Sivaji - The BOSS --- music review

Here comes the music review of our BOSS
By Manoher Sreekumar ( NewYork, USA) with inputs from Arun Gopinath ( India )

It is 12:15 AM (EST, USA), April 3rd. A severe headache, didn’t sleep the previous night and have nothing in mind but just to hit the bed. 12:25 AM (EST), my Editor gives a call, checks on the status of the music review of Sivaji and hurriedly hangs the phone. Well, I switched on my music system and for the next four hours found myself doing nothing but listening to ‘The Boss’.

If you are just about to catch a flight or on your way to your office, I just have one line for you. “Sivaji audio is a magic, which needs to be experienced, cherished, remembered and revered for decades to come”, period.

Athiradee A.R.Rahman, Sayanora | Lyrics : Vali

I started with Athirade – had special instructions to start with this song, and took six replays before I could switch over to the next song. Rahman for Rajini – the two thalaivars of millions, will have millions more swinging, millions asking for once-mores and millions dumb stuck, when the song hits the silver screen. Rahman is unstoppable – thank the Lord, for making him pick this one for himself – “Billa, Ranga, Badshah thaan…evan pistol paesum bayshah thaan”. The female voice of Sayanora and the chorus are just great. Special mention for lyrics – its fun, frolic and frisk. Can someone tell me, is lyricist Vaali a 21 years old bloke out of New College?!

Balleilakka

S.P.Balasubramaniam, Raihanah, Benny & Chorus | Lyrics : Na.Muthukumar

Are you a big fan of his breath taking walks, his mesmerizing styles, his charming smile and his numerous trademark gimmicks, then rest assured you are just about to be taken on a memorable ride by the Superstar in this song. Hear this number and you cannot stop letting your imagination run wild, picturizing one of the biggest idols of all times just creating destruction on the 70mm screen. The intensity of SPB is too good to be written, he has sung as if he is making his debut with this album. Raihanah is refreshingly folky. Lyrics by Na.Muthukumar are just straight from heart! “Annan vantha TamilNadum America” – thaliva nee vararuthukku thaan nanga thavam kadakarom.

The Boss

Blazee, Naresh Iyer and Raqueeb Alam | Lyrics : Na.Muthukumar

Seven punch lines, three rappers and a three minute stunner. It would be a crime to review this piece more without the visuals. Written as a theme music for Superstar, the percussions used are definitely new to Tamil Film Music. Watch out for the last 30 seconds high finale! “Sachin adicha sixer thaan da, Sivaji adicha puncher thaan da”….lyricist Na.Muthukumar will hit big time if Rajinikanth’s fans lap up this song.

Vaaji Vaaji

Hariharan, Madhusree and chorus | Lyrics : Vairamuthu

A.R.Rahman might not be as innocent as he looks. He is a big timer teaser, starting the song with some mystic sounds resembling Buddhist musical notes. When you are all set expecting some slow paced melody, he changes the tempo with the chorus chanting “Aambal Aambal”….. “Muval Muval”. Well, if you are wondering what these words are, they are the two most researched words in Tamil now, after Vairamuthu used them in this song. The song sung by Hariharan and Madhusree is a classic example of a genius at work. Though it looks simple from outside, it has little bit of everything – Qawwali, Punjabi, Mediterranean and of course Tamil. (Maybe that is what the maestro himself is all about!)

Sahara

Vijay Yesudas, Gomathi Sree & chorus | Lyrics : Vairamuthu & Traditional lyrics of Thiruppaavai

Vijay Yesudas, Gomathi Sree & chorus | Lyrics : Vairamuthu & Traditional lyrics of Thiruppaavai A haunting irish pipe seamlessly transitions itself into a flute, with the mellifluous Vijay Yesudas bolstering it further to give the song a great start. Vijay has given his best to make the most of the big opportunity. His efforts have paid off. But the surprise element is Gomathi Sree, her voice resonate and reverberate as she recites the Thirupaavai, with a subtle guitar in the background. Yet another master stroke from the Mozart.

Sahana

Udit Narayan, Chinmayi | Lyrics : Vairamuthu.

If it was Munbe Vaa in 2006, then it is Sahana in 2007. Rahman just loves doing the soft melodies. But the best part about Rahman is that he is able to consistently break the bench marks he sets himself and keep pushing his music further to the next level with constant improvisation and re-inventions. He does it again this time with Sahana. Udit Narayan and Chinmayi are picture- perfect for the song, though Udit might need some more intensive Tamil classes to catch up. Rahman’s interlude is just the icing on the cake. Watch for the way Chinmayi signs off at end, talent written all over! Vairamuthu comes up with a masterpiece. It is said that Rajinikanth wished the poet personally for his work on this song.

Style

Rags, Tanvi, Suresh Peters, Blaaze | Lyrics : Pa.Vijay.

Have you heard of anything like this before in Tamil music….no. Has Rajini done anything as flauntingly flashy as this before…..no. But still the guts and imagination of Shankar and Rahman make them experiment here and in the process brings Hip Hop to Tamil audience. The song has been getting good reviews so far from various quarters, though it is expected to take off once it has Sivaji Rao Gaekwad shaking his leg. “Black or white, it really doesn’t matter!!”….hmm what does that mean….is there some hidden fact there. Pa.Vijay comes up with some very catchy lines to make it interesting.

The album

Looking back at the album, Shankar has succeeded in extracting the best out of Rahman, now the big question….will he succeed in extracting the best out of Rajini? Finally, for few frowners who are still not satisfied with the music, I have just this to say… “Rest in peace, you will be conquered!” And for the rest of the people who are still reading, Go get the CD, cause its Rahman who is rocking!! Go get the CD, cause there will be nothing left over!!