Monday, September 24, 2007

Khaiyyaam: Nakhuda (1980)

A quicky: 'Nakhuda' is a collection of pleasant, traditional sounding songs... pretty, but bland. Everything on here's a bit humdrum, forgettable... not for me at all, but there you go. I probably just don't like Khaiyyaam much. The sleeve's alright though.Track listing:1. Mahendra Kapoor & chorus: Sahara Hai Nakhuda2. Lata Mangeshkar & Nitin Mukesh: Haem Tumse Mohabbat Hai3. Mahendra Kapoor,

Friday, September 21, 2007

Laxmikant Pyarelal: Karz (1980)

One that's been requested on a few occasions... good call, as 'Karz' is an excellent Laxmikant Pyarelal offering. Possibly their most dancefloor friendly; disco all around. The anthemic 'Om Shanti Om' starts things off with heavy beats, synth stabs, soaring horns and bits borrowed from Boney M (!); catchy as hell. 'Dard-E-Dil' has a great laid back groove and loads of fun instrumental details, '

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Rahul Dev Burman: Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973)

Another fine R.D. Burman score... seems as if he couldn't do anything wrong in 1973. 'Aa Gale Lag Jaa' [review] has a pleasant, quite mellow vibe to it... it's got bounce and all, but not as manic and intensely paced as a lot of his music from the period was.'Tera Mujhse', featuring the then 11-year old Sushma Shreshta (aka Poornima), reminds me of the title track from 'Yaadon Ki Baaraat'. Asha

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Music From The Third Floor: Vol. 2

Volume 2. As with the previous one, a summing up of the last 30 or so posts, a CD's worth of stuff I love - representing nothing but my personal taste. Any of you making CD-R comps of the albums you're downloading? In fact, that's not a bad idea... compile alternate samplers, upload them somewhere and post the links to the comments. In the meantime though, enjoy this. (Click the pic for a

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Laxmikant Pyarelal: Amar, Akbar, Anthony (1977)

Here's one that's really famous, film and soundtrack both. I once saw a copy of 'Amar, Akbar, Anthony' [review] on eBay go for about US$150... I paid less that 10 in a 2nd hand shop in Rotterdam, and to be honest, I probably could have passed up on it.Because this is another one of those huge hits that seemingly everyone loves but me; I'm just not able to get into it. (Of course, there's always

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Salil Chowdhury: Annadata (1971) / Sonik Omi: Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey (1972)

   Let's do some EPs again. Two excellent ones, from music directors I don't usually expect it - which, as so often before, just goes to show you can never be sure what to except from Bollywood records. 'Annadata' is the poppy one, with a great, feel-good 60s vibe. Starts off with a pretty Lata Mangeshkar song, followed by Kishore Kumar's ace 'Guzar Jaye Din'; rock 'n' roll light, chirpy and fun.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Kalyanji Anandji: Bombay 405 Miles (1980)

All out disco from da funk brothers, one that usually commands high prices on eBay. Which mostly has to do with the hugely popular (it was once anyway) 'Na Na Na - Yeh Kya Karne Lage Ho'. Sexy spoken vocals, panting, giggling; a great Blaxploitation-like groove with horns, wah-wah guitars and moogs... this is the Hindi 'Je T'Aime' (or, Hemlata is the Hindi Donna Summer). Silly, funny and steaming

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Laxmikant Pyarelal: Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978)

Bought this ages ago, played it once, didn't think much of it, stored it... I might not have been paying enough attention. Because listening to it now, I'm thinking 'Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki' is quite alright. Most of side one is Lata Mangeshkar, singing the title tune and several variants thereof - pretty, if maybe on the saccharine side in the long run. Side two has more variation; I like the