Monday, December 24, 2012

Kadal audio - quick thoughts

Chithirai Nela
Beautiful start with the sound of a baby crying...Doesn't Vijay Yesudass sound so much like his father? Its unplugged till around 1:49 and then some nice soft beats take over. From 2:45, does he actually say "Kaatchigal" instead of "KaatchigaLL" and a couple of other ls instead of Ls - Noooooooooo...
Overall nice, gentle composition which is a tad too generic but will surely be well picturised.. Decent start but nothing ground-breaking.

6/10

Adiye

The experimentation starts now. Starts off like an anguished cry of pain or yearning. Very appealing and then the gospel (with a mix of blues and also jazz thrown in) stuff kicks in... The Ooooohs in the background don't quite strike a chord. First thoughts: as the OH says, I can imagine/picture Whoopi Goldberg with a black rove orchestrating a choir in the background.

Biggest gripe is that ARR seems to have created a very catchy tune with a clear taalam and the lyrics were then fitted in. I don't really enjoy Pallankuzhi being split into Pallllllaaaaaaaaaaankuzhi just to fit into the beat. The Adiye Adiye chorus is very nice. At 2:18, when Sid croons Meena thooki, watch out for the piano (??) note in the background - nice touch. At 3:38 "Manasa kayiraaki izhuthu poraaye nee" feels like the singer has kadichu thuppified the lyrics. You'll get it when you hear it.

Not sure how this mood/song will fit into the movie...but then I felt the same way about Hello Mr. Ethirkatchi in a movie like Iruvar and I wasn't disappointed.

7/10

Moongil Thottam

Lyrical beauty this one...Enchanting lines straight from the heart... who wouldn't want to be part of the below setting

Pournami iravu
Pani vizhum kaadu
Othaiyadi paadhaiyil
Unkuda podinada


However my biggest problem with the song is that it screams "Smoke/Loo break" and it will be a minor miracle if 50% of the hall stays back to watch what will be some amazing visuals...The tune per se is a simple melody and is competently (not brilliantly though) rendered by the singers. This somehow reminds me of Thendrale from Kadal Desam - a fairly routine by-the-numbers song which is still nice to hear.

6.5/10

Elay Keechan

This is already a chartbuster and it deserves to be too... First song with mass appeal in the album. Getting country/western music to fit into this album and making it work is no mean feat and ARR manages it. He ingulges you with his nasal twang but it still seems to fits the mood of the song. The lyrics are playful, breeze and are sure to blend in with the setting and this is clearly one of the stronger compositions in the album. For me, the magic starts at around 3:46....

7.5/10

Nenjukulle

I absolutely love this song... The unplugged version was pure magic. The movie version is not bad at all and there are times when I think it's probably even better. However, SG's westernised Thamizh uchcharippu leaves a lot to be deserved. Also, there were a couple of occasions where you can see the difference between l and L...Deliberate you might say but I disagree. The flue is mesmerising but watch out for a slow synthesised ganjeera/percussion beat which silently plays in the background of the song - oh so awesome when heard in my Sennheiser earphones. ARR crooning between Saranam 1 and 2 wasn't really needed but then who am I to give gyaan to the guru...Overall, a haunting melody that will probably stand the test of time. 

8/10

Anbin Vaasale

This is probably the most dramatic song in the album and is completely situational. Though not as awesome as Kun Fayakun or Khwaja mere Khwaja, this one is not too far behind. Haricharan tries to hit his evocative best but falls way short in my opinion. Lots of reviewers have praised him sky-high but I can imagine a Shankar Mahadevan hitting the higher notes with complete ease. The real hero of the song is the chorus - mindblowing, totally uplifting and goosebumps inducing.

7/10

Magudi

I wont waste too many words on this but this is ABSOLUTE CRAP.. More worthy of Vijay Antony or Harris Jeyaraj

4/10

I tried something different with Kadal. After the first two songs released, I did not go mad and buy the album on Day 1 and listen to it on loop continuosly. I allowed the dust to settle down, did not read the detailed reviews - just caught the headlines (which were anyway gushing like mad) and soaked in the whole atmosphere before deciding to check out the songs once a day for 2-3 continuous days. After 5-6 listens, I have come to the conclusion that this is a decent album, probably better than Ravanan, but definitely not the return of the Messiah. It is nowhere near ROCKSTAR as some daft reviewer had mentioned, it is two notches below. It is better than JTHJ but still has me yearning for something better.

There is a lot of experimentation but I am not a critic, am just a fan. I'm usualy crazy about it, love it, like it, enjoy it or it was so-so... this one was just "like it"

Overall - 7/10

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