A.R. Rahman composes the soundtrack for People Like Us with 18 tracks on the CD. The music has a very mellow, low key sound that sets a serine atmosphere. Some tracks are so low, both in the volume and the overall structure of the song, that I almost forgot that I was even listening to the album. When the songs do pick up the tempo, which is not that much difference, the tone is one of a upbeat drama. A.R. Rahman has composed some decent songs on this soundtrack but what impressed me the most is that he has composed a soundtrack that is different from the majority of soundtracks that are made.
Where most soundtracks feature either orchestra music or songs from bands that are normal songs, the People Like Us sound track does neither. Though the music don’t have the typical sound of a full scale orchestra, the music is played by one. What makes the songs different are their formats and the beats. The song “New York to L.A.” has a piano that stands out at the beginning but then the violin takes over. It’s a well played song, it has easy rhythms, and I enjoyed the low key tempo of it, and before I knew it nearly 2 minutes went by and the next song was playing. Some of the songs have a guitar playing in them that give the songs an almost country, which was an interesting change of sound to the songs.
It’s also that varied sound that the songs have that I enjoyed the most on this soundtrack. I really didn’t know what to expect to be playing with the next track. “Beat the Living” has some vocals (though only where they are humming no actual words) with a guitar playing this upbeat tempo that also includes whistling that makes the song have this chipper, I’m in a good mood so I’ll whistle as I walk on a summer afternoon sound. But with the next track “Welcome to People”, the tempo starts off slow, low, and builds into this song that feels like it would go great in a circus performance. Though I did like this soundtrack, it’s well composed, and I really liked how the songs vary from track to track but what I didn’t’ like was how some of the songs where a little too lowkey. Some of the tracks can get a little on the slow side where the music just fades away to the point of being almost forgotten.