Rewind – Nine Lost Memories

The Band Called Nine,a new group led by lyricist Neelesh Misra,music director Amartya Rahut and singer Shilpa Rao,revive the old Indian tradition of qissagoi or dastangoi (storytelling) interspersed with songs. The tales are about everyday lives,especially in small towns,with identifiable snippets from daily mundane happenings as simple as waiting at the bus-stops or small anecdotes about college canteens.

Subtly drawing attention also to key issues like how relationships have changed in the decades gone by (Hamare jhagde expiry date ke saath aate the,goes a story) and other transformations in the fabric of life,Neelesh Misra spins simple tales and also pens apt lyrics for the matching songs that follow. Amartya Rahut gets retro in his tunes too,and Shilpa Rao and Suraj Jagan,who,poor man,is saddled with screechy vocals in most cases,gets to be heard clearly and in sober mode with the lyrics.

A commendable and distinctive effort in concept,Rewind nevertheless suffers because it overdoes everything. After the fourth track and fourth story,things begin to pall. The commonplace stories get monotonous (though they are so many tones actually) by the sheer excess in quantum,and something similar happens to the songs. Wish they had kept the album restricted to nine select rather than 19 go-for-it-all tracks.

Ek Ladki Shabnmi Jaisi

Venus,Rs 65

A modest romantic album,it has seven tracks by Apoorva that are composed by Ricky Deb. Ek ladki and Teri palkey sound nice when you are hearing them,but there is nothing standout that remains in your mind. The music and lyrics are similarly undistinguished. This one’s meant for undemanding listeners.

Shiv Omkara

Times Music,Rs 295

Anup Jalota and Dinesh Kumar Dube sing odes to Lord Shiva that consist of prayers and hymns. The music is by Dinesh Kumar Dube and overall,it’s a good album with tracks like Sheesganga ardhang Parwati,Rudrashtakam and others. Ardent devotees of Lord Shiva will especially cherish this.

Mata Ki Jagrata

Times Music,Rs 150

Most albums on Mata and Jagratas feature high-pitched songs,but this one is as tranquil as they come,lending a strange dignity to the album. We have some wonderful songs like Namo namah namo namah (Anup Jalota),O maa yeh darbaar tera (Sanghamitra Barnali),Aao bajaaye majeera mridang (Anup-Sanghamitra) and five other songs dedicated to Vaishno Mata. The lyrics are by Mohan Sharma,who writes off the beaten track with a degree of richness in language,and the music is by Dinesh Kumar Dube. Rather nice to hear an uncoventional album in this genre.