Sometimes it is hard to say that who is better, Himesh - the pre ABA composer or Himesh - the post ABA composer i.e. if somebody plays Aap Ka Suroor album and listens to Tera Suroor followed by Naam Hai Tera, and then plays Tere Naam and listens to Title Trax followed by Oodhni, it is really a tough one, and it is really hard to pick out that which composer is/was better.
Himesh - the pre ABA composer
His composition style comprised mainly of TYPICAL UNIQUE HR MELODY.
He composed:
> Duet love ballads sung mostly by Kumar Sanu (near debut), Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik.
> Item / Stage / Club numbers sung mostly by Shaan, KK and Sunithi Chauhan.
Trademark instrumental elements:
> Combo of typical old styled beats comprising of raw drum hit / thump pattern that gives "halke se kick" and quick catchy instrumental theme pieces used intermittently in his early days near his debut e.g. in AMAR PREM TITLE TRAX, JANAM TERE LIYE and SANAM MERE HUMRAAZ.
> Fast paced tabla beats at start of stanzas.
> Household string based instrument / guitar riffs (with inherent twists) used mostly as theme piece at start e.g. in MERI NAS NAS MEIN TUM HO, KABHI NA SUKUN AAYA, JUST WALK INTO MY LIFE, DIL MERA TODO NA and so on.
> Quick rising majestic keyboard / piano flicks, especially in stanzas and near their ends.
> Three lazy laidback drum hits used intermittently at staza of stanzas.
> Oriental flute at start of serene tropical / seductive feel melodies e.g. in CHURA LIYA HAI TUMNE, IS TARAH DEEWANE, AAKHIYAAN LADAJA and so on.
> Gentle stereotyped underlying beat pattern in love duets.
> Grand "international feel" opening at start of item / club songs along with intermittent raw drum hits in between stanzas.
Trademark vocal elements:
> Jayesh Gandhi's high pitched passionate emphasis croons.
> Soothing female background chorus.
> African-ish male croons and female seductive feel croons of Suzanne D' Mello in item / stage / club numbers.
He was known as an A - league "Mr Consistent" composer who guaranteed alteast a couple of decent / hit tunes in his albums.
His music arrangement that was equally vital as the vocals was well structured and carefully laid out whereby da combined magic of tune pieces along with beat effects gave goosebumps and sensations.
To begin with, his music made a silent impression over time which later created some serious decent impression and with a sure steady growth that promised that himesh had it in him what it takes to rule da charts.
Himesh - the post ABA composer
His composition style comprised mainly of PROLONGED TWISTS N TURNS.
He composed:
> Sufi Rwak "sung n composed" songs.
> Semi Classical "sung n composed" songs whereby ustad Himesh Reshammiya was at da helm of affairs.
> "Composed only" songs that has traces of Himesh - the pre ABA composer.
Trademark instrumental elements:
> Signature passionate violin piece used at start and in between stanza gaps.
> Bazz trumpet.
> Profound quick tabla beats.
> Raga tunes in semi classical songs.
> Heavy quick intermittent beat effects.
Trademark vocal elements:
> Sudden abrupt pitch changes / variations i.e. a same line sung with middle or lower octave vocals with inner ghehrayi and that same line followed by fulltu high pitched vocals, e.g. mukhda of KOLA LAKA VELLARI, TERE SANG ISHQ, OM NAMO NAYARAYAN and so on.
> Variations in repetitive catchy hooks i.e. most phrases of that hook are usually sung in high pitch with either a subtle variation or a profound twist in one of da hook phrase, e.g. observe da variations in AASHIQ BANAYA * 3, AAJA * 5, TANHAIYAAN * 5, LUT JAUN * 4 and so on.
> Ustad emphasis on notes with twists n turns along with a dying effect which is his trademark sufi rwak vocal finishing effect.
> Well structured prolonged alaaps / croons used as theme piece at start and in between stanza gaps e.g. TERA SUROOR, O JAANA LOVE U MISS U, AASHIQ BANAYA AAPNE, JHALAK, TADAP, MERI AAWARGI, LUT JAUN, TANHA JIYA NA JAAYE, TERE BIN CHAIN NA AAVE, RANJHNA, AAP KI KHATIR and RABBA LUCK BARSA.
> Feel good male rap by Arya mostly used in stanzas of "composed only" songs e.g. CHEENA RE, DIL DE DIYA SEENE SE NIKAL KE, LETS ROCK, TUNE MERA CHAIN VAIN LE LIYA and so on.
He earned his spot as da Numero Uno Composer with those back to back killer chartbusters.
His loud and heavy "catchy" orchestration complimented his fulltu vocals that did most of da talkin.
His music created mass hysteria and became a rage with those that it clicked.
