalar" and obviously about their music which has been an inseparable part of their family. There is nothing new in this song except the freshness and the feel that it gives you. There have been surfeit of songs of this type from Ilayaraja over the past three decade. If someone listens to this song without any idea about the composer, he would certainly end up concluding that this is by Ilayaraja. Yes. Yuvan has almost done an Ilayaraja here. Yet, this song stands out for some reasons.

The idea of making the siblings sing this song definitely showcases the togetherness in them. Lyrics and rendition are the best part of this song.

A song that should not be missed, especially if you are an Ilayaraja or Yuvan fan. You may listen to the song online here.

Waiting for the full album.

Regards,
Vinith.

Keywords: Goa, Venkat prabhu, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Goa promo song, yezhezhu thalamurai song, gangai amaren, family song, premji, premgi amaran, bavatharani, karthik raja,

Sunday, December 27, 2009

A Musical '2009'

Unlike 2008, 2009 has turned out to be a musical year with back to back musical hits. I believe there have been atleast 20+ good albums. I really could not arrive at a list of 10 good songs as there were too many good songs. A tough job indeed.

Here is my list of Top 10 songs that I most visited, of 2009. Not in any order.

1. Kannil Parvai (Nan KAdavul) by Ilayaraja
2. Chinnansirisu (Kungauma Poovum Konjum Puravum) by Yuvan Shankar Raja
3. Oru Vetkam Varudhe (Pasanga) by James Vasanthan
4. Aval Appadi (Angadi Theru) by Vijay Antony
5. Kannil Thagam theerumo (Achchamundu Achamundu) by Karthik Raja
6. Pemmane (also Thaai thindra Manne. Aayirathil Oruvan) by G V Prakash kumar
7. Yogi theme in Sarangi (Yogi) by Yuvan Shankar Raja
8. Mella Oorndhu (Nandhalala) by Ilayaraja. -
9. Thuli Thuli (Paiya) by Yuvan Shankar Raja
10. Katrukulle (Sarvam) by Yuvan Shankar Raja

Few other songs that were worth listening.

* Azhagai Pookudhe (Ninaithaale Inikkum) by Vijay Antony
* Nan Pogiren (Naanayam) by James Vasanthan
* Kooda Varuviya (Valmiki) by Ilayaraja
* Padhi Kadhal padhi mutham (Modhi Vilayadu) by Hariharan, Leslie
* Vizhi Moodi (Ayan) by Harris Jeyaraj
* Om Shanthi Om (Muthirai) by Yuvan Shankar Raja

Smashing soundtracks of the Year:

1. Paiya, Sarvam by Yuvan Shankar Raja.
2. Nan Kadavul by Ilayaraja.
3. Aayirathil Oruvan by GV Prakash Kumar.

Best Music Director of the Year:

Undoubtedly, it is Yuvan Shankar Raja for delivering albums almost every month with quality ranging from average to mind-blowing. He is ready with hands full of projects to repeat the magic in 2010 as well.

Top non-tamil songs that I have listened to:

* 'Hindi' Masakkali from Delhi 6 by AR Rahman
* 'Telugu' Anakoledenadu and Seheri from Oy (Oye) by Yuvan Shankar Raja
* 'Hindi' Mudhi Mudhi from Paa by Ilayaraja
* 'Hindi' Emosnal Atyachar from Dev D by Amit Trivedi


Share your opinion.

Regards,
Vinith....

Keywords: top tamil songs of the year, best music of 2009, best music director of 2009, list of top tamil music, top 10 music, hindi, telugu

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai music is Brilliant and Innovative, yet, Average

With a mysterious prelude and astonishing vocals of Vijay Yesudoss and Vinaitha, 'En Asai ethiraliye' easily becomes the pick of the album along with Poo Muthal sung by the composer himself. The mysterious feel continues to haunt in the former while interesting lyrics and cool rendition from Yuvan elevate the latter. Yuvan clearly brings the attitude of a playboy in this voice.

However, the most innovative track of this album is, "En jannal vandha katre" sung by three female singers. With the same base tune, Yuvan gives three different styles of music to explain the character of each girl in this movie. Starts off with a gorgeous melody (with interesting anu pallavi), that soon changes to a hip-hop kind of song then ends with a rocking kuthu song. The music during the transition of each song is simply brilliant and doesn't affect the flow. That's Yuvan for you!

Despite the brilliant vocals from Ranjith and interesting interludes, the melody "Oru punnagai thaane" fails to make an impact as the main tune is boring and flows aimlessly. You really do not get hooked to the title song even despite it's groovy orchestration.

The short "Introduction" is all about Yuvan's music for this movie. Aah.. This is something new that no one else has tried before. Thumbsup Yuvan.

Overall, a satisfactory album for Yuvan fans. We have to wait and see if our audience will prefer it. Brilliant and innovative. Yet, fails to create a big impact.


Tags: Theeratha vilayattu pillai music review, theeradha vilayaattu pillai songs review, theeradha vilayaattu pillai, yuvan, vishal, thiru, yuvan shankar raja, neetu