Panjabi Mc's
Desi
 

There are very few albums that I anxiously anticipate, but this is one of those. Punjabi MC has built up a reputation, which is almost second to none. They will forever be associated which the almost legendry tune - Mundian To Bachke or the Knight Rider song which many people know it as, to name just one. Their mixing skills are unquestioned but will this album transfer those into a product that will further enhance their reputation.

The album kicks off with Good Morning. This is the tune PMC have flaunted as Part 2 of the 'knight rider' song. The music used is almost identical but for a slight change in tone and a build up before the bass of the chorus hits not only gives the tune individuality but is an improvement on the original format. This allows for the two tunes to be mixed into each other seamlessly, which is the desired effect. The tune is another classic but will forever live in the shadow of the original, but considering it on its own merit, it is excellently put together and the lyrics are good as well.

Sassi follows this and it is a lot of people's favourite track on the album. It features the legendary Surinder Shinda along with the PMC, which means it's going to be good! It is sung, as ever, clearly and strongly. It's a nice slow tune, which is chilled out, and it has a mellow underlying music. The mix of the Punjabi and the rapping is complementary to each other and works well so all in all it's another top tune.

Onto track 3, which is the intro! Moviebox & Panjabi Mc lost their counting skills here, what the hell is the intro doing at track three? I mean if you didn't know 'intro' stands for introduction! It features the usual live scratching that PMC are known for. Just a note for next time, I'll state the obvious for you, put the intro as numero uno.

Panj Pind is next. The music or should I say beats on this is, as expected, excellent and so is the singing. But in my opinion the Mc'ing seams to be out of place in this tune. Neither the way it's performed nor the lyrics or the voice are in sync with the tune, but nevertheless it's an ok tune.

Dholna follows; This is another slow tune sung with just a tabla accompaniment, not my sort of thing at all, the emphasis on the tune lies heavily with the voice of the singer which is too strong and harsh for the song and the background music.

This is followed by track 6, which is Boliyan, and the name says it all, it's a typical boliyan tune. The music is upbeat enough to be listening to and the singing fits in well with the breaks in the music. Having said that it's nothing too spectacular, just an average tune.

Then we get a remix of track 4, Panj Pind, the freestyle mix. No major changes here, just one song has singing in it and the other does not!

Dil Bharian by Labh Janjua follows this and the first thing you notice on the tune is the strong, clear music. Too many other sounds or instruments don't overshadow the beat, which is sometimes the case in other tunes. The strong foundation that the music brings allows the singing and lyrics to shine through and result in well-put together tune. Maybe the singing again has a harsh edge to it and maybe a female voice would be more suited than a guy singing from a female point of view, but that would just be being cruel!

Thugee is the next tune and this one features Villain Mc and I must say that I am not impressed at all by this once, firstly music is a total rip-off from Dre, why do they even need to copy music when they have done a good job in the rest of the album making their own? Secondly, the rapping lacks any real depth and impact, and finally the scratching sounds are very annoying, if your going to use someone else's music, at least do a good job with it.

Finally theirs another version of 'Good Morning' which is the Breaks version, basically it's the instrumental version. Who comes up with these names?

Overall the album is good, no doubt many people will buy it, however, this will be purely on reputation alone and possibly for 'Good Morning'. There will be comparison with the 'Legalized' album due to a lot of similarities in the songs. However, it not as good as that, as that album was arguably the best bhangra album of all time! Having said that it does have a lot to offer for all types of bhangra lovers with a mix of slow and faster songs. As they say, you cant please all of the people all of the time and by setting the standards as high as PMC has it's damn hard to meet them every time. Overall, I would give this album 7 out of 10.

 
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Review by: Usman
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