Super Eurobeat 222

Everything that is eurobeat can be discussed here.
WNight
Euroheater
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Location: Superfantastico Land

Post by WNight » 22 Mar 2013, 03:14

Will154 wrote:LOVELY / IRENE : 8/10
now now this is where everyone seems in disagreement :p yes Irene's vocals are strange and robotic , but they don't sound that horrible.. do they ? I agree she has amazing vocals with no mods but still i don't blame her for wanting to try something different ... also Lovely's beat and riff is just so so much better than her last one Every Heart Wanna Fly. I never really hate a Eurobeat song per se (Eurobeat is awesome however it sounds IMO) but still Every Heart Wanna Fly was one of the most boring songs i ever heard from the Eurobeat world :S All this to say i personally think Lovely is a good , cute Eurobeat song and that i hope someday Irene will treat us with a new song with vocals like she did in Love Is The Name Of Love <3
I wouldn't go as far as to say that her vocals in this song are horrible, I mean, she still sounds like herself for the most part but in the first place, this song has a great tune and the vocal melody is particularly striking, but Irene's modded vocals just don't complement that too well (and for what reason). For that, what could have been a bullseye is now ... slightly less than that. Trivial, but this sort of thing just grinds my gears. Still an amazing song though, is there an "Original Ver" w/o the autotune lying around?
WILD BOYS / RICK HARD : 7/10 (SEB 221 note : 8/10)
Here I would be tempted to say its a waste of space , but at the same time I think it's very respectful for the artist what happened here. Cause he was kinda pissed when he listened to his song that got slowed the shit down (yes I kinda take some blame for this -_- im the one who kinda made realize Rich how slow his song became and he talked to avex after..haha) … This is also where we see who is in charge now; DJ Boss. With 7A as boss, probably this kind of conflict would have never even be bothered with , im very happy how Avex handled it. Is the song good either speed ? Yes. Is this a waste of space ? Yes unfortunately.
The funny part about this track is that the version on 221 definitely sounded better and closer to a Sun Fire track. And they say that this here is the "Original Ver", which to me sounds more like a modified version and you saying that Rich even went out of his way and speak to Avex about this? Have to say I am sort of baffled and well ... crap ..., I can't talk about this now ...

drnrg
Eurobeat Guru
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Location: searching for missing Eurogrooves trax

Post by drnrg » 22 Mar 2013, 06:46

Will154
like someone else on the boards said , i haven't been anticipating an Ace song since Futureland!!
Yeah, that was me. 8)

Will154
i hope someday Irene will treat us with a new song with vocals like she did in Love Is The Name Of Love
Me too.


Anyway regarding that Rich Hard song. I'm gonna try something once I get my disc(probly mid April)

The speed of the music isn't all that bad. It's his vocals that are hyped too much. Anyone wanna beat me to putting both songs thru Audacity keeping the original speed of 222, but downpitching his vocals to the version on 221. I'm dying to hear what that would soundlike. Almost like best of both worlds.

eXtaticus
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Joined: 23 Sep 2012, 10:45

Post by eXtaticus » 22 Mar 2013, 09:43

-redacted-
Last edited by eXtaticus on 19 Dec 2017, 22:53, edited 1 time in total.

Jay
God of Romance
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Joined: 01 Jul 2004, 12:59

Post by Jay » 22 Mar 2013, 12:17

Initial impressions:

1. DANCE IN THE STARLIGHT / ACE: Not bad. Most male SCP productions tend to have a high initial impact yet they don't possess much longevity - probably because they all sound the same - but this song sounds a tad more sprightly and varied than usual. Ace also sounds interested in singing this song, which can't be said for some of his other recent ones (such as 'Samurai Blue' on 209, one of the blandest SCP songs released this century so far). For that reason, it might just last a bit longer. Solid production with no amazing highs or lows.

Grade: B+

2. LOVELY / IRENE: SCP have made an average vocalist sound even worse with all that distortion in the vocals. Production-wise, the song is irritating and borderline unlistenable. I've never been a huge fun of Irene but this is definitely the worst production she's ever released (and it doesn't help that this song is wedged between two stellar productions on this album, making it highly forgettable as well). Her glory days at Blast! seem like aeons ago now.

