Surely Vital Signs needs no introduction. They shot to instant fame with the release of “Dil Dil Pakistan” in 1987 and subsequently ruled the Pakistani music scene for the next decade. “Dil Dil Pakistan”, virtually a second national anthem, has been voted as the 3rd most famous song of all time by a recent BBC poll. Hard to believe? Well, thanks to scores of Pakistanis hell bent on beating “Vande Mataram” to the race, we ended up with enough votes for the 3rd place. (BBC Poll)
With a handful of artists that comprised the Pakistani music industry in the early 90s, songs were limited to the pop genre until Junoon broke onto the scene. But VS had already captured the market with its thought provoking lyrics and some excellent melodies. Perhaps the man behind their immense success was Shoaib Mansoor, who wrote most of their lyrics and helped with the composition. His contributions extend beyond mentoring Vital Signs, with direction of dramas such as Sunheray Din, Alpha Bravo Charlie, Ankahi and Fifty Fifty to his credit. He is indeed a multi-dimensional artist.
Not going off-track, hearing a Vital Signs song always has a nostalgic feel to it; a soothing effect. I’m sure every VS fan can attest to this. Aitebar(unplugged), Yeh Shaam, Tere Liye(unplugged), Gorey Rang, Sanwali and Do Pal ka Jeevan are some of my favorites and should definitely be on any “Best of Vital Signs” CD. All their albums are available for download at Sangeetradio.
Even after their last album “Hum Tum” was released in 1995, Junaid Jamshed tried to prolong the charisma with solo albums, but failed to match the success that he achieved with Vital Signs. They did release “Maula” as a stand-alone song in late 90s which kept hope alive that the trio of Rohail Hayat, Junaid Jamshed and Shehzad Hasan might come together for another album. Now that Junaid has turned to a more religious lifestyle, all my hopes of catching a reunion performance have been dashed. But I remain an ardent fan of VS and every once in a while wonder how they would have adapted to the surge of rock/pop bands in recent years, with not enough quality material being produced.
A little known, short clip released online a couple of years back “Ab ho ga kya” is probably their last work together. You can listen to it here.
[audio:http://minorcrisis.net/files/Ab_ho_ga_kya.mp3]
Some More… Aitebar (unplugged)
[audio:http://minorcrisis.net/files/Aitebar%20%28Live%29.MP3]
Tere Liye (unplugged)
[audio:http://minorcrisis.net/files/J%20J%20-%20TERAY%20LIYAY%20unplugged.mp3]
Youtube has a good collection of their videos. Here are two for you to enjoy!
I grew up listening to Vital Signs like most Pakistanis. Their music is extremely soothing and even if you listen to ‘Ab Ho Ga Kiya’, not even close to being their best work, it tends to grow on you just like all their other music.
mahsan, Would it be possible to put up sound files or videos of a few more of their songs?
They are by far the most popular Pakistani band and one that many hope, even today, would reunite. Junoon may be an acquired taste, but Vital Signs is universally loved. Unlike Junoon, though, they ended on a high note. They produced quality work throughout, while Junoon’s last few albums were highly disappointing.
I agree, i am also the one who was grown up while listening their voices .. i still miss them but their old songs are still the best i have ever listen from any single.
ohhh…how those days are looong gone. It’s just soo much more than the music, it really is about ‘that’ era.
Perhaps some of the best songs to come out of Pakistan. Good, clean, wholesome music. Their songs really appeal to our innate human nature and emotions within. Just listening to their songs induces such nostalgia! Oh for the golden days of Pakistani music. As you can tell, I’m not a huge fan of our modern pop musicians. The Vital Signs really left a great legacy.