Thursday 13 September 2007

Salil Chowdhury: Annadata (1971) / Sonik Omi: Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey (1972)

Annadata

Let's do some EPs again. Two excellent ones, from music directors I don't usually expect it - which, as so often before, just goes to show you can never be sure what to except from Bollywood records.

'Annadata' is the poppy one, with a great, feel-good 60s vibe. Starts off with a pretty Lata Mangeshkar song, followed by Kishore Kumar's ace 'Guzar Jaye Din'; rock 'n' roll light, chirpy and fun. Then more sweetness from Lata before ending with the almost trippy 'Yahan Ab Kya Rahnae', sung by Manna Dey and Sabita Chowdhury (Salil's wife?)

Ek Khilari

'Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey' is slightly more out there; sounds pretty much like what you'd expect from the sleeve, very Burmanesque, especially 'Behroopiye Log Sare'; distorted organ, cool percussion, horn stabs, guitar licks, a wicked beat... But really, all three tracks are awesome (I love the children's chorus on 'Jio Mere Ladle').

Two near flawless records, the unfortunate fact that some of the songs are shortened notwithstanding - I think they did that a lot though to fit the format. I have no idea if LP versions exist (both scores are rare), but if they do they're certainly worth looking for.

Track listing, 'Annadata':
1. Lata Mangeshkar: Raton Ke Saye
2. Kishore Kumar: Guzar Jaye Din
3. Lata Mangeshkar: Nis Din Nis Din
4. Manna Dey, Sabita Chowdhury & Chorus: Yahan Ab Kya Rahnae

Track listing, 'Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey':
1. Asha Bhosle & Chorus: Jio Mere Ladle
2. Asha Bhosle: Le Le Yeh Dil Ka Nageena
3. Asha Bhosle: Behroopiye Log Sare

15 comments:

  1. Hello PC!
    Thank you for this fantastic blog!
    Do you have SACHAA JHUTHA by KALYANJI ANANDJI?
    Plus i´m desperately looking for some mysterious tamil CHANDRA BABU yodel songs. Any idea?
    Cheers, Enzky

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yup, Sachaa Jhutha will be posted at a later date. No idea about Chandra Babu though.
    PC x

    ReplyDelete
  3. One, two, cha cha cha, thank you, cha cha cha, soo great, cha cha cha..

    ReplyDelete
  4. So true errr cha cha cha :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yep, 3 of the 4 Annadata songs I have from elsewhere are significantly shorter here :( Raaton ke saaye which is one of my favs is 90 secs shorter!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey - soundtrack for Dreamgirl? -Hema Malini vehicle film
    Keep up the outstanding work!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nope, never heard of it. Good?
    PC x

    ReplyDelete
  8. That Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey is something else! Great stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Salil Chowdhury had made his major experiments in bollywood films with the help of Lata. He gave the solo song “jago mohan pyare” in Jagte Raho, in 1956, where there was chorus effect with the solo song.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I came to this goldmine looking for Annadata (O meri pran sajni). I can not thank enough for your effort. I am impressed even though my song was not here :(

    Do you have other songs of salilDa?

    ReplyDelete
  11. O Mere Pran Sajni:-

    http://www.videos-lyrics.com/hindi/bollywood-music-videos/annadata-o-meri-praan-sajni-jaya-bhaduri-anil-dhawan/

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'd just like to say that Sonik Omi has to be the best Bollywood composer name, like, EVER.

    ReplyDelete