Dec 3, 2005

Female melodies

There are several solo melodies by female singers which is very good to listen even after years, many times a day. A few are 'rare' singers, but with just a single or handful of songs, they have managed to occupy a unique place in our hearts. Its no coincidence that most of the songs are based on a carnatic raaga.

1) Deiveega raagam (Jency) from Ullasa Paravaigal: I heard this song when I was a kid and then it was gone. Never thought about for over 12 years, then suddenly saw the song on Sun TV in 1993. I got goosebumps when I listened to it after a longtime. It brought back my childhood memories, and ever since, this is among my top solo songs. Jency-Raja combo is just magical in this song. Her voice and the sound effects give the required 'haunted' effect.

2) Yamunai aatriley (Mithali) from Thalapathi: If any girl was asked to sing a song in early 90's, this was the choice for most of them. Very well sung by her. Soothing music. Based on raaga 'Yamunakalyani'.

3) Ennulley (Swarnalatha) from Valli: Beginning with a classic dance score, it slowly shifts to some fine guitar music and then Swarnalatha takes over.. Very good voice modulations and emotions.

4) Kanda naal mudhalai (Subhiksha) from Kanda naal mudhal: mm. I know she has a husky voice but I like that very much. While listening, I get the satisfaction of hearing a 'carnatic-cinematic' two-in-one song.

5) Poo pookkum Osai (Sujatha) Minsara Kanavu: Lovely voice, great lyrics, awesome music and wonderful picturization.. a near-perfect song.. Timeless classic.

6) Manam virumbuthey (Harini) from Nerukku Ner: Composed in Nalinakanthi, this is one rare carnatic classical song of Deva. This is one song which I liked the very first time I listened to. Listed in my all-time favorite top 10 too.

7) Chinna Thayaval (Janaki) from Dhalapathi: A short but very sweet song.. Janaki's voice is very emotive. Ironically begins with a lullaby for a child whom she has left.

8) Paadariyen (Chitra) from Sindhu Bhairavi: Another from my all-time favorite list.

9) Ethetho ennam (Chitra) from Punnagai mannan: Very simple song but with terrific lyrics. This is among the songs I would prefer during bed-time. Guaranteed to get sleep before the end of the song. Soulful song from Chitra.

10) Vaseegara (Bombay Jayashree) from Minnale: Her husky voice, blended with Thamarai's lyrics were top-class. Probably the most listened songs by me in 2001.

11) Oru deivam thantha (Chinmayi) from Kannathil Muthamittal: This Tamil singer came as a pleasant surprise to an industry largely dominated from outside the state. Her voice was unique, and she did full justice to the faith imposed by ARR and Maniratnam.

12) Kanaa kaanum (Madhumitha) from 7G Rainbow Colony: Among the best numbers of Yuvan till date. The song required quite a bit of variations and an expressive voice, which Madhumitha fulfilled very well. 'Haunting' music by Yuvan was well supported by her melody.

13) Konjam Konjam (Maheeva) from Arindhum Ariyamalum: I dont know whether we will hear more of her, but the very first time I heard the song, which starts with her humming, she caught my attention. She sang this number very stylishly and made it stand unique in an album filled with memorable songs.

14) Yengirindhu vandhaayada (Sadhana Bala) from Five star: Already praised enough about this song in one of my earlier posts.

Only 14 songs can be burnt in a CD.. so I will stop now. Other lovely songs like 'Chinna chinna aasai', 'Kannamoochi enada', 'Paartha gnabagam', 'Pulveli', 'Ninnukkori', 'Ezhu swarangalukkul', 'Idhayam poguthey', etc. will come next.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

nice songs Raju. u have some good collection of songs, identified most of the songs on ur list, but will have to listen to some of the others. one more talented female vocalist that I like is Anuradha Sriram, she is an amazing singer, im a big fan of hers. I like her carnatic songs, and also her songs in movies.

