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Yeh Yaarana
Yaadon Mein
Dil Ke Tukde Hazaar Huye
Woh Chali
Laddoo Kha
Album: Yeh Yaarana
Artist: Renoo
Label: BMG Crescendo
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Yeh Yaarana seems like
"straight-from- the-heart" efforts. One glance at the inlay cover has a gushing Renoo (there, her name sounds musical enough) paying tribute to her mom and dad. You are almost ready to dismiss it with the seasoned complacence of someone who has weathered the wannabe storm. But once you pass that stage, surprise replaces cynicism, as you discover that this is not just another wet-behind the ears singer peeping from under the covers. |
Renoo seems to be dipped in an eclectic mix of music, and the result is evenly daubed training, rather than a hotchpotch.
Her classical grounding seems to come as a relief to those who have been used to the sandpaper-like quality of untrained voices. Music director Rahul Ram has wisely cashed in on the borderline versatility of Renoo’s voice. The masterstroke, by far, is the upbeat opening track, Thirakti kyon hawa. After a long time, you hear the clear, unfiltered notes of the harmonium, and the singer boldly holds her ground, in a melange of sounds. Amazing confidence for a newcomer, you muse. Amen to that. Nit-picking aside, Renoo has this incredulous knack of sneaking surprises behind your back just when you are ready to dismiss her. Take Kal kya ho, for instance. Okay, this is another "I am happy, you are happy, the world is happy" songs, but what is striking is the singer's gusto. It is almost as if her ambitions to do a good job of the track are firmly grounded in her lack of exploration. The cherry on the icing on the cake is the title track. Renoo seems to have given Yeh yaarana her all. She is mellow and revved up all at once. The transition between the varied moods of the song comes easily to her. Of course, there are times when she slips, but those are rough edges rather than glaring irregularities. The merry ride continues through Oye oye and O jaane jaan. The two are different as chalk and cheese in treatment. A word of advice to the lyricist - It is okay to seek refuge in bombast, but when they are interwoven with seemingly ordinary words, the result is hard to take. We can either have sheer poetry or total abandon. Yeh Yaarana is a friendly overture, but not an embrace of reassurance.
Album: Yaadon Mein
Artist: Riddhi
Label: Ultra Music
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Here's another pop music album, which marks the debut of singer Riddhi, a first year BA student from Sophia college, Mumbai. The tunes composed by Aditya-Sunny are nothing to crow about. Indeed, the background music is better, more peppy and builds up a certain tempo. Riddhi's voice particularly in the first song Jaan likhu janam likhu lacks in confidence. She seems to sing tentatively, carefully. It's like someone watching every step and walking. It enacts the theme of the album, which is teenage first love. |
Says Riddhi about the album, "When I heard the lyrics and the tunes I felt very inspired. They portrayed the innocence and growing up of a teenager so well. They expressed the feelings of my generation." The songs of the album are built around motifs like writing one's first love letter, inability to concentrate on books any longer, and getting obsessed with a boy's image. It's not just about platonic love, as lines like Jab tu chuta hai mujhko, dil mein dard sa hota hain indicate. Side B showcases at least two traditional numbers, Zor hka jhatka and Meri morni jaisi chal. Riddhi sings these songs in a way that reminds you strongly of Ila Arun. The fact that her voice sounds unpolished is expected considering she has not taken any formal training in music. But there is ample time and scope for Riddhi to build on her love for music. A dancer and a keen athlete, she plans to take formal lessons in Hindustani classical music once she completes her studies. That's what one hears. Here's wishing her all the best in he musical endeavours. Meanwhile, about Yaadon Mein, this is strictly meant for teenagers.
