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A bit of everything yet nothing
Megha Mishra
New Delhi
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Tanha Sa Hoon |
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A BIT OF blues, a bit of acoustic, a bit of ballad and a lot of Leslie’s experimentation. That is what Tanha sa hoon is all about.
A total of seven songs, all sung by him in the lead with a few female singers too. (duet is not really the word here. They are backing or supporting vocals. )
The title song of the album, Tanha sa hoon can be called the best of the lot. It sounds fresh, melodious and vibrant. Building on the tempo and the momentum as it progresses, it slows down at a point, and hits back again, it is something which lingers on. As is the last song, Tere Bina. A song which would keep readers company while reading a book in the night. It is the smooth guitar riff and sweet sound of the flute that makes it for the mood.
Moving on to O jaana- sha na na na, a song which fails to impress since it is too simple. Lyrics are weak and so is the song.
Another song which may fail to soothe or engage was Aaja tu aaja. In one word it could be described as — boring! This song as the composer claims was liked by Asha Bhosle a lot, years ago and was composed in 1986, but Leslie made Asha sing, Janam samjha karo, which sounds a lot better than this one.
Next is Saawariya calling, a mix of Suchismita’s thumri and Leslie’s Hindi-English lyrics. This one disappoints but for Suchismita’s effortless thumri which appears towards the end of the song and hooks you.
At last is Mai jaadoo, an upbeat song which stands apart from the rest for it peps up the mood. It could easily become popular with young minds and hearts. Dhols add the Indian flavour to it which when combined with a guitar, drums and base creates something new.
Another new element to the album is Leslie’s wife, Divya who also lends her voice. About which Leslie jokes and mentions the ghar ki moorgi syndrome disclosing the lack of funds which made him put her into the backing vocals.
It could be a breather in the times of Munni, Sheila and Tinku for some but is not really so. Tanha sa hoon fails completely at lyrics. Music ranges between average and below average.
Leslie sounds good in almost all the songs. The use of bansuri and acoustic guitar is perfect and has been used aptly. Experimentation could be rated above average as it is something which is not expected of Indipop. But a lot more from this pioneer of Indian pop music is expected. It could have certainly been a lot better than this.
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