Album Title: Listener's choice
Inreco
CD
Tracks
1 Sri Ganesa Saranam: Raga Tilang:
2. Kanden Seethaiyai: Raga Bagesri:
3. Tunga Teera: Raga Yaman: Tala Adi:
4. Koovi Azhaikka: Raga Sindhu Bhairavi:
5. Nandanandana: Raga Desh:
6. Muralidara: Raga Maandu:
7. Enna Solli Azhaithal: Raga Kanada:
8. Koovi Azhaithaal: Raga Valaji:
9. Janaki Ramana: Raga Kapi:
10. Srinivasa: Raga Hamsanandi:
11 Kaliyuga Varadan: Raga Brindavani:
The opening song of the album is Papanasam Sivan's "Sri Ganesha Saranam" in Thilang. Slow, but not bad. Overall, a very average rendition.
The next song is Arunachala Kavirayar's "Kanden Seethaiyai". More commonly sung in Vasantha to suit the lyrics, it is also sung in Bageshri. Bombay Jayashree rendition in the latter raga is glorious. Very beautiful. She puts a lot of bhaavaa into this song and unsurprisingly, her version is very popular. While the song doesn't require this particular type of bhaavaa, the listener doesn't care. The bhaavaa and tune make it an excellent rendition.
A slokam on Raghavendra Swami in Yaman follows. Not bad. Then Thunga Theera Virajam is sung in the same raga composed by Kamalesha Daasar. The speed is faster than the average rendition of this song, and it's ok. Her nasal style is almost invisible throughout this rendition to the relief of yours truely. However, it sounds more like a bhajan, and the slowness and sweetness of Yaman is neglected.
The orchestra's lead up to the next song in Sindhu Bhairavi was poorly executed, again missing the beauty of this raga. Papanasam Sivan's "Kooviazhaikka Koodathaa" in the same raga follows. It's very slow and lacks the type of bhaavaa that the song requires. The orchestra further makes it sound like a film song. Frustratingly pathetic!
The Desh raga is clearly distinct in the opening of the next song, Lalithadaasar's "Nandanandana". In stark contrast to the previous song, delightful!
Periyasami Thooran's popular "Muralidhara" in Maand followed. It was sung well, as expected.
The next song is Ambujam Krishna's evergreen "Enna Solli Azhaithaal" in Kaanadaa. The orchestra's lead up is much more encouraging than their Sindhu Bhairavi attempt. In her kutcheri versions, Bombay Jayashree sings this poorly. However, in this track, she starts off singing it very well. The orchestra's bits of Kaanadaa are wonderful. As I expected, her voice struggled in the anupallavi and her shruthi falters, but she doesn't make the mistake in the charanam. Not bad. As she renders the pallavi for the final time, the glimpses of the beauty of Kaanadaa show in her voice.
The next song is "Koovi Azhaithaal" (Valaji), composed by N.S.Chidambaram.Bombay Jayashree sings this better in her kutcheris than in this track, but nevertheless, it is quite ok!
A nice Kapi opening by the orchestra follows. Bombay Jayashree sings "Janaki Ramana" pleasingly well. Her exploration of the beauty of Kapi is wonderful. Terrific!
THe orchestra's opening of Hamsaanandhi is quite good, and this is followed by Papanasam Sivan's "Srinivasa. She renders this quite well. The tempo is well chosen.
The final song of the album is "Kaliyuga Varadhan" in Brindavani by Periyasami Thooran. It's ok. Not the best of endings.
Overall, this album has its pros and cons. Personally, the only reason I would buy this album is to listen to the Bhageshri. Other than that, unless it's half price (as only half of it is good), I wouldn't buy it.
