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Kadapurathoru sounds rhythmically good, but is terribly predictable - everything after the first line is so obvious - worse, the anupallavi is teeming with that damn synth. Marachonnu is embarrassing, that aanum-pennum chorus is cringe-worthy. Ponathevide, thankfully, is rendered by Raja himself and that makes all the difference. Shuba niyogamalle is the pick of the album - Bhavatharini’s singing is incredible and so is Raja’s soulful, bhajan-like tune. But Innalle mutthathu is plain hopeless - despite that oft-heard catchy background rhythm. SMS is yet another hackneyed soundtrack by the Maestro – barring his own and his daughter’s tracks. Small mercies, those!

Keywords: Bala, Navya Nair

Kastoori pottum has everything you expect out of a Raja song, Vijay Yesudas’ vocals moving through every direction the composer has conjured up in the tune…heck it even has a come-sing-along-with-me cue and a kid joins in chorus. Sreekumar’s Kando kando is yet another example - a combination of 80s Raja’s tune and the 90s Raja’s in the interludes. Manasiloru poomala, barring those awkwardly bad English intrusions, asserts the description in line one! But…there’s a small problem. Times have changed, my dear Raja! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your music – it’s just that I’ve – unfortunately - grown out of it.

Keywords: Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine

Rimi Tomy’s sparkling vocals add immense value to the traditional Murugan song, Aarumugan munnil, while Ee raavil is a delightful potpourri of a weird prelude, techno backgrounds and a hint of Nordic/ Scandinavian folk! Kanalugal is comparatively routine, though very pleasant, but Kannin vaadhil is a scintillating 80s Ilayaraja-styled lullaby with nuanced mod additions – something even the Maestro does only in Malayalam, these days! Kattuda kattuda is boisterous, catchy and almost fully in Tamil! The Mulla theme with its exotic sound is interesting too, barring that MuLLa pronunciation! Vidyasagar’s work in Mulla is an interesting package – varied, massy and enjoyable.

Keywords: Dileep, Meera Nandan, Sruthi Menon, Biju Menon, Innocent

Yesudas’ Kalyani Dharmavathi (see comments) in Ambe vaani and Kavalam Sreekumar, Sankaran Namboodri combination in Shabdhamayee (Shanmugapriya? Jonpuri? Raagavardhini - see comments) present the now-outdated, unadulterated filmi-classical genre. Ishtakkari, despite its neat anupallavi, has amazingly annoying backgrounds, while Manase manase evokes sleep, instead of the intended feeling, sorrow. Paattellaam is so very 80s, but is a fun listen at least for those interludes. Finally, Ilayaraja gets almost everything right - thanks to Sriranjani - in Vasandha nilaavin, with Madhu Balakrishnan’s glorious vocals. Given a script supposedly soaked in music, Ilayaraja perhaps was a natural choice. Sadly, the overall package concocted by the veteran composer doesn’t particularly excite.

Keywords: Jayaram, Vimala Raman, Girish Puthencherry, Saikumar, Suryan, Suriyan

Note: My raaga knowledge is rather limited and based essentially out of curiosity than any kind of formal training. Pardon me if you do not agree with the raagas mentioned. Request a mail/ comment with your point of view, in such cases.

It’s a rather strange dual dichotomy actually. Firstly, the man gives us his best in languages other than Tamil, namely Telugu and Malayalam. The second one is that while two of Vinodayatra’s tracks are embarrassingly archaic, complete with exasperating orchestration and obsolete tunes, the other two are vintage Raja-styled gems. Kaiyetha kombathu is an exquisite composition with intricately beautiful orchestration that flows as smoothly as it gels with a gorgeous, undulating tune. Mandarappoo, on the other hand is an effortless composition with an array of usual Raja ingredients used optimally. This Sathyan Anthikad films will gain immensely from these compositions!

Keywords: Dilip, Dileep, Meera Jasmine

Karthik sounds out of form in Butterfly. But, despite a rather childish tune, the track has something interesting with a smattering of German and curiously catchy! Raja goes pretty mod in the prelude of Kalikonda chaamundi. But a 90s synth tune and sound is what you actually get. The same annoying heard-before synth sound opens Thottaavaadi. The ginguchakkaan humming irritates even more. Raja uses his standard raga-based composition in Varavelkumo. Sarasangi? Mayamaalavagowlai? In any case, considering that the raaga has been used pretty often, it only adds to the overall deja-vu effect. That very effect also drags the soundtrack down!

Keywords: Ilayaraja, Dileep, Dilip, Kamal, Pacha Kuthira

Aathin Karayorathe is a pleasant melody that has Manjari’s sorta put-on stylish singing adding charm. Despite a strong deja-vu effect Ponnaavani paadam impresses with the old-world interludes laden with flute. Poo kungumapoo - in both Yesudas’ and Chitra’s versions - is the pick of the soundtrack with vintage orchestration and lovely Raja-styled directions that the tune adopts. Thevaaram’s unconventional opening is absolutely Raja’esque though it peters out in a predictable mode later. Rasathanthiram, tune-wise, is vintage Raja. In Malayalam, which is more familiar with the softer, tuneful and mellow side of Raja, this is a significant advantage! Thematically fits better!

Keywords: Sathyan Anthikad, Ilayaraja, Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine, Innocent