Race Music Review: An Average Album with a Couple of Great Numbers

Abbas-Mustan's forthcoming film, Race, boasts of a stellar cast, consisting of the likes of Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif. The music too has been given by Pritam, surely one of the most successful composers of last year. He was the man who gave wonderful music in films like Metro and Jab We Met. Unfortunately, he is unable to replicate the magic in Race. The music album of the film has a couple of good numbers, a couple of good remixes by DJ Suketu too, but one the whole, it remains an average album. There are two music CDs, one with the original tracks and the other with the remixed versions. At the end of the listening exercise, one only feels that there is bit of an overkill where remixes are concerned. There are just too many of them.

The album for Race is filled with dance numbers. They have the outward veneer and polish, as one would expect from a composer of Pritam's standing and talent, but the numbers do not promise to be enduring enough. The album begins with the race theme song, ' Race Saanson Mein' sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Neeraj. This number has a lot going for it, specially where the vocals are concerned. Sunidhi gives it her best shot but fails to create the magic that she is famous for. The lyrics by Sameer are passable and the music, with its heavy use of electronic guitar and synthetic beats fails to live up to its hype. There is another similar sounding number, with more or less the same lyrics called 'Race Is On My Mind' further on in the album. Both numbers sound pretty much the same and have the same singers lending their vocals. The only apparent difference that one can make out is the predominant use of English lyrics in the second version. The remixes by Suketu fail to add any fuel to the fire. Overall, this number lacks the punch that one was expecting.

The real surprise in this album, the gem as it were, is the second number, 'Pehli Nazar Mein' sung by the Pakistani singer Atif Aslam, whose claim to fame was the famous Tere Bin and Woh Lamhe. The singer justifies it all with a wonderful rendering. Pritam departs from the general 'dance' mood of this album and gives a soft touch to this number. It is the romantic number of the film and is akin to soft rock. The mood is gentle and is accentuated by the strumming of the guitars. Sameer lyrics play up the mood wonderfully, and Atif's vocals do the rest. This number has two remixes, of which the club mix definitely sounds better than the lounge one. But neither of the remixes lives up to soft magic of the original.

It's back to the dance track again with 'Mujh Pe To Jadoo', sung by Taz, Sunidhi and Apache Indian. The lyrics are a mix of Hindi, English and Punjabi. This number lacks the power of the theme number but makes up for it with its unique use of the tabla sound. It is extremely pleasing number, with the singers doing a great job.

'Dekho Nashe Mein,' sung by Shaan, Sunidhi & KK is a vibrant song, which comes with a Latin fiesta mix and a lounge mix, both which add to the vibrancy of the song. The singers, some of our best, are the best thing about the song. They impart a refreshing quality to the song.

A number to watch out for is 'Zara Zara Touch Me' sung by Monali. It comes in three version, the original, an Asian RnB Mix and a lounge mix. Monali, sounds extremely fresh, youthful and gives the song a seductive touch. This is the kind of number one would think that a Sunidhi would be able to do justice to. But Pritam springs a surprise with his choice of singer. Monali springs a surprise too as she manages to pack a powerful punch with this number and vindicates Pritam's choice. She has an extremely sweet voice and imparts a sweet seductive quality to the song. The Asian RnB mix is specially outstanding.

Race has some powerful tracks which should see Pritam and the film through. But it lacks the overall fantastic sound quality that one expects from him. DJ Suketu does a decent job and at places even overshines Pritam. This is an album which is average, with a few surprises locked in.