The Music of 1920s

On Vikram Bhatt's bhatakti aatma thriller 1920s, Adnan Sami does some nifty stunt casting in the soundtrack. He invites timeless (as in timeless aatma, get it?), classical maharathis to sing his pop confections. And he does something unusual - he barely tinkers with their vocals, leaving the blemishes (not that they could be called such) in. By doing this he gets some striking results.

Let's start with Pandit Jasraj's Vaada. Adnan's ability to traverse multiple genres of music results in a wonderful blend of instruments: sitar, violins, tablas and the piano. And Pandit Jasraj sings this entirely in his bass timbre. His voice results in a coarse melody - which Adnan fixes rather elegantly by throwing in sweet, short turns of a flute. Yet given Pandit's reputation, its hard to take your ears off the song.

Vaada has a distaff version, sung by Parveen Sultana. I haven't heard much of her (my misfortune I'll admit) but she sounds so relaxed on the song that its the vocal equivalent of doodling. Parveen combines power with melody in her voice, affording Adnan a more traditional diffused percussion. More interestingly Adnan pauses to add in a terrific Blues lick on a six string somewhere in the first third of the song.

Shobha Mudgal keeps her pitch high and hits straight note after note on Bichua, which begins with a male chorus alongside a guitar. Mudgal's vocal choices lend the composition a lot of energy and in the middle when she does wiggle her notes playfully, the song has notably registered its impact. Even with so much happening in the song, I appreciated Adnan's ability to do something interesting. As Bichua winds down, there is a Rockabilly riff on the guitar that's worth a listen.

There is more to discover on 1920s. Asha Bhonsle sings Aise Jalta Hai Jiya, which is a two paced song that alternates between a low slung sexy-ghoulish vibe and a more dramatic pace.

Kailash Kher softens his voice on the soulful, lifetime of love 1970s throwback Tujhe Main Pyar Karu. There are a couple of high notes on the synth in the rhythm that give the song its kinetics and plays well with Kailash's stretched notes.

1920s will probably go down as the CD in which Adnan reminded us all of his talent and helped us look beyond his pay the bills ventures of the past.

Also:

• Bichua is leera's favorite so far 
• Bitterlemons has memories of Parveen Sultana 
• Adnan did a great job with Lucky recalls Pitu 
• Pankha links to Adnan's classical Chamki Kiran 
• Which reminds dockaul of Albela Sajan 
• Anon has some info on Adnan's collaborator 
• Randomer-Than-You'll-Ever-Be has a song 
• Anon spots a Surdi trend 
• Anon recalls how Parveen Sultana went the Bhagyashree way