If the film Aankhen is as dramatic as its soundtrack, here's something to watch out for. But we'll just restrict ourselves to the soundtrack here. Music director Aadesh Shrivastava has this knack for roping in big names to render his songs. He didn't manage Lataji, unlike his debut soundtrack for Kanyadaan (believed to be a brilliant score but unfortunately, shelved), but he's got Remo, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Kavita Krishnamurthy and even an Amitabh Bachchan soliloquy.

What's more, Aadesh even roped in his brother-in-laws, Jatin Lalit to score the music for five tracks on the album, besides collaborating with them and Nitin Raikwar. Considering Aankhen has eight songs, wonder why Jatin Lalit didn't get the credit for being music director for the film. The promos on the telly have so far showcased Kuchh Kasme. An appealing track that prompted us to review this album. But don't judge a book by its cover. As it turned out to be in this case, don't judge an album by its promo. Here's why...

Aadesh has a lot of ideas. Eclectic ideas at that. He's also very versatile and techno-savvy. But when it comes to putting his ideas and influences together, he doesn't quite manage to do so seamlessly. The whole effort seems to be on proving his versatility. So his songs have far too many breaks in tempo, as he has so many styles to incorporate into a single song. His compositions are also percussion driven, probably a hangover of his early vocation. Aadesh was a percussionist for O P Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishen and Salil Choudhary before he got a break in Kanyadaan in 1993. The result of all the ideas struggling to emerge in his music results in a cluttered sound. It's dramatic and inconsistent.

The title and opening track is directed by Aadesh and rendered by Remo. But Remo obviously has done more than just sing the song as his signature sound is stamped in its very note – his flute, high-pitched, frenetic vocals and sections of alaap. Gustakhiyan is a far too complicated a tune and orchestration is rendered by Vasundara and Aadesh himself. While Vasundara's voice remains insufficiently exploited, Aadesh labours with his vocal cords. He'd best leave singing to the pros. Kuchh Kasme, sung by Alka and Sonu, is a soothing duet. It's brilliant and reminds us of a popular English song the title of which now eludes us.

Side B opens with Phatela Jeb, written by Nitin Raikwar and sung by Aadesh, Arun Bakshi, a vocoder and the lyricist himself. It's just what a Nitin Raikwar number is supposed to be – amusing tapori talk. Chalka Chakla, sung by Alka and Javed, has its tempo liberally broken after every two beats. The orchestration and instrumentation of Nazron Ne Teri sung by Kavita and Udit, rapidly alternates between the traditional and the contemporary. The final track, All The Best, though set to music by Jatin Lalit, has its singer Remo's style written all over it.

Aadesh has just too many ideas for his own good. And every one of them is struggling to come to the fore. When Aadesh will reign in his ideas, influences and inspiration, we'll have an album from him that we can recommend.