Comedian Vivek is seeking new pastures. In Ramki Ramakrishnan's Sollie Adippaen you can see him in two avatars -- a hero and a singer!
The audio release of this album was celebrated with much fanfare recently. Tamil tinsel town's bigwigs like Rajnikanth had graced the occasion.
Music by Deva is youth-oriented, instilled with comedy. He has combined gana, hip-hop and soft rap. All the songs are racy, with some naughty lyrics. It seems to be in tune with the image Vivek has cultivated as a comedian.
The opening number Maamannu sollu is a light-hearted racy number. It will find favour with today's youth. Pa Vijay's lyrics convey a desperate plea from the youth, obviously to the fairer sex, to call them anything -- mama, machaan, rowdy, fatso, porukki (ruffian), idiot... but never anna (elder brother)! S P Balasubramanyam's voice conveys the plight of the youth enamoured by the girls.
Hip-size kaetta by Anuradha Sriram and Malathy also starts with soft humming, like the previous track, but gathers momentum from the second line. It sounds like an item number. Pa Vijay's lyrics paint a true picture of modern girls -- their boldness, dilemmas, and their aversion to advice and criticism.
Sikkunnu kieriea is a cry from Vivek who is tantalised by girls. Their indifference is 'torture' to him. Vivek has a robust voice and sings the number with gusto. But the song does not give him a chance to showcase his singing prowess.
In chithada kattikkittu, Deva employs a fusion of fast beats, contemporary music and folk. Instruments like nadaswaram and melam -- used in folk music -- are heard. A melange of voices including Deva, Srikanth Deva, Sujatha, Srilekha Parthasarathy and Srividya have been used. Sujatha's soft voice conveys much vibrancy.
Vaadi vaadi is a mock lyrical fight between the lovers energetically rendered by SPB and Sujatha. Deva has used both Indian and western instruments here. For the background music, even noises like a dog barking have been used!
The title track Solli solli solli adippaen by Sriram starts off as a qawwali. This is the only serious number in the album. Chanting of Sanskrit slokas gives it a mystic aura.
Muthamum sathamum is a highly sensuous piece suffused with passion. Fusion of Indian and western orchestration, forceful rhythm, soft rap in between and lively rendition by Karthik, Mathangi and Ramki make it stand out. But the number bears a strong resemblance to some earlier songs.
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