When music takes precedence over personal disagreements

In the mid 90s, a song that got really popular among us teenage kids was Cecilia by Suggs feat. Louchie Lou & Michie One. 

It was a time that the local music stores were selling custom made compilations of songs (People from Chembur, Mumbai may remember Orbis Audio Centre) and Cecilia featured in every one of them. Some months after I got a copy of Cecilia, I heard Dad playing Simon & Garfunkel on his stereo and heard a different version of the same song. It got me curious and that was the beginning of my love for the duo. 

We had two albums at home - Sounds of Silence (1966) and Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). 

The first album opens with a remixed version of 'The Sound of Silence'. The original was an acoustic version from their previous album which didn't get half as popular so Columbia records decided to mix it up a little. The song was apparently written by Paul Simon when he was 21 years old. How someone that young could come up with such lyrics even he does not know (as he admitted in an interview I saw somewhere). For me the two stanzas that capture the essence of this song are

"And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more

People talking without speaking

People hearing without listening

People writing songs that voices never share

No one dared

Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools," said I, "You do not know

Silence like a cancer grows

Hear my words that I might teach you

Take my arms that I might reach you."

But my words like silent raindrops fell

And echoed in the wells of silence"

Although written over 50 years ago, the problem of miscommunication or no communication between people continues to stay relevant. In the fight for our right to personal space, we seem to have isolated ourselves and become so sensitive that anything that we do not like, we chose not to listen to. What I also have always been fascinated with is the title of the song and the play of words. My experience with the "sound" of silence has been in locations around the world where there has been absolutely no ambient noise at all. No wind or rain, no traffic, no snoring, no machines running in and around you. For someone who grew up in a city like Mumbai, I found it very unnerving to have absolutely no noise or sound around me. Today it doesn't bother me any more but earlier it did a lot. There's even a fascinating article published by the New York Times some months ago titled The Sound of Silence. Funnily enough, it is about white noise and how people are used to background noises and need it to fall asleep. 

This album also has a song called Anji which is a guitar instrumental which I always loved. Turns out, this was a cover of an original by a popular British Guitarist Davey Graham who was known for his finger style guitar playing ability. 

Bridge over Troubled Water was the 5th and final studio album of the duo. The title track, though written by Paul Simon, is sung by Art Garfunkel alone. It is probably what you could call a signature song for the duo. For me, it is a great song to dedicate to someone you care about who is going through a tough time. Paul Simon had to turn to gospel music to get inspired to write this. More about that in this article - Story Behind The Song: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel. This album also has my favourite song by S&G - The Boxer. What is funny is that my favourite part about the song is the musical arrangement for the placefiller words "lie-la-lie" which gives me goosbumps every time I listen. The original version of Cecilia and cover of Bye Bye Love add to the value of this lovely set of songs. 

The other songs that I enjoy from this duo are Mrs. Robinson, Scarborough Fair/Canticle & Homeward Bound. Songs from S&G have been covered by artists all over the world some of which are extremely enjoyable too. Search for their songs on YouTube and you'll see all the different versions that exist. There is even a great playlist on Spotify called Best covers of Simon & Garfunkel. Artists such as Joan Baez, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin etc have cover versions of S&G songs. This was undoubtedly one of the greatest musical duos to have graced the music scene. While Paul Simon continued to have a flourishing career in music even after they split, Garfunkel faded away only making appearances once in a while to performance a couple of songs here and there. Their last blow out concert was The Concert in Central Park in 1981. Videos from this concert are available as a Playlist on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDvOofCbFGeqp3-qvhOB1W_b3NwQx_RML. One of the recipients of this email was actually present at this concert. What a treasure of a memory to have for life!

Ironically, the two artists who gave us such great songs about friendship, communication etc had a very acrimonious split. Paul Simon has said on record that Arthur and he can almost agree on nothing. During their time together, they may have been the most unhappy duo but the magic of music that bound them did not suffer for it and for that, I for one am forever grateful. 

Albums & songs from S&G available for download here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpdazCJ4Gr9EoqB75w?e=TsZOms

My entire music collection available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpERwAPLpYGKDZor2w?e=AkXJra

Cheers!

