| Song: The Long Road Album: Dead Man Walking (Soundtrack) Type: Alternative Rock Artist: Eddie Vedder Rating: 4.9 This version of The Long Road is an interpretation of the original song from the album “Merkin Ball”. Eddie Vedder wrote this song when a school teacher of his passed away. Both versions are amazing. This one is different in that – a) it’s slower and quieter and it brings out Vedder’s vocals better, b) it has harmonium and tabla – very cool, c) the best part – it has the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan doing aalaps (I think I also hear Rahat in it. Does anyone else?). Check out this live version Vedder performed with NFAK’s nephew, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Here is the original version. The song has also featured in “Eat Pray Love” iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Deewana Mujhsa Nahi Album: Teesri Manzil Type: Bollywood Singer: Mohd Rafi Music Director: R.D. Burman Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri Rating: 5.0 Not the biggest blockbuster in Teesri Manzil but still awesome. A feel good number with Mohd Rafi singing with full-on Shammi Kapoor “ada”. Trivia from a recent book on R.D. Burman – Nasir Huussain selected Pancham for the movie but when Dev Anand, the original lead role cast, backed out due to other commitments, Shammi Kappor came in. Shammi Kapoor was not comfortable with a rookie and interviewed him before giving Pancham the OK! iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Tum Jo Aaye Album: Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Type: Bollywood Singer: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Tulsi Kumar Music Director: Pritam Lyricist: Irshad Kamil Rating: 4.7 The mandatory sufi/qawwali-influenced song every film has to have these days. While the genre is predictable, the song is pretty good. Rahat shines as usual, the chorus is catchy and there is a very nice sargam. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Mere Naseeb Mein Aye Dost Album: Do Raaste Type: Bollywood Singer: Kishore Kumar Music Director: Laxmikant-Pyarelal Lyricist: Anand Bakshi Rating: 5.0 A mellow, poignant song that is one of the few hits LP had with Kishore Kumar in the 60s. 1969 year was a landmark year for Bollywood – Rajesh Khanna started his reign as a superstar and Kishore Kumar’s singing captured the national imagination. While Aradhana is THE movie that started it all, LP’s switch from Rafi to Kishore for this song (the only Kishore song in the movie also happened to be the most popular one) confirmed Kishore Kumar’s spot as Rajesh Khanna’s voice. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Rishtey Album: Life in a Metro Type: Bollywood Singer: James Music Director: Pritam Lyricist: Sayeed Quadri Rating: 4.4 A nice rock ballad. Bangladeshi singer James sings his heart out. The “na na…” vocalization is totally hum-worthy and addictive. There is a small female vocalization that’s nicely done and sounds a little (very liitle) like the one in Pink Floyd’s The Great Gig In The Sky. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada Flipkart |
| Song: Aaj Unse Pehli Mulaqat Album: Paraaya Dhan Type: Bollywood Singer: Kishore Kumar Music Director: R.D. Burman Lyricist: Anand Bakshi Rating: 5.0 A lovely song. The hero-driving-a-car-on-his-way-to-meet-his-sweetheart species of songs, except in this case the hero is riding a horse! I think R.D. Burman/Kishore Kumar held the monopoly for this species of songs during the 70s! But I digress. The song is melodious and Kishore da owns it. Some cool harmonica in it. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: Falling Slowly Album: Once Type: Alternative Rock Artist: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova Rating: 4.3 I am always on the lookout for movies where music plays an important role. Not as in the average Indian movie, but as in movies that have key characters who are musicians, music buffs or have an otherwise strong connection with music. I discovered this gem of a movie called “Once” a couple of years ago, when I was on a “music movie” exploration spree. While “Falling Slowly” is really good, I like it even more because of the movie – a story of semi-platonic love between two struggling musicians. How good is the movie? Steven Spielberg liked it enough to say “A little movie called Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year”. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova not only sing the song, they also play the lead roles in the movie. Glen Hansard also acts in another “music movie” I really like – The Commitments. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: Mathi Maunam Veene Album: Prem Poojari Type: Mollywood Singer: Chitra Music Director: Uttam Singh Lyricist: O.N.V. Kurup Rating: 4.7 A nice enough melody. The jhankar beats styled percussions are overdone but I just love Chitra’s voice in this. Her jugalbandi with the instruments – first in the intro with the veena and then in the middle with the flute (or clarinet? hard to tell) – is simply brilliant! |
| Song: Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu Album: Waqt Type: Bollywood Singer: Asha Bhosle Music Director: Ravi Lyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi Rating: 5.0 A nice jazz-fluenced track with amazing instrumentation – acoustic guitar, accordion and saxophone. This was also one of the two milestone songs in 1964 (the other one being Jaiye Aap Kahan Jayenge) that made people sit up and acknowledge the huge talent that was Asha Bhosle. Her 20-second “la la..” vocalization in the song is the essence of the Asha’s vitality. This song is also a sad reminder of how under-appreciated the composer Ravi was and remains. iTunes US iTunes UK iTunes Canada |
| Song: I Hate Luv Storys Album: I Hate Luv Storys Type: Bollywood Singer: Vishal Dadlani Music Director: Vishal-Shekhar Lyricist: Vishal Dadlani Rating: 3.5 The song sounds like a filmi version of what could have been a Pentagram number. Not surprising since Vishal Dadlani composes (at least partly), writes and sings the song. I like the “I know you like me” hook but the rest of the song is average. iTunes US iTunes UK Flipkart |