SOTD #788: sigappu kallu mookkuththi from ellOrum nallavarE

[bb]

Song of the Day: sigappu kallu mookkuththi from ellOrum nallavarE.

http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/788.html

- Udhaya writes:

Song: sivappu kallu mUkkuththi
Film: Ellorum Nallavare
Singers: TMS, PS
MD: V.Kumar
Lyricist: Pulamaippiththan

I searched long and hard for this V.Kumar themmAngu only to find it tucked away in Saravanan's fabulous series on V.Kumar:

http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3700

All along I've known this song's a keeper, but I had forgotten the grace notes that decorate it. VK brings out the song's galloping spirit mainly through tabla for the first minute; the way the tabla undulates and stutter steps it, there's no point in resisting the song's pull. Then a flash of violin, some thamukku, a very short flute piece all arranged in perfect intervals cover the entire song's orchestration. Now, imagine any of today's MDs attempting this less-is-more feat. It almost seems an unfair suggestion doesn't it?

Other than the composition, the treasure is in the rurally cooked lyrics by Pulamaippiththan and the deep familiarity in the exchanges between TMS and PS. Another telling aspect of the rendition and pacing is the way each phrase is savored and relished without being hailed at us like confetti. TMS once exclaimed to a friend with sincere liberty, "Suseelaammaavum naanum kalaik kaadhalargaL". That sentiment comes through uncontrived here with TMS getting into it adoringly with "aahaa...appidippOdu".

This kind of ease and spontaneity is hard to imagine between Hariharan and Harini or between Karthik or Tippu and the myriad of technically weaned one song wonders yet to assail us over-the-transom.

- padaiththaanE brahma dEvan from the same film: http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/160.html

[ak]

Udhaya, nice pick. Haven't heard this one for a long time.

I thought the jibe at the new singers at the end was needless. While I agree with your observation on spontaneity, I must confess I find TMS's voice quite irritating at times. Even in this song, he sounds out of control in the end. Suseela sounds great, of course.

The advantage that TMS and PS had over the current crop of singers was time. They had fewer songs to record, music directors were less hurried, flaws were cooperatively ironed out.

The songs' and the singers' merit aside, I could not let that comment pass.

- ak.

[Guest]

ak,

You are welcome to take issue with my comment, but I certainly don't feel that it was needless or inappropriate. Maybe if modern singers spent more time on enunciation and emotion they wouldn't be so replaceable. While technically there is an army of qualified singers out there, in terms of getting into the spirit of a song, its meaning, its mood, I see very little that a modern singer brings to a song in TFM. All this could be the level of control or lack of imagination on the MD's part, but to a listener like me it doesn't quite measure up aesthetically.

Also, being less hurried is not just a sign of the times, it also shows the value placed on a song these days. I've heard people like SPB bemoan the reckless pace of recording these days where certain MDs don't bother to even correct off-key singing in their recordings.

This is not age or period bias. Someone like Shankar Mahadevan or Sadhana Sargam (when she passes the acid test of pronunciation) is a great addition to the pantheon of TFM singers. But the hit or miss ratio is sad.

[Udhaya]

aaarrrggghhh! That was me posting above, not a guest. Unusually, I changed the browser for something else and caused this.

[corley]

Udhaya,

Good pick. "Pagai konda ullam" by KJJ and "padaiththanae brahma devan" by SPB are two other good ones from the same film. Have they been featured in SOTD?

corley

[ak]

Udhaya,

I have my gripes against the quality of singing as well. Much as I want to say "oh, those were the days", I believe the singing field is more democratic these days. (Actually, I do say "oh, those were the days" when I hear the lyrics of Kannadasan and the old Vali).

As I said, the huried methods are a mitigating factor when you measure the youngsters. If you look at the number of movies and songs produce in those days, now wonder TMS and PS had the time to develop the rapport they achieved. In fact, I'd argue TMS was way overused, and often outside his areas of competence, just as some youngsters today are.

And the human mind has a funny way of equating the old days, meaning a few decades, against "now" (the last year or so). I like the fact that new singers are tried. It's a delight when you discover a new voice ("who is that voice? he/she is good"). I was delighted to hear Mahanadi Shabhana, The girl who sang "puyale uyale", and the girls who sing "Kanda naal mudhalai".

I feel I've hijacked your original point somewhat. You lamented the lack of bhavam in the newer singers. Given the lyrics these days, what Bhavam do you expect? What's the approriate bhavam for "dailamo dailamo"?

Whe the lyrics are appropriate, some (not many) of the current singers can summon the emotions. To me, "Uyirum neeye" is as moving as "poo mudippal inda poonguzhali".

Corley, Udhaya has linked "Padaithane" at the bottm of the article.

- ak.

[Guest]

"Given the lyrics these days, what Bhavam do you expect? What's the approriate bhavam for "dailamo dailamo"? "

Forget dailamo, take nenjankoottil neeye nirkiraai from the same album and note how the singer has made a mess of it. Another one of those one-song wonders who probably wont get many more chances to sing(and deservedly so in this case). Singing field getting democratic sometimes means that there is a parity of mediocrity, thats all. Sometimes I would rather have just 6 or 7 pretty good singers singing most of the songs like how it used to be in the 60s.

