SPB: A Musical History - Part 13: SPB, Raja and Tamil Film Music of 80s - Part 2
The versatility 1
As I stated in the earlier, SPB of the 80s was a well formed,confident singer with a unique style of his own. His association with Raja in the 80s helped him in two ways: One, he got to sing a lot of popular numbers, which ensured he took his rightful place in the hearts of the people. Two, Raja gave him songs which pushed him hard and ensured that SPB was able to showcase his versatility to the world. In this article we will talk about how Raja used SPB versatile singing to give us some everlasting numbers.
Before I begin the analysis, let me also state that though SPB was the foremost singer in Tamil, he did dominate the Tamil film music landscape the way he did in Telugu and Kannada. Raja loosely followed this pattern of giving Yesudas songs which had a lot of Carnatic music flavor, Malaysia Vasudevan got a lot of songs with folk music flavor, Jeyachandran sang many soft melodies. SPB got the major share but the others, including Mano in later days, have a substantial body of work with Raja. Again, whatever categorization I have done is a loose one. We have Yesudas singing 'kuthu songs', Malaysia Vasudevan singing wonderful melodies and so on. Overall, Raja did depend on SPB for versatility and in case of Telugu and Kannada he almost always used SPB as the male voice.
Now to analyze some songs from the 80s which showcased SPB's versatility. In an earlier article I had mentioned how Raja had used SPB for songs which were providing a new sound in Tamil Film Music then. He needed the stylishness and the modernity inherent in SPB's singing for these songs to reach the masses.
Let us take the duet, 'yaar thoorigai thanda oviyam' from 'Paaru Paaru Pattanam Paru'. This sound was new to Tamil films in those times (it is still so fresh). That freshness, modernity are also due to SPB's singing. The melodious voice of SPB and his style are an asset to this song. Uma Ramanan also does a good job in this song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YSf9bLCBXw
For another such song, let us take the song 'perai sollva' from 'Guru' (Tamil).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4bBQ2Xu2gY
Another song whose sound was new to TFM. Kamal, who the style king or style mannan, needed this stylish singing by SPB. Matching him step for step is Janaki. The song, which tough to sing, must be sung in a casual way so as to give a feeling that the hero and heroine are effortlessly singing it. Both SPB and Janaki achieve that with ease.
The second style of songs are what I call high energy songs, with a western base. While MSV did try some songs in the genre, it was Raja who took it to great heights and in most case, these songs went to SPB (Malaysia Vasudevan too got some of these songs). In this case you needed a voice which more suited to film music than classical music, a voice which was neutral. A voice which could fit itself into any genre. SPB had such a voice and so he was called upon to sing these songs.
From the film, 'Johny', 'senorita I love you'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKm8QxTp5ag
The song's opening, which seems to be inspired by the 'Immigrant Song' of LedZeplin, is highly energetic and the tune and orchestration sustain the high energy throughout. SPB ensures that the energy created by the drumming and the orchestration is never let down. It is not easy to sing a song with such high energy throughout but SPB does it with ease.
From the film 'Vikram', 'vanitamani'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mthWaMghstg
Another song which combines high energy, stylishness, a new sound and a western beat. Right from the initial recitation started by Kamal, we know this is going to be a funky song. It keeps up the promise. SPB and Janaki bring in the required energy and style.
Let us now go to the other end of the spectrum: Carnatic classical music. As I said earlier, Raja gave most songs which had heavy Carnatic music touch to Yesudas. There were exceptions though and one such glorious exception was the movie 'Kadhal Oviyam'. Except for a song sung by Deepan Chakravarthy, the whole movie was dominated by SPB.
'poovil vandu koodum' for 'Kadhal Oviyam'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VyCicwPxB0
SPB shows that he can sing such songs with ease. SPB, as we saw had sung in movies like 'Shankarabaranam' earlier and so singing classical music songs were not a difficult proposition for him. Such songs only confirmed SPB's versatility. In fact the songs of this movie as itself showcase SPB's amazing versatility.
'vanin devi varuga' from 'Oruvar Vazhum Aalayam'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQPLtqOtysU
This song, based on Amritavarshini mostly, requires both classical music skills and high energy singing. SPB and Janaki deliver both. The changing rhythm pattern in the charanam is another challenge to overcome in this song.
'ilancholai poothadho' from 'Unakaga Vazhgiren'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3jCu3aHOP4
Not much to say here which I haven't said earlier. Enjoy the song.
Here is 'sangeetha jadhi mullai' from the 'Kadhal Oviyam' again. Raja makes SPB push hard at his own boundaries thereby giving him an amazing song. SPB has to dig deep into himself to ensure that he did justice to this song. It is a tough climax song and SPB had to be at his best to deliver quality.
'sangeetha jadhi mullai' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrvcGqvZFuA
Talking of dramatic songs, SPB love singing them, especially if they were climax songs like 'nada vinodamu' or 'dorakuna ituvanti seva'. Here is another dramatic song wherein SPB is called to do his voice acting.
'mani osai kettu ezhndhu' from 'Payanangal Mudivadhillai'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjBoSSWAqNE
SPB does that coughing part without making it sound too contrived or gimmicky. SPB had a talent for doing this.
Here is one more sad and dramatic song from the Telugu film 'Prema', 'priyathama na hrudayama'. I have not seen the movie but I guess this song happens close to the climax in the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89RIAXWmQA4
This is another song which can be delivered by a top notch singer like SPB. The tone of the song is a sad one and in the charanams the song demands a lot from the singer in terms of his range. The singer has to showcase the complete range of his voice without compromising the tone of the song. The sadness must be intact even when the higher registers are reached. Observe how SPB keeps enhances the sadness at 'ee jenma lona edabatu ledhu'. (Madhvapeddi Suresh, a music director himself, said in a show that when he heard this song first time he had tears in his eyes)
SPB's ability to deliver that sad song without going overboard was amazing. It was sadness that was design to touch your heart and wring it slowly. It was not a sadness that made you cry loud. One such song was 'o papa lali' from 'Geetanjali'. A song near the climax, the effect of this is everlasting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNfe6tQ96so
SPB's tone and the softness of touch that he imparts ensure that the song does not become a maudlin one. It has enough sadness to penetrate your heart. The song is tuned keeping with the tone of the movie, which is like a gentle breeze. A song that is liked by millions and has the capacity to still move your heart even after nearly four decades.
Raja exploited this softness of touch of SPB to the maximum.
From the movie, 'Nenjathai Killadhe', the eternal favorite, 'paruvame'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNgo-JZzV5I
An iconic song for various reasons, like the jogging sound and Raja playing the harmonium in the interlude, it gains so much from the voices of SPB and Janaki. Though the laugh of SPB in the prelude sounds a bit forced, the way he sings the song is consistent with the cinematography. Raja asks SPB and Janaki in a soft tone and both of them oblige. This ensures that the mood of the song is that of early morning, of mists and dew on leaves. Raja wants to showcase the tenderness of the world during dawn and he has these two legends who help him achieve the required tenderness.
Another such song which takes advantage of SPB's softness of touch is 'kalai nera poonkuyil' from 'Amman Koyil Kizhakkale'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hG5IvSf5xk
Based on Abhogi ragam, which is generally associated with early morning hours, this song is also an amazingly tender song. SPB's voice suits the song perfectly, bringing out the tenderness of the song.
We will end this post with another sad song sung impeccably by SPB.
'koondukulla enna vechchi' from 'Chinna Gounder'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpxv_niRCyg
We saw only one part of SPB's versatility in this part. In the next part we look at SPB's ability to sing folk songs, kuthu songs, romantic songs and so on.
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