Will someone kindly u/l? It's not available in London until next week.

Perry ji.. no one is allowed to upload new albums out here..

Sorry

N

Nimu, am right now listening to the album. Thanks a ton. Yeah, getting the album out of the cover was some task!!! Phew!!!!

I have only reached song 2. Aahista aahista. Liked it a lot. Aaj jaane ki zidd tho such a popular number and the one that has been made into a video, though good seemed a little subdued to me. Cannot explain--maybe that when she sings 'seedha' one is bound to compare the voice with that even 10 yrs back, but when she takes the tough notes, does all the harkats and classical stuff then she is absolutely brilliant. Now 'awargi' is playing and that confirms the opinion. Whooo some of the notes are awesome!!!

Will write more after hearing the whole album. I realise that while purists may complain, Asha is right when she says that youngsters will get acquainted with classic ghazals. I myself have heard awargi for instance just a couple of times, same with aahista aahista, so it is virtually like hearing a new song. The music is contemporary enough to suit current tastes.

Great going Ashaji!!! I for one never want U to stop singing.
Wish she would do a classical or semiclassical album. She is so good at it.

Have heard the whole album. For me the highlight is ranjish hi sahi. A FAV of mine for many many years now (have only heard the famous Mehdi Hassan version--dunno if there are any others) but Ashaji's rendition lives up to every expectation of mine!!!!
Mujhe tum nazar se gira to rahe ho too is great!!!
I am falling in love with the album the more I hear it!!!

Hello members.

I bought this new album of Latajee and I listen to all melodies.Asha is in pensive mood and I think this album is one of the best private album which brings a breath of fresh.Ashajee sings the most tunes in nostalgia and when I listen to chants , that 's calls to mind spirituality too.

I loves "Dil mein ek lehar", "Aaj jaane ki zid na karo", "Mujhe tum nazar eey" and "Ranjish hi sah" : Her singing is impeccable in these tracks.

I enjoy also music which has a good beat, mixing modern and traditional notes producing some original brilliant ghazals.





Zayed

Listening to aaj jaane ki zidd na karo. I love the song and Asha has done a wonderful job but she has sung it differently mood wise I feel. Maybe it is the music and slightly slower tempo, but U get the impression of someone who has seen it all, speaking with love and understanding. That's the image I get. Rather than the personal longing and anguish in the original. Thots, anyone?

I dont see much of a difference in the video edit of that number. Do you Priya??

The picturisation is annoying on the tv.. preferred them conc the camera on Asha ji itself

N

I know I should not be posting anything on this subject - call this a moment of weakness and stupidity.

I also heard the album a couple of times last night - for an album named "Asha", all I feel is "Nirasha"!

If the only way to "save" the ghazal is to make it sound like it is not ("Awargi", "Dil mein ek lehar" have mechanical re-mix type dance floor beats!), I guess I cannot see the point. The orchestration takes away from the beauty of the compositions, the raga, the lyrics and Ashaji's rendition - which is what the ghazal is all about and if you really think about it, is what had attracted all of us to these great ghazals in the first place - not the orchestration.

I know I sound like a "purist" (a word that seems in this context to mean some regressive, outdated, weirdo), but "contemporary sounds" seem to mean only western. Are we saying that traditional sounds have no power to attract a younger generation? All those "taans", "murkis" and "bahlawaas" could have been taken to dizzying heights with a Zakir Hussain on the tabla, a Ram Narayan on the sarangi.....

The lustre and "maadakta" of Ashaji's voice is not really in evidence - none of the goosebumps that I still get from a "Yun saja chaand" or "Salona sa sajan hai"...

Before everyone decides to take me to the cleaners, take a few deep breaths - these are my two cents about this particular album only - I am no one to critique a living legend and one who in my humble opinion is more versatile than any other singer (male or female).

Oh ya most of the time they show Asha on TV only in the video--very rarely full screen. But then most videos are not worth watching. Among Asha ones I think the worst was for the Guftugu ghazal.
The video edit version seemed to have a diff feel to it--it is shorter of course. Did not really pay that much attention. What on earth does video edit mean anyway?
Only now noticed that my 2 all time fav ghazals from this set have music by Nisar Bazmi--aaj jaane ki and ranjish hi sahi!!!

I guess Asha wanted her stamp or some difference in the album tho the tunes are the same. The problem in accepting the tunes comes when one compares them with already heard versions. Take them as new songs and they are lovely.
As far as youngsters are concerned there are very few who listen to older stuff and more traditional music. I find the paradox all the time when I tell someone that I listen to 'old songs' and they ask me--U mean 80s? 80s for me is half noise. most of the youngsters one meets ar all too familiar with Western artists and modern musical terminology but haven't a clue about even our older film music--ghazals and geets door ki baat hai. Classical for most is like horror time or go to sleep time.
About Asha's voice--yun saja chand and salona sa sajan were done in the early 80s. 20 yrs back. While the 80s were th peak time as far as her voice was concerned, now I feel what U still see and appreciate is the trained singer Asha--she is still great with the most mind boggling notes.

