15: Song of the Day: Iruvar Vaazhum

Song: Iruvar Vaazhum

Composer: Vidyasagar

Lyrics: Pa.Vijay

Singers: Karthik, Kalyani

Movie: Aadhi

Iruvar Vaazhum is a song which was not part of the movie Aadhi, but it is probably among the best in the movie alongwith Thadakku Thadakku. It can rank among the top 10 melodies of “Melody King” Vidyasagar. Vidyasagar embellishes the song with excellent orchestration using violins, accordion, guitar and keyboard. The journey of the tune is also very elegant and the way the stanza tune ends is so wonderful. it’s unfortunate that this song was not shown in the movie.

 

14: Song of the Day: Sathimalli Poocharame

Song: Sathimalli Poocharame

Composer: Maragadhamani

Lyrics: Pulamaipithan

Singers: S.P.Balasubramaniam

Movie: Azhagan

 

The song today is a winning combination of an excellent tune and beautiful lyrics. Maragadhamani has worked in multiple film industries-Telugu (where he is known as MM Keeravani), Tamil (his name here is Maragadhamani) and in Hindi (known as MM Kreem). Azhagan movie was a musical superhit and this song is my favourite. The tune is very deep and melodious, so strong that it will stand on its own even without any instrumentation. The composer has used Veena, stringed instruments, keyboard and violin. One of the major highlights of the song is the thought-provoking lyrics and even today this song is very famous also because of its lyrics by Pulamaipithan.

https://gaana.com/song/saathi-malli-poocharame

 

 

 

 

 

13: Song of the Day: Sutti Poove

Song: Sutti Poove

Composer: Dhina

Lyrics: Vairamuthu Ramasamy

Singers: Karthik, Sadhna Sargam

Movie: Kaivandha Kalai

The raga Sri is famous because of the famous Thyagaraja composition Endaro Mahanu and this particular song by composer Dhina is in that raga. There are very few film songs in this raga and its nice to see composers explore such ragas. This song has ample usage of one particular instrument, the Saxophone and it suits the song  very well. The orchestration also has some keyboard and electronic music but it does not sound out of place. The second interlude has a silent usage of flute which showcases the versatility of the instrument. Karthik and Sadhna Sargam have sung it well because the song has a decent range, moving from a low pitched start to the high notes in the stanzas.

https://www.raaga.com/tamil/songs/Sutti-Poove-30873

12: Song of the Day: Sivappu Lolakku

Song: Sivappu Lolakku

Composer: Deva

Lyrics: Agathiyan

Singers: S.P.Balasubramaniam

Movie: Kadhal Kottai

Deva has composed for over 400 movies and his career overall has been a mixed bag, some wonderful melodies alongwith with some mediocre ones (some songs were also lifted). This song from Kadhal Kottai is a very unique one with some original orchestration. I say this because in the Raja days, Deva’s music resembled Ilaiyaraja and in the ARR days, he tried to ape Rahman’s style of music. Albums like these showed that Deva could also churn out high-quality original stuff. The song starts with some Japanese like humming, followed by an introductory Saarangi piece. Then SPB starts the song and mind you, its quite a challenging song because of the range of the song and SPB sings it with so much ease! The interludes are pretty imaginative with Saarangi, Keyboard, Flute, Guitar and another style of humming which is melodious. The use of live instruments and the Rajasthani styled ambience (the scenes are shot in Rajasthan as a portion of the movie is shot there) makes this song different than the standard Tamil song.

http://www.hungama.com/song/sivappu-lolakku-from-kadhal-kottai/2681209/

11: Song of the Day: Idho Idho En

Song: Idho Idho En

Composer: S.P.Balasubramaniam

Lyrics: Vairamuthu

Singers: S.P.Balasubramaniam, Chitra

Movie: Sigaram

SPB is a legendary singer but he also proves that he is a competent composer with this wonderful song. Almost all the songs in this movie are very melodious but this one is my favourite. It has a serene, free flowing tune and SPB/Chitra are as usual in top form. The orchestration is very nice and the song also has a Hindustani feel to it (SPB also said that in one of the reality shows). This is the best album of SPB as a composer, no doubts about that!

https://www.saavn.com/song/idho-idho-en-pallavi/OAAZRR54BVE

 

10: Song of the Day: Ponge Yevvanam

Song: Ponge Yevvanam

Composer: Ramesh Vinayagam

Lyrics: Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy

Singers: S.P.Balasubramaniam, Chitra

Movie: Paila Pachchees

Ramesh Vinayagam made his film composing debut with a Telugu movie and he composed for a bunch of Telugu movies before making his Tamil debut with Hey Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke. This song is his best Telugu song in my opinion and among his best tunes ever. It has a fantastic choral setup all through the song and SPB/Chitra sound like heaven. The composer has used a galaxy of instruments like flute, electric guitar, acoustic guitar in the first interlude (apart from the choral harmony and strings section in the background). The second interlude has a superb Veena piece. Above all, this is a very memorable classical tune and the beautiful classical and fusion orchestration elevates the song to a different level. A must-listen!

