| Song: Wedding Qawwali Album: Bombay Dreams Type: Theater Singer: Sukhwinder Singh Music Director: A.R. Rahman Lyricist: Sukhwinder Singh Rating: 4.1 The song is titled “Wedding Qawwali” but people probably remember it as “Mubarakan”. It is a qawwali for sure, but Sukhwinder also manages to sneak in Punjabi folk with his vocals. The best Bombay Dreams song for me and one of the numbers that got me hooked to A.R. Rahman big time. This period was probably the peak of ARR-Sukhwinder collaboration. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Krishna Kripa Sagaram Album: Sargam Type: Mollywood Singer: Yesudas, Chitra Music Director: Bombay Ravi Lyricist: Yusufali Kecheri Rating: 5.0 A HUGE song. A simple, beautiful melody and two amazing singers. Everyone has their own favorite Sargam song (and there a few to pick from) but this song to me is the only one Bombay Ravi, Yesudas and Chitra needed to win the state awards. You need to be a rock to not be moved by this song. |
| Song: The Funeral Procession Album: Salaam Bombay Type: Bollywood Artist: L. Subramaniam Rating: 3.8 Mainly instrumentals, the tracks of Bombay Dreams are hidden gems. A must hear for L. Subramaniam fusion fans. I particularly like this track – it has a nice femal alaap, intertwined with L. Sub’s haunting violin. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: Tip Tip Barsa Paani Album: Mohra Type: Bollywood Singer: Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik Music Director: Viju Shah Lyricist: Anand Bakshi Rating: 4.5 A must on any “Viju Shah Essentials” playlist. When I think of Viju Shah, I think of Sadhna Sargam but in this song, he choses Alka Yagnik to sing a track that seems tailor-made for Sadhna. And Alka Yagnik delivers. It’s difficult to tell what instruments play in the stringed riff (santoor? sitar? keyboard? all?) but it’s awesome and gives a vibrant feel to the song. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: Sahana Album: Sivaji Type: Koliwood Singer: Udit Narayan, Chinmayee Music Director: A.R. Rahman Lyricist: Vairamuthu Rating: 5.0 It’s hard for me to be objective about this song because for some reason it became our family song during an awesome trip to Hawaii. It has an addictive tune; a rousing, uplifting mood; very good singing and cool instrumentals (Aah! What a hint of a mridungam can do!). Sahara, sung by Vijay Yesudas and Gomathi Sree, shares the same tune but is slightly slower and mellower. If I had to pick one, it would be Sahana. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For Album: The Joshua Tree Type: Rock Artist: U2 Rating: 5.0 An all-time classic and one of the big 3 from The Joshua Tree (With Or Without You and Where The Streets Have No Name, being the other two). Go listen to the album if you haven’t already and if you’re still not convinced, this video may help. Start at 2:00 if you’re the impatient kind. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Ragasiyamayi Album: Dum Dum Dum Type: Koliwood Singer: Hariharan, Sadhna Sargam, Ramanathan Music Director: Karthik Raja Lyricist: Vaali Rating: 4.0 You can’t go wrong with a Hariharan/Sadhna Sargam duet (super silken vocals in this) but a sexy melody and a nice viloin solo don’t hurt. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: Jaaneman Jaaneman Album: Jaaneman Type: Bollywood Singer: Kishore Kumar Music Director: Laxmikant-Pyarelal Lyricist: Anand Bakshi Rating: 3.6 You get a feeling that LP were trying to keep up with RDB in songs like this, but never quite got it right. You can find all Pancham trademarks in this – guitar, bongo, harmonica and most importantly Kishore da. A nice song but something is missing from it. Maybe Pancham? iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: Mr. Blue Sky Album: The Essential Electric Light Orchestra Type: Rock Artist: Essential Electric Orchestra Rating: 4.1 This is a huge “pick me up” song. Very upbeat, very unconventional (vocoded vocals, arias, string section, an abrupt and long – minute plus – closing instrumental section) and very listenable. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Enna Vilai Azhagae Album: Kadhalar Dinam Type: Koliwood Singer: Unni Menon Music Director: A.R. Rahman Rating: 3.3 The songs is not bad but it does not do it for me. Not sure what it is but it feels very bland and lacks character. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |