*Sivaji - The Boss* -> An Audio Review

<>This originally was started on Apr 8 and then I left it to rest...and wanted ARR's tunes to set in..sink in...to give quality review...so here it is...more than a month from the day the audio was released!!!! <>

The Boss driving the Boss....dancing to the tunes of yet another Boss...might sound as a sure shot anti-therapy and as a recipe/treatise for the *Too many Bosses Spoil the broth* idiom.....but hold on....

naaah....that's not happening with Sivaji....that too when the Big Boss Shankar drives Bigger Boss Rajinikanth....both dancing to the tunes of yet another Big Boss AR Rahman....SuperStar Rajinikanth, the mass-man is pipped to succeed the umpteenth time....if the tunes are any indication....this Sivaji....is expected to be the boss in collections as well...a truly mass mania of an album I should say...very enjoyable if u r a true tamil cinema fan!!!!....

not withstanding the insider-leak of three songs, half a week before the audio release....(actually adding to the curiosity of the actual product....)...the audio sales was frantic on day 1....and I was personal witness to that....

the best part of any shankar movie audio release is the audio CD cover which has the song lyrics....and a snapshot of what each song has in store for us...and that's the current trend of biggies like Mani, Shankar, et all.....and Shankar didn't disappoint one bit with his visuals....breathtaking I should say....I was glad to see the lyrics sheet...but not so glad with the cover design...which was at best looking AVMish...rather thaan Shankar-like or atleast Superstar alike....it was plain...SUN TV serial look-alike....I mean how could one think such a plain looking cover suit a movie of such a stature....anyways..,.I could attribute only AVM for this folly....ok...lets move on.... :-)

One refreshing aspect if you had noticed... is that the entirety of the album indicates more of a Shankar SHOW rather than a SuperStar SHOW...the latter was the case for most of his yesteryear films. Except for the first song...which is more like a GREEK tradition or so to say!!!.....hahaha...and rightly like the movies...lets get started with the *Intro* song review....

1) Balleilakka - SP Balasubramaniam, Raihanah, Benny & Chorus

My first reaction to the song, was it seemed a look-alike to *Devuda Devuda* of Chandramukhi , also an intro song, I was disappointed....a bit....but that vanished much before the song actually finished its first run of 06:06 run.....ARR showed what a master he is ...as the tempo of the song picked up quite remarkably....and reaches a class of its own....though the content quotient of the song is straight forward...there was a whiff of fresh thought in Kavignar Na. Muthukumar's lyrics...interestingly talking about Ideal Tamilians....and for the first time not an encomium for our thalaivar's deeds.....interesting lyrics...actually adding to the appeal of the song...

two stand out lyrics that I loved here were....a) Aadu Maadu mela ulla paasam, veetu Ration Card-il serka solli ketkum and b) Pangaali.... Pakkathu veetukkum Serthu samaikira anbu ingu vaaazhum...

commendable...that too confidently plugging them into a SuperStar song...and an intro song at that....

I guess this song shd serve as the Intro...when our Thalaivar returns from America...if the lyrics are any indication to go by!!!!

My personal best rating is reserved for this song... though this might not be the purist's bet....:)

2) Style - Rags, Tanvi, Suresh Peters, Blaaze

The old horse for ARR has returned with style, I should say...I am referring to Suresh Peters here...how many songs have we heard from the vocal chord of Suresh Peters in the formative years of ARR, the legendary Chikku Bukku Rayile...and helluva songs....good to hear him back...:)

What do I say about this song...the current lip-catcher of the youth...(not necessarily Thailaivar fans!!!!)...u instantly feel this song is meant to tear the chart-buster lists...what with the picturization being nothing less than sparking...

I believe Shankar wanted to do a tribute to Rajni's Style...albeit in his and ARR's style...so here comes the brain-child of Shankar and ARR....which is so apt for Rajini....in the lines of *Alagu...nee nadanthaal Nadai Alagu*...

Paa.Vijay can seriously start looking at advanced english courses...cuz...If he wants to continue this way of writing English poems...;)...interspersed...with GOD-KNOWS-SPANISH..he would benefit from a lil more of english...;)....I wonder how this *vithaga kavignar* is churning such stuff....multi-faceted..value add for his employer...:))...hahaha....

truly the song is too kewl if you want to indulge with the passion it was made...no point in complaining that the song looks alike present genre of songs...wait for the picturization...you will be blown over by the master shankar...rest assured... :-)

Stand out lyrics here are a) the male voice saying *Oh, let me say something*..:-)...and b) *Eiffel Tower ithaythil Nattai*...:))

3) Vaaji Vaaji - Hariharan, Madhusree & Chorus

The theme-catcher...and the primary duet song of the movie I suppose...in the likes of *Ayyengar Veetu Azhage* and *Mudhalvane..Mudhalvane*....has the traditional setup...and matching lyrics which is at best.. classical tamil...from none other than a master himself...Kavignar Vairamuthu...

super melody should be a gross understatement for this song...and I believe this guy HariHaran reserves his best for the master ARR...I have not seen Hariharan's voice so good in any other creator's product.....An instant hit with the masses....and also with the RJ-mania crowd....radio stations would compete within to get it on air...

the lyrics are of a high-class is just another complement to vairamuthu and not *the* complement..the standout lyrics for me were a) Anbaaa Vaalai Yedu...Alagai Saanai yidu... b) Muranpaatu Mootai nee... c) Seyyal Puyal Naanadi...

