Where have you been?. Review on Rang De Basanti Songs

It is a treat to watch/hear an artist in his/her “zone”. In most of my earlier reviews, I had argued that ARR’s magic was lost somewhere. Now I am relieved? The magical sound that we heard in the early 90s, seems to be back & what a way to come back? Let me jump right into it!

It is hard to fathom the musical genius of ARR, let alone tag words to it. Have you ever heard a “malkauns”-flavored Arabic interlude or a quawwali signature right in the center of a bhangra? If not, make sure you don’t miss this album, it is a treat, no doubt! To appreciate the work ARR puts into a song, you have to play close attention to the start of the songs he composes. What are some of his best song starts? Please see the comments.

Khalbali ARR & Co.

This is my pick of the album. This song is so rich, & so intricately orchestrated that one cannot understand the true value unless you hear it for at least 20-30 times. I could make a guess that ARR might have spend the most time on this song. The song seems to be tuned almost exclusively based on middle-eastern folk music. should hear to the start of his song. You can see that there is a precise balance between three percussion patterns: A congo-drum like sound (listen when he sings “ziddii”), the middle-eastern folk drum-Darbuka (listen when the Arabic vocals come at the start) & an electronic bass drum. An e-bass drum with a distortion ridden, sustain-e-guitar takes it over from the Arabic vocals, with drums. Immediately, there are synth-string sounds playing with the drums in a happy-marriage of rhythm & melody. ARR's sound has a definite Arabic touch alright, but lacks the crazy flexibility to take the violent gamakams (slides) of Arabic music. At the middle of the song, I was surprised to hear Malkauns-like pattern using pitch-bend-synth sounds. But just after that point, the song retracts to the ordinary jolly-good-bollywood song.

Lukka Chuppi LM, ARR

Again, ARR takes a risk by singing this song with the legend Lataji. Her sound is a bit off, but the situation demands a weary, breaking sound of a mother. As the MD, ARR should receive the highest praise for the sheer melody of this song. Not only is this song melodious, but is vastly different from the energetic explosion of other songs like “Lose Control” or RDB-Title song. If you’d notice, the song is only supported by a simple acoustic guitar. You might remember the melodious “Vellaippookkal” (Kannathil Muthamittaal) & “Uyirum Neeye” (Pavithra) (Both these tamil songs are timeless classics & irrespective of whether you are familiar with the language or not, you SHOULD hear them, if not, DO NOT consider yourself a ARR fan!!!). There are places (e.g. crescendo) where there are orchestral strings. At the charanams, you can see the smooth use of tablas with a rustic harmonium closely following Lataji’s lead vocals. One critique I have is the rendering of swaras in the end. Unless the situation in the movie absolutely demanded it, I did not find those swaras helping the song, though I am a carnatic music addict. Overall, both at the musical level & the philosophical level, there is no equivalent to this song to others coming out at this time. Sad state, but true!!!

Rang De Daler M. & KSC

When I was watching the promos, I was wondering how ARR would handle this one. Because bhangra is so popular & common, I wondered how this one will stand out. It does. After the typical Tumbi-Dhol start, “Dhodi si…” is uniquely tuned with flat notes & an ascent, giving a great rhythmic feel. Also remember to hear the starting of the song closely. ARR introduces the dhol first, but after a few measures abruptly adds the e-drum. The song has other ingredients like a Yaman-Flavored qawwali interlude: “Ye sab tu mila mila le”. There is also a prominent synth support during the song. The charanams are also tuned very short & succinct, I guess to hit the exciting moments hard The interlude featuring Chitra I thought was a good twist to the other wise repetitive rendering by Daler. Daler, however, sounds the bubbly energetic self. I just simply love the sound of the folk percussion & the instruments.

Lose Control

A typical blast of a song targeted straight at the hearts & minds of youth. I simply loved the explosive start of the song. You can hear the looped “Whoa” sounds following the cue from “Control”. ARR creates a echoing ambience. The loop used further in the song is a soft techno melodic tom sound. Embellished with synth sounds & powerful bass, & lead-rock-guitar supported e-percussion, this song has words coming in and out at crazy timings. I liked the musical structure of the sentence “Na Koi Padnewala….”, in that it gives you the one & only rahmanic sound I have missed for a while: That’s again, a place where rhythm falls in love with melody. At that place acoustic guitar is played with an overload of electronic strings. You don’t get to hear this feat in songs often, so grab this opportunity!!!

Khoon Chala Mohit

An attempt at composing a theatrical, philosophical & melody-based song. Again, though I did not like the lead vocal tune, which seemed ordinary, the musical support is rich & complicated. The crescendo reminded me of several IR’s numbers in the 90s. The scal progression is also mind boggling. Strings usage is also amazing, but overall, an average song compared to the others.

Tum Bin MadhuS & Naresh

Another characteristic of ARR is evident in this song. Some musicians have an ear for sound, as I have said my previous reviews: shall I say sound-sense? It is the imagination to hear the combined sound of the finished product before it is mixed & finalized. It is almost like the skill of an artist or a photographer, who can instantly feel the beauty. To understand what I was getting at, closely hear the starting of the song. You will hear the soft melodic “blip” sound playing some sliced notes of the lead vocals itself. Now, this will disappear as the song starts, but listen closely at the second repetition of the whole pallavi-anupallavi (first stanza altogether), that is, when the percussion starts (after a short crescendo). The same sound is played precisely with the e-drums. The lyrics are the best I have heard in years, simple, but hauntingly romantic. ARR is not finished yet: Listen closely as Naresh starts his vocals. The choral support (& the short cello signs) blends perfectly with his sound. When I talk about “sound-sense”, this is exactly what I am referring to!!! This song is undoubtedly one of the best to come out in recent times. Madhu has sung the song very well, though I would have liked to hear it in Shreya’s voice. Naresh renders the song calmly, like a singer who has been around for years!

Overall, I would say, there are some imperfections (please see comments) in an otherwise stunning attempt by ARR to weave his long lost magic. In spite of not liking a few pieces here & there, I have instantly fallen in complete awe of this album. It is a breath of fresh air, among the pungent musical odors emanating out of the current musical scene. I would recommend each of you readers to purchase the album & to just enjoy the music, in its purest form. By pure music, I am not referring to Indian music alone: it can be Arabic, Classical-Symphonic etc. This musician is back in his zone, & I would say to the movie directors out there…..Let him be, Let him be himself!!

Please see comments section for “Best ARR-Song starts” & “Shortcomings”