Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Kalyanji Anandji: Ghungroo (1983)

'Ghungroo' [review] is the most recent Kalyanji Anandji score I have, and as might be expected by the date, it's a bit unexciting. Not exactly bad; in fact several of the songs are moderately pleasant, albeit in a forgettable kind of way... it's just very apparent that the Shah Brothers' most creative years were behind them at this point.The first (short) version of 'Tere Daras Ke Pyasa' would be

Friday, January 23, 2009

Bappi Lahiri: Josh (1981)

Same year, same guy, but a lot better than the previous post. There are loads of reasons to dislike Bappi Lahiri. Like when he shamelessly steals other people's music; a near endless line of tacky rip-offs. But there are reasons to like him as well. Like when he steals other peoples' music, but actually gets it right. Case in point: 'Sab Kuchh To Hai'. Essentially a remake of 'The Sound Of

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Bappi Lahiri: Jyoti (1981)

The soundtrack to 'Jyoti' became something of a cause célèbre a few years ago, when Dr. Dre was sued for 500 million dollars because Truth Hurts' massive hit 'Addictive' had sampled one of its songs. (The irony of such a suit should be apparent to anyone familiar with Bappi Lahiri's reputation). Subsequently, for a few mad months in 2003, it was among the most sought after of Bollywood albums,

Monday, January 12, 2009

Sachin Dev Burman: Gambler (1971)

I quite like 'Gambler'. Half the score is background music, credited to Sachin Dev Burman but with plenty due to Rahul Dev... hard to go wrong with that. All the instrumentals are ace, possessing a mod, groovy vibe; upbeat and bouncy ('Title Music'), jazzy and cool ('Gambler As Trumpeter'), laid back and European sounding ('Gambler's Dilemma'), funky and wild ('Gambler in Danger')...The songs are