The Doors (of Perception)

It has to be serendipity for a group of people to come together, make absolutely magical music for just 6 years and yet be remembered as one of the greatest acts of the music scene especially that of Rock of the 60s/70s. What makes the story fascinating for me is that the two founding members of the band were seemingly very different in their personalities. Jim Morrison - a rebellious poet & Ray Manzarek - A pianist influenced by classical & blues music. To add some more mystique to the origins is that the remaining band members wouldn't have joined if it were for the controversial Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Manzarek met John Densmore (Drums) and Robbie Krieger (Guitar) at a meeting of the Maharishi and roped them into the band.

Much is already written about the Doors as a group and plenty of it is available online. There's even the 1991 movie by Oliver Stone titled The Doors but mainly focuses on Morrison which is rather unfair to others. I personally think Manzarek should be credited more than he is for the success of the band. I personally enjoy music from this band because of the mellifluous voice of Morrison, the melody and the fact that they did not have a full time bass guitarist (which, when I started listening to rock music, I believed was a basic necessity for a rock band).

I've uploaded three albums from the doors to my collection but will share some of my favourite songs and reasons why.

1. The song 'Break on Through' has many interpretations. Some believe it is about breaking through the mundane existence and finding your true purpose about life. There are other references that it is a romantic song. For me the line that really captures the song is

I found an island in your arms
Country in your eyes
Arms that chain
Eyes that lie

The first two lines reek of romance and with Morrison's voice, makes you wonder what he may have been as a person and yet it immediately transcends into a very sinister zone with the lines that follow.

2. LA Woman is a song that I enjoy more for the spectacular music than the lyrics. Close to eight minutes long, the song starts fast paced, eases into a slower rhythm, abruptly halts with Morrison's voice only to pick up again. To me, this is pure joy.

3. My favourite song from this band is Riders on the Storm. To me this is a great song to showcase the talent of Morrison's writing and Manzarek's keyboard skills. The influence of jazz especially on the parts of the keyboard elevate the song to a different level. The simulation of rain on the keyboard with sounds of the thunder in the background brings out an eerie feel to the song. What adds to the legend of this song is that it was the last song recorded before Morrison's fatal trip to Paris.

There's an interesting interview of Ray Manzarek where he talks about how this song came to be. It is around 10 min long and makes for an interesting watch.


An interesting side note is that The Doors were one of the handful of mainstream bands of the time that turned down the opportunity to play at Woodstock '69. (The list is rather prestigious with The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin etc). There's two theories about why that I have read in the past. One was that Jim Morrison was not particularly fond of performing outdoors and two, Robbie Krieger in later years said that they were just too dumb because they thought this was another music festival with overcrowding of bands.

Robbie Krieger however had the opportunity to play at Woodstock but in 1999 along with the group Creed when they did a cover of Roadhouse Blues. I liked it because Creed was a band I was listening to at the time (They had an album called Human Clay that had been released of which I had a tape). I've uploaded a copy of this in the folder Various Artists.

The performance can be seen here.


The collection of The Doors is available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpcQAgk5s6PE9xPDRQ?e=AaPECQ

Entire music collection available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpERwAPLpYGKDZor2w?e=iIbPFB

Have a great week ahead.

Cheers,
Avi

Above and Beyond - True to their name #1

For anyone who follows dance music, 'Above and Beyond' is a name that is guaranteed to bring a smile to their face. Famed electronic music trio Above & Beyond have established a long-time following within the realms of progressive house and trance music - A community devoted to them as  well as their labels Anjunabeats, Anjunadeep and - Group Therapy Radio

For me what separates them from the other artistes out there is that their music not only breaks genres but it also embraces different genres with such ease that at times it difficult to grasp the depth of their music understanding and the commitment to using music in creating a positive and happy mindset . Its also helps knowing that the 3 music legends have such love for India and especially Goa that their record labels are named after Anjuna Beach.  It’s been evident that if anyone knows how to send major feels to a mass amount of people, it is definitely this trio - Jono Grant, Paavo Siljamäki and Tony McGuinness.