Album: Dil Ke Tukde Hazaar Huye
Artist: Altaf Raja
Label: Venus
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Altaf Raja makes an earnest attempt to infuse the right feelings into each of the eight tracks, but is let down by his voice, which seems to be poured into the same mould, even with extremely diverse emotions. The team of Vaishnav Devaa and Altaf Raja seem to be extremely limited in their score, and some preludes seem like snatches from the innumerable tracks in films. The album boasts of excellent support (at least in terms of numbers) in the lyrics department. The lead track, Pehle to Kabhi Kabhi, has an ambitious canvas spread out. |
Raja's aim here is to sound embittered, but he takes on the plaintive mode, and this jars on the nerves. The track, nevertheless, is lifted by some innovative arrangements, and the background vocals by an unknown female voice. The lyrics do their bit. Jab se door lage, which is interspersed with instances of supposedly inspired poetry, is insipid, and sounds like a test-recording piece. Lyrics by Arun Bhairav are not the best resurrection solution. Raja's voice wears thin at critical
moments. Mohabbat ka irada sounds initially promising, but that is about the only positive reaction it can evoke. There is an apparent dearth of voice quality, and lack of variety renders the track flat on all counts. The love crusade reaches its finale in Tumhe kya batayen, and more of the atonal quality surfaces. The rendering is particularly stoic, and the poetry rattles the innards. Side B offers no chances of a revival. Above average lyrics could have saved Jaa bewafaa jaa, but the music and Raja's non-existent histrionics kills any chances of a halfway decent track. He comes close to screeching on the high notes, and his contrived sorrow does not help. Tujh se phir main is a valiant attempt to salvage whatever is left of the album, but it does not even get there. The concluding tracks, Badh raha hai and Ghungroo baandh liye hammer the final nail into the coffin. The album, at face value, seems to have great potential, but this is one serenade that leaves you tone-deaf.
Album: Woh Chali
Artist: Bombay Vikings
Label: Universal
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So you have Bombay Vikings’ latest album called Woh Chali. The title number is an improvised version of the original song Main chali main chali from Padosan. Unfortunately, this collection of ten romantic numbers, written and tuned by Neeraj Shridhar, is downright mediocre; it only shows up the power of old songs like Aaja aaja main hoon pyar tera and Main chali main chali which have been recycled by Neeraj to no great effect (you would anyday rather hear the original songs). |
This album is largely rhythm with mere traces of melody. Songs like Neeraj’s Jambola with lines which say Jambola, everybody rock to it side to side... Come on let’s all party, move your body, touch and feel the heat of the night exhort you to do just that. The cassette takes the hybrid language Hinglish to great heights. One line in English followed by one in Hindi -- that’s the way the puerile lyrics go. Where ever you go I’ll go with you, It’s New Delhi or Timbukto, Mere dil ko bhaye bas ik tu, And I’m in love with you. This is Woh Chali for you. If you are a purist, avoid this album like it was adulterated food. On the other hand, if you are a die-hard Indipop fan, then pick up this album and rock to the sounds of Baby baby, you’re the talk of the town, I heard that lately, you wear Miss India crown.
Album: Laddoo Kha
Artist: Balle Balle Boys
Label: AMC GAS
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The Balle Balle Boys take the road that many wannabes wore their shoes on, and their debut album Laddoo Kha is rendered largely insipid. On the bright side, their tracks would do the dance floors a favour, but the duo closes the doors to variety somewhere down the line. Now to give the Boys a fair trial. My name is Manjeet lends a stand-up-and-shake a leg flavour to the album, and the track works mainly because of the earnestness of the duo to infuse it with zest and life. |
There is also a prank-up-your-sleeve feel to the song, and this disarming warmth is what works. Laddoo kha, the title track, does no wonders to your sweet tooth. You cannot carry the earnestness too far, for it has to be substituted with substance. Then we have the summer-friendly Pee le lassi, which the Boys seem to have written with a sense of loyalty to their bearings. You are almost willing to forgive the banal outpourings for a sense of friendliness that pervades the track, and the song soon grows on you. Bolo balle balle arises, perhaps, from the need to pay homage to the bhangra genre, and hence the borrowing of the balle word from the lexicon. It begins on a promising note, but wears thin somewhere in between. The duo, somehow fail to pick up the pieces of the track and do somewhat of a patch-up job. We have to hand it to the Boys for infusing their lyrics with a sense of joie de vivre, despite their inane quality. Songs like Pehn le chashma and Sharaabi have an endearing, ear-tweaking simplicity about them, and you almost want to forgive their lack of musical quality. Laddoo Kha is honest more than it is good. But you cannot rely on honesty to fuel an album’s ride up the charts, in a market choc-a-bloc with bhangra albums. Of course, jig-friendly folks would give the album a twice over, perhaps. But it will never find favour with those weaned on Daler Mehendi and Gurdas Mann. Those are the higher echelons of balle-balle land.
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