Some new songs: A noob's reviews

Why I am writing this? Let’s say I want to do some time pass and my usual pastimes are not holding much promise right now. So read on if you want to pass your time, else it is your choice...as usual.

So I was passing my time, sitting (well working to be exact...) at my desk in office and out of nowhere get a song recommendation, from someone I have stopped asking about it (..or anything else for that matter) long back(why?). So it was a surprise at the least. Anyway the song was "Tere Bina" from "Kal Kisne Dekha". Now, before we start this review business, let’s set the review criteria first.

1. The song should be a slow one,
2. Since it is a slow song, it should have strong lyrics support(coz you have a lot of time to think about the lyric),
3. Singing should be something more than ordinary(for dance numbers you can get away with ordinary singing, from the likes of singers, having Suroor in the wrong places :P), and,
4. Of course a good background score (which is pretty much required for all types of songs).

Since we are through with the logistics, let’s start the review (keeping in mind that these are my personal opinions ;)).

Tere Bina: Song topic is the age old one, missing someone. The song intro is pretty much OK and starts with "Tere Bina lagta nahi Mera Jiya", but loses the strong opening as soon as we head into the verses...mostly attributed to the fact of some poor lyric and some ordinary singing from the singer(come on, show your desperation in your voice…put some soul into it). One of the lines is "Marna Jo Chahoon Agar Toh Maut bhi Aati Nahi”, compare this with “Maut Meri Taraf Aane Lagi, Jaan Teri Taraf Jaane Lagi, Bol Shamein Judaai Kya Karen, I would prefer the latter any day (but then it is just me). The background score is good, with some haunting tunes in between to emphasize the haunting memories (really?). Overall, the song is average and you will forget it as soon as you get a better one.

So, as a response to this recommendation, I too decided to get my hands dirty, and went hunting for some good brand new songs. So what I have come up with...? Three songs...mind it (as in Rajni Sir's style :)), I was looking for slow songs.

1. Yeh Dooriyan(Kal Kissne Dekha),
2. Koshish Koshish(Let's Dance), and,
3. Jaana Hai(Let's Dance).

Yeh Dooriyan: This song also embraces the same theme of separation from someone and all...but the lyricist has taken a generalized approach in describing these prevailing distances (“Kyun Koi Paas Hai, Door Hai Kyun Koi, Jaane Na Koi Yahan Pe”), and it has come out good (at lest better than “Tere Bina”). The song is backed by some strong emotions reflected well in the singer’s voice, and some good plain background music. They have tried to stick to the basics and it has paid off (you will feel that more, when you listen to it 2-3 times).

Hmm...so now it’s the turn of the songs from Movie Let's Dance. To start with, I was pretty skeptical about this movie (the name itself is "Let's Dance" and not "Let's Sing", so forget about slow songs :P). And what a surprise...my hunt for the best of the bunch ended here...

Jaana Hai: So I read the name Jaana hai...ok he has to go somewhere...but where…? And the intro kicks in, "Ek Haath Khud ka Utha kar, Kandhe pe Apne Rakha hai"...now that is just enough to get all my attention, and it continues, "Haaregi Hamse Yeh Uljhan, Khud se Yeh Hamne Kaha Hai". If you can get the underlying meaning of the first line, you will definitely like this song (if you follow the same criteria as me). So let me not spoil the rest of the song for you. This song meets all my criteria set for slow songs. It is backed by some extraordinary lyrics, a very good background score, good chorus (and refrain), and last but not the least a very good lead singing (Kudos to Mohit).

Koshish Koshish: This song is also having the same characteristics as its predecessor. Here is how it opens..."Koshish Koshish, Katra Katra, Lamha Lamha Jee Le". Pretty good opening I would say. And believe me the verses don't disappoint either. You can't compare the two songs, both tell different stories, have different narrating styles...but still "Jaana Hai" is a clear winner as far as I'm concerned.

My Ratings :
Jaana Hai: (4.7/5) …well ain’t nobody perfect (or may be I expect too much :P)
Koshish Koshish: (4.0/5)
Yeh Dooriyan: (3.9/5)
Tere Bina: (3.7/5)
And don’t ask me how I have come to the actual rating figures, just some random figures; after all it’s my blog…ain’t it?

And what happened to the responses I was supposed to get for my recommendations…? Well I’m still waiting for one (may be that’s why…). So let’s conclude this review business with this thought provoking quote……

"Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words." ~Robert G. Ingersoll

*  Correction: The song "Yeh Dooriyan" is from movie "Love Aaj Kal". Thanks Grishma, for pointing that out. *