Their own tracks are chartbusters, they perform to sold out shows & festivals and their collaborations  seamlessly blend like they were meant to be. I'm sharing some of their sets which I hope showcases their versatility and also maybe help you fall in love with their craft - just the way I do - Always


1) TIMELESS: Above and Beyond Acoustic Live from Porchester hall
Yes you read that right. This is a classic Sunday evening set that will surely confuse you if they really are DJ's. Thats the magic right ? They performed their most popular songs with an orchestra and its sure to make you keep going back to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNUTlKqSO-I

2.) DANCE : Above and Beyond Live at Ziggo Dome
The quintessential hits, fans and feels. Perfect for any upbeat occasion. Their tracks are infused with vocals and thus will spare you the seemingly monotonous beats if you are not an EDM lover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS6Hi2Avoww

3. GROOVE : While  their labels Anjunabeats and Group Therapy Radio are all about high energy dance music, they label Anjunadeep explores deeper sounds and more suited for a more loungy/ groovy evening with  something nice playing for while. They key good music is to find the perfect BPM for the mood and thus this set is great. You should also see the video to appreciate the setting and vibe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9F_drLehU0&t=1901s

4. COLLABORATE: Another set from Anjunadeep which is undeniably my favourite set of last year. Ben Böhmer Live at Anjunadeep Open Air: Prague, is literally amongst the best sets you can hear. The vibe, the music and beat. Notice A&B creating platforms for other artists to come play to the same vibe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9kThoLdDc8&t=1008s


I hope you enjoy these sets. One request try and listen to the full set at one go to help better understand the mood and feels. Thanks for reading, now time to BOUNCE!

Dev

Sultans of Swing

Dire Straits is one of those feel good bands that can lift up my mood anytime I listen to them. 

The two albums we had at home growing up were Brothers in Arms (1985) and On Every Street (1991).

Brothers in Arms is one of those rare albums where almost all the songs on it appealed to me. 

The opening track ‘So Far Away’ was my go to song for the months leading up to my wedding because Priya was in Bengaluru and I in Mumbai. The sentiment may be altered but the song by itself in Mark Knopfler’s silken voice is still lovely. :-) 

Money for Nothing begins with Sting singing 'I want my MTV' in falsetto and a synthesised sound in the background that reaches a crescendo at which point Mark Knopfler breaks into a guitar riff that stays in the background right through the song. For me, it is one of my all time favourite songs to get myself going. This is also THE song I absolutely must listen to in order to test the quality of a stereo system. It also has a zany video which won several awards at the time for the use of animations. Check it out here

While Walk of Life is now a classic Dire Straits song, I particularly enjoy two more songs of this album. Your Latest Trick which starts with a soothing tune of the saxophone and Brothers in Arms. The latter was written during the Falkland Wars between Argentina and UK and is about the experience of soldiers during war time. It has a wonderful para that goes

“There's so many different worlds

So many different suns

And we have just one world

But we live in different ones”

One Every Street was the last studio album of Dire Straits and wasn’t as successful as the above but some of the songs worth listening to are

a. Calling Elvis - The voice

b. On Every Street -  A nice song that slowly builds tempo

c. Heavy Fuel - To be listened loudly

d. Iron Hand - Completely opposite of the above. :-)

The most popular song of Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing - however only reached my ears during college when a friend was carrying a tape and couldn’t stop raving about the song Romeo & Juliet. I finally got my hands on this album ‘Sultans of Swing - The very best of Dire Straits’ which is a nice compilation of their hits. The guitar work on Sultans of Swing is absolutely magical and probably allows Knopfler to showcase his guitar skills that he is known for. 

I would however still recommend listening to the entire album of Brothers in Arms if the music appeals to you. 

The collection is available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpZnjOQ2TAnoebaemQ?e=VPCKDL

Cheers,

Avi 

My entire music library (uploaded so far) can be accessed here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpERwAPLpYGKDZor2w?e=mEs5lG

Maximum City / A melodic homage

Mumbai like a lot of other major cities around the world comes with its share of ups and downs and is full of contradictions. It is fast paced and very impersonal yet throws up opportunities to make close relationships which allow you to savour the little moments of life. The city makes you dream big and yet you repeatedly find yourself discounting your dreams in order to continue your love story with it. You think the city is about winning yet for a mass majority, it is about surviving. Mumbai is a city that either you love with all your heart or you cannot stand it and will look to leave at the next opportunity life gives you. I rarely meet anyone who does not sit on either side of this argument but somewhere in the middle. 

