Ab ye kaafila is atmospheric and lilting enough except for that cringe-worthy English phrases; Karthik, KK and Kreem himself pitch in fantastic vocals to lift this lively track. Daler Mehndi is roped in for crooning Musafir and he does a breath-taking job of the sweeping melody going against his usual ebullient self – Kreem’s orchestration, in particular, blends beautifully with the vocals. Rang de, in reality, sounds more like Daler material, but Shankar Mahadevan does a remarkable job in this chest-thumping Punju track that despite treading awfully familiar material, packs enough punch to distinguish itself. It is in his vocals that Kreem scores big time, in Saaware, with an almost Rahman’ish sparseness to the haunting tune and orchestration. His version of Musafir too adds just that touch of melancholy over Daler’s attempt, that sounds enormously appealing. Piyush Mishra’s lone track, O re bande, with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shilpa Rao is his trademark sound with a qawali’sh, discordant rhythm that is highly addictive. Not to be outdone, composer Wayne Sharpe score stupendously with his instrumental theme that has Lisbeth Scott’s soaring vocals even as the tune rises even higher to a stunning crescendo! Completely unexpected gem of a soundtrack!
Keywords: Lahore, MM Kreem, M.M.Kreem, Daler Mehndi, Lahore hindi music review
