Hello all, I have not written a review of any album so far in this group in the last 8 odd years of being around. I think its been that long...what with so many good reviewers around such as Chord etc, we are well balanced.
I just thought this time i would attempt to sort of share some notes on enthiran. Enthiran did not require any brilliance in actual composition, the whole sound track needed lot of energy and some out of the world programming and mixing expertise. The concept of the sound track of enthiran suits all gizmos and toys that today almost all good composers have or can gain access to. It is the balance of what to use, how much to use to strike a trade-off between noise and music. This trade-off is seen in its absolute best in the first track of the CD. I am great fan of electronica - house, techno, beach house,down tempo and lounge music produced by lables such as Ministry of sound, Hed Kandi and few select DJ/programmers such as Armin Van Burren, Ferry Corsten, ATB, Moby to name a few. What these guys ensure is that the overall feel of the song, the production values are so damn rich that you feel that extra cash that you spend on your expensive CD system is well spent. They many not always produce melody, but the rhythm, the bass, the ambient pads, synths used are chosen and placed with such perfection that a rather simple 4x4 beat track sounds awesome. Rahman has a team that achieves and exceeds the standards set by such international artists. However, in the context of film songs such brilliance are often interrupted by the demands of the song,situation and directors brief. And i think striking a balance is very tough given so many strings pulling. If you remove the strings, Rahman's music becomes more free flowing and thats why Vande Mataram and his latest god level tracks in Nokia Connections album are talked about. Now, if you listen to puthiya manitha, the first track in enthiran disc - the samples used, the structuring of the song, the reverb and the overall usage of the stereo soundscape has come out so well that it is an absolute satisfaction. The dept of the kick (beat), the open and closed HiHats, the rising and falling synths are right there where the best of the music producers operate. I mean when i heard it for the first time and after the Khatija's lines are over i felt ..It would be great if he introduces a layer of soft kicks with prominent highs and sort of make the track flow into the mainline. And it happened and happened so well. This is strikingly brilliant. It feels rich. Same is the case with Khilimanjaro track. The taiko drums sink deep and uses all the stereo landscape such an instrument needs. Taiko drums have a very loud character to it. Once you introduce it in a song, you must be careful not to under utilise it because energy levels in the song will drop so badly that you would start to loose interest. Over usage would be very irritating. Khilimanjaro is a fairly simple track and has a of space to breath. This makes it very catchy and to top it, the production values are awesome. The problem comes in the other track - Irumbile oru idhayam. This is a very sad and average track. It seems to be put in a hurry. Very ordinary. When i heard it first i felt the track is going to take off in an another level when Kash n krisshy start their lines, those vocals sounded so classy, so global and so trance. But then the song remained the same with some loose lyrics. Not done, this is the weakest track. Infact, Trance has never been Rahman's forte. That track - Kellamal Kayile from Azhagiya Tamil Magan was very sad too. It had a template beat and fell flat in the first 60 second. Infact, i don't like Fanaa from Yuva either. Its very jarring. Going by the standard set in Puthiya manitha, irumbile oru idhyam should have sounded something like 9PM by ATB or check out Ferry corsten's latest release called Twice in a Blue moon. I am comparing for a reason....Rahman need not produce flat tracks like this. Chitti Dance showcase is playing with toys and super interesting and fun to listen to.Perhaps even better fun to watch the video. But thats it. Rest of the tracks are ok. Good, for a change Yogi B has been used instead of Blaaze. He is good, but Yogi B gives a good break from Blaaze. However, what is satisfing with Enthiran is it 'sounds good' and achives its purpose. There is no great melody, just the overall feel of the disc is very positive and one does not go through dips and rises. More than Rahman, i congratulate K.J. Singh and Deepak P.A for setting a standard of production values. We have come a long way from the trash sounding BLUE to some awesome sounding VTV, Puli and Enthiran. Skipping Raavan(an)...i don't know whats wrong what that album...i have forgotten it! And belive me guys when i say this...Enthiran NEEDS and CD. You loose the maximum when you convert in MP3. The loss is noticably maximum in this CD especially...buy, beg,borrow or steal the disc. But get it.. Don't mind me. I am frank. I still feel Rahman's best is Dil Se Re from Dil Se. He is yet to repeat that vision. regards wb Remixes I Originals I Opinions at http://www.wiredbeats.com