Art in several forms - Music, Movies, Books, Paintings has paid homage to this great city. I'd like to focus on the music that either references Mumbai directly or captures the essence of the city through the cinematography of its visual.

1. Bombay Meri Jaan

A classic song from the movie C.I.D. with music by O. P. Nayyar, it captures the difficulties of Bombay as it was back in the 50s. My favourite line from the song goes 

"kahin building, kahin traamein, kahin motor, kahin mill

milta hai yahan sab kuchh, ek milta nahin dil"

Anyone who has lived in Mumbai for any length of time will understand its typical impersonal nature.

 

2. Rim Jhim Gire Saawan

While the song isn't about Mumbai, the picturisation captures everything about the monsoon in Mumbai. The choppy Arabian sea lashing against the Marine Drive, young carefree couples who revel in the romance that is Mumbai rains & vast expanses of space where water gets accumulated and yet does not deter people from going about their business. 

The movie has two versions of the song - one sung by Kishore Kumar as well as one by Lata Mangeshkar. The female version is picturised on Mumbai and is worth watching. The male version is also a great listen.  

3. Boombai Nagariya

A nice catchy number from the 2006 film Taxi No. 9211. With music from Vishal-Shekar, the song is sung by Bappi Lahiri and like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, talks about how life goes on in Mumbai. The film is an interesting adaption of the Hollywood film 'Changing Lanes' and worth a watch. 

4. Mumbhai

A song about Mumbai's underworld from the 1998 movie Bombay Boys directed by Kaizad Gustad. This song, a rap sung by the extremely talent and very underrated Javed Jaffrey was a cult classic. We were just out of High School and the song was a real chart buster.

5. Bombay - Theme Song

A. R. Rahman's haunting theme from the 1993 film Bombay will tug at your heart like few other melodies can. The flute followed by cadences of the violin captures the essence of a city that has burnt and been hurt but still shows hope of rising beyond as it always does. 

https://youtu.be/18GFDP5bLLs

6. Suniye, Kahiye, Kahiye

A song about love blossoming during suburban train rides of Mumbai from the charming 1979 film Baaton Baaton Mein directed by Basu Chatterjee. With the wonderful voices of Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosale, this is one song that makes for easy listening. 

Although, I don't think any of my contemporaries in Mumbai who used the trains to travel could ever imagine romance blossoming in the clammy ambiance that was the inside of a 'local' train. 

7. Bambai Sheher ki tujhko chal sair kara doon

Another song from a Basu Chatterjee film (makes me wonder if the guy had a thing for setting all his films in Mumbai) called Piya ka Ghar from 1972. As the title suggests, the song is pretty much about Anil Dhawan showing Jaya Bhaduri around the city. Offers some great visuals of old Bombay.

8. Bombay Meri Hai

Possibly the first Indo-Pop song that came out sometime in the 1970s. It was composed by Mina Kava (he played percussions for several Bollywood composers) and sung by Uma Pocha (Elder sister of Usha Uthup). This song was written by Kava on request from the music label HMV to attract tourism to Mumbai. 

There is a "Bollywood" version of the above song from the 1989 film Rakhwala sung by Amit Kumar. 

9. Meri Gully Mein

When two kids from the slums of Mumbai (Artists Naezy & Divine) influenced by American Hip-Hop music decided to pen down their anguish and troubles, little did they realise that they would be part of a bigger movement which would eventually gain recognition in Bollywood and a movie would be made on their lives. (Gully Boy, 2019).

Meri Gully mein is a result of the frustration of Mumbai's youth in the slums due to social inequalities and an unabashed need to voice their opinions. The lyrics are hard hitting and shot across the slums of Mumbai (not sure if it is in Dharavi or Andheri).

10. Ee hai Bambai Nagariya

From the 1978 film Don which has music by Kalyanji Anandji and sung by Kishore Kumar. The song more or less describes Mumbai city in every way possible. 

11. Bombay Sheher Haadson Ka

From the 1983 film Haadsaa, sung by Amit Kumar, this song talks about the perils of the city of Mumbai. The film itself was extremely forgettable but this song given its reference to Mumbai, makes it to the list. 