Anonymous said...

btw, did u listen to songs from the movie Kalvanin Kaadhali? Great music by YSR, only complaint is the lyrics for some songs, I dont know why Vaali purposely make these lyrics for SJ.Suryah movie.By the songs, I am guessing this movie is going to be like any other SJ.Suryah movie.

ada-paavi!!!! said...

nice songs, enna sunday postings?

nice list of songs, konjam konjam is veryv ery catchy, but underrated, when i saww the movie i din like the song, but l8r tat i liked the song.

uve missed katril from johnny, superb song

enna oru deva pattu ellam? only tat i don think shud be here, plagiarist oda patthu with ppl like IR ellam cha cha. and this song is a lift from some western song.

S.G.Ramkumar said...

A fantastic collection.

NaiKutti said...

good list raju... surprised that none of sadhana sargam's songs are listed :-)... "nee thoongum nerathil" from manasellam is a good one... in janaki's list, idhayathey thirudathey's Om Namaha (mix of janaki and mano) is one of the nice ones...

Raju said...

Nitin, I also like Anuradha Sriram.. Her song in 'Aasai' is there in my alltime top 10 songs. I have not heard much of her after '5 Star'.. Donno why.. may be her slightly arrogant remarks on AR Rahman's music?

I heard the songs of "Kalvanin Kadhali".. a below-par score by Yuvan but still good. 'Eno Kangal' was nice to hear the first time itself, and 'Tajmahal' was OK... a few songs remind the lines of 'Ah Aah'.. Suryah trademark?
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Vatsan, naan saturday-ye post pannitteney..

When I saw 'konjam konjam', I was a little disappointed b'cos I expected that picturization to be for 'Theeppidikka'...

I hate to say 'I thought so' but 'Katril endhan' song from Johnny is indeed high in my likings.. would surely add it to my 'second CD' list..

I know Deva is top in the list of plagiarists.. but the 'manam virumbudhey' song was, barring the stolen 'thathi thagathi', very good..
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Ram, thanks..
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Karthik, Sadhna Sargam's song is the most favorite song ever for me, so far.. I havent heard the 'Manasellam' song.. but I like her 'Deewana' and 'Sadasadavena pozhiyum' very much..

Om Namaha is a fantastic duet.. so excluded in this list which is only on solo.

paurna said...

well i liked the konjam konjam song but imho i think what we heard wasn't the "original" voice of the singer.as whenever she sang there was an echo effect and hence i feel we more than the singer we must commend the effects used by yuvan.or may be i am deaf and the singer indeed has a great voice rather than a good one.

ps-hey dude how to add the live cricket index to one's blog.i searched around in cricinfo but couldn't find a suitable link or code

Raju said...

Paurna, good observation about 'konjam konjam' song. Yuvan's music is really to be appreciated. Firstly, as you said, he uses the echo effect, but not throughtout the song.. 'theriyale maraithaene' is echoed but her initial humming and 'konjam konjam' are not.. Since I listen to the songs all the time using my headphone, the effect is clear. During the echo effect, I would hear her main voice in one ear and her echo in the other ear, after a few millisec. delay. That is some amazing work by Yuvan. Also, his music 'adds' in some places to the singer's modulations.. (like during 'konjam konjam' and 'puriyavillai'). Cant say yet that she is a great singer, but the song is great.

In all the songs I listed, the music plays a vital role in enhancing the singer's efforts and making it a memorable number.

For cricket score, I viewed the cricinfo live index page info and copy-pasted it. If you have any difficult with that, you can view the source of my blog and copy-paste the LIVE Cricket score page HTML code into ur page. If you still have trouble with that, do let me know.

Me too said...

Yappa! So many play back singers these days, eh? I like Uma Ramanan's voice too. 'Anandha raagam', 'Aarumadhu aazhamille' are lovely songs.

Anonymous said...

Raju.. super collection.

enakku pidicha sila paadalgal

Raa raa - Binny krishna Kumar - Chandramukhi.

Though its supposed to be a duet.. Tippu's performance was overshadowed by Binny.

Ninnai Charan Adainden- Barathi --Bombay Jaishree. Kettale ore feelings thaan :-)


Thathithom - Azhagan - chitra.. sema class..

Kannalane - Bombay - chitra

eagerly awaiting ur next list !!

