If you have been waiting with bated breath and crossed fingers for this soundtrack, then let us tell you right away. You have heard the best track already. And you know what that is.

Every time Lata ji comes on to hum the title song we get that goose bumpy feeling all over. But that is the magic of the Melody Queen that is abidingly ours to be had. Lata ji`s presence lends a luminous light to the album.

But why does the album in totality sound so much like Aditya Chopra`s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mohabbatein, and also Karan`s own Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? In fact, one interesting interlude in the second-best composition of this album, Suraj hua maddham is borrowed directly from the title song in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Such overlapping overtures are bound to bind the musical scenario of Chopra and Johar`s cinema. A little bird whispered to me that the title tune of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was suggested by Aditya Chopra. And if we must know, so was Tujhe dekha to yeh jaana sanam in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Hum ko humhi se chura lo in Mohabbatein.

Come to think of it, all the filmmakers of the 1990s` generation, notably Sanjay Bhansali, Dharmesh Darshan and Aditya Chopra are musicians at heart. Karan`s score benefits from the "Adi"-tional inputs that nourish, and sustain the heartwarming score.

Admittedly, none of the tunes really cover new ground. The wedding song, Bole chudiyan is contoured by a heavy Mehndi lagaake rakhna hangover. I guess when the dilwale Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam (the latter easily out-singing the former) get to work on the dilwalis Kavita K Subramaniam and Alka Yagnik, they can`t avoid that feeling of déjà vu. The surprise appearance of Amit Kumar for a snatch of this robust Punjabi wedding song only highlights the tragedy of present day film music where only the mediocre get a hand-up.

Thank God for Sandesh Shandilya who composes some fresh, if not pathbreaking love songs, for the Sonus and Alkas of the crooning kingdom to chew on. When I first heard the rap riff that opens Shandilya`s You are my Soniya, I nearly fell out of my chair. Shandilya`s Piya Basanti days seem far removed from these trendy paces.

Strangely, Shandilya foregoes a basic melody line in You are my Soniya and Deewana hai dekho (cool interjections by Kareena Kapoor intensify the interest rate of the latter tune).

But Shandilya more than makes up for his froth-pie-going-on-faux-pas with Suraj hua maddham, which has the most interesting dholak backbeats since Rajesh Roshan`s Vaada na tod from Dil Tujhko Diya.

"Guest" composer Aadesh Shrivastava conjures a gust of festive rhythms in Say shava shava. With Sudesh Bhosle doing an Amitabh Bachchan, this wedding song sounds like a sequel to Aadesh`s Sona sona from Major Saab.

So, by now, we have got a clear picture of how little here is new to the ear. But have no fear. The album will be very near and dear to those who care to overlook the spirit of dare in the music score. Supremely status quo-ist, full of vigour and optimism, the sound of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is like that of a baby gurgling happily as a spot of sunshine falls over its eyes. Childlike in its innocence and utterly heartfelt.