Before I get onto
specifics, I wanna doff my
non-existent hat to
director Sanjay Gupta for
ushering in a completely
new style of film music
for an entire hindi film.
Zinda’s score sounds like
nothing else before - a
very stylish mix of lounge
n club, with loads of
trance and rock. Zinda is
a superb album, with
several excellent tracks
that will soar up the
charts and clog airplay
across radio stations. Or
I’ll buy a hat and eat it!
The best tracks, in
this order, are:
Yeh Hai Meri Kahani -
Composed and Performed by
Strings, lyrics by Anwar
Maqsood
Definitely the Hindi
rock ballad anthem of the
Year! From the first bar,
this cool melody with a
stylishly undulating beat
just beckons you and you
follow it, gaping, as the
strong guitar chords and
lead riffs syncopate
across a powerful, filled
out beat. And the lovely
lyrics reach a true high
with Strings’ excellent,
powerful vocals. A very
very stylish and powerful
song that’s gonna find
itself in all the charts,
regardless of language!
Remember how Rehman’s
“Humma Humma” set the
charts ablaze across the
world, including Germany
and Australia when it
first appeared?
Har Saans - Sung By
Krishna, Music by Nikhil
Chinappa and D J Nawed
This track’s gonna set
every club floor on fire!
It begins with a brilliant
disco-trance beat that
grabs you roughly by the
lapels, yanks you up to
your feet, and drags you
to the dance floor. A very
stylish synthetic trance
beat with a tight bass
riff that works as a lead
piece too, and then
Krishna’s excellent earthy
rasping oh-so-sufiyana
vocals grab the song by
its collar and we’re off
and away to a truly
stylish blend of trance n
disco. Krishna excels! And
this is just the kind of
truly stylish track that
would be grist to
super-slick director
Sanjay Gupta’s mill. Can’t
wait to see what he’s made
of it in Zinda. And hey,
also check out the lounge
version of the same song
on the album - it’s
equally cool!
Zinda Hoon Main -
Performed and composed by
Shibani Kashyap, arranged
by Julius Packiam.
You know what? Another
version of the same song
by the same singer on this
very album was, well, very
very average! I’m
referring to the
"delirious dance mix"
version of this song,
which made me swear to
myself that whoever
thought of that
parenthetical descriptor
was either all mixed up or
delirious. Sure, it’s got
an uptempo beat and a
trance-like fill to the
sound, but that’s where
the plus side ends. On the
most important aspect -
the vocals—this song fails
to deliver. Shibani
Kashyap’s thin, nasal wail
jars, and the interlude
melody (if you can call it
that) is limlted to
percussive riffs and
efects. Not happening. Hit
‘next’ on this one.
But wait! A little bit
later, I heard the other
version of the same song -
the lounge version
arranged by Julius Packiam,
and I thought: Oh My God!
It’s the same voice and
tune as in the first song
I reviewed and panned, but
just look at what a
different arrangement does
to the same composition! A
truly amazing lounge
number, eminently
danceable, with great
music, brilliantly
packaged! Another lounge
charts leader! Fabulous
track! Reminds me of my
favourite underground
groovers, Groove Armada
and more. Truly
kick-ass!!!
Chal Rahi Hai Saansein
- Sung by Kailash Kher,
written by Sanjay Gupta,
music by Nikhil Chinappa,
DJ Nawed; additional music
by Kinky Roland.
You really wanna enjoy
this song? Curl up with a
drink, turn the lights
low, and brace yourself
for a somber, very
existential question: Kya
Main Zinda Hoon?! And when
it’s Kailash Kher asking
it in heartrending fashion
to a track that’s actually
made up of successive
percussive SFX hits that
echo along as the song
progresses… well, you’ve
got a truly unique track
that’s really different.
Kailash Kher hits
remarkable highs with
(apologies to Keats) full
throated ease, and the
rasping fervour of his
voice keeps you in a
trance. Very different
indeed, and something only
Kailash Kher could have
accomplished.
Kabhi Muskura Ke -
Performed by Sanjay Dutt,
composed by Vishal Shekhar,
kyrics by Vishal.
A very stylish lounge
statement with loads of
attitude, sung - or
rather, recited-rasped -
really well by Sanjay Dutt,
with a tight rock
arrangement that holds you
in a trance. Is surely a
situational song, but
holds you well enough even
without the luxury of
being privy to the
visuals. This is another
song I wanna check out in
the film. Very cool!
Ye Hai Meri Kahani -
Composed and sung by
Strings
The lyrics of this
Anwar Maqsood song are
definitely blank verse,
and must surely have
situational relevance in
the film, but they’ve
become really interesting
because of the way the
popular Pakistani duo who
make up Strings have
dressed up non-rhyming
lines and wrapped them in
a nice, sparse little club
trance beat with a stylish
conga-like percussive
loop. Strings’ vocals are
a high point, and the
non-rhyming, uptempo song
grows upon you with every
passing minute. The kind
of song you’d wanna listen
more than dance to. Very
interesting.
Maula - Sung by Vinod
Rathod, Music by Kinky
Roland; Additional music
bvy NIkhil Chinappa and D
J Nawed
The emotional plea of
the lyrics of Maula ("tu
mujh se moonh na modna!")
finds brilliant vocal
rendition thru the voice
of Vinod Rathod.
Definitely a situational
song, it’s also something
you can enjoy on its own,
without reference to
context. And that’s the
hallmark of a good
composition. Simple,
catchy and hummable.
OK, I rest my case. Now
go buy the album!
Courtesy: IndiaGlitz
[Sunday, December 11,
2005] |