Why I Consider IR Unparalleled

[Gopal.s]

Dear Rasaiyya/Venki Ram,

There were lot of incidences where stalwarts like Naushad/Roshan to name a few visited Viswanathan -Ramamoorthy Recording,and showered praise on the Duo.

I admit Ilayaraja can write notes and single handedly arrange archestra,etc . Agreed. Here ,we are discussing the imigination,composition and output and the knowledge of the individual to comment on them.I know 100% Songs in Tamil by all the significant musicians and make choices.(and ofcourse some music also though self-taught)

Ramamoorthy was not a mere violinist and he was a composer and a genius musician who mastered Ragas . I could never make out the buried Raga base in VR duos but quite easy in case of IR.

When I argued with fans ,about compositions, they talk about Folk,Classical,Fusion and Western styles.I used to counter them with numerous songs of 60s with countless numbers and asked them whether they know it.Invariably,they answered ,they dont care.They dont want to here anything else.What can I say and argue? I am mistaken for my daring approach to say ,even if Ilayaraja is ultimate,only people like me are qualified to make such statements .

As composers of songs sans archestration,BGM ,I rate Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy as number 1 (Only the Duo not Viswanathan alone.Pl.Note),A.R.Rahman as number 2. Ilayaraja as No 3 .

Raja came at the right time when duo split and Tamil music was running into rough weather by unimaginative mediocre approach since 1970 till 1976 and in 1976 ,IR made all of us to drop our jaws to floor.I always carry special soft corner for him to destroy Hindi music monopoly in Tamil Nadu,saved our pride and his entry coincided with prime of my teens.

When it comes to BGM, Arrangement of archestra ,Re-recording,Mood Musics,Emotional interludes,Appropriate use of silence and nature related ,Ilayaraja is unparelleled till date.( I do appreciate his speed &efficacy to churn volumes in Quick time though it does not warrant attention and relevant to what we discuss now.) If this is taken to account RamNarayanan is better than Gurudhath.


I am not a lesser fan of Ilayaraja when I said it. Your statements like no use in arguing surprised me. You are talking to a person who wont hesitate to criticise the most reverred individuals&his own idols if it requires and I am open-minded and ready to be convinced if the person made his choice with full awareness,and knowledge like my choices. It is subjective to some extent but our knowledge &Exposure and Open-minded approach makes rejections,choices,conditional praises easy and subjectivity is reduced to a great extent.

To establish,my Opinion and choices ,I never seek help of other experts and their opinions. Suddenly some foreign composer (may be winner of all significant world titles)visits Rahman and showering praises on him without knowing about our 60s,70s,80s,90s ,will not make him more Qualified than me to comment and can not be used as testimony to establish my point.

Venki Ram, I think and hope you atleast try to see my point. If I am a man ,I will get aroused whenever I see a sensual girl, and if I am a music lover ,I get drawn with emotional content and Novelty irrespective of Tag and brand.