Balaji said...

raju, great songs all. the post made me go back and listen to them on my ipod :)

Visithra said...

nice collection - i have heard 1 or 2 i think cant recall - i love chitras voice

paurna said...

dude i am humbled.ur ear for music is mind blowing.also thx for the info about cricket index

TamilPonnu said...

Who sang THEE THEE from Thiruda Thiruda.. and Anupam- she has an awesome voice too.

Raju said...

Smyta, In 'Kanaa kaanum', Madhumitha was well supported by Ustaad's great singing as well.. since that pretty much formed the interlude..

mm... I know u love Hindi songs..
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Aparna, my second post in this blog was on the new singers. It is so refreshing.

Me too likes Uma ramanan.. :-) 'Anandha raagam' is an amazing song.. I forgot to mention it.. high-pitch yet very smooth singing.. Didnt IR sing 'Aarumadhu'? Was there a female version too? I like 'aarumadhu' for the 'thanniyile kolam podu...' part..
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Barani, thanks..

I heard 'raa raa' only twice.. Is it that good? I will listen to it sometime.. Somehow I didnt like the songs of CM much (Balaji mannippaaraga!!)

Havent heard 'Ninnai charan..' song. Ketkanum..

Thathithom is a lovel song too.. But, somehow I got a feeling that, Chitra's voice sounded the worst in Maragathamani's songs (except for some glorious ones like the above song). May be some problem with his recording theater or whatever, I got the feeling of 'mookkilerundhu paadurathu' from her in his songs. I cant stand the songs like 'kambangaadu', 'enn kannanukku' etc. of the early 90's..

Kannalane was great.. Picturization wasnt upto mark..

TamilPonnu said...

Anupama.. sorry

Raju said...

Balaji, Thanks.. mm.. I havent been able to download some songs in my list.. so I hear them only online.. your iPod is like 'ALLa aLLa varum amuthasurahi' illaiya? :-)
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Vis, thanks to u too.. U have heard just 1 or 2 from this list? Adhu eppadi? paadhikku meley ellam popular, ille?
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Paurna, thalaiva, I donno whether you are praising me or pulling my leg.. romba over-a funda vittuttena?;-)
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Tamilponnu, wow.. ungallukkum andha paattu pidikkuma? I searched for her name the moment I started 'hearing her voice'. Initially, that song was only Rahman's music.. I had to hear it several times, then it mesmerized me .. The singer is 'Caroline'. Havent heard of her since then. My highlights of that song are her voice and the brilliant flute as the second interlude..

Anupama.. mm.. I like her too.. (u know she is TK Pattammal's granddaughter?) Except Rahman, no one has used her.. Her 'Konjam nilavu' was totally out-of-the-world.. I forgot her and that song too, when I wrote this post. Her bit of 'Pachai dhavani parakka..' from 'Konja naal..' is mesmerizing.. she deserved more than what she got..

paurna said...

no machan really.u just think toooo much.earlier u had made a post about alternate endings.everone can't do that.u r really unique.and now how many do u think analyse a song like u do.the way u analysed konjam konjam song is something special.even yuvan cudn't have done that

TamilPonnu said...

Thee thee is da bomb & one of my favs :) and the one who sang - Minsara Penn poove, Kannodu Kannbathellam & Kumbakonam.. (new)- Nithyashree??? voice rocks!

Raju said...

Paurna, whew.. thanks mate.. Good to know that I think too much.. No, seriously.. I will try to think more and make my life better.. Sometimes it helps to know from others.

I know a few analyze songs 'akkuveru aanivera'.. esp. those who have learnt music. I just analyze within my limitations.. thats all. Since I love music, and listen to songs a lot, it happens over a period of time. I know of some people who can tell whether a song is good or not after the first hearing itself.. I cant do that.. :-)
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Tamilponnu, 'Thee thee', along with 'Konjam nilavu' was infamous for AR Rahman's 'suppressive music'. Though it is true, they are awesome.. I had to listen both dozens of time to 'hear' the words.. When you see that these songs shared the album with 'Raasathi', 'Thiruda thiruda' cant be more different.. Since the movie bombed, its music didnt get appreciated as good as other ARR movies.

narayanan said...

