Gurdas Maan–Roti–music review and more

I am writing a music review of an album after really really long time. The last one I wrote was on Mar 3, 2009 for Collaborations 2. I am not really the one who was eagerly waiting for this album but actually this post is a mix of two posts; ie music review of this album and some in general stuff that I have been thinking about Gurdas Maan’s performance in the last few years. I am sorry if this post sounds like a too critical one. So lets get going with the music review first.

Overall this album is a disappointment especially in terms of music. If we exaggerate it a little disaster won’t really be an overstatement. I don’t understand the reason why he left Jaidev Kumar. The kind of stuff that Gurdas Maan sings Jaidev Kumar is the only music director who can compose music for his songs. Earlier it was Charanjit Ahuja and Amar Haldipur who did some brilliant stuff for few of his albums. But this time he switched to Jatinder Shah and that seems to have resulted in almost a disaster. Lets talk about the album song by song:

1) Roti : Very nice lyrics. The live performance has been really good in most of his shows. But in this album it sounds like a blunder. Bad music and the almost stupid video makes it a bad one. There is nothing, really nothing in the video except that it has been filmed on Gurdas Maan. With such beautiful lyrics they could have made an amazing video showing daily lives of people and passing on a beautiful message.

2) Pind di hawa : Before the album came out I was expecting this one to be one of the best songs. I watched few of the videos from his live performances of this song. It has that original GM touch to it. Reminds me of mudja ve mudja beeba The album version also sounds ok. Music is just fine here if not brilliant.

3) Sajna tainu tak nahi rajna : Again a good one. Music again is also fine for this one.

4) Raati chann naal gallan karke : I could never understand what this song is all about. Sounded like a filler to me. It is so long that never seems to end. I played it almost 4-5 times and it never caught my attention.

5) Je laayi si tan nibhauni : Again a nice track but stupid kind of music. Nice beat but too much use of computerized music.

6) Akh mere yaar di : Again nothing much special here. Lyrics are ok types but a loose type composition.

7) Ja chup karke turja : I was expecting it to be a really really good song but it probably turned out to be the biggest disappointment out of all 8 songs. Such amazing lyrics and the live version was equally amazing. GM himself messed it up. We don’t even need to talk about music here. His pronunciation of words is like he is chewing them. I can’t believe such a composition can be spoiled to this extent. DISASTER !

8) Farmaan : So once again a religious song. Fine lyrics. But I think not as brilliant as sarbans daaniya ve. A friend just confirmed what I have been thinking. It looks like an attempt to silence the voices from Sikh circles who are too critical of him.

So overall this album is a serious disappointment especially in the field of music and one video that we have seen. I don’t think people are gonna play it again after an year or so. It would turn out to be just another album. BTW a question for Jatinder Shah : what was the need to edit his voice in many of the songs ? Even a novice won’t do that.

Now lets get down to talk about what has gone wrong about Gurdas Maan. There are few thing that I think are responsible for his (kind of) downfall in last few years:

1) He needs to slow down. Really he needs to slow down. Age is catching up now and he keeps traveling for whole of month. It seems he is running out of content because he has no time to think. He needs to cut down on his tours, give some time to himself and come with some quality content.

2) For music he should get back to Jaidev Kumar. No one can do it better than Jaidev for him.

3) He needs to find a new video director. After Manoj Punj left this world that void hasn’t been filled. Frankly speaking Manjit Maan isn’t a video director. Most of the videos that she has directed are copies of the work that Manoj Punj did. Roti video in itself is a perfect example of lack of creativity.

4) He needs to take his dera connection down to personal level. He has been visiting that place since ever but it was in his personal capacity. He didn’t do a kind of promotion. But since last few years he has been promoting it like anything. Given the damage that deras have done to Punjab he should be careful while doing so. In his personal capacity he can go wherever he wants but promoting this isn’t really expected from him. Being the biggest ambassador of Punjabiat he has some responsibility on his shoulders which he should be careful about. But it seems that that is not going to happen. As one of my friend and old GM fan puts it that it is a win-win situation for both the parties. Dera gets a lot of GM followers as visitors and a lot of dera visitors have become GM fans. These days half of what he says is somehow linked to what happens in dera and what sain ji said. I find that irritating to say the least and I am sure a lot of old, genuine fans do the same.

So guys that is what I thought after listening to this album. Do leave your comments !

10 Comments

  1. I totally disagree with everything u said amardeep. Gurdas Mann new album is awesome…every song u learn from and enjoy..everything he says it relates to in real life.. The tunes are great..each tune of every song was jus right…i listen to all the new punjabi music..jaidev kumar is good but i think jatinder shah did a great job with the music..this album is way better than any other new album out there..this album is a success!

  2. +1 to every thing. When I first saw the video, I was like what’s the connection between dancers with dhols “jumping” around all with Roti? And why Gurdas Maan is also sort of like doing aerobics in the name of dance? When I came to know that who was the director of the video, there left no doubts that nothing else could come out. Overall, the album is below average. I mean come on, even some of the new guys are doing far better in their work now. It may sound very unpleasant to many but it’s true. Being a die-hard fan of baba maan, it hurts me even more to say that but a fact remains a fact. And Jatinder Shah is best fit for Gippy only. For songs like Roti, if you are choosing him, there itself you have ruined the whole thing-right in the beginning. Gurdas Maan is slowly going towards a phase where one’s own success and milestones start to haunt him. If he wouldn’t pull up his socks now, probably we shall witness yet another gem being converted into a mere glass soon, very soon!

