| Song: Ja Chudail Album: Delhi Belly Type: Bollywood Singers: Suraj Jagan Music Director: Ram Sampath Lyricist: Amitabh Bhattacharya Rating: 3.7 Suraj Jagan doesn’t sing a lot of songs but when he does, he kicks ass. His vocal range is on full display in this one. The picturization of this song is hilarious – Vir Das has some neat moves. But are there similarities with Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”? iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: White Wedding Album: Greatest Hits Type: Rock Artist: Billy Idol Rating: 4.5 A cracker of a song. Awesome guitar hook, nice bassline and Billy Idol’s singing are the high points of this song. Billy’s singing is specially cool – he starts off nice and mellow, gives a hint of menace in the middle and lets it rip at the end. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Kya Karte The Album: Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka Type: Bollywood Singers: Udit Narayan, Anuradha Paudval Music Director: Anand-Milind Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri Rating: 3.8 This was Anand-Milind and Majrooh Sultanpuri right after QSQT’s enormous success. Nice melody but this is more a “song for the masses” than QSQT. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Khushiyan Hi Khushiyan Album: Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man Bhaye Type: Bollywood Singers: Yesudas, Hemlatha, Banasree Sengupta Music Director: Ravindra Jain Lyricist: Ravindra Jain Rating: 4.3 A lovely, upbeat Yesudas song. The female voices disappoint but the beautiful composition and Yesudas’ singing hold it together. Killer intro with accordion and sax. Cool instrumentation except for the omnipresent string section of the 70s and 80s. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Nigahen Milane Ko Jee Chahta Hai Album: Dil Hi To Hai Type: Bollywood Singers: Asha Bhosle Music Director: Roshan Lyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi Rating: 4.9 A melodious qawwali, this song is near-perfect for me because of Asha’s flawless singing. The vocal solo intro without any instrument and the sargam towards the end are priceless. Nothing else in the song need matter but happens to be well done. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Jungleland Album: Born To Run Type: Rock Artist: Bruce Springsteen Rating: 4.9 If you heard about the death of Clarence Clemons death 2 weeks ago and wondered what the fuss was all about, you need to listen to this song. Clarence Clemons played the saxophone in Springsteen’s E Street Band and Jungleland has his signature 2+ minute long solo. You’ll be doing yourself a favor because Jungleland also happens to be one of Springsteen’s best songs. At 10 minutes, this song is operatic in scope and needs to be savored. Listen to it when you are not in a rush! iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Sawan Barse Tarse Album: Dahek Type: Bollywood Singers: Hariharan, Sadhna Sargam Music Director: Aadesh Shrivastav Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri Rating: 3.9 A really low key, really mellow duet. Hariharan and Sadhna Sargam’s voices go extremely well together. The primarily electronic instrumentation does not go well with the sugam feel of the song. |
| Song: Teri Deewani Album: Kailasa Type: Indie Artist: Kailasa Rating: 4.9 A gem of song. Kailash Kher sings with a lot of soul as usual. I also like this song because it serves as a reminder that Kailasa is more than the hugely talented Kailash Kher. Naresh and Paresh Kamath make their presence felt with awesome backup vocals. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Together Album: The Confluence: Santoor and Piano Type: Indie Artist: Rahul Sharma, Richard Clayderman Rating: 3.2 I didn’t like the covers in this album (Dekha Ek Khwab, Yeh Hai Bambai Meri Jaan) but Together isn’t too bad. But the song has the “elevator music” tag pitted against it. iTunes US iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Haal Kya Hai Dilon Ka Album: Anokhi Ada Type: Bollywood Singers: Kishore Kumar Music Director: Laxmikant-Pyarelal Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri Rating: 3.8 I really like the tune and Kishore’s singing but there are a couple of things that I find jarring – the pseudo qawwali musical style and the forced rustic pronunciation (gajab, saamil, etc). iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |