Shaa'ir + Func - New Day : The Love Album

Artist : Shaa'ir + Func
Album : New Day - The Love Album
Reviewed by : Mr. Rastafarian

Very Recently (one week ago to be exact) I received this package from an online music store called MusicYogi. I shall not reveal the contents of the package, but the only thing I'll reveal is that I got a cd called "New Day - The Love Album" in it's white packing case. This album is by new electronica/pop musicians "Shaa'ir + Func", who aren't so new after all.




The duo comprises of Monica Dogra a.k.a Shaa'ir (urdu for poet) and Randolph Correia who goes by his alias Func (he also plays for Pentagram and is also a producer). They recently released their first album "New Day - The Love Album" at Zenzi's in Mumbai and when I heard the album, I was gripped immediately. I described this album as an electro/pop album, but it has hints of Funk, in HIT, R&B in Oops and some jazz and blues here and there.

The album starts of with the 9PM side. The 9PM side represents the fact that the songs on this side are good to be played after 9PM. They are the remixed songs. More like songs that could be good played in clubs. "It's Probably That" starts the album which builds up to move slow and comfortably. It then moves onto "Broken" which has this R&B feel and then "HIT" which has this funky vibe. Next comes "Government" which can be said to be a song about the Indian government in this age (really :P). The lines -

"The government doesn't know me, the government doesn't care about me, and I'm happy"

seem to talk about the government situation in India right now. It's moves really smoothly and has to be my favorite on the album. After that come "Juxtapose", "Swirl" and "It's Probably This". The first single off the album comes after this called "Oops". A true pop track that has a kinda happy-cheery feel to it. Has to be my second favorite off the album.

The 9AM side comes next, which has the original songs from the album. They are all slow moving, which are seem to be good to be played in the day time. They include the original versions of Hit, Government, Swirl, Another Secret, Broken, Juxtapose, etc. They are named with a period (.) at the end of their song name to distinguish them from the remixed versions. The original versions of the songs are slower and have a relaxing feel toward them.

This album feels like a Pentagram album in some places minus the Vishal vocals. Maybe it's because of the fact that Randolph has used a similar style in both bands, but I am not complaining. Pentagram is also one of my favorite bands. All in all, a very good buy, I would say. Monica's crooning soul/blues style of vocals and Randolph's electronics and guitars make this a brilliant album. This album is also a proof of how Indian musicians are coming of age and how that music and albums are not restricted to just one genre in India. A breathe of fresh air compared to the gay pop and soundtracks of movies that are coming out which stick to one formula only with the same vocals and tablas and dholaks.

The format of this album is very good, and I bet you'll be hooked instantly. A brilliant release.

Tracklisting -

1. It's Probably That
2. Broken
3. HIT
4. Government
5. Juxtapose
6. Swirl
7. It's Probably This
8. Moonlight
9. New Day
10. Oops
11. Secret
12. Swirl.
13. HIT.
14. Government.
15. Broken.
16. Another Secret
17. Juxtapose.
18. New Day.
19. Parles and Chai

http://www.musicyogi.com/asp/idpndDetails.asp?albId=ALB6124 - order album
http://www.myspace.com/shaairandfunc - MySpace for sampling
http://www.shaairandfunc.com/ - Their webpage
http://www.last.fm/music/Shaa%2527ir%2B%252B%2BFunc - Them @ last.fm

photography: Courtesy of Akshayraj Uchil and Shaa'ir + Func.

Pearl Jam - Ten

Artist - Pearl Jam
Album - Ten
Released - August 27, 1991
Reviewed By - The Starchild

Accused of jumping on the bandwagon and attempting to cash on alt-rock mania in post-Nirvana environment, (Since their albums sales skyrocket upon Nevermind's release.) few know, that it was Pearl Jam's two key members (Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament) who were one of the creators of the sound that became known as Grunge and by the 90's rolled in, made Seattle rock capital for a brief period. Whilst Nirvana's music owed it's debt to punk and Soundgarden and Alice In Chains borrowed from heavy metal, (Gossard/Ament's previous bands had experimented with both of these things.) Vedder & Co. came out of school of Hendrix minus the blue influence, giving them a completely unique identity of their own.