Grade: E-

3. SUNLIGHT / KAIOH: I can't believe I'm about to say this but this song is incredible! I tend to loathe just about every GGM release (except their earliest productions), so I'm having a hard time believing that this is a GGM song. Oh well. You can tell that Freddy has matured heaps as a vocalist, which I don't believe was the case back when 'Nack 5' and 'It's Like a Fire' were released (the latter was an utter mess). The song is incredibly infectious and has amazing replay value. I can't fault it really, except I wish that there was more thought put into the outro rather than ending the song abruptly (very lazy and HRG-esque, in my opinion). In any case, it's the best song of the 220s so far.

Grade: A

4. STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT / DAVID DIMA: As other people have mentioned, I'm also starting to grow weary of these types of Dima productions. There's nothing much wrong with this song, but therein lies the problem - it's what you'd expect from Dima, and that's all there is to it. The producers at Dima Music (as well as other labels, too) need to understand that abiding by the same tried and true formula may afford some short-term satisfaction to the listener, but songs like 'Strangers in the Night' are never going to be etched in the collective memory of the eurobeat fans for very long. Time for this label to start taking more risks again, me thinks (as they did with 'Sunrise' on 215).

Grade: C-

More later.

eXtaticus
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Post by eXtaticus » 22 Mar 2013, 17:43

-redacted-
Last edited by eXtaticus on 19 Dec 2017, 22:53, edited 1 time in total.

Jay
God of Romance
Posts: 955
Joined: 01 Jul 2004, 12:59

Post by Jay » 23 Mar 2013, 00:55

5. GIMME LOVE / NORMA SHEFFIELD: One of the vocalists that I've still been listening to occasionally throughout my extended apathy for eurobeat is Norma, which is interesting since I never thought much of her back when I was an avid listener of the genre. 'Gimme Love' may not pack the punch that most crave in their eurobeat, but it's a cute song that truly exemplifies the emotions of love. Norma sounds great too!

Grade: B-

6. DANCE TO THE TOP OF FIRE / CY-RO: Haven't I heard this song at least 100 times before? It appears that Ersatz Attack have officially gone back into their shell again by pumping out more rehashed material. Unlike Dima, HRG have been doing this for nearly a decade now and I've had enough. There's no emotion to this song whatsoever, just the same old boring, lazy, uninspired riff and vocal work over and over again. On top of that, there's no fun, no joy, and no energy either. I won't be listening to this one again. HRG, please bring back the Italo-inspired songs and stop with these absolutely slothful productions already.

Grade: F

7. NOTHING IS GONNA STOP US / ANNALISE: When I heard this song was released around the same time as 'Valentino's Day' and 'True Colour,' I was seriously worried that we'd have another trainwreck from Gordon to clean up. In fact, it's not that bad. Like the Norma song, it doesn't pack much punch, but it's a nice song that evokes a dreamy, wistful mood. I have to say that Gordon's songs sound far better when they're not released one after the other, which was what happened in the 170s and 180s where she appeared on every single album except one or two of them. Let's keep it that way!

Grade: B

8. LAST OF EUROBEAT / MARK FARINA: Yes! I've been longing for Farina's return to the eurobeat scene, and what a way to return! Explosive, catchy and action-packed. Take note, other labels: this is the proper way to do aggressive eurobeat. After enduring several years of uninspired material and carbon copies from Saifam, I'm extremely happy to have a song that harks back to the glory days of the label. Welcome back!

Grade: A-

9. REBORN MY FIRE / CHERRY: Capaldi used to be my favourite producer from the 180s to 190s, so it's a shame to get a song like 'Reborn My Fire' that doesn't do him or Moroni any justice. Many songs on this album lack pure emotion and/or energy and this Cherry song is another one to add to that bunch. Capaldi hasn't found his groove in the new century just yet and, at this stage, I'm wondering if he ever will. Better luck next time.

Grade: D+

10. INTO THE MOON / DAVE & FUTURA: Whoever said they were hoping for another 'Dance in My Town' probably got a rude shock when they heard this one. Out of all the aishu material on this album, this is clearly the worst of the bunch. Somebody might want to tell Sunfire that there's a little something called "emotion" and this is actually a prerequisite for aishu songs like 'Into the Moon.' In terms of vocal work, both Futura and Dave sound so disinterested, it's almost as if they're talking to each other rather than, well, "singing." I'm of the opinion that Dave and aishu never, ever mix well together anyway, so the less of these types of song we get in the future from him, the better.

