Posted:
Rocky
By Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz [Saturday, July 15, 2006]
Too much of a good thing can be boring. And, Repetitive. It's a simple law of demand-n-supply that Rockstar Reshamiya fails to understand. He has had a great year with countless hits, and it's time he learnt to just chill rather than repeating himself recklessly in similar sounding music. As for his nasal-twang-powered vocals, I have nothing against them. For, he is classically trained and has an impressive range. But when in an album of six songs (Add another six remixes by DJ Akbar Sami), you hear him donning the singing cap ten times, it is surely an overdose. 'Rocky' is a decent music album, though it lacks variations. And yes, Himesh can add another chartbuster in 'Junoon' to his bulging list.
'Junoon' is creating waves. It's a typical Himesh Reshamiya number with the hook line repeating hundreds of time (Remember Jhoom Jhoom, Jhalak Dikhlaja, Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Aashiq Banaya Aapne, I Love You O Sayoni). Himesh blends his sufi singing style with the tinge of an electric guitar, bass-propelled western beats, sprinkling of a tabla loop and an energizing chorus loop. Amrita Kak has a small part to play while Himesh takes away the cake. In the middle, his scatting in an Indian Classical improvisation is very impressive. 'Junoon' shall be the fast-food-anthem of the hipsters for the next few months. Remixed version of 'Junoon' is nothing but a techno loop thronging attention throughout. The original in itself is ideal to rock the dance floors, but the added-up-tempo-beat takes away the fun. Not recommended is what I can say.
The opening keyboard-sarangi piece of 'Laagi Chhute Na' is reminiscent of the opening musical piece of 'Jhalak Dikhlaja'. Even the rhythm arrangement and even the fillers remind you of 'Jhalak'. Sarangi fillers, tabla-western beat loop running throughout the song and Himesh's vocals are the mainstay of this song. Nothing great. The stress of overwork clearly reflects as it's apparent that Himesh isn't enjoying himself while belting out this number. The club mix shall find favors for its youthfulness although there's nothing spectacularly different except for the up-tempo beat.
'My Love For You Is Not A One Night Stand'. I must say, it's a beautiful love ballad. There are moments when Himesh improvises upon his own voice and it looks completely different. This song is one such occasion. The softer side of Himesh the singer is fabulous. An empty city road in the middle of the night is inhabited by a couple madly in love. The blanket of darkness all around is illuminated by the nostalgic street lights of romance. No, it's not a teeny crush. There's maturity, yet it seems as if it's the first blush of love. Akriti Kakar's silken vocals compliment Himesh perfectly. I must say this girl has a bright future ahead. More music directors should use her vocals. I was also impressed with the music arrangements. Himesh has a damn good violen player in his team as the emotion bleeds in his playing style.
The remix of 'My Love For You' is a mixed bag. DJ Akbar Sami has really worked hard on this number. And it shows. Mixing a slow number is the real test for a DJ. Sami shines through. The techno clubby mix steps up the tempo and completely turns around this number. He retains the romantic spirit but makes sure you just can't resist the infectious dance beats. Akriti Kakar sounds sensuously enchanting. Hit the dance floor guys!
'Teri Yaad Bichake Sota Hoon' is an attempt at aping the sixties style of music. There's a piano loop that is repeated as a rhythm loop and sounds interesting. But the western rhythm loop is too repetitive. It's the same loop that one hears in most of Himesh Reshamiya numbers. He is back as a singer again and sounds uninspired. As for Tulsi Kumar, then girl, you don't have a future as a singer. Production values in this song are strictly average. Remixed version sounds relatively better for a few songs suit a certain number of beats. And here Sami's techno beats, coupled with western chorus line and the familiar piano rhythm line makes for fun listening. Even Himesh sounds better and much more hipper. I guess he owes certain amount of his success to DJ Akbar Sami for it's his mixes that have really catapulted Reshamiya's tunes.
'Dil Rang Le' starts with mischievous guitar strumming and has a fine follow up in Sunidhi Chauhan's rocking voice. Vinit, the Sa Re Ga Ma Find has find patronage from his guru. How does he sound? An okey dokey copy of Sonu Nigam. But when you have the original itself, why go for the copy. A bit of sedentary bhangra oye oye is thrown in good measure as well. The drawback lies in the rhythm pattern. Nothing unusual! That's where the fatigue-quotient comes into the picture. Music arrangements progress in a linear manner and once again the production values are substandard. DJ Remix is once again more impressive as it surely ensnares you on the dance floors and makes you groove to the sexy notes of Sunidhi. The rhythm loop is a cross between dhol, DJ spin wheels, and a steady western beat.
'Rocky Rock The World' is the last track of the album. Himesh must have been thinking that he has saved the best for the last. It's an impressive Rock number. But yet again the predictability of the rhythm pattern lets down! A keyboard melody loop is repeated throughout creating a haunting impact. Reshamiya's higher-pitch-fixation displays the chinks-in-the-armoury as too much of anything can be exhaustive. It's about time he discovers his middle octave singing as the natural bass in his voice shall make for impressive ghazal type of numbers. As for the club remix, it's a winner all the way. The keyboard melody pattern has been used very well while fusing with the disco beat. The spectacular rolls have been used perfectly making for great effect. There's only Fun on the Dance Floor baby.
At the end of the album, the obvious question arises that is 'Rocky' Music CD worth a buy? I would say yes it is. For it does ring a pleasant bell in your ears as a whole. Yes, I have issues with Himesh Reshamiya's predictability in terms of rhythm arrangements and lack of innovative musical pieces in his songs. And, it's for his own good that he looks into this department as soon as possible. This Rocky Rocks! Albeit not always.
By Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz [Saturday, July 15, 2006]
Too much of a good thing can be boring. And, Repetitive. It's a simple law of demand-n-supply that Rockstar Reshamiya fails to understand. He has had a great year with countless hits, and it's time he learnt to just chill rather than repeating himself recklessly in similar sounding music. As for his nasal-twang-powered vocals, I have nothing against them. For, he is classically trained and has an impressive range. But when in an album of six songs (Add another six remixes by DJ Akbar Sami), you hear him donning the singing cap ten times, it is surely an overdose. 'Rocky' is a decent music album, though it lacks variations. And yes, Himesh can add another chartbuster in 'Junoon' to his bulging list.
'Junoon' is creating waves. It's a typical Himesh Reshamiya number with the hook line repeating hundreds of time (Remember Jhoom Jhoom, Jhalak Dikhlaja, Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Aashiq Banaya Aapne, I Love You O Sayoni). Himesh blends his sufi singing style with the tinge of an electric guitar, bass-propelled western beats, sprinkling of a tabla loop and an energizing chorus loop. Amrita Kak has a small part to play while Himesh takes away the cake. In the middle, his scatting in an Indian Classical improvisation is very impressive. 'Junoon' shall be the fast-food-anthem of the hipsters for the next few months. Remixed version of 'Junoon' is nothing but a techno loop thronging attention throughout. The original in itself is ideal to rock the dance floors, but the added-up-tempo-beat takes away the fun. Not recommended is what I can say.
The opening keyboard-sarangi piece of 'Laagi Chhute Na' is reminiscent of the opening musical piece of 'Jhalak Dikhlaja'. Even the rhythm arrangement and even the fillers remind you of 'Jhalak'. Sarangi fillers, tabla-western beat loop running throughout the song and Himesh's vocals are the mainstay of this song. Nothing great. The stress of overwork clearly reflects as it's apparent that Himesh isn't enjoying himself while belting out this number. The club mix shall find favors for its youthfulness although there's nothing spectacularly different except for the up-tempo beat.
'My Love For You Is Not A One Night Stand'. I must say, it's a beautiful love ballad. There are moments when Himesh improvises upon his own voice and it looks completely different. This song is one such occasion. The softer side of Himesh the singer is fabulous. An empty city road in the middle of the night is inhabited by a couple madly in love. The blanket of darkness all around is illuminated by the nostalgic street lights of romance. No, it's not a teeny crush. There's maturity, yet it seems as if it's the first blush of love. Akriti Kakar's silken vocals compliment Himesh perfectly. I must say this girl has a bright future ahead. More music directors should use her vocals. I was also impressed with the music arrangements. Himesh has a damn good violen player in his team as the emotion bleeds in his playing style.
The remix of 'My Love For You' is a mixed bag. DJ Akbar Sami has really worked hard on this number. And it shows. Mixing a slow number is the real test for a DJ. Sami shines through. The techno clubby mix steps up the tempo and completely turns around this number. He retains the romantic spirit but makes sure you just can't resist the infectious dance beats. Akriti Kakar sounds sensuously enchanting. Hit the dance floor guys!
'Teri Yaad Bichake Sota Hoon' is an attempt at aping the sixties style of music. There's a piano loop that is repeated as a rhythm loop and sounds interesting. But the western rhythm loop is too repetitive. It's the same loop that one hears in most of Himesh Reshamiya numbers. He is back as a singer again and sounds uninspired. As for Tulsi Kumar, then girl, you don't have a future as a singer. Production values in this song are strictly average. Remixed version sounds relatively better for a few songs suit a certain number of beats. And here Sami's techno beats, coupled with western chorus line and the familiar piano rhythm line makes for fun listening. Even Himesh sounds better and much more hipper. I guess he owes certain amount of his success to DJ Akbar Sami for it's his mixes that have really catapulted Reshamiya's tunes.
'Dil Rang Le' starts with mischievous guitar strumming and has a fine follow up in Sunidhi Chauhan's rocking voice. Vinit, the Sa Re Ga Ma Find has find patronage from his guru. How does he sound? An okey dokey copy of Sonu Nigam. But when you have the original itself, why go for the copy. A bit of sedentary bhangra oye oye is thrown in good measure as well. The drawback lies in the rhythm pattern. Nothing unusual! That's where the fatigue-quotient comes into the picture. Music arrangements progress in a linear manner and once again the production values are substandard. DJ Remix is once again more impressive as it surely ensnares you on the dance floors and makes you groove to the sexy notes of Sunidhi. The rhythm loop is a cross between dhol, DJ spin wheels, and a steady western beat.
'Rocky Rock The World' is the last track of the album. Himesh must have been thinking that he has saved the best for the last. It's an impressive Rock number. But yet again the predictability of the rhythm pattern lets down! A keyboard melody loop is repeated throughout creating a haunting impact. Reshamiya's higher-pitch-fixation displays the chinks-in-the-armoury as too much of anything can be exhaustive. It's about time he discovers his middle octave singing as the natural bass in his voice shall make for impressive ghazal type of numbers. As for the club remix, it's a winner all the way. The keyboard melody pattern has been used very well while fusing with the disco beat. The spectacular rolls have been used perfectly making for great effect. There's only Fun on the Dance Floor baby.
At the end of the album, the obvious question arises that is 'Rocky' Music CD worth a buy? I would say yes it is. For it does ring a pleasant bell in your ears as a whole. Yes, I have issues with Himesh Reshamiya's predictability in terms of rhythm arrangements and lack of innovative musical pieces in his songs. And, it's for his own good that he looks into this department as soon as possible. This Rocky Rocks! Albeit not always.
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