If anyone has any more songs that need to be added here, please give me the link and the background and I will add it to this list with credits. 

Cheers,

Avi

George Winston

For someone who grew up around classical music (Indian, both Carnatic & Hindustani), Rock, Jazz and a whole lot of bollywood, it is rather strange that the songs I’ve heard a maximum number of times are by a pianist who is dabbles in the genre of Neo-classical / New Age, George Winston. An American who has been actively making albums for 40 years now.

I don’t remember when exactly but an album called Autumn by the artist caught my attention from my father’s music collection (this will feature repeatedly given that my musical proclivities are genetic) and on hearing it for the first time, I was left speechless. Not because the music is great (which is undoubtedly is) but I did not know that one could have such a large range of music with just one instrument. 

The music of GW stirs & soothes me at the same time. It is music that I sometimes play in the background while doing something immersive (as I am right now) or something I would listen to keenly over a drink. 

The albums available with me are

1. Autumn

Rated as one of the top albums by GW, this one captures the essence of the season beautifully with his slow chords that are interspersed by sudden runs of melody. Just like the season, the album flares up in its beauty before retreating and allowing winter to set it.

My pick from this album would be the song Longing/Love which is a little under 9min long. Two of my friends from Mumbai who are reading this (one now in Singapore & one in California) possibly identify as deeply with this song as I do. 

2. December

Apple Music rates this one as a must have from GW and his best album of all time. On Allmusic.com, users rate this as their best album to play on Christmas eve. 

For me this album has a special place because of where and how I heard it first. I was at the home of a family friend in Switzerland in December 2004 when I was left one evening by myself as they had a social do to attend. Their apartment has a large terrace and the living room has these large french windows over looking the terrace and the city of St. Gallen. It started to snow and before you know it, the terrace was blanketed white. While going through the host’s music, I saw the album and decided to play it (I knew who George Winston was but not this album). Words may not do justice to how I truly felt that evening. In a large apartment, by myself, snowing outside and I warm inside the house experiencing a European winter with music that immerses you in it completely. 

My pick from this album again are not the popular songs - Thanksgiving or Joy  - but the lesser known song no. 8 titled Night (Part 3: Ministrels). Around the 30 second mark, Winston breaks into a deeply moving piece which takes me back to that magical evening. The depth of my sentiments about this song may be linked to everything about that evening coming together but the fact that it still evokes the same warm feeling everytime I listen tells me that the music has a big part to play in it. 

3. Night Divides the Day -  The Music of the Doors

What could be more exciting than a great pianist paying tribute to an Iconic rock band from the 60s? Before I heard this, I'd heard Symphony & Metallica which I thought was a great blend of two starkly different styles of music. This album however takes it a level higher. The ability to modulate the music from low chords to high pitched notes seen best in Riders of the Storm is likely to leave you very impressed. 

From the remaining two albums, some of my favourite songs are Cloudy This Morning (from Forest) & Rain (from Winter into Spring). 

All my albums of George Winston are available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpJALtRhhwJ022o4HQ?e=uKt5PT

If you like the music by George Winston, you may also enjoy music from an Italian composer called Ludovico Einaudi. I discovered his music when I saw the French movie called The Intouchables. The movie itself is fantastic (Netflix India has a version dubbed in English) and the background score was very soulful. Most of the music was from his album Una Mattina which can be heard on YouTube. Link below. 

Stay safe and have a great week ahead. 

Cheers,

Avi

The Beatles

My earliest memory of The Beatles is listening to Ob-La-di-Ob-La-da when my father played it at home. It is one of those fuzzy memories which I cannot vividly recall as I may have been a toddler. But the melody stayed with me. Later in life, when lyrics start to take importance you realise the simplicity of songs by the band. This particular song, in under three minutes summarises the entire life of a couple from courtship to a seemingly happy married life. The other song of the band from my childhood years was Back in the USSR. Something about the rhythm and beat attracted me to it. 

