Have been waiting to write this ever since I got my hands on this CD on Jan 19th but an India trip and a hectic work-week on return have delayed this ...
The wait has been so long. The music was rumored for a Oct 07 release...then Nov..then Dec..finally it hit the stands on Jan 19. Has it been worth the wait ?
O yeah !!!! Rahman scores and how !!!!
In one word ...Magical ...in two words ....Magically Brilliant.
There have been so many beautiful reviews floating around on the net that mine would probably only look too bland in comparison (should I write it???).
From the unmatched grandiose of Azeem-o-shaan to the wonderful devotional song Man-mohana..to the romantic stunner 'In Lamhon Ke Daaman' to the equally beautiful 'Jash-e-Bahara' ...finally the man himself crooning a devotional qawalli in 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja' - this album is an absolute stunner.
The first thing that stands out in this album is the crispness of sound that I have somehow been missing. The next is the beautiful use of instruments and less manufactured music (gizmuziqq as I call it). Finally the wonderful choice of voices. Brilliant !!!!
I am not going to write a review here but I wanted to mention some observations about couple of songs in this album
a) Khwaja Mere Khwaja - And you thought that a qawalli format song needs many voices. Did ya ? Well not when Rahman makes one. Each and every strain, each and every sound (human) belongs to Rahman in this song. Notice how he introduces a slight delay between two streams of the same song to make it sound like a chorus .....Genius ....Ingenious!!!!!! And I didnt even talk about the beauty of the lyrics or the music or Rahman's singing itself. I could write on and on.
b) In Lamhom Ke Daaman Mein - Trust Rahman to use Sonu Nigam's voice as elegantly as he does. Romantic numbers or Patriotic numbers in Sonu's voice and tuned by Rahman ...have a life of their own. This brilliant and unusual composition proves it yet again. This song is structurally so complex and different that again - only Rahman could have done it. Again ....I force myself to end this description here.
c) Azeem-o-Shaan - This one rocks purely for its intensity ...the Drums, the vocals ....whoa !!!'U r transported to a stage where you can almost feel the grand settings that will accompany this song on screen.
The wait for a Rahman album and the feeling once its out is just incomparable. There is simply no comparison ...nothing that even remotely comes close.
Each composition by this man...each bit is a world by itself ...its a tribute to God as Rahman puts it ...
There are a lot of things that I am thankful to in this world - probably right on top must be this man's music and the fact that I am able to appreciate and understand this. Not everyone recognizes or realises the magic and I only pray that one day ..they do.
Other stuff
Managed to get hold of 5.1 channel CD's of Boys and SOK. I wish each and every album were available in that format.
Coming soon - indian travails ......and pics from my india trip....