Female solos? Do you female voices in songs? If you do, a virtual hi-fi to you :D. THere are a few female voies I liked a lot, though they may not be as solos. Shoba Shankar's 'Margazhi Poove', Gopika-Poornima in 'Porkalam Ange', Vani Jairam's 'Yaaradhu Sollamal Nenjalli','Paadava un Paadalai', Uma Ramanan in 'Thendral Vandhu ennai Thodum','Yaar Thoorigai','Manjal Veyyil Sevvanathil', Minmini's 'Chinna Chinna Aasai', Anuradha Sriram's 'Anbendra Mazhayile'. That SVCE girl who sang 'Azhagiya Asura'. Chinmayi's 'Enna Thavam Seidhanai' in a Mallu movie Thilakam. Caroline's 'Thee Thee', Radhika in 'Ilampani Thuli Vizhum Neram'. These are some I remember now, vera edhachum nyabagam vandha add panren.

BTW, Have you come across this thread on Jency?

-narayanan

Raju said...

yep.. illainna ippadi oru long post pannuvena?

Margazhi Poove - I like it too; but my memory of the song is always accompanied by the 'kizhavi-like' Sonali Kulkarni. In fact, she looked far better in 'Dil Chahta Hai' which was released a good 7 years after May madham..

Yaaradhu- Good one; my favorite Vani Jayaram solos were 'Ezhu swarangalukkul' and 'megamey'. 'Paadavaa un paadalai' and 'thendral vandhu' were Janaki's, illaiya?

'Chinna chinna aasai'- mentioned as my 'second CD favorites'.

Anbendra mazhaiyile - Very nice song indeed. Since that got the least marks from me in that album, I would always skip it to listen to the next one..

Azhagiya asura - Superbly sung by Anitha. A nice smooth-flowing and commanding voice.

Enna thavam seidhanai - there is a bit in a song in Parthiban Kanavu.. Is that the one or something else? I love that song by Harini so well.. along the lines of 'chippi irukkudhu'..

I havent heard the other songs.. But, ur list good. Obviously, even if you pick up the songs from early 80's, there are hundreds of beautiful female melodies.. I have missed a few; whatever came to my mind were the ones that stood in my memory over the period of time..

Thanks a lot for the Jency link.. The list of her songs has just twenty odd songs but more than half are super-hits.. When AR Rahman brought Sujatha back with 'Roja', I was soo happy and thrilled that he might bring Jency too.. I am sure he would have tried, but she has got a private life of her own.. I wish she too makes a comeback, now that her children would have grown up.

narayanan said...

but my memory of the song is always accompanied by the 'kizhavi-like' Sonali Kulkarni

we used to say, paatu nalla irukku, music nalla irukku, setting nalla irukku aana heroine dhaan seri illa :P. Many songs get screwed because of the picturisation. ABCD's 'Manjal Mugame' is one. Ah forgot to mention about Saindhavi in the previous comment.

'thendral vandhu' were Janaki's, illaiya?

No no, 'Thendral Vandhu' is Uma Ramanan for sure.

'Chinna chinna aasai'- mentioned as my 'second CD favorites'.

comment publish pannitu dhaan andha line'aye padichen :P

Enna thavam seidhanai - there is a bit in a song in Parthiban Kanavu.. Is that the one or something else?

This 'Enna Thavam Seidhanai' am talking about is by Chinmayi for the Mallu movie 'Thilakam'. You can get the song here.

If Rehman had the power to pull Jency to sing, ILarayaja would'nt have left his favourite singer in 1983 when she stopped singing.'Ilampani Thuli Vizhum' I have heard it only through the internet. Never heard of the singer before.

BTW Anupama is DK's grand daughter? Is'nt it Nithyashree?

And how can I leave out Sandhya (P.Susila's niece) who sang 'Poo Kodiyin Punnagai'.

BTW do you remember of any SP Shailaja's songs that were good female solos except 'Om Namachivaya' in 'Salangai Oli' ?

Raju said...

Narayanan, cant agree with you more about Sonali.. ammaniyoda muga baavangalum, dress-um.. cha.. PC Sriram's wonderful cinematography badly screwed up by her over-expressions..

Saindhavi is an upcoming singer with only a handful songs,ille?

'Thendral vandhu' was indeed Janaki; the other great duet from the album, 'Kanmani nee vara' is by Uma Ramanan. Both are classics.

Thanks for the 'Enna thavam' link.. will check out.

Surpringly, Sujatha and Jency had the similarities of hailing from the same state, singing during the same period and going back to take a relatively low-profile teacher job.. Did you know that Sujatha and Latha (Rajinikanth) sing together for a song in Tick Tick Tick? mmm.. I am sure IR would have tried to bring her back, but his being a little 'garvam gnani', I am not sure of the efforts. And added to that, the entry of Chitra, who became his pet singer for over a decade.

Anupama was indeed DK Pattammal's granddaughter (oops for the DK vs TK confusion). And, Nithyashree too.. but I am not sure whether they two are sisters or cousins.. :-)

Sandhya did a commendable job with that Iruvar song.. Initially I thought it was the news-reader, whose hubby, Rajagopal, had earlier sung the 'Kizhakku sivakkaiyile' song.

Thanks for remind about SP Shailaja.. My bad.. she was another famous singer along with Jency during late 70's and early 80's.. Her good solos are 'Aasaiya kaathule thoodhu' (that great 'item' number in Johnny; superb song.. Jayasudha's looks were killing.. Honestly, I missed to include it); 'malargalil aadum ilamai' (Kalyanaraman; Shankar had used this song in the background in Anniyan when young Ambi and his sis Vidhya return from school by rickshaw, just before the fatal accident); and a couple of other decent ones from Annai Or Alayam and Murattu kalai..

narayanan said...

worstu..I confused 'Kannane Nee Vara Kathirundhen' with 'Thendral Vandhu' :P It was Janaki as you said.

Yes Saindhavi is a newcomer, I liked her voice in Manjal Mugame and Poomalayo(Unarchigal).

Sujatha, Jency mattum illa, many of the popular female singers in Tamizh are/hail from Kerala. But Sujatha is still singing right? though not as frequently as she used to. Lastly I remember hearing her in 'Mazhaye Mazhaye' in 'June R'. 'Tik Tik Tik'la Sujatha?? are you talking about 'Netru Indha Neram'? that sounded like a Latha solo, adhula oru 2nd female voice'e kedayadhe. As I saw this comment, I went to search for Sujatha's first song and saw 'kaadal oviyam in kavikkuyil', yamma I never knew she sang in the late 70s. I thought she started her career somewhere in the late 80s. Found this interesting chat transcript in the process.

Anupama is DK's grand-daughter too? never knew that. Ive seen Nithyashree with DK in one article. Never read about Anupama.

Some of the sources say Sandhya is P.Susila's niece and some say daughter-in-law. Probably its both too. Rajagopal? faintly remember the name as DD's news reader. I thought it was Arunmozhi who sang 'Kizhakku Sevakkayile' interesting!

only after posting did I remember 'Raghavane Ramana Ragunatha' from 'Ilamai Kalangal'. 'Malargalil aadum' Anniyan'la varuma? marandhe pochu andha padam.

Raju said...

Narayanan, I thought 'Netru indha neram' had more than one singer, bcos my memory related that song to the initial scene of all the three chics singing together.. ;-) u are right, Latha and Sujatha had different songs..

mm.. Sujatha's frequency of songs has reduced nowadays.. :-( Thanks for her chat transcript..

'Kizhakku sivakkaiyile' starts with the movie's producer PG Srikanth singing (for Nizhalgal Ravi) while Rajagopal sings for Napoleon. Incidentally, Sujatha's part was very nice in that song..

'Raghavaney', I think, was by P Suseela.

narayanan said...

Yeah I too remember those chics in 'Netru Indha Neram' song, the best part is that there are no female chorus in the audio :)))

oh P.Susila'va adhu :P thought I heard a little more harder voice in that song.

If you are considering of doing another female solo CD, try 'Chinna Chinna Kanavugale Kanna' from 'Thuraimugam'. It is a Chitra solo from Adhithyan's composition(one of the uruppudis in his composition).

You can also pick some from this list (can't guarantee if all songs would be available though).

-narayanan

Raju said...

Narayanan, LOL..P Susheela's voice was/is the softest, huh? True..

I wont be doing a post on another female solo.. 'No repetition' blog policy.. :-) I havent heard the Thuraimugam song.. The 'to be heard' list is getting longer.. ;-)

TFM's and subsequently Dhool's 'song of the week' or 'song of the month' have been very subjective ones.. depending on the individual's choice. My second CD would contain, apart from the songs at the end of my post and some in the comments section, the following: (which I easily put it as 'etc'..)
--> 'Oyila paadum paattula'- Another Chitra song in Adithyan's compo.
--> 'Azhagu malar aada' (S Janaki)- Vaideki Kaathirundhal
--> 'Kavithai kElungal' (Vani Jayaram) - Punnagai Mannan
--> 'Konjum mainAkkaley' (Sadhna Sargam) - Kandukonden Kandukonden
--> 'Vanna vanna' (Jikky) - Sentamizh Paattu.

These are the kind of songs that if they play from my list of songs in the computer/iPod, I would never feel like skipping (or) I would feel like repeating. :)

narayanan said...

This is that Thuraimugam song. If you want Ilampani Thuli Vizhum, adhuvum anupparen :D.

But some of the SOTD's are good, never heard songs.

-narayanan

Raju said...

Narayanan, enna boss? Getup-a maathitteenga.. Big time Raghuvaran fan-a? mm.. why havent he and Kamal not acted together so far?

Thanks for the Thuraimugam song. As I said earlier, already a long list to listen this weekend.. konjam porungo..

yeah, some are good but some of them I have neither heard the song nor the movie.. :-(

narayanan said...

andha bug'oda bore adichu pochu. thalaivar getup dhaan namakku suit aagudhu :D. I like villains more than heros :). Kamal and Raghuvaran..hmm were they in Vetri Vizha? But usually you get to see Nasser a lot in Kamal movies, probably they have a better wavelength match that he stuck with him.

innum konjam kozhappam add pannatuma :))). few years back, i had the same feeling too, but these are some songs that I liked after hearing a few times.

-narayanan

Raju said...

Narayanan, 'I like villains more than heros'. LOL.. Interesting...... really interesting..

No, ur thalaivan didnt act in VetriVizha. mm.. some of Nasser's best performances have come in Kamal movies.

What kozhappam? I dont think I will go to Dhool's list of SOTDs and listen them patiently.. ;-)

Anonymous said...

How come u have missed ..
"Maalayil yaaro manathodu pesa" by Swarnalatha ?

Raju said...

Anon, yeah.. it is indeed an excellent song.. in fact, almost all of Swarnalatha's early songs with Ilayaraja were very good.. I have mentioned only 'Valli' song bcos she showed so much emotion in that...

narayanan said...

listen to Pudhiya Paravai Parandhadhe (Thendral Varum Theru) sung by Swarnalatha.

Raju said...

Narayanan, ketta madhiri irukku.. Will surely check it out.. Thanks for mentioning that song..

Ramya said...

hi raju,i hv visited ur site long bac n often visit this page.. jus today i felt like commenting.. I hv got some songs below to ur list..
1.Ninnai sharanadainthen(bombay jayashree from movie Bharathi..sung with great bhaavam)
2.Konjam Nilavu(Anupama from thiruda thiruda..superb western dance no by ARR)
3.Pon vaanam paneer(amazing,challenging no by Janaki from Indru nee Naalai naan..romantic classiccal..a rain duet by lakshmi-sivakumar.. i loved the song so much tat i wanted to watch the video n found it in you tube)..
4.Karpoora bommai ondru (Evergreen song from susheela)
i ll add some more whenevr some good rare solos strikes me..visit my site too..

Raju said...

Ramya, your songs 2-4 are great ones too.. I havent heard song # 1..

Karpoora bommai ondru is a superb lullaby... Konjam Nilavu is terrific for voice modulation and energetic singing.