Bose- Rahmania!
Allah Rakha Rahman- This man never ceases to amaze me, the sheer musical genius he is. Just as I was recovering from an auditory overdose of Yeh Jo Des hai Tera, he comes up with an absolute stunner of an album- Bose- The forgotten hero.
The pick of the album is obviously Azaadi, sung by the man himself. When it beguns with a Jai Hind refrain, the irony of a Western chorus in a song about the Indian freedom struggle gnaws at you. But when the stirring, passionate vocals of Rahman break free against that orderly orchestration, it is almost symbolic of the Indians rising against the British. Rahman rarely sings in bass and whenever he does as in Vellai Pookal and more recently, Yeh Jo Des Tera, he comes up with mind blowing masterpieces. But in Azaadi, Rahman switches back to his high energy, high scale mode and you cannot help but be moved by the patriotic fervour and emotionally charged intensity with which he sings, filling you up with an amazingly nice feeling. Here is a man who makes music and sings, right from the bottom of his heart. As the song builds up into an overpowering crescendo, the holding-his-breath alaap he does in the end, subdues all the Western influences, paling them into relative insignificance.
If there is anything else that inspires Rahman as much as Maniratnam and patriotic themes, it is his intense faith in God and Sufism. Following in the line of Piya Haji Ali(Fiza), Noor-Un-Allah(Meenaxi), and Fanaa(Yuva) comes the stunning Zikr. Zikr in Sufism signifies a persistant remembrance of God, an all-else forgetting state where you think only about Him. Zikr, the song epitomizes that meaning, with hymn like intonations, heavy harmony, and Rahman’s voice yet again, combining to produce a soothing, yet stimulating number. The powerful effect this song had on me, in spite of me being of a different faith and scarcely understanding the words is enough testimony to the magic of this man’s music.
The last period patriotic album Rahman composed was The Legend of Bhagat Singh and it is difficult to hear Bose without a hangover from that. It is tempting to draw anologies- like a Ghoomparani for a Jogiya, a Des ki mitti for a Sarfaroshi ki tamanna. But once you shrug that off, you are able to truly appreciate the majesty and grandeur of this album. There is a delectable spread of close to twenty tracks with nearly 7-8 instrumentals. To review each of those tracks would be a study in music by itself. The other songs that make an immediate impression are- Des ki Mitti- Sonu Nigam revels in this melodious song which involves considerable voice modulation and Ekla Chalo- begins with Bengali lyrics and progresses into a beautiful song. The instrumentals would make a stronger impression when the movie is released. However, the Afghanistani theme with an operatic female solo and a middle-eastern feel does beckon a special mention. I share the popular notion that Rahman’s music has a tendency to grow on you. The commonest argument against this is that you can either like or dislike music, hearing it once or twice, and there is no point in repeated listening. But Rahman’s compositions are so rich and there is so much variety that there are bound to be distracting influences. Just as you need to look intently at a cluttered painting to discern the various elements and appreciate the art, you need to hear his music more than just once or twice to get its true feel.
Listen to this album today, for, what is bliss but an endless loop of Rahman songs!
The pick of the album is obviously Azaadi, sung by the man himself. When it beguns with a Jai Hind refrain, the irony of a Western chorus in a song about the Indian freedom struggle gnaws at you. But when the stirring, passionate vocals of Rahman break free against that orderly orchestration, it is almost symbolic of the Indians rising against the British. Rahman rarely sings in bass and whenever he does as in Vellai Pookal and more recently, Yeh Jo Des Tera, he comes up with mind blowing masterpieces. But in Azaadi, Rahman switches back to his high energy, high scale mode and you cannot help but be moved by the patriotic fervour and emotionally charged intensity with which he sings, filling you up with an amazingly nice feeling. Here is a man who makes music and sings, right from the bottom of his heart. As the song builds up into an overpowering crescendo, the holding-his-breath alaap he does in the end, subdues all the Western influences, paling them into relative insignificance.
If there is anything else that inspires Rahman as much as Maniratnam and patriotic themes, it is his intense faith in God and Sufism. Following in the line of Piya Haji Ali(Fiza), Noor-Un-Allah(Meenaxi), and Fanaa(Yuva) comes the stunning Zikr. Zikr in Sufism signifies a persistant remembrance of God, an all-else forgetting state where you think only about Him. Zikr, the song epitomizes that meaning, with hymn like intonations, heavy harmony, and Rahman’s voice yet again, combining to produce a soothing, yet stimulating number. The powerful effect this song had on me, in spite of me being of a different faith and scarcely understanding the words is enough testimony to the magic of this man’s music.
The last period patriotic album Rahman composed was The Legend of Bhagat Singh and it is difficult to hear Bose without a hangover from that. It is tempting to draw anologies- like a Ghoomparani for a Jogiya, a Des ki mitti for a Sarfaroshi ki tamanna. But once you shrug that off, you are able to truly appreciate the majesty and grandeur of this album. There is a delectable spread of close to twenty tracks with nearly 7-8 instrumentals. To review each of those tracks would be a study in music by itself. The other songs that make an immediate impression are- Des ki Mitti- Sonu Nigam revels in this melodious song which involves considerable voice modulation and Ekla Chalo- begins with Bengali lyrics and progresses into a beautiful song. The instrumentals would make a stronger impression when the movie is released. However, the Afghanistani theme with an operatic female solo and a middle-eastern feel does beckon a special mention. I share the popular notion that Rahman’s music has a tendency to grow on you. The commonest argument against this is that you can either like or dislike music, hearing it once or twice, and there is no point in repeated listening. But Rahman’s compositions are so rich and there is so much variety that there are bound to be distracting influences. Just as you need to look intently at a cluttered painting to discern the various elements and appreciate the art, you need to hear his music more than just once or twice to get its true feel.
Listen to this album today, for, what is bliss but an endless loop of Rahman songs!
posted by Dreamer at 12:09 PM
6 Comments:
Thanks machaan!
What do you mean 'waste it in a blog'? I will continue doing this till you become a millionaire and publish my book;)
Hey, nice blog.
Sorry about the remark in the earlier argument. It was a stupid off-the-cuff remark that I even use on all my friends (needless to say they end up using it back on me), and so I seriously meant no offense.
Cheers!
the bride...
Thanks!
No worries about the remark! I told ya...I took no offense.
Very nicely written. Impressive !
I wanna hear more about Desh Ki Mitti ... This song deserves much more than what we can give. :-)
Hats off to the MAN !
I have 2 more albums (Rising & Aa Aah) waiting .... but still not done with Bose !
Btw, I'd like to contact you. Can you please reply on djcrunkmix@yahoo.com ? , Thanks !
Not sure if you had noticed this...before the starting of second stanza of "Des ki mitti", Anuradha Sriram starts humming which prolongs over the entire second stanza...Rehman does use Anuradha's humming at many places like this...one more song would be "Anbe Anbe" from Jeans...
-Raghu(SVCE, EEE)
Hey Raghu,
Nice catch....I think Rahman uses humming brilliantly, especially his own in a lot of his songs....
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