Ikang's new CD gives no clue to his past fame
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Rock singer Ikang Fauzi said that before recording his first album in more than a decade, he decided he would follow in the footsteps of poodle-haired metal veteran Jon Bon Jovi by following the latest trends in music before distilling them into a new album.
In the more than twenty years of their musical career, Bon Jovi and his band have managed to stay relevant by always riding the wave of every new trend to hit the music business. Hence, Bon Jovi's music evolved from hard rock through heavy metal to grunge.
"I've learned a lot from Bon Jovi. He always manages to adjust to new conditions in the music scene. His music always sounds new," Ikang told The Jakarta Post during a recent interview.
The forty-year old singer, who scored big in the mid-1980s with the rock song Preman (Thugs), applied the lessons he learned from the New Jersey-born rocker by hiring young musicians and trying new sounds for his album Dua Sisi.
Ikang collaborated with young musicians such as Dhani Ahmad of the pop group Dewa and Ipank of rock band BIP during the recording of the album. Scores of seasoned musicians, such as session drummer Gilang Ramadhan, veteran guitarist Ekki Soekarno and violinist Hendri Lamiri, also joined in.
However, all his efforts seem wasted as the album ends up somewhere between the singer wanting to revisit his past glory and his desire to move ahead. What comes out is merely his past signature given a new sound.
Ikang's cocky yet brattish singing style is still there, even in some adult-oriented rock songs.
In the opener, Preman Berdasi (Thug with a Tie), which is a sequel to Preman and an immediate reminder of the hit, Ikang sings the tune earnestly as if begging for attention for the message contained in the song.
The ranting against corrupt politicians is delivered amid a seesawing one-note guitar line, which is the song's only attractive feature.
The song hits the dirt, however, when Ikang sings the chorus "We hate you, we fight you, we are the power." It's like a radio transmission beamed from an alien mothership.
Prior to the release of Dua Sisi, Ikang wanted Preman Berdasi to be the first single from the album, but his record company decided otherwise arguing that the song was too politically- charged.
Preman Berdasi gives way to Tak Kuasa (Can't Help it), a ballad which might have been culled from any Indonesian rock record from the 1980s.
Ikang's penchant for staying tough takes its toll in Terlanjur Cinta (Already In Love), where he insists on performing a supposedly lovelorn ditty as a hard rocking foot-stomper.
The album reaches a new low with Tragedi Anak Buangan (Tragedy of the Abandoned Child), a street life saga which turns out to be unexpectedly hilarious as a result of the vocal delivery and big guitar riffs that could be borrowed from any Limp Bizkit song.
The first single Salam Terakhir (Last Goodbye) should have been the album's biggest draw, but instead it is a throwaway that lacks any of the ingredients that could go together to make a memorable song.
A light string orchestration that seeps through acoustic guitar picks actually provides a lustrous background for Ikang's vocals, but campy female backing, frequently out of tune, quickly leads to disappointment.
The only decent and reasonably listenable track is the album's closer, Rumahku Surgaku (Home is Where the Heaven is), where all the instruments are nicely balanced and superbly played, although the lyrics could, appropriately enough, be found in any real estate ad.