Balki's next project - Shamitabh

Lyrics are pretty 'trendy', even entertaining in places.  With good promotion and eye catching visuals, both Sannata and Thappad have a moderate chance at commercial success.  Even if Thappad doesn't really appeal to me, it's more because of the genre.  Raja has gone all out this time, the somewhat jaded feeling of songs like Chellam Konjum is gone here.  The songs sound all round fresh even if they don't uniformly allow scope for vintage Raja moments.

crimson king wrote:Orchestration on both Ishq E Fillum as well as Piddly is great.  Ishq E Fillum is a great melody as well.  Give it time. Not counting Sannata though it's a really cool reworking of an old track.

Ishq E Phillum's tune was a part of the BGM in Paa. That way, it is also a brilliant subversion!  And yeah, Sannata lyrics is win all the way. Key stuff from Kurkure

Just when I thought it will be written off, I am surprised by reviews: http://itwofs.com/milliblog/2015/01/16/shamitabh-music-review-hindi-ilayaraja/

From reactions from some of my good friends, album is liked a lot. Looks like it might become a mass hit  

I don't know who advised EROS / Balki to place MONO files on youtube.

Very bad advertisement for the songs, IMHO, at this time and age.

Sounds like 70's radio sound which may not click with today's music listeners.

If the idea is to make people buy the good quality ones (from iTunes / amazon or CD format)), they should have at least WARNED in youtube that these are low-q & only for sampling purpose and not listening experience...Now, if lot of youtube-freaks write bad comments about the sound, it is going to affect the overall popularity.

I'm more concerned about a lot of bollywood fans branding IR as "poor-quality-sounds" person based on such stupid "official" samples...

app_engine wrote:I don't know who advised EROS / Balki to place MONO files on youtube.

Very bad advertisement for the songs, IMHO, at this time and age.

Sounds like 70's radio sound which may not click with today's music listeners.

If the idea is to make people buy the good quality ones (from iTunes / amazon or CD format)), they should have at least WARNED in youtube that these are low-q & only for sampling purpose and not listening experience...Now, if lot of youtube-freaks write bad comments about the sound, it is going to affect the overall popularity.

I'm more concerned about a lot of bollywood fans branding IR as "poor-quality-sounds" person based on such stupid "official" samples...

Thanks for pointing out.. I downloaded from iTunes and quality is much better.. Now I know why I felt arrangements lack clarity (bcos I was listening on youtube ).

whackiest catchiest nethi pottu adi from raasaa..

Drunkenmunk wrote:

crimson king wrote:Orchestration on both Ishq E Fillum as well as Piddly is great.  Ishq E Fillum is a great melody as well.  Give it time. Not counting Sannata though it's a really cool reworking of an old track.

Ishq E Phillum's tune was a part of the BGM in Paa. That way, it is also a brilliant subversion!  And yeah, Sannata lyrics is win all the way. Key stuff from Kurkure

Yes, it is.  Nice that IR actually did what Balki 'suggested' (it may have been an orchestrated PR stunt) in the concert....that some of his BGM tracks are melodies by themselves and deserve to be spun into songs.

kamalaakarsh wrote:Just when I thought it will be written off, I am surprised by reviews: http://itwofs.com/milliblog/2015/01/16/shamitabh-music-review-hindi-ilayaraja/

 lol kazhdhaikenna theriyum karpoora poo poo vaasam.     All the time we cried hoarse about the splendid orchestral albums, they called it dated.  The moment it is dressed up in contemporary synths, they love it.  But I am happy...could have been a different album but this will do.  After all, it still has Piddly and Ishq so it's not a totally uncharacteristic IR effort.

I will come to the conclusion little later, but my top three choices are #1 Piddly, #2 Sha Sha Mi Mi Mi, #3 Ishq E Fillum. I have not found a way out of Piddly right now. 

Piddly is a song to beat! Song of the soundtrack and most probably song of the year. Fascinating melody, gorgeous orchestration and Amitabh's golden voice sucks me in.The biggest plus point of Piddly is Amitabh Bachchan. I am not sure how this song would have sounded if sung by any other singer. Never imagined Amitabh could sing almost like a professional singer in this fluent fashion without problems in pitch (even though I read they were corrected technically). What a voice he has got even at 72! Very majestic. The best ever baritone voice I heard since K J Yesudas. The pronunciation, you can’t question. Every word is so clear and crisp in our ears. One and only Amitabh. The whole song right from the take over to memorable ride till the runway to finish, the song is so endearing and perfect. 

Right from the day this single was released I never skipped listening to it daily. Just that I wanted to wait till other songs come out. The melody is top class. The way it dips in anupallavi to ‘pyaar ke saaye mein sub piddly hain yaar’, I get drowned in that line. What a soothing melody! Absolutely fascinating!! CharaNam gets sweeter and sweeter as it gets past every line. The top of the line, bass groove really supports charaNam very well.