If Himesh Reshammiya fans actually go through some of the music reviews and Top 5 music charts in the archive section of bollywoodhungama.com in 2006, then they would discover that their music reviewer Mr Joginder Tuteja who is the most reputed n followed critic has openly referred to Himesh as the 'Numero Uno No.1 Composer' at the time when his chartbusting albums like Aksar, Tom Dick N Harry, 36 China Town n even his debut album Aap Ka Suroor released back to back...he acknowledged the fact that Himesh was the best composer n above all other composers.
Comparison
The comparison between Himesh - the pre ABA composer and Himesh - the post ABA composer is like A CONTRAST BETWEEN TWO EXTREME OPPOSITE ENDS / WORLDS just like chalk and cheese which are distinctively different from each other with their own unique styles.
It is difficult to believe that the innocent dhokla boy who churned infectiously catchy melodies from the backstage / parde ke peeche as a composer in pre ABA era would suddenly turn on da heat and da musical world upside down with his killer sufi rwak andaz in post ABA era.
In terms of composition style, it is like a split personality of two avatars in one single composer.
He has been labelled as being "original to da core, but repeats himself to death".
This is actually a compliment as his original record over his career span is phenominally outstanding and as far as repetition, it is not plagairism as no artist can be accused of copying from his own work that he himself originally created by default to begin with.
He basically gets inspired, borrows and draws reference from his earlier past works and that is why listeners can more often than not associate with his "brand himesh stamp" in his songs due to which they either totally konnect / get hooked on to his sound or either completely dislike it, hence proving true the statement "you either love him or hate him, but you cannot ignore him", especially more so in da post ABA era.
It is known that Himesh is multi-talented and has donned various hats progressively in both pre ABA and post ABA era i.e. first a composer, then a singer and an actor.
But da USP of his fame, popularity and success that created rage and mass hysteria is his KILLER SUFI RWAK VOICE which is mainly responsible for where he has reached today thus far, while the remaining attributes have only helped him further in his cause.
Himesh has always been a top notch composer but did not get his full due and recognition to its max potential in pre ABA era, but it is his avatar as Himesh - the singer that made all da difference and make it count big time in post ABA era to take his music to da top undisputed league, something he deserved from da very outset.
Thanks to his vocals that did da job of upgrading his 4wd sports car (i.e. his music) to turbo mode and put it into overdrive or like adding an igniting fuel spark to a potential dynamite (i.e. his music) that was just waiting to explode to da next level, couldn't have asked for an ideally better / right calalyst mix to spur on a dhamaka in da music scene.
In terms of romantic melodious ballads, Himesh - the pre ABA composer is way superior to Himesh - the post ABA composer, even in terms of item/club songs, they both go neck to neck. Where Himesh - the post ABA composer excels is in the Sufi Rwak n Semi Classical genre, along with new age sound n experimentation.
One of the key difference in between Himesh - the pre ABA composer n Himesh - the post ABA composer is that there was a predictability of the sound zone domain in the case of Himesh - the pre ABA composer, whereas there is lot of unpredictability of the sound zone domain in the case of Himesh - the post ABA composer...in other words, the listener could predict what kind of sound Himesh - the pre ABA composer would give, n it was clustered in a more narrower sound zone, whereas the listener cannot predict to that extent what kind of sound Himesh - the post ABA composer would give, n it is scattered in a more wider sound zone...n the reason for this is that Himesh - the pre ABA composer stuck to his trademark stamp without much experimentation and without influence by other sounds, whereas Himesh - the post ABA composer has experimented much with various styles, and also been influenced by other sounds.
One of the biggest unexpected surprises of Himesh - the composer is how he suddenly mastered the Sufi Rwak genre after having his core base in Indian melody based songs...he gave an initial impression that his strength was in Indian melodies, but showed his versatility n another facet by a contrast shift of sound domain with Sufi Rwak genre...it is amazing to know that a composer with Indian based values n roots would go on to display such finer nuances of Sufi Rwak genre, to an extent that no other Bollywood composer could match him in this unparalled genre of which he became a master.
His high pitch sounds thin and lower octave sounds heavy...the main reason why some of his songs are not creating that impact is because he is mixing high and low pitch together in certain songs e.g. Soni...nice flowing soothing song in middle octave, but high pitched lines O SONI VE could be avoided...same thing for Teri Arziyan, nice flowing song in middle octave, but high pitched lines OOO MUJHE HAI IF TU could be avoided, because it spoils the overall pleasant mood of song. If he avoids these high pitched lines and lets these songs be in KITNA PYAR KARTE HAIN (Banaras) mode, then more people would be hearing these 2 songs from Aap Se Mausiiquii and their impact will be more, such subtle things make a huge overall difference.
Joh Jeeta wahi Sikandar aur Superstar.