Wake Up Sid, Karan Johar & Ayan Mukerjee
Music Review of Altrenative Rock Soundtrack for Indian Film
Oct 4, 2009
Producer Karan Johar and Director Ayan Mukerjee couldn't have chosen better composers than Shankar-Ehsan-Loy to create music for their film Wake Up Sid. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy have previously worked together with Karan Johar on the brilliant melodious soundtrack for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.
The music in Wake Up Sid belongs to the alternative rock genre with five beautifully composed songs.
Shankar Mahadevan and Clinton Cerajo's Vocals are Perfect
As soon as the guitar starts strumming and the drum starts beating in the title track Wake Up Sid listeners know they're going to hear a brilliant number. The track performed by Shankar Mahadevan with backing vocals by Loy Mendonsa is beautiful.
The joyful music combined with great lyrics by Javed Akhtar capture the feel and mood of the care free, happy go lucky character; Sid played by Ranbir Raj Kapoor. The song starts on a slow note and then with the introduction of the drums and the heavy guitar in the chorus it bursts into to an expressive rock number.
Clinton Cerajo's vocals in the song Kya Karoon are perfect. The track is simple in its arrangements and may only have a short life span but it is very hummable. Clinton Cerajo's voice gives it the youth-centric feel needed to make the audience connect with the main characters of the film.
Iktara composed by Amit Trivedi is a fusion of classical vocals with contemporary sounds
Aaj Kal Zindagi and Iktara are arguably the best songs of the album. Shankar Mahadevan's soulful rendition in Aaj Kal Zindagi captures emotions from the inspiring lyrics with perfection.
Iktara is the only track not composed by Shankar- Ehasan-Loy, the music was written by Amit Trivedi. Trivedi uses Kavita Seth and Amitabh Bhattacharya to give a classical rendition. In this type of song it is normal to expect the sounds of the Indian instruments; sitar and tabla, instead Trivedi uses the strings of a guitar and the beats of a drum. This fusion of classical vocals with contemporary sounds gives the song emotional depth.
The album ends with the track Life is Crazy, musically it can be considered to be the weakest track of the album, however the vocals by Uday Bengal who is better known as the lead singer of the Indo-Rock 'n' Funk outfit Alms for Shanti breathes life into the song. His vibrant performance gives the song a level of energy that makes it addictive to the ears.
With the soundtrack of Wake up Sid, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy have given their career best so far. The soundtrack is a must listen for fans of alternative rock.
