Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Can a music CD, which consists of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's original compositions, sung by other artists, help with his declining approval rating?
Using an album such as this as a propaganda tool to win the affection of young voters and the non-voting community will prove difficult. Chart and record sales suggest that they are either in love with dangdut or pop rock, not nostalgic karaoke type music. Just by sampling alone, it turns out that Rinduku Padamu (My Longing to You) is geared more toward the old timers.
Most of the songs are written and composed by SBY, who used to perform in a band in Pacitan, East Java during the 1960s.
When former U.S. President Bill Clinton played Heartbreak Hotel on the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show, he looked cool and eventually gained a slew of supporters and went down in television history.
When purchasing SBY's CD at a local record store, I was being quite careful as not to let any of my friends catch me alive holding this CD, which contains 10 songs sung by the likes of Dharma Oratmangun, Gee Foregia, Senno Haryo and Kerispatih.
SBY's songs feel, for a lack of a better term, old-fashioned. Nevertheless those who dig the melancholic music of Ebiet G. Ade should find this collection charming.
Rinduku Padamu, the title song, is sung by Dharma Oratmangun, who, despite his good voice, isn't well known by the average music enthusiast. (For those who favor a more mellow tone, this song also comes in the "medium beat" version.)
Mentari Bersinar (Sun Is Shining) sung by Senno Haryo truly feels archaic despite its message of everlasting hope.
Kerispatih sang Kawan (Friend), which sounded like KLA Project, a defunct pop group, in their heyday. Did I hear a distorted guitar there? At this point, I am convinced that the President really has a knack at songwriting and maybe he should consider a second career.
Dendang Di Malam Purnama (Full Moon Song) has a cool theme, but by the time the rhythm started to kick in I felt that this CD offered too much of the same thing.
Veteran musician Ebiet G. Ade, who co-wrote the tune Mengarungi Keberkahan Tuhan (Recognizing God's Blessing), tells the universal story of how man fights for his life on earth with a little help from above.
Hening (Peaceful) attempts to sooth listeners with Widi Mulia's angelic voice. It is about a rural woman who contemplates the tranquil mornings in her village. So far, this is the highlight of the album as it has a nice layer of traditional Indonesian flute.
So far, there is no subliminal message found in SBY's tunes except that people should go on living peacefully with one other and live under the grace of God. (Oh please).
Don't get me wrong, the sound quality of this CD is excellent and will play well on a any super stereo sound system.
A great aspect on this record, which is released by Nagaswara record, is the SBY logo (The Y is bigger than the S and B). The blue and white logo, which resembles a DC comics superhero logo, represents the CD well -- and could be well used in the next presidential campaign in 2009!
SBY also registered and copyrighted all his songs. Does this mean that there will be no more pirated version of Indonesian records at Ratu Plaza? Only time will tell.
A more novel approach for SBY's second album, which I doubt he will do, is to use various traditional ethnic instruments from this archipelago and pin the album down as a world music rather than the nostalgic pop category. He might do well on the BBC Radio 3 World Music station.
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