Priyaji,
I was afraid of an outraged reaction - thank you for your graceful response!

I sometimes wonder though whether all these notions we have about "young listeners" are entirely true. I have seen young performers here with just a harmonium and tabla singing traditional ghazals to a predominantly second generation young crowd and getting tremendous response (continues to surprise me all the time). I do believe we run the risk of getting all genres of music to end up sounding the same. Anyway, enough said. Your observations are well taken.

Just a correction. "Aaj jaane ki zid na karo" is written by Faiyyaz Hashmi and the original score (this very tune) is by Sohail Rana - not Nisar Bazmi.

The album credits the aaj jaane ki zidd score to Nisar Bazmi. Since i got the originals from HF have no info on those.
Mujhe tum nazar se is credited to Sohail Rana.

I want to add my 2 cents to this train of thought. I heard the album online this morning and it only saddened me deeply. I have no trouble with people changing the orchestration etc. to re-record a song but in this case I feel everything is a bit forced. Also, one can see Asha ji visibly struggling with the pure notes at times and overdoing the harkats and murkis in response. I only feel a sense of sadness that she did not do this stuff 20-30 years ago when she would've knocked the socks off the originals. Age spares no one and great legends such as Asha/Lata are no exceptions. Aging is so cruel.

Regards
-manoneet

That is an error. The composer for both - Aaj jaane ki zid as well as Mujhe tum nazar se is actually Sohail Rana. If you check Farida Khannum's album (even on Musicindiaonline), the credits are correct. For easy reference - http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/9/s/album.2347/artist.422/

I listened to this album recently and I must say that I was terribly disappointed.

Whoever arranged for the music of this album should be hanged to death for having massacred such beautiful ghazals.

First of all, the compositions were just lifted from the originals, which were sung by stalwarts like Mehdi Hasan, Farida Khanum, and others. Then, the music was butchered. I am amazed as to how Asha agreed to this kind of orchestration. In my opinion, even her renditions were nothing to boast about. Compared to her earlier ghazal albums with Khayyam and others and even a semi-classical one with sarodist Ali Akbar Khan, this one reached the nadir.

Some of the tracks were so insipid that I had to even skip them altogether.

I can only wish if Lalit Sen had arranged the music for this album.

I am a huge fan of Asha's ghazal singing and I had a lot of "Asha" with this one but it left me high and dry.

Priya, did you really like it?

I am prejudiced Anurag.
Yes, I liked the album. As I think I wrot earlier, the voice quality is nothing like even 10 yrs back and the music is a bit too modern for my tastes but overall I did like the album esp 3-4 of the songs.

Overall the album was good! BUT I found her Kashish Album far more appealing!

Sorry I am not prejudiced!

N

My fav ghazal album is Meraj!!! What an awesome set!!!

Mine too but I also like a couple from Aabshaar-e-Ghazal and "Asha and Khayyam".

And Nimii and Priya, you know what Nietzsche said about prejudice, "All words are prejudices."

I agree with the general stream of thought here. Whether it is Aabshaar... or Meraj... or Kashish..., Ashaji's rendering is impeccable. I doubt ANYONE else can hold a candle to what she has done on these albums (and I include all the great playback singers as well as hardcore ghazal singers, past and present, here). Because the singer was someone as prodigous as Ashaji, though, none of these albums received as much hoo-haa as a new album from say a Jagjit Singh or a Ghulam Ali (both greats in their own right). But the albums were all in a day's work for the mighty AB

That being said her new self-titled album "asha" is NOT what you expect from a singer of her caliber. I can understand her desire to "move with the times" and all that but she must also recognize that there is a legion of admirers who expect a certain quality from her. This kind of blatant marketting (putting her own name on what must be the worst of all her ghazal albums!!) is so unfortunate. Sometimes I feel both the M sisters are still in a rat race kind of mindset, as if either one has anything left to prove to anyone. They're both legends in their own lifetime and if only they'd let that be as it is.

Anurag!!!! What's with the horrid avatar?

You call that horrid? Dudette, that is Atlas shrugging.

And, here I was thinking that now that Sonu is gone, you gals would like this.

Me like me like - well defined muscular male form, me very much like. Please, please whatever you do, don't bring back Sonu!! Not that I have anything against him, but I definitely do not want to see "Sonu" when I read you.

hey u can email the songs,plz do it,i just wanna listen her new innovation.

i heard the "DAMADAM MAST KALANDAR" both RUNA LAILA and ASHA.I did't like the way ASHA sang she lacked something.


I like RANJISH HI SAHI of MEHDI HASSAN ,RUNA LAILA was that bad,she sang it with simplicity.

What has me to do with Atlas? Unless me looking up the location of Timbuctoo!!!!
Well, a marked improvement from Sonu. Shrug. (I guess it is catching).