Sillunnu Oru Kadhal

Disclaimer: To ask me to write a restrained review for a Rahman album, is like asking a school kid to sit a minute after the bell has gone on the last day before summer vacation.

The lowlies:
Let's get the songs that got out of my playlist pretty soon, out of the way. Mazaa Mazaa is Rahman caught in a SJ Surya warp. Nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing worth mentioning except the fact that Shreya does a spectacular job of making tamil sound like telugu...or wait...was it meant to be telugu? Also, Charan is wasted, especially(I say this at the risk of committing the greatest blasphemy in TFM) when he is just beginning to sound a wee bit like his illustrous dad.

I would have been pretty disappointed with Mareecham, had it not been redeemed by a what I have come to notice as a new Rahman trait-transitions. Well, this is something that struck me in Rang De Basanti, in both the title song and Khalbali. Both had such-if I may be audacious enough to say so-pedestrian beginnings but then came the awesome transitions- a subtle yet impactful pace and tone change in the former and the ziddi and the hone hone de nasha bits in the latter- which ended up giving a whole new dimension to what would have been ordinary songs. Here too, Rahman uses the male vocals and some chants to provide a foil to Caroline's husky sultry rendition making it sound pretty decent.

The Contenders:
The title song that is bound to end up being popular did not impress me too much. It was Ilayarajayish in the fact that the jazz arrangements sounded like what was used in Kurangu Kayil Maalai (Mumbai Express) and also that the vocals were similar to Kaaka(Julie Ganapathy). Neverthless, Rahman does some neat experimentation and this ends up being pretty much in the league of Hello Mr. Edhir Katchi(Iruvar).

Shankar Mahadevan pulls off a Uppu Karuvaadu with Machakaari and Vasundhra Das does a great job too. A peppy racy pace, interesting interludes make this a sure fire chartbuster.

The Upper Echelon:
Kummi Adi, what a fabulous energetic beginning to the album. Rahman gets everything right, from the eclectic mix of voices(The folksy rustic Seerkazhi Siva Chidambaram and Theni Kunjaramma and the tempering effect of Swarnalatha and Naresh) and the meticulous attention to the rythm,that is essentially life of this song. When this song ends with that no holds barred, barrage of beats, you just don't want it to!

Nirvana:
Ah! The irony of genius! When something you create competes with something else you create! If there is anything called a vintage Rahman duet, Munbe Vaa fits that description to a tee. Shreya and Naresh are at their sublime best, add to that the refreshing Rangoli chorus, and the cross between a santoor and jalatarang instrumentals, and you have sheer class. Just when you thought things can't get any better, as if to question that very thought, Rahman belts out New York Nagaram, the mindblowing way he starts the song with the guitar and that half mumble-half hum , Tanvi and Bhargavi's harmony, the echo of voices at the end of each line, that aching, soulful love ballad feel- just pure unadulterated pleasure!

Well that's my first take, bound to be some changes considering the tendency of his music to grow on you. Just when I was floundering about in blog drought, I hear this album and the words start flowing and a post is born in no time. What better life saver can a drowning man ask for? Drought, Drowning....hmmmm...logical disconnect...but you get the picture...