Label: Big Music,
Artist: Jagjit Singh,
Chitra Singh once said that more than as a singer, she appreciates Jagjit Singh as a composer. This statement stays true for all ghazal composers-cum-singers like Ghulam Ali or Mehdi Hassan. Singh has been known to contemporise ghazals in a tasteful and refined way. And, his latest offering Inteha takes his contemporising skills a step ahead.
Needless to say, a strong supporter of words and good poetry won’t allow any shabby work on his album – as a result, all the songs have decent wordplay given the fact that all the lyricists he’s worked with on this album are debutant writers.
Talking about the sound – Jagjit Singh has pepped it up like never before. Drums are interspersed with dholak and tabla, the bassline is more distinct and the drum rolls (if you have finished rubbing your eyes, I said â€?drum rolls’) here and there take you by surprise! The new added sound elements come unexpected and this would certainly create some panic among regular fans. The cure for that would be â€?multiple hearings’ which would help restore some peace and confidence
Inteha comprises eight songs, and it is said that all the eight songs would be available in DVD format with videos. Speaking about the songs on the album, a Jagjit Singh fan can easily draw references from the songs that are featured on this album to those which he has done years ago – call it self-inspiration! For instance, the ghazal Kuch Khona Kuch Paana in the album has striking similarities to previously released Kya Khoya Kya Paaya Jag Mein written by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. There are some songs which are predictable, but there are some gems like Aape Ke Dil Ne Humme Awaaz di and Khoob Milegi Hum Dono Mein Mere Jaisa Koi Nahin – a trademark â€?Jagjit Singh’ gem.
It’s important that one doesn’t draw any comparisons between this album and older works as he’s probably working (?) towards exposing the genre to the younger generation. For the old timers, I would say – cherish his old timeless tunes – try the new offering only if you are adventurous.
