I haven’t done any review in recent times since I am a bit busy these days but my brother reminded me to get back to my stuff especially since my last reviewed album was Diljit’s CON.FI.DEN.TIAL.
Before I give my opinion on Diljit Dosanjh’s 11th album, let’s agree here that Diljit does not make average/below average songs these days. His vocals cannot and should not be reviewed. He is in his own league and has seasoned well, while many of his contemporaries has fallen off the scene. In his latest offering, Diljit has made a compilation of 16 new songs with more than 20 featured artists.
So with that in mind let’s get to the stuff and see how Diljit fairs with his latest offering to his audience.
1. Intro: First Track on the album is an intro. Diljit is both humble and bragging about his accomplishments in the intro which I feel is a bit unwanted since I can’t imagine a person who does not know who Diljit is. No rating for the intro.
2. G.O.A.T: This is a good track with plenty of show off. This song also sets off the tone and mood for the album. Karan Aujla has grown as a lyricist and his play of words brings a smile on my face because the lyrics are good. The music feels a bit messy like the producer G-Funk got too carried away to make his collaboration with Diljit a memorable one. The thing with the music here is that if you are listening to this track on a high fidelity audio system, you won’t be able to concentrate since there are so many sounds on this track, but if you are listening to this track on a setup with a good woofer, it feels much good since the bass takes over other sounds and is enjoyable. I ain't complaining because this track makes 95% of recent Punjabi tracks feel trash in front of it. “Chann chann aakh k bulaya kar tu, Loki bhave kehnde ne star goriye”, are my fav lines from this song. Rating: 4.5/5
3. Clash: When I read the credits of the album, there were some of Diljit’s trusted guys and plenty of new collaborations and while I was excited by the new collaborations, this song credits felt unusual. Raj Ranjodh is the lyricist know to give soulful lyrics and The Kidd is known for well,, Sidhu Moosewala iconic songs and then there is Diljit on the vocals. And know what, this song is crazy good, it has the vibe of the current generation with the music and lyrics and the experience of Diljit vocals. This track actually continues the tone set by the first song. The song feels smooth. Rating: 4.5/5
4. Navi Navi Yaari: The melody on this track is recycled for sure but is does not ruin the song, in fact, it helps this song to get on one's mind. The best thing about this song is the music producer duo “Desi Crew”. I have like songs of Desi Crew, but somehow they were like B+ tier producers to me in the past coz they were mostly using same dholak loops on almost every song. But on this track production is really good, nothing too much nothing too less, just perfect. And it’s not just this song, Desi Crew shine throughout the album. In fact, I’ve been telling this to everyone ever since I heard this album first time. Kudos to Desi Crew, you have earned my respect. “Rony Ajnali” and “Gill Machrai” have provided proper lyrics, no complaints here. This is one of the favorites for me in this album and that’s a surprise for me too. Rating: 5/5
5. Peed: Is there anyone who knew who Raj Ranjodh, Gupz Sehra, and Diljit Dosanjh are, and thought we would get an average song out of this trio!?? I would like to mention a bit about Gupz Sehra here since he has been one of my favorite music director of the recent past. He is the guy behind Ammy Virk classics such as “Adhoore Cha”, “Ikk Pal” & “Zindabaad Yaarian”. This is an instant classic which will be heard for decades to come. I am not capable enough to capture the feel of this song in my review. The only thing I would mention here that the composition on this track is also recycled from Guards Maan song “Jaagde Rehna” and a bit from “Sajjna Ve Sajjna”. Music and vocals are also inspired from old classics of Guards Maan. “Asi aakhri saah chhan k mar jaana deedan maan k. Mar k v asi sajjna tere mukh to na nazran hataiyan.” Are my favorite lines from this track. Rating: 5/5
6. Taare: With Happy Raikoti on lyrics and Intense on the music I had a bit of doubt in this song when reading credits coz I am not a big fan of Intense and Happy Raikoti also misses the target sometimes. This is a ballad, and my hopes go high coz this is the comfort zone for both Happy Raikoti and Intense. Good song, but nothing too special. Rating: 3.5/5
7. Track suit: I don’t remember a duet sung by Diljit and this album has 2 of them. I haven’t ever complaint about Nimrat Khaira vocals and this song is no exception. Desi Crew is back on the music and the beat immediately sets the flow for a dance number. Again for me, the highlight of this song is Desi Crew. This song is so cool, simply because it is a duet sung by 2 fine vocalists who know what they are doing and Desi Crew killing the music yet again. Awesome music. Another important thing is that Diljit has tweaked his vocal style to do justice to a duet track. Btw lyrics are also proper duet treatment by Laadi Chahal. Rating: 5/5.
