Super Eurobeat 221 (News in page 1!)

[SuperEuroJimmy]

That MC'ing wasn't part of the actual lyrics, so I guess it wasn't added (if I'm correct, I missed my SEB-delivery today). Furthermore, 'team project' made more sense to me, as it actually is a team project. ;P

The only one who knows what was said for sure is mr. Boss himself. :')

[the_ditz]

I always thought he was saying "dream project" - but I guess team makes more sense

Hoping that someone that has the physical album can post the "Wild Boys" lyrics soon

It should be in the lyrics section of the main site.

Got em - you know, they are nothing like what I thought the lyrics were

I got...

Go! Now it's time to show
How I am so wild
My carry sand real like
Means we wanna win the race

I can't take with feet this time
It's a gang of fighting
Dangerous, got to face the race
Ready now, just tonight

The chorus is pretty much what I expected, but the verses are really hard to decipher in places!

[Mindsweeper]

Than you can try your best desire (Dave)

I think you're pretty on-target for the rest but I hear Maurizio doing that line.

The chorus is pretty much what I expected, but the verses are really hard to decipher in places!

When he says "gang of fighting" all I hear is "game of farting"

[Lebon14]

This is a team project for super eurobeat
Let's feel the beat and move your body
Are you ready to dance all night long
Here we go, here we go, here go
Uh-uh-uh
Yo, check this out
Five, four, three, two one (DJ Boss)

I must be living in a facebook world, cause I had a sudden urge to click the "Like"-button after reading this!

Oh Yes!! Definitely! I would "like" this too

I always thought he was saying "dream project" - but I guess team makes more sense

I also thought that!

[drnrg]

I've posted part two of my review. Those who know my style will probobly be expecting and getting some serious praising of the songs. This second part showcases two of my favourite songs on the disc, as well as my number one, so I spare no complimants when it comes to praising certain labels and thier works.

Fist off: this: made me roll. well done mindsweeper
Mindsweeper

He does that all the TIME. It's like his trademark.

Now on with the show....



5. Bamboo Bimbo – Kiss (SCP)
Which brings us to SCP’s third entry on the cd? This one is by far one of the best SCP songs I have encountered in a long while. The vocalist remains a mystery; weather it be Ace hyped up or Hotblade himself? The truth is that these male vocals sound right at home at their extra hyped up charade. So why not start off with an equally crazy intro is what; I think, the team at SCP must have been thinking? It’s hard to explain. It’s like when you put a 45 rpm record on 33 and speed it up to the max. It goes from extra slow to extra fast in a matter of seconds, then Wham! Some female style chip munked shout outs; which I can’t decipher, but never the less, seem perfect to introduce the powerful synth riff ;which lies, just around the corner. I dare to compare it a bit to something right out of “Number One”- Fastway; which to this day remains untouchable; as far as SCP classics are concerned. The melodies that follow are quite catchy with that sing along factor injected into every note. I hear a bit of Ace in those inserted shout out during the bridge to the chorus. What’s cool is that right before the verses, SCP inserts a small excerpt from the intro. This is right after the main synth riff and right before he starts singing the verse. IT’s seldom used in this manner and definitely a way to make your work stand out more. The third verse shines the most for its use of vocals and effects. I believe the last chorus should have been exploited more, just for the simple fact that the song itself is too short. Again my biggest gripe with SCP is that they insist of showcasing these edits on SEB extended volumes, instead of the actual extended. I know sooner or later they appear on some other compilation in extended glory, but on SEB ; their songs sound too rushed and you just know they left out a lot of exciting parts . The song still stands the test of power and turns out to be one of the strongest Eurobeat songs out now. While I’m guessing that Bamboo Bimbo could just be a one TIME effort, I hope the style of “Kiss” returns through another artist name. It did have a somewhat delicious DOA(Dead Or Alive) melody to it.
10/10

6. Dave Rodgers- 1 Fire (Sun Fire)
The powerful vibe of the disc continues with yet another perfect Eurobeat track. This one; from one of Eurobeat’s premier pioneers. I’m speaking of Giancarlo Pasquinni. Most notably know for Aleph fame on TIME and everything from Big Brother to Dave and X female duets. The man can do no wrong when it comes to powerful Eurobeat tracks with a hard edge featuring guitar solos and strong vocals. It's his trademark. Right from the first notes ;you know you are in for one hell of a ride. If the FIRE FIRE chanting doesn’t ready you, then the semi Techno intro surely will. You feel the power is just surging through Dave’s veins as he gets ready to belt out his vocal abilities. I dare say he seems to deliver a more hard rock vibe than Eurobeat through his vocals, but still not loosing an ounce power. As what happened to me; the listener can get lost in those same powerful vocals enough to give the song a strong replay value. What I really like; is that I no longer get that rehashed feel of his music , as I did during the 90-120 eras. The riff sounds relatively fresh; as does the chorus. Maybe it’s just the way he delivers it, but it comes across as something completely new. Like all Dave Rodgers’ songs; this one also contains a guitar solo. Though somewhat shorter than on other songs; it’s still effective. IMOP,the song could have used an extra minute of breakdown in the middle. It’s not that fast and so it seems a tad short at 4 and half minutes long. Other than that Dave has another bona fide hit under his belt.
10/10

7. Tipsy and Tipsy- Down Down Down (Saifam)
The first thing I noticed upon hearing the intro; is that this song wasn’t as abysmal as I originally thought it would be? It by no means continues a great Eurobeat streak on the disc, but it also doesn’t sound all that bad. In Fact; the worst part would have to be during the chorus, when that annoying “Ahhh ahhhs” start. It’s almost sounds like it was lifted off a really bad SAW song and all it does it strip the song off any redeeming quality that it may contain to help it break out of the filler song level. Saifam can ;and does do so much better than this. As to why AVEX chose this song among the other Mauro Farina submissions is beyond me. The one thing I will say is that the vocals are quite charming as is the main synth riff. Aside from that ; its pure cut and paste job that desperately needed another melody so the whole song wouldn’t sound so monotonous. Some could say; that the outro tries to finally break out of the bubble, but it’s too short to make any real kind of dent in the overall drab and boring feel of the song. What I’m really saying is they should salvage that somewhat uptempo synth riff and use it again in another future production. I'm sorry , but this song gets the lowest grade possible. I try not to go under 5, unless the whole song was sung by DJ boss
6/10

8. Cy-Ro – Born To Wild In My Car (HRG Attack)
Number Eight is the winning slot on this cd. First impression was that this song makes the best use of its 5:30 run length. Not one second is wasted and quite a few effects and ideas are inserted all through the song. It’s a paint by numbers HRG Attack aggressive song. We all know and hear that, but damn; if that isn’t one sweet coat of paint. The inro gets a lot of it’s inspiration from songs like “I’ll Kiss You” from Jeff Driller. That sort of intro perfectly showcases HRG’s chaotic and aggressive side. The riff reminded a lot of the style of Francis Cooper’s “ Maybe In The Dark”. Meaning it definitely stands out as the most ear catching part of the song. Festar’s vocals as always; are in top shape. He has even picked up a bit of the old school singing style of Rimonti by inserting the now classic style of holding on to the notes as the synth riff commences. You can hear this when he sings the last notes in the verses and chorus. The magic continues around the 2:30 mark where Cy-Ro opts to hold on to the notes that he sings instead of just inserting the synth riff. The third verse also throws a curve ball at the listener by inserting a mini instrumental part during what would have been the bridge to the chorus….but that’s not all. After singing a small bridge part; he then again reverts for an instrumental synth during what would have been the third chorus. It’s all magically showcasing some wonderful finger work on the synthesizer and the songs still has two minutes to go. Of course; HRG Attack knows how to exploit 5 mins plus of run TIME and surely enough we are treated with a great synth breakdown. It’s all uphill from now as the bridge and chorus roll around one last TIME. Just as one thinks HRG has run out of ideas; CY-Ro squeezes out one last note for all it’s worth and closes another Eurobeat classic with very explosive synth riff. It’s HRG Attack perfection at it’s finest. For that; and it’s exceptional use of the Extended format, it deserves the much desired 10+ grade.
10+/10


You can imagine how exhausted I am after so much Eurobeat power, so I will conclude the reveiw tommorow. No more bad songs and one song in particular grows on me with each listen. You know the one? Really bad vocals, but one hell of musical production. Ditz knows [/quote]

[Jay]

@Jay PARTY POOPER. :( :cry:

I'm not sure where you're from, but in a democracy we're permitted to voice our concerns, you know? Freedom of speech and all that kind of stuff. I'm just being honest. ;)

I listened to the songs in full with thanks to that guy on YouTube... Not sure about the legality of that but oh well. Maybe I'll post a full review later but my opinions from the initial listening of the samples haven't changed much - if it was markedly better then I would've purchased the album. Compared to something like AVCD-10208, the album is substandard.

I try not to go under 5, unless the whole song was sung by DJ boss

That's one thing I don't like about ratings, especially ones on a 10-point scale. A 10 means a great song, a 9 is a good song, 8 an okay song, and anything below is awful. This isn't just with song reviews either; video game reviews are notorious for it as well.

Why work with a 10-point scale if the lowest you'll go is 6?

[Shawaazu]

I try not to go under 5, unless the whole song was sung by DJ boss

That's one thing I don't like about ratings, especially ones on a 10-point scale. A 10 means a great song, a 9 is a good song, 8 an okay song, and anything below is awful. This isn't just with song reviews either; video game reviews are notorious for it as well.

Why work with a 10-point scale if the lowest you'll go is 6?

It'll actually be around a 30 point scale, since he uses -/+ too

For video games, they probably just don't want to get on the bad side of the video game companies that provide them with content, so everything gets above average.

[the_ditz]

No more bad songs and one song in particular grows on me with each listen. You know the one? Really bad vocals, but one hell of musical production. Ditz knows

I surely do! I just think now that Rich was a little bit drunk when he recorded it. Hell, he was maybe on a big night out looking for some wild boys to take him higher!

Great review drnrg as ever. That breakdown in Born To Be Wild In My Car is more unique the more I hear it. Never quite heard some of the sounds and techniques used in other HRG productions before so that's cool

[MAtRiCks]

My SEB221 Top 3:

01. Scream Team - Wacky-Wacky-O!
For the melody, the energy and the guts to pull off that kind of vocals.

02. Heather Feat. Dima - Dance Eurobeat
For the classic uplifting vibe to this type of Dima production, I just love it.

03. Tipsy & Tipsy - Down Down Down
I love an alternative synthline like this, and on this album particularly, it's a rare commodity (not that I really mind, just saying). Nothing really new is being brought to the table here otherwise, but when it comes down to personal preference, this is right up my alley.

honorable mentions to labels:

Sinclairestyle, with two excellent male power tracks.
SCP, for putting out so much variety that even with almost half a CD dedicated to them, not a single track sounds remotely similar.
Sunfire, for upping the production value a good few notches.

Although I do have my favorites, this album shines as being of very high average quality and the songs all feel very polished, at least production wise. I will say though that I miss a certain part of Eurobeat that we seem to see less and less: the very sorrowful female energy-aishu tracks like My Love Romance, Remember Me, Don't You (Forget About My Love), Symphony of Love, Love is a pretender, etc. This specific vibe suits Eurobeat just so well, I hope we hear more of it this coming decade. Maybe the fantastic vocalist that is An-G can bring this style back to life?

[the_ditz]

I agree Matricks - I got occasional Pamsy vibes from An-G's melodies and the synth hook style made me think of My Universe for some reason (even though they sound very different melodically).

[drnrg]

Just got home and I'm burnt out so my continuation will have to be tommorow.

I will Answer Jay's question, but ) think I did state before the reason I don't go under 5.

@Jay.

I do not know much how rating sytems go, but if you think of the classic A-F that is given in school, you might understnd a bit more.
97-100% is usualy 10-10+(A)
88-96% =9's(B+)(A-)
82-87% =8's(B)
75-81% =7's (C)(B-)
69-74% =6's (D)-(C-)

anything under was an F. ? I don't recall the grades exactly, but it was something along those lines. Meaning that grades 10%.20.30.40.50% were all automatically F. Most of my teachers wouldn't write a 30% on your paper, because you automatically knew it was an F. Applying that logic; you can deduce that grades 1/10-5/10 are automatically F. I don't really see a justified reason for giving some songs 3/10 or even a 2/10; other than just being cruel. I mean ; how bad can a production be? Even a song with bad vocals , ect... usually always has some redeeming quality; weather it be the synth riff , A melo, B melo. In my partiaclur case; A good Intro or breakdown can save a song from oblivion.

Another aspect to my system is the fact that it's Eurobeat music I'm rating. That alone means that I'm dealing with a genre ;I see as above average among other genres to begin with, so I mainly stick to the 6-10 when grading. You could say that I'm being generous by not giving Eurobeat song grades under 6. I might have in the past(Don't recall but after grading so many songs; I'm sure I have), but it would have to be a completely abysmall production to my ears.

I hardly give out 7's, because I hear no real effort in production value between 7/10 and 6/10. Just give it a six for some redeeming quality I hear and move on to something really ear catchy.

Hope that helps a little

With all that being said; I would like to read your review and understand the reason why you (if you do) rate songs in the 1/10-5/10 margine and more importantly what makes a 5/10 so much better than a 3/10?

[#Infinity]

I finally got my copy!

My first impression of this album is overall pretty positive. It's not fantastic by any means, but there are plenty of nice showings and a few great surprises.

SEB 4 U is as epic as I had anticipated - it doesn't exactly push any boundaries, but the enthusiastic vocals and explosive synths are all there. It's a hearty reminder of why I became so fond of eurobeat in the first place and thus the perfect track to kick off the first SEB release in over a year.

Wacky-Wacky-O! is one of the most unique eurobeat productions of any label in quite a few years. With Scream Team, I instinctively expect a horror-esque minor/dimished fest with a cheesy twist, but what we got here is something entirely different. It hybridizes a surprisingly mawkish melodic structure with only a sleight of the eeriness that defined previous Scream Team productions. The operatic wailing conjures allusions to banshees for me, properly carving out this track's spooky tone, yet it sounds brightly gleeful at the same time. I have to give props to SCP for truly experimenting out of their comfort zone, and overall I think their gamble paid off here. I rather enjoy this quirky little piece, and it'll probably be one of my most played tracks on this CD.

SinclaireStyle gives two very strong performances as well. Since the 210's, it's been evident that Leonardi has been succeeding far more on his aggressive male-led productions than the sappy ones performed by females, and he continues to embrace that fact here. Loving Eurobeat is actually pretty akin to Max Power from SEB 105, in that it's a bit chirpier than Leonardi's usual mold, yet it still packs a terrific punch. Boys Gone Wild follows a relatively similar pattern, though its a-melody solidly balances out the rest of the track's cheery tone.

Unfortunately, SEB 221 is also marred by a few serious downfalls. I agree with everyone else who's stated that Down Down Down is one of the most uninspired Asia productions in a while and that Avex had stronger options to pick from while planning this release. I think Dance Into the Beat is a bit too contrived to be honest, but I enjoy Why Boy, despite its sing-songy cheesiness.

Wild Boys is, as I fearfully predicted, the first Rich Hard song that I don't enjoy. It provides a rather potent framework, but it's brought down by a number of severe factors. The most obvious, for me, is how poorly Rich Hard's crude, raspy vocals suit this track's poppy, house-like overtone. He prevails just fine in more aggressive joints like Pirates and even pseudo-aishu tracks like Tell Me Why and On Your Wings, but this song, with its primary emphasis on melody, exposes his raw vocals like a sore thumb, lacking the edge to effectively work off his unconventional tone. The lyrics seem very out of place, since the track is slowly paced and hardly suggestive of a racing ambiance. I'm also a bit dismayed by Sunfire's sudden implementation of wispy, reverb-laden synths, harkening back to the dark age of A-Beat C (2007 to early 2008). It nearly spoils the label's other two otherwise-good numbers here (1 Fire and Kelly) and adds further misery to this already disjointed blunder.

The worst track though, without a doubt, is Born To Be Wild In My Car. Aside from a trippy synth hook, this track offers absolutely nothing original from a label that has clearly outlived its glory days. Almost every male-led song HRG currently produces uses the stock concert Bb-minor progression and puts Roberto Festari in charge of the vocals, a morbid indication of how dry of inspiration the label has become in recent years. The airy, reverb-heavy production doesn't help matters, either. Compare this track to almost anything else HRG has made in the past three years, and I guarantee you will be unable to make any distinctions between the two songs. The fact that anybody could rate this on the same level as such masterpieces as Electro Cow and Super Kaiser is totally beyond my grasp of understanding.

The rest of this album is pretty strong. Dima's two entries are a welcome rebound from the label's recession during the 210's, and Marco Rancati shines as usual on the pounding Super Driver. Hyper Super Powers doesn't leave quite as great an impact on me as it did from the samples, as it merely adds a few nuances to an otherwise generic musical framework. Still, it properly showcases everything Ennio is adept to and works overall. It may be a bit raucous at points, but it's still just musical enough not to turn into a disaster. Different Girl is pretty musically shallow, while Kiss' tumultuous production overpowers its vocalist a little, but again, neither song is particularly bad.

My ratings for SEB 221:

1. SEB 4 U (Power Mix) / SEB All Stars feat. DJ Boss: 9.5/10
2. Different Girl / An-G: 6.5/10
3. Loving Eurobeat / Dejo & Bon: 9/10
4. Power & Love / Stephy Martini: 8.5/10
5. Kiss / Bamboo Bimbo: 7.5/10
6. 1 Fire / Dave Rodgers: 7.5/10
7. Down Down Down / Tipsy & Tipsy: 5.5/10
8. Born To Be Wild In My Car / Cy-Ro: 3/10
9. Kelly / Powerful T.: 6/10
10. Wacky-Wacky-O! / Scream Team: 9.5/10
11. Wild Boys / Rich Hard: 4.5/10
12. Dance Eurobeat / Heather feat. Dima: 9/10
13. Super Driver / Daniel: 8.5/10
14. Hyper Super Powers / Fastway: 7.5/10
15. Boys Gone Wild / Dejo: 9.5/10

Overall: 8/10

[#Infinity]

By the way, sorry for the double-post, but after lowering the pitch of Kiss, I'm 100% sure Bamboo Bimboo is Christian Codenotti.

[SuperEuroJimmy]

Haha really? XD

Let's confront SCP with this. ;)

[#Infinity]

It actually sounds a lot better when slowed down, to be honest. In fact, it's a lot manlier than any non-Go 2 track Codenotti has performed in in several years.