|
|
|
Musicbox
Love at first sight
Pehla Pehla Pyar is an admirable attempt by Lollywood’s newest director Mubasher Lucman, not because his name is zara hat ke but because it features new vocalists and a new musician: Yousaf Khan Munna. The soundtrack kicks off with Subah Kay Noor Jaisi which comes from the drawer of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and R.D. Burman. Although the theme of the song has been previously tried with success (e.g. Eik Larki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga), the amazing vocals of the newcomer creates a lasting impression. Zindagi Main Tum Na Hotay, which follows, is a simple melancholic song, where both the sweet-sounding vocalists are aided by an irresistible flute that helps the duet succeed. The title track goes well as a potential chartbuster mainly because of the vocalists’ good work, some unbelievable Indian-style chorus and an orchestra that is outstanding overall.
Yeh Dunya Ki Rasmein begins in tremendous style with brilliant guitar and a nostalgic touch while the amiable lyrics, impressive vocals, masterful piano, aesthetic violin and soulful trumpet make it easily the best song of the soundtrack. Hai Hai Re, the next song, sounds like a situational number but only the director can determine the situation. Jagi Jagi Hai is worth listening to mainly because of the fresh vocals and fast pace. The moment the number takes off the listener is transported to the golden era of Jatin-Lalit, who composed songs for DDLJ, Yes Boss and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai etc.
It is hard to believe but there’s a number titled Seth Dawood Wants a Dying Girl! We all know Ram Gopal Verma’s degenerated controversy but I am sure that Seth Dawood won’t even notice this publicity stunt. In the end a qawwali, Dil Na Kisi Ka Toroway Banday, Keh Gaye Bulley Shah makes it to the silver screen but after listening to it, one deduces that it is not a fitting tribute to the great Sufi poet.
The names of the new vocalists haven’t been mentioned in the release but their induction has certainly made the difference, making this album a better listen than most of the usual stuff, including Ajab Gul’s ajeeb si hit. Pehla Pehla Pyar could prove to be the pehla step in the right direction, otherwise Lucman will have to look somewhere else for experimentation. —Omair Alavi
Point of re-entry
With words like ‘hell,’ ‘devil’ and ‘demon,’ in the song titles, chances are you have a Judas Priest record in your hands. Indeed Priest’s first album in close to 12 years featuring the classic line-up – Rob Halford on vocals, Glen Tipton and K. K. Downing on guitars and Ian Hill on bass – Angel of Retribution offers no avant-garde experimentations or stylistic leaps-of-faith. It harks back to the band’s glory days from the mid-seventies right up to the early nineties when they redefined what heavy metal could be, building on the foundation of the mighty Black Sabbath.
It’s 2005 and thankfully nothing’s changed. After the sabbatical from each other during which fan-turned-frontman Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens handled vocal duties, Halford and the band are at their scorching best: his fiendish howl is still the most brutally beautiful in all of metaldom; while Tipton and Downing’s pioneering double lead attack is the most lethal in the business. In Priest’s case, being reactionary pays major dividends.
A shrill, harmonic double lead and blitzkrieg drumming open up Judas Rising, the album’s first track. Both musically and lyrically Priest has traversed familiar territory: traditional metal song structures buoyed by sordid tales of sin and salvation. The tempo picks up with Deal With the Devil, a regular hand banger’s ball with a sing-along chorus that has all the elements of a classic in the making. It’s all tortured catharsis and detuned glory from the word go as Halford proves age has not weathered his deadly wail on the mid-tempo thrash-fest Revolution and the more reflective Worth Fighting For.
What would a true metal album be without a ballad? Angel, Priest’s obligatory ballad, is perhaps their finest moment with a minimalist approach: cleanly picked guitar with warm strings putting the spotlight mostly on Rob Halford’s tormented narrative. But the band crank up the amps as the tune winds up proving that they’re not at all pansies, despite Halford’s fruity disposition. Priest kiss off with a punch: Hellrider opens with light-speed tapping while the album closer is pure metal excess; a 13-plus minute pseudo-mystical romp called Lochness. A true Spinal Tap moment.
Bucking trends and returning to the sound that made them giants in the world of metal, Judas Priest have delivered a solid record that’ll definitely win them followers amongst those who have an ear for classic heavy metal. Outside of that if you think Angel of Retribution will make these aging Brits pop idols, you’ve got another thing coming.—QAM
|
|
|
|