Despite growing up in a house that had a ton of Beatles music lying around, I got myself busy with Pop & Bollywood music of the 80s and 90s. Michael Jackson was a big influence of any kid growing up in urban India with a slight bent for International music. MJ was cool even if I didn't understand a word of what he sang. In 1995, MJ's album HIStory released. A double album that was an absolute must have. In the days of no internet, I'd to either be nice to someone in the family and con them into buying it for me or find a friend who bought it and make a copy. I was lucky to have a friend and so I  immediately made a copy for myself. Apart from the popular hits, one song that really stood out for me was 'Come Together'. I played this for my father and asked him if he still thought there was no greater artist than MJ for this century. He smiled (a classic 'hold my beer' moment), walked up to his music cabinet, pulled out the LP of Abbey Road and played the original. I was stumped! 

A few years down the road, trying to get through Engineering college, I started to sift through Dad's music collection as my interest in music had expanded to Rock and a little bit of Jazz. Listening to songs by The Beatles made me realise why they may have been as popular and in a way timeless. The simplicity of the lyrics, the melody and the willingness to experiment with sounds from every genre meant that you couldn't ignore them in any way. The album 'The Beatles 1' which released in 2000 - a collection of all their Number 1 songs got me hooked. 

My favourite songs include the following

1. Let it Be
2. Come together
3. Can't buy me Love
4. Yesterday
5. The long & winding road
6. Hey Jude
7. Hello Goodbye

 

Dave Mwaniki photographed in April 2010

A personal memory of mine from London in a way also is thanks to The Beatles. In April 2010, while walking around Covent Garden in London, I sat to watch a Busker perform The Long & Winding Road on a chilly spring afternoon. The performance moved me and I would've liked to speak with him but since he continued to sing, I dropped off some change and made my way back to meet with the rest of the family. Cut to June 2018 and we're again wandering around Covent Garden and this time inside the building I see the same man performing something. This time I was determined to talk to him and tell him that even though I saw him 8 years ago, I vividly remember him singing that song. During his break we spoke for a bit and he was mighty touched that I remembered him and even played The Long & Winding Road again on request!

Dave Mwaniki photographed in June 2018

The artist's name is Dave Mwaniki and if you ever are in Covent Garden and have the good fortune to listen to him, you will not be disappointed. Given below are pictures I took of him back in 2010 and again in 2018. This time, he was kind enough to give me a CD of his called 'Songs from the Garden' which include lovely cover songs with just an acoustic guitar.

To think that if it weren't for that song, I may not have stayed to listen to him. The song moved me and I was lucky to see him again.





Another song which is a sort of Karaoke special is Hey Jude and this wonderful article published in The Guardian in 2018 captures the essence of why the song is a crowd favourite and how many adaptations there are of it. If you're interested, read the article here.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/21/how-hey-jude-became-our-favourite-beatles-song

Truth be told, I may still have heard only around 30% of the total music they put out before disbanding. I continue to find new songs and be amazed. The beauty of their songs to me is that most of them are under 3 minutes and easy to listen to.

If you're a fan too and have a personal memory associated with the band, I'd love to hear from you. If you haven't heard anything from the Beatles, do give them a try. You won't be disappointed.

Cheers,
Avi

My collection of The Beatles can be accessed with this link: The Beatles

The Maestro of Madras

I was a little under 10 years old when the film Roja released and the Indian film industry was introduced to the musical genius of A. R. Rahman. At that age, the only song that caught my attention of course was Rukumani which as it turns out is full of innuendos and probably not suitable for kids that age at all. Little did we know!

What is it about Rahman that, in my mind stood him out of the ordinary? My earliest memory of why I liked his music was the choice of instruments, the musical arrangement and the spatial sound - the feeling of sound moving from one area to another. Fine examples of this are the songs 'Kehna hi Kya' from the film Bombay, Behne De from Raavan and 'Ghanan Ghanan' from Lagaan. If you have a reasonably good music system (Stereo or headphones), the depth of Rahman's musical arrangements will just shine through. Of course my all time favourite is the title track of Dil Se which I used to carry with me to every shop before buying our stereo system and listen to the song to check for audio quality. For a funnier version of that story (of me buying a stereo), please get in touch with Priya. 

The other thing I've always enjoyed about some of his biggest hits is that he used singers from the Indipop scene in the 90s who weren't actually great singers but seem to be made for that particular song. Think Baba Sehgal & Shweta Shetty for Rukumani in Roja, Remo Fernandes for Humma in Bombay, Sukhwinder Singh for Chaiyya Chaiyya and Mohit Chauhan for Masakali in Delhi 6 (which actually started with Khoon Chala from Rang De Basanti and eventually became a long association). 

