Hi WB, Thanks for putting a perfect analysis in simplest way. I agree with most of your opinions expressed herein. Balanced, and very well put. You should write more! Perhaps, AR should do more techno-trance albums! ;-)
- On Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 8:53 PM, wiredbeats <[email protected]> wrote: > > > 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 > <http://www.wiredbeats.com/> > > > > >
