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Amazon.co.uk Review
"Closer Than Ever" also has something, with interesting chord progression and some soaring lines for the singers to get their teeth into--the only number to do this. There are beautiful moments, but with no evident characterisation and appallingly banal lyrics by Don Black, it doesn't grab. The show itself makes up for the lack of musical originality with some stunning choreography, but ultimately leaves one wishing that they had just brought over a real Bollywood musical. --Antonia Couling
Review
Based on Meera Syal's book of the same name and with lyrics written by Don Black, Bombay Dreams seems hell-bent on transferring Mr Lloyd Webbers formula to the sphere of world music. Quite obviously, a soundtrack album devoid of the stunning dance routines and cod-Bollywood stage sets that convey the story is bound to be somewhat contextually adrift, but in this case the gap could be measured in light years. At least with Rodgers and Hammerstein or Leonard Bernstein the songs were strong enough to stand alone.
Rahman's string arrangements are sumptuously Asiatic, to be sure, and the production fuses east with west in often seamlessly post-modern fashion. Breakbeats meet pounding drums. Sweeping string sections underpin bubbling synths and at times on songs such as "Ooh La La" (top title, by the way) the sensuous mix becomes almost exotic enough to fool the listener. Yet, this being a musical, these soundscapes cannot come without vocals. Bolted onto the sparkling music are performances that never seem to know to which continent they belong. Stage school karaoke clashes with bhangra and the results are not pretty. Maybe it's because they have to deliver lyrics that sometimes defy description. "Contradictions, city of extremes, anything is possible in Bombay dreams. Some live and die in debt, others making millions on the internet." No, really...
Worst offender here is the single sung by star Preeya Kalidas, "Shakalaka Baby". In a shameless attempt to appeal to the supposed 30 second attention of under 25s a vaguely garage rhythm accompanies pearls of wisdom such as: "Saw your face and the damage was done, you weaved (sic) a spell that took me over. I found a bolt right out of the sun, I'd love to send it supernova". And so it goes.
The real disappointment is that someone with as much talent as Rahman seemed unable to break the free of his producer's spell and produce something that really did translate the glamour of Bollywood onto a West End stage. In fact a vast amount of talent seems to have been wasted in giving us just another one for the tourists. --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
p.s. raza jaffrey has to be one of the most beautiful men i've seen.
The score was beautiful, and I absolutely fell in love with the rhythm of "Chalyya Chalyya" and "Wedding Qawwali", as well as the title track.
Honestly, I did find that there were a few of the quieter songs, like "Ohh La La" that perhaps might have come across better when viewing them on the stage that it is performed on, as the songs themselves came across as too slick and smooth for me.
"Don't Release Me" is an interesting song, it rather grew on me once I caught myself singing it in the car.
"Shakalaka Baby" and "Happy Endings" are more pop driven and could be easily pictured as singles. They are not your typical orchestra driven stage numbers and can be understood by a younger audience. If anyone remembers "Chess" and Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" from it you will get the idea.
If you would like to try something different than what is currently out there, on the charts or in the theater, you might want to check out a few of the samples that you can find on the official website for "Bombay Dreams".
Though I don't find every track flawless (I rarely do for any given album), I do think that it was certainly worth having it shipped to me in the US instead of having to wait for it to be released here. It's a refreshing change of pace.
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