Monday, December 29, 2008

Rahul Dev Burman: The Great Gambler (1978)

'The Great Gambler' [title sequence] [review]: A late 70s RD Burman effort, and as is expected of the vintage, lots of interesting stuff going on; great grooves a plenty. There's Oriental drama in 'Raqqasa Mera Naam', folky pop in 'Pahle Pahle Pyar Ki Mulaqatan Yaad Hain', groovy night club stylings in 'Tum Kitne Din Baad Mile', psychedelic exotica in 'Dance Music', and all of the above plus more

Friday, December 26, 2008

Madan Mohan: Hanste Zakhm (1972)

I mentioned a short while back that Madan Mohan made one of my favourite Bollywood albums. Here it is; not the most consistent soundtrack I own, but featuring two tracks that both fall into the 'stop whatever you're doing' category.Mohd. Rafi's 'Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho' is a stunning, psychedelic marvel of a song. Weird, shifting melodies, swirling violins, tight drums, thunder crashes and frenzied

Monday, December 15, 2008

Music From The Third Floor: Vol. 4

It's been a while since I did one of these. So here's volume four. 75+ minutes of fine, fine music. With cover art. Have I left anything out?Merry Christmas.Track listing:1. Uljhan Hazaar Koi Dale (from Chandi Sona)2. Mujhe Maar Daalo (from Geeta Mera Naam)3. Chor Lutera Daku (from Ustad)4. Dil Chhina Chain Churaya (from Dhongee)5. Kahte Hain Mujhko Raja (from Naami Chor)6. Mushkil Hai Jeena (

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Optimism

When I won my copy of Usha Khanna's 'Honeymoon' some 2 years ago, I bid something like $15, and being the only interested party, ended up paying $7. I'm thinking the person offering this copy for sale is either ridiculously optimistic, or a scammer of unheard of proportions. (I love the 'for the serious collector' bit).And for anyone with even more money to throw away, literally, here's another

Friday, December 12, 2008

Rahul Dev Burman: Mazdoor (1983)

A RD Burman effort from when he wasn't that good anymore, at least not consistently so. To be honest, there's nothing on 'Mazdoor' that excites me; no spectacular arrangements, no mad thumping grooves, no memorable melodies. Except for 'Pahla Pahla Pyar Na Bhoole', which is sort of (schmaltzily) pretty. Plus it's nice to hear someone other than the usual suspects singing for a change. But that's

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Naushad: Ram Aur Shyam (1967)

I probably bought this one (cheaply, I hope) for the cover; too bad the music on 'Ram Aur Shyam' [review] isn't quite as good. I'm rather partial to Lata's sweet, pretty 'Maine Kab Tumse Kaha Tha', but that's the only song here I'd really highlight. There's a pleasant latin feel (and nice piano) to 'Aaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki Salami Lele', and 'Main Hoon Saaqi Tu Hai Sharabi' and 'Aayee Hai Baharen

Monday, December 8, 2008

Laxmikant Pyarelal: Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1970)

The next couple of posts, starting with 1970's 'Mehboob Ki Mehndi', are all somewhat lacking in the excitement stakes (got some killers lined up for Christmas though). I sort of like 'Itna To Yaad Jai Mujhe' with its sitars, heavy percussive rhythm and instrumental break a few minutes into the song; the rest just sound monotonous and dull. I remember reading once that 'Ye Jo Chilman Hai' has a

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Changed the layout... I was utterly fed up with the old one. It ain't perfect by a long shot; ideally I'd design my own from scratch instead of using an existing template, but being of the lazy persuasion and not really bothered with learning the coding, this will suffice. For now.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Usha Khanna: Hawas (1974)

(This soundtrack is simultaneously being posted on Parties, Sarees and Melodies. Go have a look.)I've yet to properly sink my teeth into the music of Usha Khanna, but each time I hear something of hers, I want to find out more. The last one I posted was excellent, as is 'Hawas'. There's a great, loungy vibe contained within most of the score; psych-tinged, jazz-tinged, pop-tinged - or any