A Aa Audio
A Aa sees ARR return to Tamil films after a pretty long gap(he has said in recent interviews that he is here to stay). But its a rather subdued re-entry considering the high standards he has set for himself. I'm sure that I will be listening to A Aa's songs, especially two of them, quite a bit for a couple of months. But I doubt that I will be searching them out in say, 6 months time.
1. Aararai Koadi...
The song sounds kinda like a remix of an old MGR song, not surprising considering that its an S.J.Suryah film(remember the MGR film titles in the title number from New?). The deep bass beats and the Aah in the background for the Hey Anbe... Aaruyire... bit make it very energetic and the best part of the song. The lyrics that praise the Tamil viewers and fans make the song sound like an intro song for a Rajni or Vijay film. Definitely the catchiest number in the album.
2. Marangothiye...
A song with typical ARR-ish digital sounds, rap interludes and voice modulations. Nothing special.
3. Mayilirage...
A slower and more melodious version of Marangothiye..., this one is definitely more welcome.But just as I was being soothed by first-time singer Naresh Iyer's smooth voice at the start, Madhushree comes on and her pronunciation completely ruined it for me(the way she says kaadhal at a higher pitch sounds more like a yelp!). Thankfully, she does get better as the song goes on and actually says the zha sound correctly.
4. Thazhuvudhu Nazhuvudhu...
A song with a lot of moaning and other voice effects(I thought I even heard a vikkal at one point!). I like this song mainly for SPB's voice and the inimitable special touch he adds at a lot of places(like the way he says Naadagam in the first stanza). And Shreya has recently become my favorite singer. Silken voice and good pronunciation.
5. Thigu Thigu...
The number starts quite dramatically with a number of different instruments. The song too goes through different styles. The interlude is quite modern but the stanzas have simple beats and sound like they belong to an old 70s number, especially at the point where they end.
6. Varugiraai...
I was going crazy trying to remember what this song reminded me of. And then it hit me. Call me crazy but the beginning of the song(both the music and the way it is sung) sounds like the Mission Impossible theme. And the interlude between the 2 stanzas confirmed it for me. The lyrics and the way Hariharan and Chitra have sung the song make it serious and even a little sad but the tune and the beats are fast.
Balaji's Thots... [Permalink]
Your Thots (19)
19 Comments:
I think that at the end of the day, he is just like any other composer - in the sense that some of his songs will stand out more than others, and some songs we will remember forever. Incidentally I attended his 'AR Rahman Live' concert in London and it was fantastic! He filled up 3 wonderful hours with some of the best songs from his collection. He had the whole stadium up on their feet rocking to Humma humma & chaiya chiaya, swaying to sathiya & upstanding for vande mataram.
IMO New is anyday better than A Ah. The melodies and remixed in New were so good that people request them even today in all the radio channels.
I also feel that Mayirage and Aararai kodi are the songs which are going to make an impact. SPB should not have sung a seductive song like Thazhuvudhu Nazhuvudhu....i feel that he can devote his limited energies in singing better songs.
Mayiragey is being pronounced as Mayilirahey. there has to be an end to this. the album has a heavy techno accent. i can understand it if it is for a movie like BOYS. the beat in one of the songs reminded me of the beat in "Daud Hai" song. the Shankar mahadevan song had too much techno that nobody can understand the lyrics. a good comeback by ARR.....but fans would expect more.
kaps u shd give the devil oops spb his due:)
nalaadhaanay padi irukaar..?!!
and u bet that song's a tongue twister:)
me thinks ARR is losing his midas tch!
and anyways SJS...hmmmm...better i go into a mouna vrath!:(
Balaji I have written about this in my earlier blog.
Balaji,
Is A Aa a movie yet to be released?
SK
prasanna, i thot 'mayilirage' was much better than 'marangothiye'. and i second your comments on SPB.
bladehawk, i have listened to the album quite a few reasons. i know ARR's songs take time to grow on u. thats why i wrote this so many days after the album was released even though i've been listening to it since the day it came out.
i don't think i've criticized the album since i had nice things to say about 5 of the 6 songs.
and yes i'm an IR fan but that does not prevent me from liking songs from other music directors(just like being a rajni fan does not prevent me from liking kamal movies:-) that was an honest comment. u must've noticed that i recommended only 2 songs from IR's 'adhu oru kanaa kaalam' also...
and since u brought it up, i defly dont think this is the best album of the year so far. IMO, that credit belongs to 'raam'.
I was beginning to wonder when (if ever!) you were going to write a review for "A Aah" songs.. Well, good to see that it is sooner than later..
I'm posting a review that Krishna wrote to some friends about the album...
The subject header was: Seems like ARR is finally trying to get back into the groove again....
After a long layoff from reserving the best for tamil music industry, finally ARR seems to be trying to put some real effort into tamil film music... Listen to ARR's latest...
BF... (aka) Boy Friend (aka) a... aa.... (aka) anbae aaruyirae...
http://www.tamilmp3world.com
There are at least four songs that sound very different from the usual... The basic tunes sound very much like some MSV tunes... Maybe just because MSV has done almost all sort of tunes...
