narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR   Mahmood Khan / Rarity Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 Settled in Australia, Pakistan-born Mahmood Khan has had a pretty eclectic track record. He's recorded with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, forayed into jazz and classical crossover, and also tasted success in mainstream pop. His latest EP Rarity sees him focus on dance-pop, with reggae and reggaeton flavours peppering most songs. Five of the six songs are English, the other one being in Urdu. There's a 1980s-style feel-good vibe about this selection, and the guitars and brass lend vibracy. The opening track 'Automation' sets the tempo with its reggae-dance sound, perfect for playing at a  beach party. "I like the way you feel", he sings, as the brass gently caresses the song's backdrop. The first single 'Battle Is Uphill' has shades of slower-tempo Bee Gees, with the choruses adding to the charm. The Urdu 'Chal Dil Mere' has the vibrant lines "Chal le

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Salman Ali & Paras Nath/ Kaise Sarkar Label: Sufiscore  Rating: **** Salman Ali is definitely one of the most soulful male singers of the younger generation. His harkats are a treat, and his honey-drenched voice takes you to another zone. One still hums his Dabangg 3 number 'Awara'. On 'Kaise Sarkar', he teams up with Paras Nath, otherwise known as a flautist but strictly on production, arrangement and back-up vocal duty here. The song uses a Sufi ghazal format and is based on a composition earlier written by Karamat Ali and Imtiaz Ali Khan. The strings and choruses are used perfectly. Haider Khan's video captures hills, streams and boats. Myra Sareen (in picture) and Absar Habib look great. But the star is clearly young Salman. One looks forward to many more from him. Asees Kaur & Abhijeet Srivastava/ Boli Tujhse Label: VYRL Originals Rating: *** 1/2 Asees Kaur and Abhijeet Srivastava coordinate wonderfully on this sweet love song,

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder/ Get On Board Genre: Folk-blues Label: Nonesuch Records Rating: ***** When two legendary American musicians collaborate, you know you're in for a good dose of magic. What's even more interesting is that Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder have recorded something together after 54 years, paying tribute to their heroes Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Cooder last appeared as a guest on Taj's 1968 debut album. Before that, in 1965, they had formed a short-lived group called The Rising Sons, recording songs which were released later in the early 1990s. On the new album Get On Board , Henry St Claire Fredericks Jr aka Taj Mahal plays harmonica, guitar and piano, besides singing. Ryland Peter Cooder is on vocals, guitar, banjo and mandolin, with his son Joaquim Cooder on percussion and bass. The songs they choose were popularised by harmonica legend Terry and guitarist McGhee, who were part of the folk-blues revival in the 1950s and early 1960s.

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  2Blue/ Heaven On Their Minds  Label: Self-released Rating: **** Fans of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar would be familiar with the song 'Heaven On Their Minds', composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Tim Rice. Now, Mumbai-based Tirthankar Poddar aka 2Blue creates a fresh rendition and video of the classic. Flora Saini co-stars in the video, which has been brilliantly produced. The message, "You are the light, keep burning" appears in the end, which also has a twist in the plot. 2Blue has been a popular rock vocalist for around two decades, and played Judas Iscariot in Alyque Padamsee's 2014 production. Here, he's joined by guitarist Nishith Hegde, bassist Ashwin Shriyan and drummer Mayank Sharma. And there's that unforgettable intro and climax. Heaven! Sahaj Chawla and Madhav Khanna/ Udaan Label: Self-released Rating: *** 1/2 Sahaj Chawla and Madhav Khanna collaborate on 'Udaan', a motivational song that is just

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  3rd Secret/ 3rd Secret Genre: Alternative indie-folk Label: Self-released  Rating: *** In what's been the biggest rock surprise of the past few months, three big stars of the 1990s Seattle grunge movement launched the self-titled debut album of their new group 3rd Secret on Monday, April 11. Fans never knew it was coming. Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and drummer Matt Cameron, who's played with Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, have come together on this. Joined by Void guitarist Bubba Dupree, and an interesting choice of two female vocalists Jillian Raye and Jennifer Johnson, they released 11 songs spread over 49 minutes. Grunge veteran Jack Endino is co-producer. Yet, though fans expected an out-and-out grunge album, the sound is more of alternative indie-folk, with some trademark Kim guitar passages thrown in off and on. Jillian, who was part of Krist's band Giants In The Trees, has been co-credited with him and Mat