Grade: D

11. YOU COULD BE MINE / DREAM FIGHTERS: Dima's backing vocals dominate so much in this song that I didn't even realise there was a new lead vocalist at first. In either case, I find this song to offer more variety and gimmicks than the other Dima Music production on this album, hence the markedly higher grade. Not a bad song, but I'm still hopeful for more creativity coming out of the studios in the foreseeable future.

Grade: C+

12. LUCKY LUCKY / GARCON: Haven't I heard this song at least 100 times before? It appears that Ersatz Attack have officially gone back into their shell again by pumping out more rehashed material. Unlike Dima, HRG have been doing this for nearly a decade now and I've had enough. There's no emotion to this song whatsoever, just the same old boring, lazy, uninspired riff and vocal work over and over again. On top of that, there's no fun, no joy, and no energy either. I won't be listening to this one again. HRG, please bring back the Italo-inspired songs and stop with these absolutely slothful productions already.

Psst, HRG, I can rehash my reviews too!

Grade: F

13. BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE / LOU MASTER: It took a couple of plays to warm to this song but I'm glad I gave it those extra chances. I hadn't heard the original by Robin Gibb before, but 'Boys Do Fall in Love' is easily one of the more memorable ones on this album. The song has a nice positive vibe to it and proves that SCP doesn't always need to revert to pure aggression with their male vocalists. For some reason, this song reminds me a lot of De Leo's calmer songs and how much I miss Eurogrooves, haha. Nice work from SCP here either way.

Grade: A-

14. BAD JOY / TORA: I'm just going to admit defeat here and say that I'm never going to warm to SinclaireStyle's style of productions. I've always hated how his vocalists sound like they're singing underwater or in a wind tunnel and that's the only thing I can ever focus on. If I try to ignore the horrendous effects done to the vocals - which isn't easy - then it's an okay song, but it's hard to classify what this song is. Is it aishu? Is it aggressive? What is this song trying to do? Who knows, but it doesn't rub me the right way. Sorry.

Grade: D+

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Top 3:

1. SUNLIGHT / KAIOH
2. BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE / LOU MASTER
3. LAST OF EUROBEAT / MARK FARINA

Bottom 3:

1. LUCKY LUCKY / GARCON
2. DANCE TO THE TOP OF FIRE / CY-RO
3. LOVELY / IRENE

#Infinity
Euroheater
Posts: 1992
Joined: 21 Apr 2007, 04:44
Location: San Diego, California

Post by #Infinity » 24 Mar 2013, 03:43

I procrastinated my order again, so for a second time, I won't be able to comment on this album for probably at least a week. :(

Based on Jay's reviews, I am really dreading the two Hi-NRG Attack entries right now. His comments for those songs could easily be applied for me to Born To Be Wild In My Car.
ImageImage

coolneko
Eurocurious
Posts: 51
Joined: 13 Oct 2010, 01:24

Post by coolneko » 24 Mar 2013, 04:11

1. Okay, I heard the album, and yes, it’s true...."Reborn My Fire" is the most boring song ever on this album. Nothing in this song tries its best. Just pure awful, all around song that is plain flat and awful.


2. I'll set a standard of "tolerable" for the melody of "Lovely" but dammit, I hate the vocals. So distorted and not attractive. I hate this song, not out of hatred or anger, but just hate it. It is 75 degrees outside
and it is a gorgeous day, and I hate this song


3. Okay, um, in Cy-Ro's songs, is his signature "hook", the woman yelling "woo!" all the time? Just cause the fact I hear it in every Cy-Ro song, it may be fast, but it's so rehashed. Not my cup of tea to love this song, I tried so many times to. However, I can’t bring myself to appreciate the song. Too boring, too repetitive, and sounds like all the rest.


4. But, I’ll be nice to Garçon with his song “Lucky Lucky”, since I like the melody, but it’s still the same thing over and over. Just did it better than Cy-Ro. Okay, onward!


5. “Dance In The Starlight” is just a standard song for all SEB’s. Not a favorite for me, but it’s just something that shouldn’t have been the opener for SEB 222. It’s okay, same thing over and over again. Or maybe I’m just pulling anger out for the fact SEF DX gave it horrible parapara choreography. It’s an okay song, just not a repeat button presser for me.


6. I love “Sunlight”, with its strong vibes and smooth flow of rhythm, I personally loved this song. I’m not familiar with Kaioh’s voice in the SEB world, but after listening to “Nack 5” and “It’s Like A Fire”, this is one of his good songs, I wasn’t really a fan of “It’s Like A Fire.”


7. Both Dima songs were just a flashback to me, I like these two. Definitely a keeper for me, especially “You Could Be Mine.” Thought for a second if I was listening to a Farm Records album, but it’s wonderful song with energy and strong vocals that are clear and fun.


8. “Bad Joy”, what is there to be said about this song? Hmm…I hated it flatly, next to “Reborn My Fire”, this was a disappointment I hate to admit. I love Tora, especially with “King & Queen <Classic>, Call My Name, No Turning Back, and Flame and Fire” but this song is just…messy and though I love speed, this was a song should that shouldn’t have gotten that kick. Speed made nothing better of this drab song.


9. SunFire, where are the forces that once made you powerful? Oh wait, A-Beat-C is gone, and you gave birth to this. I cannot love this song because I’m no fan of duets between Dave & Futura. The only song I liked from Futura was “Lonely” even though the lyrics were…how do I put this, misplaced? Still, Rich Hard and Norma Sheffield are the only reasons I listen to SunFire. “Into The Moon” was no exception, I listened and felt bored. There’s something that was missing. Something from the Dave & Nuage/Domino era, indeed, however, I could not put my finger on it; I’ll just say it is gone.


10. “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Tonight” is a song I truly enjoyed. Annalise is never my top chart pick, but this song made me love her and the fact everyone was talking about her, so browsed about, heard some on YouTube, and thought “Let’s try this artist, and now I try to open my ears to more Annerly Gordon/many aliases she possesses. Fun song with a great retro mixed into 21st century sounds. :3


11. “Last of Eurobeat” was indeed a refresher that Boom Boom Beat still has that flavor of heavy beats, fun sounds, and addicting lyrics. Mark Farina gave us a scare with his choice of title, however we have gotten a misconception of it, only to signal us that he is one of last Eurobeat greats. Still a great song and comeback from 3B’s lacklustered choice of music.


12. “Boys Do Fall In Love” has such a happy vibe that when I first listened to it, I instantly fell in love with the song. Haven’t heard the original nor do I plan to, but it’s still an awesome track. Especially with the hyped up “BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE!” and just the flow of the melody.



The overall concept of this album may have been trying to stand beside SEB 221, but alas this album fell flat with rehashed sounds. Like HRG-Attack’s “Dance On The Top Of The Fire” and “Lucky Lucky” however “Lucky Lucky” had a better sound than Cy-Ro. Delta was beyond destroyed with “Reborn My Fire” with its lack lustered and uninspired melody. DimaMusic was not fucking around with their music especially bridging with SEB 221, I pray they continue this strong vocal roll. SunFire, your melodies are not impressive or creative or anywhere near A-Beat-C, each melody is worse than the last, but I will love Norma and Rich Hard. 3B is coming back with fun music and I hope Avex will make better selections with their music, “Last of Eurobeat” is a gem due to its recovery from many aborted songs selected from the Avex category. “Sunlight” is plain fantastic and “Lovely” is not. I let April live because she can sell that autotune, and we all knew that was a mistake, so Irene…not this time. No more autotunes with your lovely voice, give us “Food Fighter”, not “Nothing About Me Baby.” Sinclaire Style’s selection of music…you are a complicated music producer and I would love to do mushrooms with you one day. Annalise, good girl, loved the song, but still not a fan, but it’s slowly crawling into my ear. SCP…”Dance In The Starlight”, “Lovely”, and “Boys Do Fall In Love”, just one of these I did loved, the others, not so much. Overall, nope, not even a worthy 2nd place to SEB 221. At least there was variety in that one, regardless if majority of those songs were from SCP. It was still better then SEB 222. The last two, “SEB 4 U” and “Wild Boys”, were these two REALLY needed. I mean, at least let those become SCP iTunes exclusives or SunFire something…idk. Or a bonus CD with the remixes, what a waste of cd space, even though they were fun to listen to. Oh, well. Laters! :3 That’s my thoughts.
Coolneko aka Miko
I prefer either....go with your heart!

drnrg
Eurobeat Guru
Posts: 6957
Joined: 17 May 2005, 07:18
Location: searching for missing Eurogrooves trax

Post by drnrg » 24 Mar 2013, 04:58

I've been around the forum for some TIME. From reading most of these reviews; I would say that some/Most of you are at the age(early 20s). Just curious, but I believe this is the age were you might just be outgrowing Eurobeat. many of the guys I grew up with abondeded Italo NRG for the same exact reasons. The rehashed melodies.

You gotta remember this is Eurobeat. A pretty much by the numbers musical style much made up of rehashed melodies and catchy synths. If you start fucking with that; it will no longer be Eurobeat. The fun is trying to dicipher what classic synth riffs inspiered what songs and remebering certain styles from other bygone labels and of course; become excited when your fav vocalists release new songs .


The reason I say this is because.

There just doesn't seem to be much positive attitude for this volume at all. If you are not a Hard Core lover of the genre and all it's inspirations like Disco, Hi Energy Disco, Italo, to some extent New Wave; then you will most porobobly be unsatisfied and be constantly craving somthing new on every disc.

Eg; I can't beleive I'm enjoying the Irene song tons more than any of you Irene Fan-Boys?

I know reviews are meant so the fans can speak thier mind. That's great. I'm all for it. To some extent I enjoy the "nasties" reviews, because they are the most honest.

I'm 43. I got hooked to Italo NRG since early 90's, so Eurobeat transition was easy. All I had to do was get used to the higher BPMs. You could say, I'm hooked for life and will probobly enjoy most songs so long as they follow the basic structure of Eurobeat. Rehashed melodies are a huge part of Eurobeat and I love them but , I seriously begin to think, some of you are just outgrowing the charm of the Eurobeat genre.

drnrg
Eurobeat Guru
Posts: 6957
Joined: 17 May 2005, 07:18
Location: searching for missing Eurogrooves trax

Post by drnrg » 24 Mar 2013, 05:05

eXtaticus
drnrg, I have your re-pitched version of Wild Boys:
Couldn't have done it better myself

I like this version. The synths sound more Eurobeat at this speed, but his vocals don't sound like crap. That's the version they should have put on this cd.I won't discard the 221 version, because it stands out, but I never have to listen to the 222 one again. :grin:



Good job and thanks

synthjunkie
Eurobeat Scholar
Posts: 453
Joined: 29 Aug 2010, 03:57
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Post by synthjunkie » 24 Mar 2013, 07:23

drnrg wrote:I've been around the forum for some TIME. From reading most of these reviews; I would say that some/Most of you are at the age(early 20s). Just curious, but I believe this is the age were you might just be outgrowing Eurobeat. many of the guys I grew up with abondeded Italo NRG for the same exact reasons. The rehashed melodies.

You gotta remember this is Eurobeat. A pretty much by the numbers musical style much made up of rehashed melodies and catchy synths. If you start fucking with that; it will no longer be Eurobeat. The fun is trying to dicipher what classic synth riffs inspiered what songs and remebering certain styles from other bygone labels and of course; become excited when your fav vocalists release new songs .


The reason I say this is because.

There just doesn't seem to be much positive attitude for this volume at all. If you are not a Hard Core lover of the genre and all it's inspirations like Disco, Hi Energy Disco, Italo, to some extent New Wave; then you will most porobobly be unsatisfied and be constantly craving somthing new on every disc.

Eg; I can't beleive I'm enjoying the Irene song tons more than any of you Irene Fan-Boys?

I know reviews are meant so the fans can speak thier mind. That's great. I'm all for it. To some extent I enjoy the "nasties" reviews, because they are the most honest.

I'm 43. I got hooked to Italo NRG since early 90's, so Eurobeat transition was easy. All I had to do was get used to the higher BPMs. You could say, I'm hooked for life and will probobly enjoy most songs so long as they follow the basic structure of Eurobeat. Rehashed melodies are a huge part of Eurobeat and I love them but , I seriously begin to think, some of you are just outgrowing the charm of the Eurobeat genre.
You got a good point there.
I'm 31, and I know what you mean.

I started listening to eurobeat at about 1995-1996, and while I do like those sounds, I have always preferred the sounds of earlier eurobeat, and I listen to alot of Italo from the early 80's.

I stay away from all mainstream pop music, because I don't like how many artists these days are claiming to be original, when there is no such thing, since every artist copies or samples somebody from before them. This goes for all genres of music. One difference is that Italo and Eurobeat don't go out in public and try and say they were original, whereas today's mainstream artists want to look fresh, and original, and even fight over who copied who. Too much drama, and just for propaganda.
That is why I love italo, and eurobeat, and eurodance.
None of that crap.

The history of Italo, and it's origins of 70's hinrg music, such as from producers such as Italian Giorgio Moroder have greatly molded into the Italo sound, and while America was through the whole "disco is dead"during the 80's, disco never died in Europe, and evolved into the world's first completely electronically made genre music. It is only natural many beats we here today in all forms of electronic music might sound "repititious" because even though mainstream America has only known about electronic music for the last couple of years, Italo and eurobeat have probably milked it dry, creating every possible melody, or hook you could think of. The only other genre that could come close would be 80's and 90's house, and eurohouse, which too have milked it, and that is why all you hear today might sound "dated" or "boring".

So even though alot of the Eurobeat might sound repetitive, at least it's alive, and I hope it doesn't change much in style.

I myself listen to 70's funk/hinrg disco, italo-disco, freestyle, eurobeat, eurodance/italo dance/euro house.
I am in no way closed minded to just one form of electronic music, but neither will jump on the band wagon on listening to what is cool or trendy today.
Anyway, I never get tired of these italo tunes, because I am always searching record databases to find little treasures, or rare mixes.

Italo needs more respect.

As Clara Moroni onnce said in an interview:

Interviewer, "What do you think about Italo Disco music and their influence on people? Your impressions please."

Clara Moroni, "I think that Italians have a big problem: Recognize their values and improve their image. Think about how mistreated is art in Italy. Italians created one of the biggests Pop style of the 80's, but they did not recognize it or protect it. Neil Tennant (Pet shop boys) used to come to Discomagic to get new vinyls every month. I think that italo Disco influenced also some british pop band that became huge after.

source: http://www.italo-interviews.com/ClaraMoroni.html

Mindsweeper
Eurobeat Scholar
Posts: 385
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Location: CALIFORNIA DREAMING

Post by Mindsweeper » 24 Mar 2013, 09:42

drnrg wrote:I've been around the forum for some TIME. From reading most of these reviews; I would say that some/Most of you are at the age(early 20s). Just curious, but I believe this is the age were you might just be outgrowing Eurobeat. many of the guys I grew up with abondeded Italo NRG for the same exact reasons. The rehashed melodies.

You gotta remember this is Eurobeat. A pretty much by the numbers musical style much made up of rehashed melodies and catchy synths. If you start fucking with that; it will no longer be Eurobeat. The fun is trying to dicipher what classic synth riffs inspiered what songs and remebering certain styles from other bygone labels and of course; become excited when your fav vocalists release new songs .


The reason I say this is because.

There just doesn't seem to be much positive attitude for this volume at all. If you are not a Hard Core lover of the genre and all it's inspirations like Disco, Hi Energy Disco, Italo, to some extent New Wave; then you will most porobobly be unsatisfied and be constantly craving somthing new on every disc.

Eg; I can't beleive I'm enjoying the Irene song tons more than any of you Irene Fan-Boys?

I know reviews are meant so the fans can speak thier mind. That's great. I'm all for it. To some extent I enjoy the "nasties" reviews, because they are the most honest.

I'm 43. I got hooked to Italo NRG since early 90's, so Eurobeat transition was easy. All I had to do was get used to the higher BPMs. You could say, I'm hooked for life and will probobly enjoy most songs so long as they follow the basic structure of Eurobeat. Rehashed melodies are a huge part of Eurobeat and I love them but , I seriously begin to think, some of you are just outgrowing the charm of the Eurobeat genre.
The people who have something negative to say are often most vocal.
You may or may not have noticed, but I didn't bother writing up a review for 221, and I may not bother with 222 either. I have my preferred sounds and styles, and I certainly don't love everything, but it seems like I'm generally easier to please than a lot of the regulars here.

I remember when I first joined this site, I was surprised and a little put-off by the negativity, but I've since gotten over it. Now I just avoid reading reviews until my own opinions are fully settled without outside influence.

I am 21, but I feel I'm growing more and more into eurobeat, rather than growing out of it.
:)

Speaking of fav vocalists, Matt Land, I miss you...

