Its FINALLY raining in Delhi and we Delhites WAIT for the rains for they happen just for 2-3 weeks in the entire year (wo bhi ro ro ke)! And what better way to celebrate the rains than music! A remarkable thing, worth noticing is that even the radio channels play better songs on rainy days... I guess they also get set into mood due to the whether! :)
These rains I am enjoying this album. It’s just the best album I heard in a long long time. Generally I buy an album, but end up hearing 1-2 songs and the rest are just not worth it. But this album is unlike them all, each song, till the last one, just keeps me coming back for more....
As the name suggest, the album has songs that Ustaad Sultan Khan (of Piya Basanti fame) sings with "the divas", i.e., female singers like Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal and Chitra.
The first track of the album was made into a beautiful and interesting video... Le Ja Le Ja Re... Remember that super thin model? (ohhh I’m SO J!!! ) And that cute guy (no I am not J) and all the cartoons they make at the bus-stop! Indeed the video’s an impressive piece of creativity... but the song is the best part about it. The song is a semi-classical singing blended with contemporary music. I can go on and on hearing this song. Shreya Ghoshal’s voice is so sharp and so clear that you just feel she’s sitting right next to you and singing! The song inspires you to go and get wet in the rains... remember that’s what the model in the video’s doing too! :P
My other favorite from the album is Haiye Re.... I always knew that Chitra is a great singer, but she goes on to prove me right yet again! This romantic number just makes me fall in love all over again! It is tough to categorize if the song is classical or pop... while the beats make it more pop and contemporary; Ustaad Sultan Khan’s singing makes it semi-classical. The song changes tempo and music at various places, but Chitra’s voice just seems to flow along. The way she says "aa raha hai maza pyaar ka aaste aaste"... one just re-checks... aa raha hai yan nahi? ;)
More Piya is one song that transforms you to another world, it is another genre compared to the first two. I never noticed that Sunidhi Chauhan’s real voice is so good... as in, she is quite capable of experimenting with her voice and not many songs she has sung in her real voice (none that I remember), but this is one that she has sung in her real voice. Her voice infact suits fantastically well to Indian/semi-classical singing. The song is again a romantic one, but well the romance in each song is of a different sort! "main chahun tujhko jee bhar ke, aur jee na bhare kabhi mera" is THE line of the song.
I heard long time back that there is a special genre of songs, which express the story of someone. Billo... is a song that narrates the story of a girl called Billo. Unlike how the title suggests, the song is not a Punjabi one! It is infact a fusion of rap, pop and semi classical music. The music seems inspired by some folk music and so does the song. Sunidhi Chauhan is back to what she does best... module her voice and change it into something else! The song, though not a very deep or intense song, is an entertainer.
Haaniya.... Now if you haven’t heard this one, you are sure missing on something. I don’t know why but I feel that anyone’s love is SO incomplete if one has not heard and enjoyed this kind of song (and such moments) with their lover. It is one of those happy-love songs which make you feel WOW about being in love ... and about the rains too! :) The song makes the album complete. It has a touch of Punjabi folk music and a few Punjabi words as well. Sunidhi Chauhan’s voice sound SO fresh and new that it feels she is enjoying singing the song. But its SO wonderful, that I recommend this song THE most to all those who haven’t heard it! "Akhiyon mein tu vasda, meri jindari tu mahi ve... tu chahe laakh kar inkaar maine to tujhi se pyaar karna hai"
By the time I finish hearing this album, I just want to hug him SO tight... hehehe ;)
This is one album I would spend money to buy an original CD of (unlike many others who’s pirated downloads would do). The music quality is so wonderful that one much hear the original sound tracks to enjoy the songs the best.
So if you haven’t heard these songs… you REALLY must… :