Friday 31 May 2019

Rahul Dev Burman: Phir Kab Milogi (1971/1974) / Do Chor (1972)

Phir Kab Milogi

These two titles were, until recently, completely unknown to me. I suspect the reason might be that neither were particularly big hits, combined with the fact that the soundtracks never appeared as LPs. Or, maybe I'm simply not as knowledgeable as I think I am...

'Phir Kab Milogi' the movie came out in 1974, though it seems to have been held back a few years as this EP is dated 1971. All four songs are good; my favourites are 'Le Qai Khushbu' which has a great funk-pop vibe, and 'Kahin Karti Hogi' which is a take on the Herb Alpert (among others) track 'The Lonely Bull'. 'Ram Qasam Bura Nahin Manoongi' sounds vaguely familiar too, but at the moment I'm unable to place it.

Do Chor

1972's 'Do Chor' is more of the same. Pleasant pop tunes, unassuming yet still memorable, in that special Burman way. 'Meri Jan Meri Jan' may have borrowed some ideas from Cliff Richard's 'Fall In Love With You', but that's allowed, in Bollywood anyway. For me the EP's highlight is loungy drug number 'Yari Ho Gayi Yar Se'; I'm a sucker for that type of thing.

Track listing, 'Phir Kab Milogi':
1. Lata Mangeshkar: Le Qai Khushbu
2. Lata Mangeshkar: Ram Qasam Bura Nahin Manoongi
3. Lata Mangeshkar & Mukesh: Kahin Karti Hogi
4. Lata Mangeshkar: Tum Mujhse Roothe Ho

Track listing, 'Do Chor'
1. Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar: Kali Palak Teri Gori
2. Kishore Kumar: Meri Jan Meri Jan
3. Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar: Chahe Raho Door
4. Lata Mangeshkar: Yari Ho Gayi Yar Se


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16 comments:

  1. https://mir.cr/0WUIJE1Z
    no reups

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  2. A good find.your covers are in pristine condition!

    Phil Kab Milogi was dated when it came out in 1974. Both the leads were past their prime, and the songs were definitely recorded in the mid to late 1960s. It was mostly forgettable and a flop. I have the sings on an HMV /HMV saregama CD along with another film, and they sound like they've been ripped from an restored master. They're truncated, yet the film versions are longer.

    Do Chor, however, was a hit & rightly so. Raj Khosla's direction, plus a smattering of excellent and memorable songs helped the plot along.

    I've got this 7 inch (exactly the same cover) and these are truncated versions. Full versions and another song , which is a mujra number called 'Mora Chotta sa balamwa' by Lata mangeshkar , is on an hmv / saregama tape I own , which I suspect is also on CD

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    1. I read in a Burman biography that Phil Kab Milogi was begun in 1966, so it did take a while to complete. And yeah, more or less all songs on Bollywood EPs seem to be truncated; I try to avoid them if I know the soundtrack was released on LP.

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  3. The reasons for the truncation, is practical. A 45 rpm side of 7 inch vinyl can hold a max of 7 and a half minutes at good audio fidelity. Ergo, you'll get two 3.5 minute songs as a pretty hard & fast standard.

    The higher fidelity 7 inches have 1 song per side. I've got a handful of those, too, and they're noticeably louder in many cases. That's down to the groove spacing.

    Other factors are the cutting latches used, mastering room & e.q. etc.

    Phir Kab Milogi sat around in cans for a long time. This isn't uncommon for the late 60s , and even going up to the early to mid 80s. It's all down to reason; cashflow.

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  4. According to your wantlist, you want the 7 inch record called 'Nai Duniya Naye Log'. Just to let you know it has an alternative title called 'Nasha' which means drug in Hindi. The catalog number, the tracks and the year are all the same. Thank you for everything.

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    1. Thanks for the heads-up, I wasn't aware of that. Was it in fact ever released under the 'Nai Duniya Naye Log' title?

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    2. Yes. I think it was, since the movie is available on YouTube with that name instead of the other (i think), i have a feeling that the people who worked for this movie prefer the longer name. I can only guess that they don't like the title 'Nasha' because drugs are generally looked down upon in vintage india or maybe because of censorship around that time, i mean why is the general version of dum maro dum song by Burman so short? I ain't a Bollywood movie buff so forgive me for that. :^)

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    3. It's funny as are there loads of really cool Bollywood "drug songs" from that period. I've been considering making a mix of them for Mixcloud, a companion the the "drunk songs" mix I made a few years back.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Thanks for sharing both eps. Do you have janam teep in your collection?

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