Jay
God of Romance
Posts: 955
Joined: 01 Jul 2004, 12:59

Post by Jay » 24 Mar 2013, 10:06

#Infinity wrote:Based on Jay's reviews, I am really dreading the two Hi-NRG Attack entries right now. His comments for those songs could easily be applied for me to Born To Be Wild In My Car.
Well, if you found the HRG songs on 221 to be in a sad state, I guarantee you won't like these two. Just warning you!
drnrg wrote:I've been around the forum for some TIME. From reading most of these reviews; I would say that some/Most of you are at the age(early 20s). Just curious, but I believe this is the age were you might just be outgrowing Eurobeat. many of the guys I grew up with abondeded Italo NRG for the same exact reasons. The rehashed melodies.

You gotta remember this is Eurobeat. A pretty much by the numbers musical style much made up of rehashed melodies and catchy synths. If you start fucking with that; it will no longer be Eurobeat. The fun is trying to dicipher what classic synth riffs inspiered what songs and remebering certain styles from other bygone labels and of course; become excited when your fav vocalists release new songs.
It's one thing to borrow a synth riff from some unheralded song in the early 100s or whenever, but quite another when a synth riff is used over and over and over and over and over and over again to the point of death by exhaustion.

I can tolerate rehashing when used sparingly—in fact, I don't mind some of the more blatant ones like 'Take A Look In My Heart' by Vanity and 'Just A Game 2006' by Alexis from the 170s and 180s, respectively—but my point is that it's not fun at all when the same label uses almost the same synth riff in hundreds of songs. I can't even listen to some of HRG's earlier songs that I onced enjoyed anymore because their continual rehashing of the same bloody synth riff haunts my dreams. And the thing that pisses me off the most? I know HRG is perfectly capable of producing some creative numbers (e.g., 'Magic of Sunshine'), but for whatever reason they choose not to.

By the way, I'm 25, but I don't think that makes much of a difference.
drnrg wrote:The reason I say this is because.

There just doesn't seem to be much positive attitude for this volume at all.
If that's the case, you would've just loved my review for 221 then!

But in all seriousness, I thought 222 was an average album, not a poor one - 3 really awful songs, 3 really good ones, and 8 bleh/average ones. In fact, I can think of far worse albums back in the 150s and 160s, which was when I truly started to get involved with the genre (don't even get me started on 167). I've never been one to praise an album to the skies unless it truly blew my socks off; you should know that by now.
drnrg wrote:If you are not a Hard Core lover of the genre and all it's inspirations like Disco, Hi Energy Disco, Italo, to some extent New Wave; then you will most porobobly be unsatisfied and be constantly craving somthing new on every disc.
So you're saying that the reason I'm not appreciating the Hi-NRG Attack rehashes much is because I'm not as well versed as you are in the older Disco, Hi-NRG, Italo, etc. material? That sounds really snobby and elitist. I may not have listened to as much older eurobeat material as you, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a right to an opinion about the direction that certain labels are headed in now (we're in 2013, not 1986).

I have more to say, but since I have work in the morning, I'll leave you with this final thought. If HRG and all the other labels are doing everything perfectly as you say they are, why are we in this situation now where we've just experienced a ~2 year hiatus with no new material and having new albums released every 2 months (as opposed to 1)? You may not have noticed since you're still stuck in 1986, so I thought I'd better point that out.

My answer? I'd say it's a nexus of $$$, the genre's popularity and the labels' creative juices - all three of which are intimately entwined. In other words, if one suffers, so do the rest, and I'd argue that it's the latter of those three (labels' creative juices) that's seriously hampering the genre's popularity and economic survival.

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jp75
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Post by jp75 » 24 Mar 2013, 13:24

Strangers in the night is strikingly similar to shock the night!

drnrg
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Post by drnrg » 24 Mar 2013, 15:22

Jay
I have more to say, but since I have work in the morning, I'll leave you with this final thought. If HRG and all the other labels are doing everything perfectly as you say they are, why are we in this situation now where we've just experienced a ~2 year hiatus with no new material and having new albums released every 2 months (as opposed to 1)? You may not have noticed since you're still stuck in 1986, so I thought I'd better point that out.