4) Athiradee - A R Rahman, Sayanora

Uff....does the start raise your BP..??? Yes...the pick-up tempo is super fast..as if ARR is out to prove that he is still as young as in Kadhalan, when you got that *Muqqabula* from the then wonder-whiz kid....:)....

Again a typical youth flick...and suprised at the *Balls of Steel* that Shankar has to bring in two (rather three such songs) in a thalaivar film...when he is groping at getting to fatherly-elderly roles...ala the Big B...ohmigod... I love such guts...and the attitude of *NOT* to be a Roman in Rome....;-)...

Lyrics from our eternal Dev Anand of Tamil lyricists....you definetely can't ASS U ME his age with his lyrics for 'Athiradee'. If you were held captive in Zion all through and just been taught Tamil and then u get to listen to this song and if you are queried to predict the age of the gentleman who wrote this piece-meal thing...you would be shocked to that you just listened to a gentle-old-man...who is just 76 years young...:-)...

And the grapevine/Page 3 has it that Vaali has been offered Rupee 1 Lakh for this non-tamil song...:-)...maybe that required more effort from Vaali to string in Eddie Murphy / Sten Gun / Roger Moore / Love Fun / Naughty / Man / N.R.I. / Cuba / James Bond / Spy / Spider Man / Pistol / Shock / Flataaa / Don / MidNight / Superman / eye / Tension / fast / Castro / Maestro / First Night / Waste / Sweet Bun / Butter Jam / My Fair Lady into a 5 minute 45 second song....which by now you should understand requires herculean effort from a Master tamil Lyricst who could write Krishna Vijayam....Such is the versatility of the man...:)....Amazed is just the word...

I believe the song atleast at the Audio stage is all-about Vaali...Only the Visuals are expected to bring the real master Rajini Kanth to the forefront....:-).... A peppy number with ARR at this crooning best!!!!!....pretty normal and enjoyable stuff for the 2007 guys..:)

5) Sahana - Udit Narayanan, Chinmayi

First things first....Mr.Udit Narayanan please pat your back on my behalf...you have come a long way from the *Coimbatore Maapilaikku Ponnu Kedaichaaa* days...(arguably one of his first songs....)...the lyrics have been delivered admirably..in close-to-authentic pronunciation....which is commendable..for both Udit and ARR.....

To be frank...on the first run, I was disappointed with ARR for having chosen Udit for such a classical outpour from the class-act Vairamuthu...the song had so much of feel and soul....I felt, a better tamil renderer would have done great energy levels for the song, just like what Vijay Yesudas does to the Pathos (or rather the derivative)....but on repeated runs, I realized that Udit has used the language with great meticulousness..and his diction was event-free...so to say...:-)....

Again, the contender for the TOP slot out of the album...even after 30 days of listening to these songs....I am unable to choose the best song of the album...Balleilakka, Vaaji and Sahana....reach up there for various reasons....

Melody wise...I should say the best...of the album....soul-searching music and the tempo is equally supported by the vocalists Udit and Chinmayi....I believe Chinmayi should be on top of this world...she seems to get the best numbers out of ARR's albums recently...and I know how she would feel...knowing her reasonably - as a blogger-friend-cum-orkutter....:-)....Good Luck Chinmayi....YOU ROCK in Sahana...!!!!...

I am not sure how this young-looking-feeling song would fit-in with the stature of our thalaivar...but we are missing the linchpin in the equation....Director Shankar...who has already spiced up and made RajiniKanth look atleast 10 years younger...so expect something special for this rather special piece of the Album...:)

Striking lyrics here for me are a) Orayiram Aandugal Semitha Kaathal ithu b) Noorayiram Aandugal Thaandiyum Vaazhumithu

6) The Boss - Blaaze, Naresh Iyer, Raqueeb Alam

mmmm....I believe this is for the next-generation youth....that is present-generation kids...:-)...yeah...atleast the lyrics indicate that....I expect this to be used as an interlude to thalaivaar's entry into a scene...or might be used as a clever intersperse within other background score....or who knows...maybe a full-fledged song...but more of the yawning stuff this song...I loved *B-A-B-A...Baba thats what they say* than this....Sega Fightaaaa thing.....looks kinda cheap....but anyways....a thrusti pottu for the whole album...with sick lyrics....almost looked like a song from an Ajith film...:)...okok...not much....

next....

7) Sahara - Vijay Yesudas, Gomathi Sree & Chorus

wooww...is just the word for Vijay Yesudas' lilting voice...true inheritance from his father...;-)....Doesn't really look like a pathos song, contrary to public expectations....

cuz...the tempo is as equal to the original Udit-Chinmayi number..just that Sahara Pookal Poothatho...precedes Sahana Saaral Thoovuthoo....which I believe is the crux of the song....which might be unravelled to the onlooker only in the movie....

A classic remix atleast....:-)....

Overall....An excellent winner material from A R Rahman....if Guru was stellar for the instrumentation.....Sivaji is a true commercial winner albeit not degrading to the levels of a potboiler...Its classical....and Illustratable SHANKAR material.....:-)