  3. @Jesse,

    You seriously think that this is the best album from all the new ones? May be you missed the one from Prabh Gill, did you? Kulwinder Billa, Jassi Gill, A Kay, Ammy Virk, just a bunch of new names who has given far better music, despite being newbies than Gurdas Maan did in Roti. Jatinder Shah is good? Hmm did you check out the pure instrumental music given by Tru Skool in Diljit’s latest tape? It’s far better than the “mixing” done by Jatinder Shah and that too for songs penned by Gurdas Maan!Heck even Yuvraj Hans has sung better than Gurdas Maan. It’s a sad but sheer fact, Gurdas Maan is loosing his touch and if he continues giving music like this one, he himself would shatter that legacy which he created from last two decades.

  4. Jaidev gave same kind of music to all GM albums, Jatinder Shah had a new touch which sounds nice and pleasant to the listners of modern music. Gurdas Maan’s lyrics are just unmatchable. No body is even near to him.

    Lyrics are really awesome. His voice quality is the best as it has always been. No one from the league of new singers can match him.

    Only thing which I can agree with this review is the video. Roti song could have been picturised as one of the best music videos whereas it has been done as one of the worst ones like Boot Polishan and Babe bhangra Pounde ne. GM really needs to get a professional Video Director rather that Manjit Maan. All of these three songs had really great lyrics but really bad videos.

    Other than this, he has done a really great job.

    AND for those people who suddenly choose to write a review and that also about Gurdas Maan’s album, may be working under some hidden agenda against Gurdas Maan.

    One more thing, Farmaan song is really one of the greatest songs. He doesnt need to silence any of his critics or those who are trying to show him annti sikh. He has always respected all religions. These are just meaningless petty allegations.

  5. @worst review Thank you for your comment. You are entitled to your views and we can agree to disagree but I would like to clarify just one point:

    >>AND for those people who suddenly choose to write a review and that also about Gurdas Maan’s album, may be working under some hidden agenda against Gurdas Maan.

    We don’t know each other so surely you don’t know enough about me. I am not one of them, if there is a bunch of such people out there.

  6. Totally agree with sidhu baai, I think some people don’t know that amardeep baai run GM groups on yahoo groups even when Orkut/FB did not exist.

    The only one line is enough…

    Play waah ni jawaaniye, Heer or Panjeeri and then play roti…. You will get ur answer…. I dont like Jatinder Shah here…. jaidev Kumar is best for GM.

    Most irritating is dual voice in Farman and Jaa chup karke tur jaa…. GM is original singer so original voice should be recorded.

    Best recording till now is Waah Ni jawaaniye……BEST-EST VOICE THROW AND SOOTHING Music…… Not a good experiment….

  7. Yea i think this is way better.. The thing that should matter is wat u get from d song..his songs are always meaningful…A singers legacy is based on his wordings and actions..how he interacts with others..Mann saab has touched every subject i could think of..kids to elders love his music.he is the most humble person ever i have met..really down to earth..and thats what i love about him..and Gurdas Mann will always be at the top…no matter what…yea other singers are good that write good music.. They have listened to mann saab too.. They follow his foot steps..my 2nd fav singer Diljit…he is on the rise..he has improved his act alot.. Singers like honey singh especially i dont like cuz these type of ppl corrupt d punjabi culture!

  8. Not agree with review. I think this the best album of Gurdas maan saab. Maan s busier then all singers even after 32 years in this age.he is still on top and will be on top forever till he sing. Roti is selling like hot cake its was sold out here ( toronto) on some stores.other thing maan saab Earned real fans not like other singers youtube fans they make song hit on youtube in free but dont buy original cd. Awesome Album by maan saab.

  9. I am a huge Gurdas Maan fan, and have been for years. I couldnt agree with you more on your review. His latest music videos have been annoying. I would recommend a “Lakh Pardesi” type video for Roti. Seeing people in various locations working for theire “roti” in both honest and dishonest ways. Perhaps GM could be in the background in the scenes. I also agree with his musical direction is going the wrong way. The music is very cold and synthetic. He needs to get a new musical director who uses real instruments in the recording.

    I also agree on the fact that he needs to slow down and spend more time focusing on the music and lyrical content.

    Could you please inform more about this Dera and Laddi Shah. I have googled it, but there seems to be not much info about Laddi Shah. I understand that GM has chosen Laddi Shah as his guru and praises this person. I do not mean to offend anyone, but doesnt that seem strange coming from someone like GM who is an educated person who has traveled the world. This person seems like a hoax to me, but then again I havent been able to find much information about him (Laddi Shah). The pictures of him posing with cigarettes and a bundle of money doesnt seem very guru like to me.
    Do you know where I can find information about him? I am interested in what caught GMs attention to Laddi Shah.

  10. @Norway Thank you for the comment.

    You are right. You wont find much about him in Google. Even i don’t know much about their whole scene. What i know is that GM has been going there since long. Since those ishq da gidha days. At that time it was all at personal level but now he seems to have got into kind of promotion thing. Here in this interview he is talks about how he started going there

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGVqoBnY7QM

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