My answer? I'd say it's a nexus of $$$, the genre's popularity and the labels' creative juices - all three of which are intimately entwined. In other words, if one suffers, so do the rest, and I'd argue that it's the latter of those three (labels' creative juices) that's seriously hampering the genre's popularity and economic survival.
1986? Seems you just pulled that year out of a hat? Shows you don't pay attention. From what I wrote, that year would be more like 1992, don't you think?

I was actually gonna write something about that final point you made in my original post. That answer is plain ans simple. I truly belive that more than 50% of the reason the labels are srill producing music is because of the fans. We ask for it, so they create it.
And I stand by this claim not only because of Eurobeat, but because of 80's artists in general. In this day and age most of them are no longer powerhouse money makers as they were back then, but still a great number of them released new cds these last couple of years. Kiss, Van Halen, Human League, Night Ranger, The Cars, Duran Duran and most recently , Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. They know they are up against some stiff competition from todays youthfull pop artists, but they still make the music. A big part of that is for the fans. SO in the end this also applies to Eurobeat. You know Eurobeat's not that marketable and really never was, so I truley belive one of the main reasons ,the labels still produce it is for us; the fans and that's all the more reason to appreciate it.

BTW, during these two year hiatus, some of the labels were still releasing songs. Old(unreleased) and New material, but still releasing songs. HRG Attack, Dima, Delta. even Blast and Saifam and since AVEX couldn't make a stinking penny of it; they(Lables) mainly did it for the fans.

Jay
So you're saying that the reason I'm not appreciating the Hi-NRG Attack rehashes much is because I'm not as well versed as you are in the older Disco, Hi-NRG, Italo, etc. material? That sounds really snobby and elitist. I may not have listened to as much older eurobeat material as you, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a right to an opinion about the direction that certain labels are headed in now (we're in 2013, not 1986).
Again with 1986? Anyway. It might sound snobby as you say,but what I'm really saying is that, if you love that sound, then you will accept it for what it is. Eurobeat and all it's forefathers is 50% rehashed melodies. Back in the 80's , a well known Hi NRG producer;Bobby O, rehashed practically every popular Hi NRG song's melody of the time. Freestyle was Disco melodies just at slower bpms. One song ; in particular "Boom Boom Dollars" is the basic melody for 100s of songs during the late 80's and throughout the 90's. This is what Eurobeat is. Eurobeat has only so many variations. The magic is how they(Composers) can even make a song sound remotely different from the next by just changing One key, one phrase,ect... That is the illusion of being a completely diiferent song.

One point; that proboly hasn't even been taken into concidration, is that maybe the labels; are rehashing thier sound for a reason. It's supposed to be a Eurobeat revival, so why not go back to the melodies we are most familair with? The melodies and phrases they are most remembered for?

This is what I mean by understanding the genre and not just attacking it for "not bringing anything new to the table".

@jay

My original post wasn't specifically aimed at you. Nor was it a cry out to defend HRG Attack. I didn't quote you at all. It was a general observasion I've been makining these last past years by reading reviews and comments about the genre as a whole. As most of you know by now;I don't give a flying f**K what AVEX thinks or wants. They are in it for the money, not the love of the music. I'm talking about us, the fans. SO why does it seem that it's getting harder and harder to appease the fans with a style, that for all honesty, hasn't changed much since it began. All that's really changed is the bpms.

What I'm asking is what is it that you(members) want from the genre? If you are that discontent with the popular mlodies and synths, then you might as well look for another genre to satify your creative desires, because Eurobeat ,in all it's glory ,has it's well known sound. I'm not exempting myself when it comes to complaints about Eurobeat either. But my biggest complain is really just That I want extendeds instead of edits? Other than that, I'm super hyped when A new release comes out and enjoy a better percent of the disc. In fact ;the songs that really throw me off, are those that expirement too much.

Bottom line.Eurobeat has it's sound. If you change the bassline, Percussion, even the synth melodies; then you pretty much won't have Eurobeat anymore. You have the common top 40 EDM sound of today. The lables can and do expiriment with different sounds here and there on certain songs. SCP even tried something a little different with Irene's vocals and her song is being shot down accross the board.I can safely say that the labels will not be changing the structure of every song to appease those who are or have grown out of Eurobeat. These producers have been doing what they do since the beggining of TIME and they know what Eurobeat is supposed to sound like.

So like it or not; the rehashed melodies and synths are a big part of the Eurobeat structure and they are here to stay.

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