MANDOLA
— VISHAL BHARDWAJ SONY MUSIC; 175 Bollywood: The inimitable pair of V+G is back. And the wait has been worth it. When was the last time you held a Hindi film CD that had ELEVEN tracks (9 unique+2 reprises). What really stands out in the album is its fairly experimentative sound, not so much on account of its compositions, but more so through its arrangement. Take for instance the track called Shara Rara Ra…. the arrangement appears to be hugely inspired by the sound of the Dilli Shadi Bands, with copious use of brass. I would unhesitatingly say that its an experiment gone right. Most numbers on the album are bright
and energetic, and the somewhat rustic lyrics (in many) along with very “hatke” arrangement turns the entire CD into an arguably curious collection. Vishal is among the very few composers (if not the only one), who credits the services of a “Music Producer”. In this context, the term is very different from what it implies in the West. Here the Music Producer is not only the arranger but also actively participates in the entire engineering process as well (recording, programming, mastering, etc) and takes all the related calls. To that extent, Clinton Cerejo and Simaab Sen have both done a commendable job. Gulzar of course is back with his brand of “nonsensical” lyrics, (Oye Charlie), a genre that he has almost patented. (I would be shocked if someone told me that he did NOT have a role to play in choosing the title of the film). And there is some NON-nonsensical poetry as well, Khamakha being a good example. Rekha adds so much to Oye C h a r l i e, as does Vishal himself in K h a m a k h a. But putting Sukhwinder alongwith Ranjt Barot in the title track, is a bit of a masterstroke. Very well chosen indeed. It’s a truly delightful opener for an album that is a “recommended buy” for all Bollywood music keepers.
No comments:
Post a Comment