That is the only question that crossed my mind after listening to ADA- A Way of Life's album. I used to feel angry whenever I meet an Indian who asks 'A.R. Rahman who?'.
But now I'm all over that, my conclusion is simple- I'm gifted because I'm a Rahmaniac and I am able to listen to his music. I have no need to convince anyone anymore that Rahman is a good composer (the best in my opinion), it's their bad if they couldn't listen to his music because they are blurred by their stereotype towards Indian Music and Indian Cinema in general. He has won his Golden Globe, and that means the who and whos of the music world know the mettle of this inarguable legend who revolutionized Indian cinema music.
To be honest, I do not know how to feel about ADA- A Way of Life. ADA is a very good album all round album by AR Rahman. The album has a nostalgic feel about it, given the fact that it was composed back in 2001, so it pretty much feels like 2001. But my issue is I have not listened a quality album by AR Rahman in Tamil for a long time (not that Sakarakatti is not a good album, but its not top-notch Rahman stuff, or let me put it this way, the script did not give Rahman the full expressive musical scope). So when I listened to ADA, the general consensus that beams through my mind is that this AR Rahman album should have been in Tamil instead., quite simply because the film's music reminds me of typical Rahman stuff at the turn of the new millenium, which he mostly did in Tamil (Alaipayuthey, Parthale Paravasam, etc.)
So, to the details:
Ishq Ada (Male version) reminds me very much of Jodha Akbar's 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja' for some reason. It is a masterstroke by Rahman in terms of musical programming and doing fusion between two genres, as clearly the style of singing borrows heavily from 'sufi' music, while the instruments used is basically a guitar. So basically what you get is a very refreshing song about love that slowly intoxicates into you with its repetitive singing yet by the constant use of the guitar. Rashid Ali, who this year sung two brilliant songs in 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na' under ARR, sings this song with panache as well.
Song rating: 4.5/5
Hawa Sun Hawa is the kind of song that you just have to stick with through listening back-to-back and it will probably make you fall into a deep, imaginative, unassuming, peaceful sleep (the most heavenly sleep on the earth when the music you are listening to is by ARR, trust me). I won't comment anymore on how good Sonu Nigam's or Alka Yagnik's voices are, because we all know they are excellent singers and ARR knows how to extract them to their to full potential. Slumber. Keep this in your 'lullaby' playlist. :)
Song rating: 4.5/5
Gum Sum certainly is your typical Bollywood light-dance love number. Once again, Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik come together for this song, and ARR didn't have much to do to make this song work. It doesn't stand out much but nevertheless makes you tap your feet. ARR only needed to give the song a very good basic tapping tune, and the interludes in the middle are also a stroke of a genius, coupled with Sonu and Alka's singing this song really stands out from among the crowd of typical Bollywood-ish numbers.
Song rating: 4/5
Gulfisha makes me feel like I've heard this song somewhere before. The basic tap and tune of this song is something very familiar to me, but I just can't figure out from which song it comes from. That apart, once again there is Sonu Nigam and Alka crooning and I won't write anymore about them being good singers. But that said, this song just makes me feel it is a little pedestrian. It would make up from a good hearing on a normal day, but when its ARR, you just want to expect so much more, because he does give you so much more often. This belongs to the seldom category.
Song rating: 3.5/5
Meherbaan makes me go away from this body of mine, enter a different world totally. This is what AR Rahman is all about. You can't resist closing your eyes and you feel like everything goes in slow motion in front of you, every move or action you make while you are listening to this piece, guaranteed, will be slow, caring, and will be done with an unconscious smile. AR Rahman is just that one phenomenal singer as much as he is a composer. He does full justice to this brilliant song and keeps his voice pitch neither too high nor too low, and this song delivers so much spirit, power, love and also, above all, pain (if you have suffered a heartbreak before). But, I'll tell you this, it also breaks my heart that the song is only like 4 minutes long. Couldn't it be longer please?
Song rating: This song is so priceless that it shouldn't get a rating. So I'll give it a 8/5...this is more than perfection.
Hai Dard is basically another pedestrian, situational song. Udit Narayanan croons adequately, but there isn't too much in this. Average league.
Song rating: 2.5/5
Ishq Ada Hai (Female version) is similar to the male version in term of basic tunes, but is slightly different due to polarized singing styles, this time by Parul Mishra, whose voice is fresh, and has a mix of carnatic touch to her voice, and she is able to hum in interludes, and added feature compared to the male version. How about a mix between carnatic voice and sufi rhythm? That is what this song is). Masterful.
Song rating: 5/5
Milo Wahan Wahan is another heavy melody to carry along but only little snag being the male singer Jayachandran, not that he doesn't sing good, he is an excellent singer, but something about him in this song looks a little out-of-the-place. With Alka's brilliant singing and ARR's music being nothing short of its best, what you have is a song that is just- heavy, there, I said it again. It is just that, heavy at your heart. True Rahmania spirit.
Song rating: 5/5
Meherbaan (Instrumental) is a continued version of the mind-blowing Meherbaan number. All of ARR's albums usually have one instrumental for the most melodious song of the album, and this is no different. Extraordinary.
Song rating: 6/5...this too, is more than perfection.
Tu Mera Hai is another delightful romantic number, and here we have Chitra and Naresh Iyer among the voices. Chitra is phenomenal and like wine, it seems, her voice gets even more sweeter despite the growing age. Sukhwinder Singh's brief crooning is also more than worth it. Again, typical top-notch Rahmania stuff.
Rating: 5/5
Overall album rating: 9/10
Verdict: Just get the album and listen to it. Its AR Rahman at his (near, almost) best. :)
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