9: Song of the Day: Padiyirangunnu

Song: Padiyirangunnu

Composer: Bijibal

Lyrics: Rafiq Ahamed

Singers: Hariharan

Movie: Pathemari

Hariharan has one of the best voices in our country and he has sung some fantastic songs in the South across all the languages. We must thank A.R.Rahman for bringing Hariharan to Southern music through Roja. The song here is set in the raga Vaasanthi and it is a serene Ghazal-like tune and we know why Bijibal chose Hariharan to sing this. The great thing about this song is that there is a lot of live music with a complete Strings section, Veena and flute in the interludes. Hariharan just breathes life into the tune and this is a song you can listen if you want to have a soothing experience. The situation in the movie is that the protagonist is far away from his family for many years toiling in a foreign land and how he makes sacrifices for his family is the story. The song perfectly conveys the pangs of separation and the spirit of sacrifice.

8: Song of the Day: Saavira Janumagalu

Song: Saavira Janumagalu

Composer: Ilaiyaraja

Lyrics: Unknown ( no info available)

Singers: S.P.Balasubramaniam, Janaki

Movie: Nyaya Gedditu

The song today is one of Ilaiyaraja’s rare Kannada songs. It’s also rare because it’s composed in a very rare raga called Mallika Vasantham. It’s one of the most haunting songs you will ever hear. It starts with melodious humming by SPB and goes into the main tune. The first interlude has a dilruba (violin-like instrument), santoor and strings in the background. This is followed by a magical flute piece, guitar and cascading strings. It goes back to the stringed instrument and ends with the flute again. The stanza as usual is as brilliant as any Raja tune. The second interlude has Mridangam solo, Veena and an extended flute piece (flute seems to sound amazing for this particular raga). This is followed by a short string and violin piece leading to the second stanza. The whole song’s percussion is only on the Mridangam and this is where Raja’s shows his arrangement skills as it allows the voices to be at the forefront. In my opinion, this is one of the best SPB-Janaki duets ever. Listen to this nectarine song below:

 

 

7: Song of the Day: Mudhal Murai

Song: Mudhal Murai

Composer: Premgi Amaran

Lyrics: Lalithanand

Singers: Haricharan, Harini

Movie: Adhey Neram Adhey Idam

Premgi Amaran is the son of Gangai Amaran (who is probably the most underrated composers, that’s another topic) and so music is in his genes. He is also a decent actor, revelling in comic roles and is quite good at that. He has composed for about 7-8 movies and probably his best song till date is this one which is in the Reetigowla scale. The singers do a great job here and the though there are many other songs in this raga, this song stands on its own. There is a lot of Veena usage alternating with flute  in the first interlude and even in the stanza portion, Veena gives nice background support. The second interlude has a nice semi-classical female choral bit used with flute, followed by a short keyboard bit. It’s a very competent Reetigowla and Premgi does show potential.

6: Song of the Day: Unnai Paarthapinbu

Song: Unnai Paarthapinbu

Composer: Bharadwaj

Lyrics: Vairamuthu

Singers: S.P.Balasubramaniam

Movie: Kadhal Mannan

SPB is one of the best singers who can modulate his voice and he has sung so many different types of songs for the past 5 decades. Unnai Paarthapinbu is one of the songs where SPB shows his energy and I am not sure if any other singer could have done justice to this song. The song has a soft-rock orchestration, which is quite rarely used in Tamil music and Bharadwaj’s tune and orchestration are like hand-in-glove, absolutely perfect! He uses distortion guitar and drums very nicely and SPB’s voice towers over the instruments majestically, especially towards the end of the stanza when he sings, “Yen Yen Yen”. This is one of my favourite songs of SPB and I am sure he must have enjoyed this challenge. Song link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnkxqT8AXhM