Note: Written as I listened to the song, hence you are advised to read likewise!
I've always been fascinated by music review blogs...ever since I got hooked onto them about a year back...and wanted to try one myself. So all I was on the lookout for was a song for so long, when along came....'Omana Penne' from the Tamil Movie 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya'
Listening to the song without any background information, its easy to classify 'Omana Penne' as a Harris Jayaraj number (atleast it was to me) thanks to its western sounding beats but the nadaswaram which drifts in and out revals the characteristic west meets east, Rahman signature style.
This is one song which catches your attention right from the begninning - I guess its the expectation created by the tinkling bells that accompany you through the song along with the rhythmic percussion as "Ahh Ha....Ada daaaa...penne" in Benny Dayal's silken smooth voice starts it off.
The tempo of the song picks up around the "Hey" interspersed during the next few lines. Another faux attempt at speeding up the song occurs at "Yen aayiram iravu" which is revealed as false with the "Nee thaan.." and subsequent lines which bring down the tempo again. Incidentally its just before this that the nadaswaram bit makes it appearance for the first time, ever - so - slightly in the background only to slink away just as softly again.
As the unmistakable "Ohhhhh omana penne" comes around, you're hooked. This guy Benny can make any "Oooh" end at Omana Penne, you begin to think when he raises the bar even further. Deftly taking you through what can only be called as vocal acrobatics next, is Benny again with "Oooooh" for the most part before "Nee pogum vazhiyil nizhalagi.." followed by more "oooh" again!
Lending a beautiful touch to the whole song of course is Kalyani Menon with the lovely "Maragatha thotilizh malayaligal..." part. How exquisitely malayali the tune is, and yet how beautifully it blends in with the western beats in the background! And without missing a beat(or maybe just one) Benny is back with "Thalli ponaaaal...thei pirai"
As the next chorus of the title sets in, the nadaswaram gets its fair share of ear space amidst the heavy percussion as the song fades out... rest asured its only from your ears, it lingers on in the mind.
There has been much criticism I can see on the net on the use of the autotune to synthesise both Benny's voice, which I could not point out otherwise and Kalyani's bit which I thought, lent a childlike beauty to verses of a lulaby sung to a baby girl.
On the whole, how impressed am I with the song? Well, am usually a stickler for lyrics and in this area Omana Penne might just make the grade, but the lingering music scores high enough for me!
I've always been fascinated by music review blogs...ever since I got hooked onto them about a year back...and wanted to try one myself. So all I was on the lookout for was a song for so long, when along came....'Omana Penne' from the Tamil Movie 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya'
Listening to the song without any background information, its easy to classify 'Omana Penne' as a Harris Jayaraj number (atleast it was to me) thanks to its western sounding beats but the nadaswaram which drifts in and out revals the characteristic west meets east, Rahman signature style.
This is one song which catches your attention right from the begninning - I guess its the expectation created by the tinkling bells that accompany you through the song along with the rhythmic percussion as "Ahh Ha....Ada daaaa...penne" in Benny Dayal's silken smooth voice starts it off.
The tempo of the song picks up around the "Hey" interspersed during the next few lines. Another faux attempt at speeding up the song occurs at "Yen aayiram iravu" which is revealed as false with the "Nee thaan.." and subsequent lines which bring down the tempo again. Incidentally its just before this that the nadaswaram bit makes it appearance for the first time, ever - so - slightly in the background only to slink away just as softly again.
As the unmistakable "Ohhhhh omana penne" comes around, you're hooked. This guy Benny can make any "Oooh" end at Omana Penne, you begin to think when he raises the bar even further. Deftly taking you through what can only be called as vocal acrobatics next, is Benny again with "Oooooh" for the most part before "Nee pogum vazhiyil nizhalagi.." followed by more "oooh" again!
Lending a beautiful touch to the whole song of course is Kalyani Menon with the lovely "Maragatha thotilizh malayaligal..." part. How exquisitely malayali the tune is, and yet how beautifully it blends in with the western beats in the background! And without missing a beat(or maybe just one) Benny is back with "Thalli ponaaaal...thei pirai"
As the next chorus of the title sets in, the nadaswaram gets its fair share of ear space amidst the heavy percussion as the song fades out... rest asured its only from your ears, it lingers on in the mind.
There has been much criticism I can see on the net on the use of the autotune to synthesise both Benny's voice, which I could not point out otherwise and Kalyani's bit which I thought, lent a childlike beauty to verses of a lulaby sung to a baby girl.
On the whole, how impressed am I with the song? Well, am usually a stickler for lyrics and in this area Omana Penne might just make the grade, but the lingering music scores high enough for me!
hey couldn't see ur posts for a long time..thanks again for the new post on VTV song. I read it as if am listening to the number (as instructed :P)..cheers.
ReplyDeletesantosh
http://moodler.in/santosh/