Music is vast. And the worst of all, this topic is ambiguous. You can write whatever you feel about music.
I am writing about the changes that Indian film music has underwent from its starting. I have chosen Bollywood film music because it is related to us all more than any other form of music.
So here are my views and not my review:
1. The 30s(1930 - 1939)
The starting era of Indian film music. Saw music directors like Khemchand Prakash, R.C. Boral and Pankaj Mullick who purely believed in Hindustani Classical music. The concept of playback singing was not in the air and the filmstars of those days used to sing their own songs. This era of music has seen singers/actors like Ashok Kumar Ganguly, Noorjehan, Suraiya and Devika Rani. The recordings were done in one shot and there was no scope of error during recordings.
Worth listening albums of this era - Achchhut Kanya, Bandini, Raja Harishchandra, Street Singer, Millionaire
2. The 40s(1940 - 1949)
The first half of this era was exactly similar to the 30s. The second half saw the emergence of Kundan Lal Sehgal as an artist and singer. He was so famous that later singers like Mohd. Rafi and Mukesh tried to immitate him. Ths era saw the emergence of C.H.Atma and Naushad as music directors. Playback singing started and C.H. Atma was himself hit with songs like Mandwe tale gareeb ke. After the partition, Noorjehan left for Pakistan and Bollywood saw the emergence of Lata Mangeshkar as playback singer. Mukesh and Mohd. Rafi also evolved as good singers - thanks to Naushad Sahab.
Worth listening albums of this era - Tansen, Shahjahan, Parwana, My Sister
3. The 50s(1950 - 1959)
The Raj Kapoor era. With movies like Aag, Anari, Mr. 420, Shankar-Jaikishan became the big thing. Naushad was still in the scene and S.D. Burman and Chitalkar emerged as great music directors of their times. This era saw the emergence of Kishore Kumar as a singer and also it gave us singers like Manna Dey and Talat Mehmood. The recording was still done in one go but Hemant Kumar revolutionized the Indian Music Industry by the use of Keyboards(Synthesizers) for the first time in his film - Nagin.
Worth listening albums of this era - Nagin, Navrang, Aawara, Shri 420, CID
4. The 60s(1960 -1969)
This era doesnot belong to anyone in particular. New music directors like Kalyanji-Anandji and Laxmikant-Pyarelal became popular. Innovation was at its best, thanks to the music directors like Chitragupta. New music directors started a new trend - Writing songs on tunes. Earlier it was vice versa. Mahendra Kapoor started his long term relationship with Manoj’Bharat’ Kumar.
Worth listening albums of this era - Humraaz, Bhabhi, Guide, Jaanwar
5. The 70s(1970 - 1979)
The era of Rahul Dev Burman and Sampooran Singh(Gulzar Sahab). The depth in lyrics faded away and new lyricist like Anand Bakshi replaced greats like Shailendra, Neeraj and Pradeep. The songs became a bit modern and the feelings they used to convey faded away. Bappi Da emerged as a music director in the late 70s and was hit with songs like Chalte chalte mere ye geet, Bambai se aaya mera dost etc.
Worth listening albums of this era - Aandhi, Mausam, Gharonda, Julie
6. The 80s(1980 - 1989)
Probably the least remembered years in Bollywood music. Melody was lost and cheap songs like Ek aankh maroon, aaj rapat jaayen were hit. Bappi da ka drum replaced the traditional dholaks and tablas of Laxmikant Pyarelal. Though they were the next biggest thing after Bappi da. The later years saw the emergence of new age music directors like Anand-Milind and Nadeem Shravan. The face of Indian music was about to change.
Worth listening albums of this era - Disco Dancer, Sharaabi, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Maine Pyar Kiya
7. The 90s(1990 - 1999)
New music directors matlab new kind of music. In the early years, Anand-Milind and Nadeem-Shravan ruled the charts. New singers emerged like Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet and singers like Mohd. Aziz and Shabbir Kumar were forced to quit. The latter half saw the emergence of Anu Malik, Jatin-Lalit and Allah Rakha Rehman(A. R. Rehman). Who would have imagined that these three will change the face of Indian music to such an extent. This era also saw the emergence of Sonu Nigam as a playback singer.
Worth listening albums of this era - Aashiqui, Bombay, Love, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, Darr
8. The new millenium(2000- Today)
Music has lost the melody. It is purely the rhythm that is selling. Thanks to a few music directors like Sajid-Wajid and Himesh Reshammiya who are still trying hard to keep the melody alive. Jain-Lalit are no more sought after. Anu Malik is the biggest thing after Himesh Reshammiya. Remix songs are coming in the same album sometime they are released even before the original single. Worst era in my opinion.
Worth listening albums of this era - Parineeta, Chameli, Baghbaan, Swades, Lagaan, Aashiq Banaaya Aapne
So friends my views are over. I put it up to you now. All you need to do is answer my one question:
If you have to choose your favourite song out of all the eight eras, which song will you choose?