Aararai Kodi - Good stage number... Not as hip as Yaakkai but still very feet tappy...
Varugiraai - Very good arrangement... Nice strings (except for the strong repeating one)
and bass work... (Sounds tuned for a cross hindi version too...) Too easy a song
for both Hari and Chithra... Doesn't exert them at all...
Thazhuvudhu - Out and out SPB song... I don't know how he can sing like this at this age...
Even though I'm not the biggest SPB fan, still... ;) Very nice use of bongos...
Nice song technically too...
Maramkothi - Sounds like disco+new age... But not anywhere close to Yaakkai...
Probably the worst of this album even with Shankar in it... ;(
Mayilarage - If only he will stop using these northie's who can't pronounce one tamil word...
Well, Naresh Iyer sings really well... But I can't listen to Madhushri... She may
sing well, but I can't stand her butchering tamil...
Thigu Thigu - Hmmm... It may sound catchy to some people... Tabla sounds really good...
Good arrangement... But looks like he just tried too hard just to be very
different... Again the male singer just kills tamil... Sadhana seems slightly better
in comparison... ;) But her singing as usual is amazing...
The only problem is the movie... I saw the promo... I'm not sure... But S J Surya seems to know how to make a movie run...
Krish
Now to what I feel...
On a personal note, my 3 year old Mahalakshmi's personal favorite is "aararai kodi" from "A Aah" and "Uyire En Uyire" from Thotti Jaya..
As Krishna says, S J Suryah knows how to market his films.. I only see these songs being further elevated after the film's release in August..
"i defly dont think this is the best album of the year so far. IMO, that credit belongs to 'raam'."
--> i am not sure if its the best album but even now Aaraariraaro serves as a wonderful thing to listen to, b4 going to bed...and when i am in the car on an interstate, my vote's for vidingra pozhudhu and boom boom...
kaps, i feel 'new' and 'a aa' r about the same in terms of quality. i liked 2 songs in 'new' and looks like itll be 2 songs here too :)
anon, i've heard that about his shows too. master showman i guess :)
SK, yes. with SJSuryah and Nila.
sandhya, lotsa similarities betn krishna's comments and mine. second him on marangothiye being the worst, SPB's youthfulness and madhushri's awful pronunciation.
ram, to bring back an earlier comment, 'aaraariraro' is one of the songs that i am searching out to listen to so many months after its release :)
just curious, what's your pick for best album of '05 so far?
balaji, there used to be direct connect software sometime back form exchanging mp3s on the net. I used to find some really good oldies there. Most of the web sites deal only with new songs. Do you or anyone else here know such a source for exchanging mp3s, past and present?
I am surprised at bladehawk's comments. If anything balaji has been kind in his review. Ah..Aaah..Ouch! would have been an appropriate title for this soundtrack.
Rahman could have given 1 winner with Shankar instead of finding time to do 3 average albums for Surya. I believe he has one more film with SJ after this.
I guess T amil films arent offering him the scope to experiment much. The canvas is much bigger when he gets to work on big projects in Hindi films. I hope he gets some good projects in Tamil too.
no no, i dont have any other album in mind...meant to say, more than the album, its this one song that keeps playing in my mind over and over...
who knows? 'thazuvuthu nazuvudhu' may become a hit like 'sakkarai inikkira sakkarai..' since both are on the same lines.
My only problem is digesting SJ.Suryah.. in the screen.
Very mediocre performance by ARR I feel bad that he is losing his charm. Don't know why.!
Oh Boy! my favorite in the album is thazhuvudhu... I love the "oomph" that SPB gives to the song, so damn effortlessly... whereas Shreya Goshal struggles to give that impact... its an SPB show all the way!!! I am totally, totally in love with that song...!
I gave this album one listening and thats it... Not worth giving it a second listening.
I've grown out of ARR's music. He's just not like how he used to be, and I just dont give a screw =).
thank you
Balaji
Raam was a very good album by YSR. But I'd still go with either Arindhum Ariyaamalum by YSR or Anniyan by HJ for their overall quality. Maybe, Raam was a little too serious for me (except that hip-hop number which I loved).
Btw, any reviews on Ponniyin Selvan music?
vijay, no not sure if i've heard of such a software. sounds similar to kazaa?
i think as all music directors, ARR delivers his best for certain directors(shankar, mani, etc.) SJS is defly not on ths list :)
ramc, i actually didnt mind SJS in 'new'. i thot he actually acted quite well compared to some other new faces and had a unique dancing style that i liked esp in 'sakkarai inikkira sakkarai'...
nithya, finally someone with a diff. fav than '6 1/2 koadi'! but am a bit surprised at your choice :)
merino, i do agree with bladehawk that u need more than 1 listen to start liking ARR's songs.
mav, i kinda like haunting, slow music better since it stands out. guess thats the reason for my liking 'raam' so much. but 'anniyan' does run a close 2nd.
started listening to PS only recently. so far like only 1 song a lot.
bladehawk, no surprises there... any ARR album will open on top. have to c how long it stays on the top. i'm hoping 'ghajini' gives it good competition.
u r right.. varugiraai clearly has the MI music ...
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