i was listening to HMV’s collection ‘Legends’ of 5 cassettes devoted to Madan Mohan. (Must listen. There is another set devoted to SD Burma. That too.)
In this collection, sometimes Madan Mohan himself sings his compositions and I felt that there is musch more in his own singing than the way Lata sings it. The subtle variations that are there in composition are lost when Lata sings it. ‘mujhe suli chadha do, ya sholon mein jala do.. koi pattharse na mare, mere diwane ko..’ sung by Mandan Mohan is very soft while that by Lata is shrill and high pitched. ‘Hain isi mein pyar ki aabru’ is way sophiscated than the way Lata sings it. of course, there is always something more when musician himself soings. Remember CR’s ‘sunday ke sunday’.
Still Lata remained Madan Mohan’s favourite till end and film critics held Lata-Madan Mohan as dream combination. I wonder why. Or music directors give some freedom to interprete to singers.