Hindustani music meets Western Trance meets India Folk meets Indian film music. Rahman has always been willing to experiment. In Mani Ratnam he finds the perfect inspiration.
A word of caution. Dont listen to this album on earphones or tiny PC speakers. Put the CD (or cassete) into the biggest music system you can get your hands on , turn the volume up and ROCK AND ROLL BABY!
Doing a bit of Googling I found out that Mani had originally planned to have no songs in the film. That the album has 6 tracks is a triumph of the deep understanding between Rahman and Mani. To use a cliche, they seem made for each other.
Dol Dol.... Its purpose is to set the audience up for violence and a fast chase. The effortlessness with which this comes through is unbelievable. Blazee has become a constant in Rahman albums. He sounds great!
Hey Goodbye Nanba....Incredibly layered, seemingly without a tune, yet hiding a multitude of tunes within it. The silky soft female voice and the Nee Yaaro refrain strike deep. The Orchestra pieces that seem to crop up at all the odd places only add to the effect.
Jana Gana Mana....Rahman screaming Yuuuuva sets the tone for this ’’revolution’’ song. Some people have compared this song to a song in Boys, but I see no comparison. the bass guitar effect (Dum -Vivek Oberoi- style) is awesome and with the shattering glass effect takes this song toa different plane. the only jarring note is a continuous chanting of Yuva, Yuva, Yuva (feels like subliminal branding to me). Coming to think of it, the song sounds very similar to the ’’naxalite’’ song from Boys.
Nenjam Ellam...Adnan Sami is at it again. Can we please have someone who understands what he is pronouncing? Neysipaayaa sounds like Nasipaaya!!!! the lyrics are good but Adnan Sami sounds drunk sometimes. At times it seems the music has been designed to hide Adnan Sami’s bad pronunciation. This song is probably the most filmi (read radio friendly) of the lot.
Sandai Kozhi...Very folksy, very hummable. Its a winner! Shades of Ilayaraja shine through in this song. Though the singer’s Tamil accent sounds very strange, the melody that peeks through the pad beats, carries the song. And theres Rahman humming somewhere in between, it sounds awesome.
Yakkai Thiri....Best song in the album hands down! Turn up the volume on this one guys and girls, its the perfect disco song. After rubbish like ’’Its the time to Disco’’ (KHNH), Yakkai Thiri is like the mint flavored breath of a hot girl dancing right beside you on the floor. True to Rahman’s style, the trance beats get mixed with Hindustani Classical and the result is MIND BLOWING.
To sum up, the album is very Rahman. He is at his daring best. the only problem I have with this album is the absence of talented vocals. The vocalists havent been given enough space to perform. The synthesizer has become king, but thats probably what Mani Ratnam wanted in the first place....