When Rahman won the Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, I thought it as unjust to all the stellar music he had composed before that. In my opinion, if I were to pick the top 5 Hindi soundtracks composed by Rahman, they would have to be the following and in my order of preference. 

1. Dil Se (6 songs and not one that I think is just average)

2. Lagaan

3. Rockstar

4. Yuva

5. Rangeela

The above selection is based on the fact that either all or majority of the songs from the albums are extremely good (again, my view). I admit that my opinion is based only on the Hindi songs of Rahman (or hindi adaptations of his originals) so maybe his greatness when viewed from the Tamil lens is much more than what I have experienced. If anyone has any tamil songs of Rahman that were not adapted by Bollywood and are an absolute listen, please recommend them to me. Will be happy to expand my Rahman experience.  

In my collection, I have 13 full albums of soundtracks composed by A. R. Rahman one of which is more an experimental album called Connections. This does not mean that I do not like the others. Just that I got / bought copies of the MP3 files of individual songs that I enjoyed. 

My entire collection of A. R. Rahman's work is available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpRCa9n6yLGyxWL0TA?e=zRBdt4 

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Avi

Complete music collection available at https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpERwAPLpYGKDZor2w?e=vanVoj 

4th Update / My music collection

Hi there,

This is a blog created by some of us friends from Mumbai as a platform to share the music we own and introduce each other to new / old music.

Today's uploads include

1. Coleman Hawkins encounters Ben Webster

This is a studio album recorded in 1957 but released sometime in the end of 1959. Both are considered legendary players of the Tenor Saxophone and this album is a great listen for a relaxed evening. Listening to this album reminds me of a classic old dimly lit Jazz bar with a glass of Single Malt / Bourbon in hand and cigar smoke hanging in the air. 

Apple Music has a whole collection of both artists as do Prime Music and Spotify I am sure. Another fine album of Ben Webster is called Ben Webster's Finest Hour. As Priya would say, some of the songs on this album will remind you of Tom & Jerry. :-) This is available on Apple Music (Here) as well as Prime Music (Here). Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of this album. 

2. Royal Darbari

I'm not a trained musician and certainly have no understanding of Ragas but listen to what appeals to my ear. This album contains four songs in Rag Darbari sung by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Amir Khan & Jagjit Singh. The one by Jagjit Singh is my favourite of the lot. 

3. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

The King of Qawwali and one of my favourite singers / musicians, Nusrat's body of work is well known. Having heard remixes and bollywood remakes of some of his classic songs, I picked up an audio tape of the album 'Live in India' when it released in 1997. I'm not sure if this is one concert or a collection of his various concerts across India from the previous years but this is certainly an album to keep. When I bought this, Dad had recently purchased a new stereo system and one of the joys was to play this album loudly and when I closed my eyes, it almost felt as though the concert was happening in front of me. I'm not sure if this elicits the same sentiment when you listen to it but I'm curious to know what you think of it. 

There are three other songs in this folder.

a) Mere Rashke Qamar - I admit I first heard a version of this song when it was used in the film Badshaho and sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan a few years ago. However, when I searched for it online, I found this original single from 1988 when NFAK performed it for the first time and Rahat was also part of this performance. The original ghazal/qawwali was written by Urdu poet Fana Buland Shehri but performed as a song by NFAK. While it is close to 17 min long, the performance is mesmerising. 

b) Piya Re Piya Re - This was very popular as an 'Indi-Pop' song in the early 2000s. I have no idea about the album in which it was a part of. 

c) Afreen Afreen (Remix) - The last song of an album by Javed Akhtar and NFAK known as Sangam. It released in 1997 (not sure if after NFAK died) and this version was made most popular by its music video featuring the model Lisa Ray. I doubt anyone in India who was around in the 90s doesn't know about this song. 

That's it from me for today folks. Enjoy the music and until the next update.

Cheers,

Avi

Entire Library available at https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiYwJm3Pb8i9gpERwAPLpYGKDZor2w?e=vanVoj