Most of the material on this album deals with depression, loneliness, Jeremy the hit single telling story of a high school student who shot himself in front of his classmates, Alive being inspired from incident of Vedder discovering that his father was not the biological father who had already died. While Even Flow deals with homelessness and Garden takes one for a walk through the graveyard. Pearl Jam isn't about a band who is way too pissed off at the world, instead of that they take a look at larger picture and pay attention to other issues like highschool killings, homeless people etc. (as pointed out above)

Whether you will call Ten/Pearl Jam "A jump on bandwagon" or not, Ten proved to be extremely influential on musical industry as many singers (unsuccessfully, Scott Stapp anyone?) attemped to copy Vedder's signature soaring vocals while most of the post-grunge bands looked at Ten as blueprint, especially classic rock influenced twin-guitar attack of McCreedy/Gossard whose traces can be found in music of several bands which followed them and attempted to re-generate to magic this release did. It can be said that the beauty of this release lies in the fact that Pearl Jam aren't pretentious, they make music about troubles of a normal human being instead of self-indulgence, thus, giving everyone something to relate with it and therein lies one of the reasons of appeal of this record.

Another advantage Pearl Jam had was their members had worked with each other for a while in one or other form and thus, had beneifit of having chemistry and it's highly evident on this record. Solidly crafted guitarwork, perfect songwriting, impressive vocals, . and a not-so-famous Dave Krusen providing solid backup with the help of ever reliable Jeff Ament. the band is like a well-oiled machine working here. Thus, the result one can see is a perfect album featuring no weaknesses, truly a classic which has stood the test of time, and one of the finest albums of 1990's. I can't imagine how one must have felt upon hearing Jeremy on radio on a sunny afternoon while world was waiting for another explosion known as Nirvana.

Rating - 5/5

Tracklisting -

1. Once (Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard) – 3:51
2. Even Flow (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:53
3. Alive (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:40
4. Why Go (Vedder, Jeff Ament) – 3:19
5. Black (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:43
6. Jeremy (Vedder, Ament) – 5:18
7. Oceans (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:41
8. Porch (Vedder) – 3:30

9. Garden (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:58
10. Deep (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:18
11. Release (Vedder, Gossard, Ament, Mike McCready, Dave Krusen) – 9:04

Metallica - ...And Justice for All

Artist - Metallica
Album - ...And Justice For All
Released - August 25, 1988
Reviewed By - Siddique Humayun

...And Justice for All is the fourth album by one of the biggest, if not "t3h" biggest metal band of the world, Metallica. Released on August 25, 1988, the album starts off with the song, "Blackened" which by now has become a fan favorite. "Blackened" is the first song which was co-written by Jason Newsted. The song deals with the topic of the end of world due to a nuclear warfare. This album not only pushes the boundary further set up by the immortal, landmark of metal, Master of Puppets, but defines the sound of the genre to its roots. It's by far Metallica's most technically complex and fast album, which not only features lightning fast drumming but amazingly techincal riffs and lead guitars.

Each song deals with topics that are as real as life itself. The album focuses on the political scene and attacks the corruption directly. The title song talks about "Halls of Justice Painted Green". Eye of the Beholder talks about limited freedom whereas the song, One has become a heavy metal anthem by time. One was also the first song for which Metallica made a video, one of their finest videos of all time. Mainly the album talks about the miseries of war and the corruption of politics. The album showcases lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett's finest guitar work, the guitar solos on the song, Dyers Eve, The Frayed Ends of Sanity and the title song are a must-hear for any guitar-enthusiast. Dyers Eve also shows the thuderous drumming by Lars Ulrich, extremely technical and fast double-bass alongwith the riffs that match up the speed, Dyers Eve is one of the finest songs on this album.

The album features a tribute song to their late and great bassist, Cliff Burton. The song is aptley titled "To Live is to Die" and is basically an instrumental based on Burton's unused riffs along with the famous stanza of Burton which is read by Hetfield in between the song; '...can not the kingdom of salvation take me home..'

The album is highly recommended for any metal fan, and is one of Metallica's finest!

Rating - 5/5

Tracklisting -

1. Blackened (Hetfield, Newsted, Ulrich) - 6:42

2. ...And Justice for All - 9:45

3. Eye of the Beholder - 6:25

4. One (Hetfield, Ulrich) - 7:26

5. The Shortest Straw (Hetfield, Ulrich) - 6:35

6. Harvester of Sorrow (Hetfield, Ulrich) - 5:45

7. The Frayed Ends of Sanity - 7:44

8. To Live Is to Die (Hetfield, Cliff Burton, Ulrich) - 9:48

9. Dyers Eve - 5:13