Sunday, June 8, 2008

Music Review - Thiruda Thiruda




The best album of rahman according to me. No song can be categorised under any predefined genre .The first and last music of its kind and a very underrated album.

My review ,however rave ,cannot give the DUE credit for the music. I dare to say,no review can.

Konjam nilavu...Anupama should ve been the find of the season then.Her aggresive and passion filled rendering accompanied with the erratic voice modulation in this stylish number ought to have fetched her a national award. Superbly catchy interludes especially after the Pallavi .The male chorus and the female one at the finishing stage only add to the splendour and elan.


Veerabandi kotayile is an apt exemplification of revolutionising music. Be it the drums, violin or key board interludes, each charms in its own captivating way. Rahman makes the perfect choice of voices in an energetic Mano and mellifluous Chitra who form a contrasting duo.The song slows down from an initially heavy fast folkish western music to a balled kind of orchestration which then gets back unpredictably to its high energy self. This element of surprise at several points along the song and the manner in which the music easily transits at these bear testimony to the brilliance of its creator. The bass violin orchestration in the middle of the song and the flute bit which follows reinforce the same.



Putham pudu boomi...It starts off like a slow melody with a pleasant solo piano note .Then the unexpected happens when chorus orchestration begins at full swing and when the piano joins hands, the song gets out of the world . No words to describe how efforlessly the singers,especially Mano reached such high pitches . The violin interlude after the anupallavi produces goosebumps. If there could be an adjective to describe this track, it would be ETHEREAL.


Rasathi...My feeling of awe for the album rose to its peak after listening to this unbelievable number. A record making piece through which Rahman proved to his nit picking critics( who constantly complained of his excess dependency on technology), that he is still a genius without instruments. I can bet on my claim that the song would nt hav sounded this great with instrumentation. It has the male singer (late Shahul Hameed) singing in a melancholic tone and chorus part providing the bass effect full time and an occasional humming by the female chorus interlude which enhance the gloomy mood of the song .The uniqueness in Shahuls voice does magic...Unimaginable number..

Thee Thee...Fast beats with the accompaniment of bass guitar and powerful rendering of jathis marks the first 50 secs of this sensual number.Immediately the song turns into a soothing melody with minimal instrumentation . This sequence continues throughout the song and like Veerabandi Kotayile , its flow is seldom obstructed.Though the singers voice is fresh, she sounds so wispy that lyrics become imperceptible.

kannum kannum...High energy number with superb guitar interludes and heavy beats . The guitar inerlude after the pallavi is brilliant..So is the female chorus humming after the anu pallavi...Rocking track.
This is the level best I could describe in words, about the album.However, this will not constitute even half of the mesmerised experience I undergo every time I listen to the tracks. Such is the incredible and undescribable nature of the sounds.

Rahman might have given bigger chartbusters prior to and post Thiruda Thiruda.. But this album outshines all of them with its unprecedented instrumentation and to be more general,top notch music ...A very stingy 9.5/10...


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rasathi, member of my top 10 ARR of all time... Good review. TT is a strong contender for best ARR-Mani combo.

matthew88 said...

Rahman may have discoverd himself in Roja, but he actually defined himself in Thiruda Thiruda.

All the songs were a break through in the Indian Music world.

For the 1st time, we had Opera seen in our filmi music. That was Putham pudhu bhoomi.

For the 1st time, we had such heavily programmed beats in Chanralekha.

For the 1st time, we had a genuine rock feel in Kannum Kannum.

For the 1st time, we had such a strange mix of emotions in Thee Thee.

For the 1st time, we had a song without any instruments & just chorus in Rasathi.

Unknown said...

i would like to add a comment about the song Kannum Kannum...
This song is being composed in the Raga Shivaranjini, which is mostly used in expressing Sad feelings.
But listening to Kannum Kannum we don't even feel eve a tinge of the sadness in the raga...
i would really appreciate ARR in doing this great work....
He is a Genius...no doubt

Arun.N said...

@hani
Just now realised it when I was going tohrough the songs of the same raagam. I am speechless .All the rest of the songs had a sad tone and were slow songs..None other than Rahman can do such experimentation...

Arun.N said...

@pradeepan
You r absolutely rite.. Thiruda Thiruda brought in different genres for the first time in Tamil music

Vipin said...

gud job.. but u forgot to mention unni menon in veerapandi kottaiyile among the singers.
@arun
i agree abt that brilliance of rahman with sivaranjani.. but there is one more song in malayalam of the same kind. its a song called minnaminni from the movie butterflies. made by a renowned music director in malayalam, raveendran. again sivaranjani has been used 4 a different mood.
@pradeepan
i agree with most of ur points, but the genre of rasathi, namely the technique of acappella, has been used even before by ilayaraja i guess. u can find some of them in esnips. dont have the links though. of course i m not taking anything away from arr. it was a brilliant work all the same. :)

hari said...

include the singers' names also.. nice post.
yea the diversity of rahman's compositions is awesomely presented in this movie

Satish said...

Totally Agree with u..........This is Rahman's best effort

Unknown said...

Thiruda Thiruda is a masterpiece from ARR.
Unimaginable creativity in use of instruments, voices and the flow of music.
Listening experience is hair rising and gives goosbumgoo every time I listen to it.