8. Faraar: Diljit’s last album “Roar”, if I remember properly was written entirely by “Ranvir Singh” and it had some fire lyrics especially of the track such a “Mel Gel”, “Jatti Speaker” and “Gall Baat”. I haven’t heard about “Youngstar Pop Boy”. The thing is the lyrics are in line with Ranvir Singh songs which are basically high feel songs, Music is having a hit hop treatment and Diljit is singing a melody. I was not able to understand and appreciate what is being done on this track. I like everything (Lyrics, Music & Vocals) individually but when all three of them come together, it does not appeal to me. This song I feel is an experiment and as I said there is nothing bad in this song but there isn’t anything here to make me put this song on repeat. Rating: 3/5
9. Jatti: “Desi crew, desi crew, desi crew”, I haven’t ever been more excited to hear these words in the past. Desi Crew has been featured on this album quite heavily. I believe Diljit went to Desi Crew whenever he wanted to make a banger track. Also by the time I am listening to the 9th track of the album I am comprehending, This is what Diljit does, he elevates the level of people!. Diljit certainly turned fortunes of Rav Hanjra and Snappy by featuring them entirely on CON.FI.DEN.TIAL, and though I had heard there (Rav Hanjra and Snappy) songs before CON.FI.DEN.TIAL but I never took them seriously. By no means, I am comparing Desi Crew to the like of Snappy. Desi Crew is at a far higher level, but their featuring on any track in the past never excited me. Lyrics of Shree Brar are good and the song is good too. I can easily say that once lockdowns are over, this song will be heard on every Punjabi wedding for sure. Rating: 4/5.
10. Akh Lal Jatt Di: So somehow Diljit turned into Amrit Maan on this track. His style of singing completely mimics Amrit Maan here. Music by Ikwinder Singh is also good. The vocals by Diljit have a mischievousness to them and that stands out to me in this track. The track brings back the tone of G.O.A.T. and Clash. Somehow, I can’t understand why Diljit vocals needed Autotune here. Rating: 4/5.
11. Pyaar: Written by D Harp and music by Mr. Rubal, both of whom I don’t know anything about. It feels like, I am hearing a sad love song from Diljit after a decade. While Diljit is popular for party/upbeat tracks I always consider his ballads far better than the party numbers he produces. This is a really good track. I don’t know who composed this song because the composition is what made this song special as it is a composition that touches one's heart and then the lyrics hit. Rating: 5/5.
12. Habit: The Kidd is back with Manjinder Brar on lyrics. Kaim kamm on this track. Again composition is recycled but good and new compositions are rare these days in the Punjabi music industry. This is a slow song made to hit woofers for gedi routes. Lyrics are typical of today’s trend. The thing here is this track will definitely be a hit and will then get lost into a lot of many other similar songs being sung these days. Rating: 4/5.
13. Range: I was expecting another “Range Rover jatt di” type of song, but, it is a sad song! This intrigued me. Lyrics by Shree Brar and Black Virus for the music. This song has some really deep sad lyrics. A really good song to sit and listen and to appreciate. Rating: 4.5/5.
14. Patola: Featuring Kaur B and Deep Jandu is the second duet on this album. And this song has a more traditional duet approach to its music and lyrics. Kaur b is also a really good vocalist when used properly. This song again written by Shree Brar shows how versatile lyricist he is. Enjoyed listening to this track. Rating: 4/5.
15. Whiskey: Desi Crew is back with another exciting beat. I love how they have blended western music with folk instruments on this album. Lyrics by Laadi Chahal are also good. This is another banger that will hit hard on parties and weddings. The USP here is the sudden change of melody which changes the mood just to get the listeners excited. Sarangi, Tumbi, Scratches, Beats, and Diljit. Do we need anything else!. Rating: 5/5.
16. Born to Shine: So the closing track credits belong to Desi Crew and Amrit Maan. This better be good because I have really like the album till now. As soon as Diljit uttered words of the first line it was clear this is a hype track which will definitely close the album on the high note. While the beat gave me a rush, those lines “Paise bare billo soche duniya, Jatt paida hoya billo chhaun vaaste”, gave me the pump. Awesome song. Diljit, Amrit Maan and Desi Crew smashed it on this track. For me, this track could easily replace G.O.A.T. as the title track for this album. Rating: 5/5
The thing is, Diljit made CON.FI.DEN.TIAL in 2018, which to me was an experiment by him and I personally liked many tracks on that album, but many of his fans were also disappointed. Then he made ROAR in the same year which was a typical album with all Bhangra tracks and though it was also a good album, it was a very forgettable one. Now what Diljit has done, he has made an album for everyone to make everyone happy, there is plenty of experimentation and there is plenty of tried and tested formulas, no wonder this album has 16 tracks.
However, I would say This album name (G.O.A.T) is apt coz Diljit shows the current generation of artists that he is actually the G.O.A.T. and puts every new artist and even his contemporaries to shame.
My recommended tracks other than G.O.A.T., are Navi Navi Yaari, Peed, Track Suit, Pyaar, Range, Habit, Whiskey, Born to Shine.
ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਵਿਸਥਾਰ ਪੂਰਵਕ ਟਿੱਪਣੀਆਂ।
ReplyDelete