Vijay's voice makes 'Sachin' audio special

Chennai, April 14 (IANS) If Rajnikant is the emperor of Tamil cinema, there is little doubt as to who the crown prince is. Yes, the heir is none other than the 'Ilaiya Dalapathi' Vijay.

It is hardly surprising therefore that Vijay's releases provoke mass hysteria among his fans.

His last two releases - "Gillie" and "Tirupachi" - have worked wonders at the box office, with their music setting the charts on fire.

When I scanned the names on the jacket of another Vijay starrer "Sachin", my expectations fell precipitously on finding Devisri Prasad's name flaunted as the music director.

He had murdered the listener's sensibilities with his insipid fare in "Maayaavi". But in "Sachin", the vocals of Shankar Mahadevan, Jassie Gift, Karthik and most importantly Vijay add the vital zing.

It was with not a little trepidation that I popped it into my trusty player. But the first track, "Va Va En Thalaiva", to my great surprise, actually got me tapping my feet rather quickly.

One can easily imagine Vijay's fans dancing on the aisles to this ode as Shankar Mahadevan's vocals are, as always, inspiring.

The second track leaves one groaning "Back to Maayaavi!?" in a hushed, disappointed tone. Because as much as Devisri Prasad is a disappointment as a music director, he now wants try his hand at singing too.

Unfortunately, even with his husky voice, his singing is not too impressive.

Jassie Gift makes an appearance in the next song - a treat to the multitudes that had fallen in love with his earthy voice that belted out "Lajjavathiye".

The song is rather hummable but except for Jassie's unique voice, there is nothing about the song to fall in love with.

The track that follows, "Dai Dai Dai Kattikkoda", has singing sensation Karthik pairing up with Sunitha Sarathy.

This track is the kind of classic, fast-paced love song that is the hallmark of a Vijay-starrer - only this time it's got a slight Western twinge with a few English words interspersed.

What follows is the "Beat of Sachin" - a track that takes you to a trance. It is rather enjoyable.

Devisri Prasad returns in the penultimate track of the album, and makes no better impression with this. The tune, however, is much better, though his voice leaves one wondering if he sang it with a sore throat.

A husky voice may be supposed to sound sexy but the song does not come remotely close.

The best, meanwhile, is kept for the last.

Vijay himself takes up the recording mike to belt out a 'koothu' tune "Vaadi Vaadi". The results - to put it mildly - are stunning. This one is a gem.

To conclude, though the album is rather patchy, it displays flashes of brilliance. Besides it is worth a buy, just to listen to Vijay's inspired vocal delivery.