Himesh Reshammiya’s music strategy has changed significantly in recent years. In the past, his medium-budget films featured catchy and infectious music, but some of his efforts in 2007 have been criticised for being tasteless. This change could be due to his decision to focus on making fewer films per year and to pursue an international career. However, it was clear that the creativity of his past hits was not present in ‘Red’ (2007).
There were a few possible reasons for the decline in the quality of Himesh Reshammiya’s music around 2007. One possibility was that he was simply no longer as interested in creating innovative and catchy music. He could have become complacent with his success, or he could have been more interested in pursuing other ventures, such as acting and filmmaking.
Reshammiya’s repetitive use of hook lines has been successful in the past, but “Aafreen Tera Chehra” takes this approach too far. The song relies heavily on the hook line “Aafreen Tera Chehra”, which is repeated over and over again, to the point where it becomes annoying.
Himesh’s vocals are also not well-suited to the high-pitched track. His voice is rough and he often screams, making the song difficult to listen to. The arrangements are also repetitive and uninspired, with the same sounds of sarangi, tabla, keyboards and new-age background music throughout. Sameer’s lyrics are predictable and Himesh doesn’t seem to put any effort into the song. Overall, “Aafreen Tera Chehra” is a mechanical and soulless track.
The song “Aamin” is a trademark Himesh Reshammiya number, with a fusion of soft rock, sufi pop and hook lines. However, the song is destroyed by Himesh’s own vocals, which are overly screechy and do not translate the emotions of the lyrics. The remixed version of “Aamin” is also poorly done, with stale and monotonous beats.
The song “Ek Tum Hi” is sung by Jayesh Gandhi, who sounds like Himesh Reshammiya in this song. Gandhi is an excellent background singer, but in this song he is singing in the Reshammiya mode. Despite this, he still excels in his rendition of the song.
The song has an above-average tune and brings an energetic feel to the album. The music arrangements are good, but quite methodical. The song is well-composed and uses various instruments to create a great listening experience.
In fact, “Ek Tum Hi” is the kind of tune that Himesh Reshammiya used to compose before his fame from the film ‘Aashiq Banaya Aapne’ (2005). The remixed version of the song dilutes the energy in Jayesh Gandhi’s vocals and is an unnecessary remix.
“Dil Ne Ye Na Jaana” is the best song on the album. It is a simple, sombre and slow-paced song about the memories of an old lover. Himesh Reshammiya sings in a lower octave than usual and Harshdeep Kaur’s vocals are sweet and smooth. The song uses tabla beats to complement the clean orchestration and mild arrangements.
It is one of those songs where Himesh Reshammiya does justice to both the composition and the vocals. Thankfully, there is no remixed version of this song.
The song “Loneliness is Killing Everyone” is the weakest song on the album. The tune is forced and the singing is below average. Himesh Reshammiya sings in his usual style, but this time it is terrible. Akriti Kakkar has to content herself with the lines “Loneliness is Killing Everyone”. The song’s music arrangements are even poorer.
The soundtrack for ‘Red’ is one of the most disappointing scores from Himesh Reshammiya. With the exception of the songs “Ek Tum Hi” and “Dil Ne Ye Na Jaana”, which have good tunes and singing, the rest of the songs are repetitive and uninspired.
The standard ensemble carries the same over-produced sounds and music. In those days, Himesh Reshammiya was not giving other singers the chance to sing in their own style. Some of the songs were becoming utterly horrible and the annoyance factor was increasing at an alarming rate.
Despite some good lyrics by Sameer, the mechanical mood of singing dominates the soundtrack. In ‘Red’, Himesh Reshammiya did not not putt the soul, spirit and energy into his songs.
Rating: 2/5