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Subhash Kamath/ The Only Real Thing Label: Self-released  Rating: **** An advertising professional who loves to sing, Mumbai-based Subhash Kamath was inspired to record this song after meeting blues legend Buddy Guy at a Mahindra Blues Festival party some years ago. With instrumental inputs from Indian musicians located in the US, he sings, "Love and hate, both four-letter words, one has been forgotten, the other rules the world", while emphasising that "the only real thing is the blues". The song, whose lyrics are written by Subhash, also mentions his encounter with Buddy. Composition is by Christopher Vaz, who also plays piano. Former Indus Creed guitarist Jayesh Gandhi comes up with a stylish solo. Bassist Neil Mathias and drummer Anil Das complete the line-up. Surely, this is a valuable addition to the Indian blues catalogue. Aditi Iyer/ Deleted Your Number Label: Self-released Rating: *** Last year, Mumbai-based singer Aditi Iyer released her

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Movie: Metal Lords Director: Peter Sollett Cast: Adrian Greensmith, Jaeden Martell, Isis Hainsworth Music: Ramin Djawadi Genre: Musical/ Heavy metal  Streaming on: Netflix Rating: *** The main character dons Anthrax and Messhugah tees. The rehearsal set list includes Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' and Tool's 'Schism'. Artwork of Pantera's 'Vulgar Diplay Of Power' and Iron Maiden's 'Aces High' are on display. In this world, Metallica, Slayer and Judas Priest are the gods. Directed by Peter Sollett and written by Game Of Thrones co-creator D.B. Weiss, Metal Lords is a 98-minute Netflix feature film that pays tribute to the heavy metal genre. More specifically, it focuses on death metal and doom metal - for these folks, Rock Of Ages is bland and outdated. Thus, there is plenty of screaming, shredding and power-drumming. In some ways, it is the metal follow-up to the Jack Black hit School Of Rock . Metal Lords may h

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Ojas Adhiya & Alap Desai/ Tabla Symphony  Label: Times Spiritual Rating: ***** Over the years, there have been some noted instances where Indian classical music has been combined with western symphonic orchestration. Pt Ravi Shankar's two Sitar Concertos , sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's Samaagam and tabla great Ustad Zakir Hussain's Peshkar are some examples. Now, tabla exponent Ojas Adhiya teams up with composer Alap Desai on Tabla Symphony. It's a marvellous composition based on raag Mishra Kirwani and using different time signatures and mini-movements. While the tabla is the focus, there are some dazzling arrangements by the Chennai Strings, helped by Manas Kumar's solo violin and ID Rao's key-flute and clarinet. The sounds are layered in architectural fashion, and there's no shortage of sonic surprises. The playing resonates melodic power and harmony, as Ojas shines on his passages and Alap's composition moves seamles

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Red Hot Chili Peppers/ Unlimited Love Genre: Funk-rock/ alternative  Label: Warner Records Rating: ** 1/2 The new Red Hot Chili Peppers album Unlimited Love  has a few comebacks to its credit. Guitarist John Frusciante returns after his 2009 departure, replacing Josh Klinghoffer. Producer Rick Rubin is back after a decade. And this is their first studio album after The Getaway in 2016. Naturally, expectations are high, but that's where the problem lies. A few tracks into the album, and things seem to to ramble on, often seeming like pale outtakes of the older gems. It seems 17 tracks is a bit much, and there's nothing half as anthemic as 'Under The Bridge', 'Give It Away', 'Californication', 'Scar Tissue' or 'Snow'.  Individually, the musicians have their moments. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis gets straight to business on .the opening track 'Black Summer' with the lines, "Cremation takes its piece of your suppl