The arrangements gives a trance mood. What a prelude! The combination of strings and piano is heart melting. Just before the percussion (synth) takes over (in prelude), there is that unique eerie sound (of trumpet?) which I could not get past over it. The first interlude is again so heart-warming with piano, violins and cellos. I really really love the second interlude (which was not available in the single which got released earlier). The second interlude is a big turning point for my decision. This interlude was not there in the first YT video which Amitabh shared. When I came know that there is another interlude, my joy was uncontrolled. Best interlude in the whole soundtrack and one of the best of Maestro. The way it carried me beyond this world is beyond any words. When the melody in the second interlude was smoothly flowing with piano and cellos, a sudden violin play in staccato mode almost broke me down. Then again the smooth take over by strings brings me back my consciousness. Melting and mellowing interlude! I bow down.

Epic composition! I will carry this song with me till my last breath!

Very interesting album on the first listen. Not something that I expected as I was looking for something on the lines of Cheenikum or Paa but heck this movie could be themed completely different, who knows. Instant connect was for these songs - Sha Sha Mi Mi, Ishq Fillum apart from Piddly. Sannata is on the lines of Swalpa soundu another freakish synth dominated song and I'm enjoying it so far. Thappad & Lifebuoy - could not make what it is, needs more listens. The rockist 2nd interlude in Thappad was unbelievable.

Listened only once through YT so far. Need to download from Google Play and give it a proper listen.

Yeah, interlude of Thappad is superb.  It's just so breathless that it takes time to sink in.  The melody per se is not so far removed from Raja territory.  It's the aggressive vocal delivery as well as the unabashedly contemporary arrangements that obscures it.  

Long time fans will miss the symmetrical organisation and rich musicality of a trademark Raja effort in some of the tracks and orchestra is only intermittently heard. But, oddly enough, this is the kind of soundtrack that might possibly take him mainstream in a big way again. The vocals through the entire album are not melodious (except super smooth Caralisa Monteiro who might make Ramya redundant if she starts singing in South languages) but still very strong for their genre.  Almost uniformly we have complained about the vocals in his past several albums but I don't know that many are going to, this time.  

One could either say he has finally given up the ideological fight for live orchestra and classicism or that he has simply found a way to adapt yet again, depending on the glass being half empty or hall full.

Recording quality does seem to be better on gaana.com (compared to the YT uploads).  Don't know how it compares to Itunes.

crimson king wrote:Recording quality does seem to be better on gaana.com (compared to the YT uploads).  Don't know how it compares to Itunes.

Google Play has the best quality I hear.

jaiganesh wrote:whackiest catchiest nethi pottu adi from raasaa..

Whackiest .. craziest stuff .. how old is this guy ? :-) the thappad pallavi is awesome !!! .. piddly has some melodic/orchestral hangover from mEgha. crimsonking is right in seeing some billy jean in the sha sha mi mi song. sannata ..what a make over. very good work by Suraj in ishq ..I am still sad Balki did not spend on the orchestration/production. I am predicting this will be a good popular hit/album.
I cannot believe IR took active interest in doing this (kind of) album.. oh well.. looks like Balki might even convince him to wear skinny jeans and undersized T-shirts :-)

crimson king wrote:Just listening to Ishq and there is an immediate connect just the way I had with Muthal Murai.  

 In fact, as my mum just spotted, there are distinct resemblances between both songs.  As he has done so many times, once he strikes gold with one song, he likes to spin off a few more siblings from the same base.  No wonder I felt an instant sense of familiarity...in a nice way.

Shamitabh album from gaana.com link provided by Krish244. Thank you Krish.

Stereophonic Sannata - Was aghast initially when Raja himself mauled his own baby. But this ultra modern rework has sure grown on me after few times.
Well. I can admit the same feeling i had , about Raja's audacity in the entire Shamitabh album.
My top 3 in that order goes like 1, sha sha sha - Love the way every stanza ends with that sweet, surprising melodic drawl. Also the second interlude is so rich that one wished if it were with real ensemble of instruments.
2. Thappad - Incredible energy in the interludes that defy Raja's age , is all I can say.
3, piddly - By now it seems all over in TV channels and had the time to grow. Smooth and suave which is easy on the ears.
Particularly do note that delightful guitar bit that follows the first two lines in the stanzas.
For me, Shamitabh > Paa > Cheenikum

mythila wrote:
For me, Shamitabh > Paa > Cheenikum

God Bless you. My order exactly

crimson king wrote:One could either say he has finally given up the ideological fight for live orchestra and classicism or that he has simply found a way to adapt yet again, depending on the glass being half empty or hall full.

doubt it. We have seen him doing this before like offbeat movies like "inimaea naangathan"(cartoon)..song: oru muraikeatalum , valmiki , naadi thudikudati.
may be balki convinced him. nevertheless our man switches variates frequently lets see rudramadevi, tharai thapattai. Not sure what happened to happi..

Drunkenmunk wrote:

crimson king wrote:Recording quality does seem to be better on gaana.com (compared to the YT uploads).  Don't know how it compares to Itunes.

