Nee Thaane En Pon Vasantham - Vintage Raja

Raja joins hands with the maverick film maker Gautham Vasudev Menon and that has clearly set the stage for show. I don’t want to be partial here but despite Raja has been giving good music constantly, be it Sneha Veedu(Malayalam), Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai(Tamil), Sri Ramarajyam(Telugu), Dhoni(Tamil/Telugu) to name a few - all had some great music, however there was never a collaboration recently with the contemporary film makers who appeal to youth for them to enjoy his classic stuff. Here comes a combination with Gautham who himself is a hard core raja fan and a person who clearly appreciated Raja music even in his other films. Given the expectations Gautham’s films usually create, it was taken for granted to be a musical treat and guess what……the promise has been fulfilled and it is nothing short of magic and music is truly redefined. Yep, it sounds as if Gautham says to Raja….Neethaane En Pon Vasantham!!!!

Beautiful soulful melodies, Rich orchestration, Slides and swirls of Guitars, Amazing string harmonies, Counterpoints, superb live percussion (drums), Trumpets, Horns, Choirs, Jazz, Western Classical…..what not? This album has everything and the genre is defined as “Raja Genre”. All Yo Yo stuff, synth loops ….better get lost and make way for soaking music of 42 minutes.

Pudikale Mame – When the teasers were out, the prelude of this song was played and it was super catchy. I think this song has one of the best guitar pieces of the decade and it will symbolize this movie in a huge way. Suraj Jagan rightly brought the right energy with his rendition. Raja has written the notes so meticulously that every young composer needs to learn that a fun dance number also needs strong music content. Every time I listen it just never ceases to amaze me. However, the song abruptly ends its rock section midway and the folk takes over. Even though it is fine, I wish the rock section continued as it is too good to end. 2 different songs in one. Where does this 70 year old gets this energy from?

Sainthu Sainthu – This is one kind of a song and a new genre. This song is filled with rich melody, pauses, brilliant string pieces. The highlight of the song lies in the charanam where the tune has awesome sustains set in such a way to embellish and highlight the string section. This song has to be experienced and nothing else. Watch out for counter points in the end. I seriously wished someone else other than Yuvan sang this song and the telugu version was comparatively better sung by Shaan. Ramya NSK, grand daughter of the great legend NS Krishnan sang both the versions and did a great job. Very heartening to see such youngsters find a place in Raja music.

Vaanam Mella – Sung by Raja and Bela Shinde. Typical "world famous" ilayaraja melody with rich orchestration. The striking point to me in this song was there is no need for heavy beats to show the aggressiveness but a simple bass violin piece is enough. Even though Raja has sung well, I thought it would be nice if someone else had sung mainly due to his aging voice. However the problem is even best of best singers many times failed to capture the emotion which raja can bring out while he sings. Bele shinde has sung many numbers for Raja. Even though she has a very sweet voice, there is a slight problem in higher range and goes nasal. Nevertheless, the song is a classic and will be an all time favorite for many.

Kaatrai Konjam – Is this is solo or a duet with Saxophone? Karthik gets one of the best songs of the year and is simply brilliant. Raja keeps the tune simple in the pallavi with superb strings backed up by very crisp chords and nice classic drums. Phew, when was the last time did we hear nice live percussions? Totally excited! The charanam takes off brilliant melody in minor scales which is always best for expressing pain and "longingness" with some mindblowing orchestration. One of its kind song with brand Raja all over. I wish more songs of such kind come out from the Maestro.

Pengal Yenraal – A love break up song? Awesome guitar work. Yuvan gets another song and I think it could have been sung by someone else. Yuvan does sound fine with auto tuning on in some of his songs but I don’t think he can sing for a composer like Raja. The song has very unique tune and Raja uses electric/lead guitars very effectively and that too in full fledge. Probably first time? Charanam has the usual magic with lovely tune.

Muthal Murai – A cry from the female lead. Sunidhi Chauhan renders it fantastically, what singing. A brilliant melody with aggressive orchestration. A clear show piece song and possibly a title song for the movie “Nee thane yen Pon Vasantham”. N. Muthukumar excels with his lyrics. Looking forward to see how its picturised.

Yennodu Va Va – Male solo that has an interesting start with trumphet horns. Karthik get one of the catchiest songs of the album. Raja orchestrates this song in 2 different ways. The first half of the song was orchestrated with classic instruments – Strings, guitars, piano etc. the second half is more synthesized. I am not sure if he was trying to demonstrate if the first kind of orchestration was way superior but it sounds brilliant than the second kind. It is always a pleasure to listen to a well orchestrated song.

Satru Munbu – Cracker of the album to me. Not too many female love failure songs are around but despite the situation, the song’s genre is so unique which will take over anything the movie has to offer. This song is like a mini oratoria– Rich Choir, brilliant strings and some good singing by Ramya NSK. I wish these kind of songs are recognized by todays youth who are totally stuck with a chocolate template loop sounds which hardly has any musical value. Brilliant composition!!!!

I honestly think each and every song deserve a write up. Nevertheless, i wanted to share some of my excitement. All these songs were performed live by an orchestra from London and it is a life time experience. A huge thanks to Gautham for his vision and kudos for bringing out the music from the master. Not to be missed!!!