I dont think the hurried nature of recording is as much a problem(after all SPB/KJY/SJ used to record 10-15 songs in a day too without compromising on bhaavam) the current trend/gimmick to introduce 2 new singers every album(some from the Hindi world)just for the sake of it. As a result, there are 100+ singers introduced in the last 2 or 3 years with most of them not getting further opportunities. The grooming of singers is non-existent now. You wont be able to listen to most voices and identify the singer rightaway. With this being the trend, even if a genuinely great voice is found its going to get lost amidst the crowd there. For example, Sujatha is already mostly forgotten. (Adding to this trend is the quality of lyrics/composition). Playback singing is no longer a full fledged career with singers having to heavily rely on shows abroad where they sing the same solitary hit song 20 times over to make money.

[vijay]

Previous post was mine

[Guest]

"The advantage that TMS and PS had over the current crop of singers was time. They had fewer songs to record, music directors were less hurried, flaws were cooperatively ironed out."

Absolutely correct. Not only the said pair, but applicable for AMRaja and his wife Jikki, later for SPBala with SJ/VJ and even PS. We can quote a few more pairs in addition to these, who had good chemistry between them apart from good amount of time. FYI, Ayiram nilave vaa went for more than 10 times of recording. With such team effort and hard work they produced great songs. That is why, still their contribution is discussed even now.
Can we quote anyone of such pair nowadays? A singer these days gets about 10 songs only per year. They have much more time than to do lot of practice and perform well. But is there any outstanding artist for whom we can all stand for? Yes, nothing wromg to say "andha kaalam andha kaalam thaan".

[ragothamanr]

That is a good pick! I longed to hear this song. Thanks.

[Murali Venkatraman]

I do not believe in this "pair chemistry" fundas since it is, in my opinion, just an illusion. Take the case of SPB when he sang with Sadhana Sargam (manasukkuL oru puyal, swasame). He has sung hardly 10 duets with Sadhana till date I think and given the speed with which he records, I wonder if he stood there to work out the singing chemistry between him and sadhana. Worse, I doubt he hardly saw her when the songs was recorded.

In other words, I think playback singers are just another form of actors and ppl like SPB are going to act whether there is a co-actor present or not. They are capable of delivering the same performance in solo acting that it appears to the listener that he has a chemistry. Or to say that the 'so called chemistry' is merely synthetic is not an overstatement.

I do not find any difference in the singing of SPB or KJY with Janaki, chitra or Susheela - they just sing the song in their own way. But I do agree that two good singers could inspire each other (SPB has acknowledged Janaki and Chitra has ack ed SPB) if present at the same place. But looking beyond that and trying to understanda "chemistry" is just an illusion in my opinion.

such a chemistry could probably have occurred between the composer and the singer though, because both of them get to spend a lot of time together. for e.g. SPB-MSV, Chitra - Ravindran, KJY-Ravindran, Janaki-IR and so on.

[k p subramanian]

Sorry to interrupt. Who is this ak? Is he a great singer? I wish I could hear him sing at least a couplet. Leave alone a couplet, at least one clear note of natham. I just can't understand why people shoot their mouth uncalled for. He comments on TMS sounds like dog's bark at the Sun. Sorry again for being harsh.

[Udhaya]

k p subramanian,

ayyA, if you didn't use disparaging analogies at ak you wouldn't have anything to be sorry about. However, public figures can be discussed as people feel about them (unless the remarks are blatantly nasty), if we prevent that, then there will be nothing for us to discuss here other than statistics and facts.

[Guest]

Mr Subramanian, I am quite a competent singer - don't claim to be as good as TMS, but certainly sound better than a barking dog :-) To paraphrase Cho Ramaswamy, I am allowed to say the egg is rotten, even if I lack the ability to lay eggs myself.

Anyway, please don't get too excited. I do like serveral of old TMS classics. I like his diction, and ability in certain kind of songs. I like few other songs of his, although his his singing doesn't appeal to me. I maintain that some of his songs were carried by music, lyrics and the co-singer (mostly P.S).

That is not the same as saying I can sing better than him.

- ak. (who used to sing in school-days).

[Guest]

Hey guys ! cool pls ! :D

Though the composition was nice, its a harsh fact that both TMS & PS were not at their best for the simple reason - age factor .
How can we expect them ( for that matter , any individual ) to maintain the same golden voice intact !

Needless to say, this song was a super hit .

S.Balaji

[ak]

Balaji, I'm not offended, but I do appreciate the intervension from Udhaya and yourself.

However, I seem to have been excited enough to miss the intended respose to MS, on his comments on 'pair chemistry'.

MS, There may be some truth to what you say - the experienced singers can adapt on the fly. The newcomers, however may a longer time to get used to each other.

The fact that SPB and Sargam may have hardly "seen each other" is a sign of time. It's like microwave food, designed more for efficiency than quality. That is precisely why I don't find "swasame" as satisfying as some old classics, although I can fault the tune or the singing.

What I can say for sure is that I've heard Carnatic musicians comment on how they are inspired by playing with certain others. Granted, film music doesn't have as much scope to improvise, but the confidence and the challenge provided by certain partners has to be a factor.

- ak.

[Lokesh.]

"I do not find any difference in the singing of SPB or KJY with Janaki, chitra or Susheela - they just sing the song in their own way. "

"But looking beyond that and trying to understanda "chemistry" is just an illusion in my opinion."

You are spot on, MS. This, I had said, in a subtle phrase some time ago -- "I have yet to come accross a bad singing pair."