Google Play has the best quality I hear.

Any idea if audio cd is available ?

irfan123 wrote:

crimson king wrote:One could either say he has finally given up the ideological fight for live orchestra and classicism or that he has simply found a way to adapt yet again, depending on the glass being half empty or hall full.

doubt it. We have seen him doing this before like offbeat movies like "inimaea naangathan"(cartoon)..song: oru muraikeatalum , valmiki , naadi thudikudati.
may be balki convinced him. nevertheless our man switches variates frequently lets see rudramadevi, tharai thapattai. Not sure what happened to happi..

Yes, but rarely with so much zest and conviction as he has this time.  Even the selection of singers is spot on all the way through the album.  How often have we said that in the last few years?  I am jumping the gun on this but I think in any case more such expensive projects like NEP/Megha may be hard to come by for him after their failure and making the synth stuff work for him has become a necessity.

i want to create a karaoke version of sannata how do i do it? any tools? pls recommend.
daughter wants to sing this for the talent show..

sha sha sha mi mi mi - It was too difficult for me to choose my top favorite between Piddly and this song. The way song starts on a theatrical note and suddenly changing its way back to new-age is breath-taking. I love the beats. The 'sha sha sha mi mi mi' start is so seducing. The female chorus echoing the ‘you’re the star’ phrase and the sing the ending words gives the celestial feel. The pronunciation of "you're a star" could be better as I keep hearing "vaaristar" every time  Anu-pallavi tune is too sugary. 

Not much going in first interlude, except the techno-funk sounds came out really well. Second interlude has another big moment with violins, cellos, trumpets, yet again making its stride in a classical way only to claw its way back with contemporary ‘sha’, ‘mi’, ‘ta’, ba’ aided with techno sounds. The ambient sounds and bass groove is electrifying. A thorough listening experience!!

Caralisa’s voice and her singing is so ethereal. The way Caralisa hums her way soaring "gently" high, with the piano compensating at middle octaves and completing the anu-pallavi stylishly is the stunning highlight of the song. The same happens at the end of charaNams too. I keep repeating this section again and again. How on earth did he find her?  

The echo effects employed in the whole song worked out so well that it consistently gave me the ethereal feel.

While Piddly almost gave me the NEPV hangover especially the prelude and 2nd interlude with Amitabh’s golden and baritone voice with a great tune did the rest of the magic for me, this song captured me mainly because of the huge surprise Maestro created in this techno funk genre. Definitely I didn't expect such a composition from Maestro. Completely bowled! Having listened to many such tedious attempts, this comes to me as a breath of fresh air mainly because of his signature in every note and could not even think it as a western song having Maestro completely conceived in his own inimitable style. A perfect example on how to compose such type of new-age compositions without completely falling prey to them but only absorb their grammar. And the presentation, so grand and sophistic!! The result: Luxury to ears and soul. So gorgeous that I will keep listening to it for a long time to come.

irfan123, audio CD I believe is being released with the felicitation function. Should be there in the stores in a few days. Nothing like listening to uncompressed formats from audio CD.

Jai,

You can try Audacity. But the problem is, unless the vocals are mono and every other instrument is stereophonic (as designed in the soundscape of the song itself by the composer and this is rarely the case), it's not possible to remove 100% vocals and retain 100% of the instruments. I tried the process in Audacity. Shruthi's voice is retained to about 20% and tabla, drums ellAm kANAma pOchu, only synth is retained with the chorus. Higher end softwares can be used, but I think those are beyond the scope of me

I'm not good in writing this kinda stuff, but I found this Album "Liberating" after been stuck with Swappnam for days together... I was not surprised with the freakiness this album sounds as such freaky stuff could be heard a lot in his earlier years.

I always thought Raja jailed his freaky self sometime in the mid 80s while he started his "aanmeega thedal" even then there used to be an occasional glimpse of that in Telegu or Kannada songs. Still, I was waiting for an entire album where he gets the motivation to relax and play with his lesser known self, and he's done just that with Shamitabh.

I adored Piddly when it was released, and was sure that it might be the weakest song of the Album, I was proved right :-) Thappad,Sannata and Sha Sha Sha are brilliant followed by the other three. My 7 yr old Kid who was hooked on to Piddly is now refusing to listen to it and is as he is enjoying Thappad and Sannata on a loop. The More you listen to the tracks the more you can see the the fun Raja had in creating them, and that Fun is infectious. You just couldn't listen to them without grinning or giggling...that's what matters the most. I just wish Raja to be as Happy as he was in creating this.... forever.

I don't believe in the term Contemporary music not just because its subjective, but also because that's the way Raja tuned us, his work has always been ahread of time and it takes quite a while to get a glimpse of genius. This album is no exception. Its ahead of time and will be considered as a landmark in future. I only wish that this will follow the pattern of other landmarks in his journey and we get more of this Funny and Happy Raja.