Super Eurobeat 222
Es Well, no matter the case of whether the genre gets better or cribbles, I'll sit with my earphones on and enjoy whatever eurobeat gives because todays mainsteam crapfest will be the same and that can lead to diabetes and aids. As a fan I can't do anything further then just buy the cd, enjoy or dislike it, but they already have my money now.eurobeat is eurobeat and don't rub it down even further becAuse we have celine dion to do that for us. Love eurobeat with a fashion appraise. No time for memory lane.
Coolneko aka Miko
I prefer either....go with your heart!
I prefer either....go with your heart!
I think the problem surrounding HRG goes beyond simply reusing similar melodies from previous songs. Quite often, a new track will take a few cues from older musical numbers. To come up with new ideas, a label must take some inspiration from the old. Occasionally, artists will experiment with different genres or chord progressions, but again, even these original ideas are, in some form, variations of other tracks, eurobeat or not. Wacky-Wacky-O!, for instance, deviated greatly from previous Scream Team productions in that it employed a major key while still retaining a few spooky elements that brought fame to the act's previous numbers. Even then, the song sounds a lot like something that came straight out of the Blast! catalogue, just with a few nuances that give it a fresh edge.
With Hi-NRG Attack, however, the issue of rehashing old songs is due to far more factors than the melodies themselves. To be fair, I have chronically complained that the label has overused the same stock Bb-minor chord structure in recent years. Compounding the repetitive chord progressions, however, are the problems with lackluster instrumentation, overexposure of Nick Festari, and dull, insipid vocal melodies. It's all of these various factors, in particular, that are severely hampering HRG these days and thus causing the label to sound pitifully redundant. When the production values themselves are so poor, there's little reason to notice or care about the differences between songs with similar musical progressions.
You can refer back to my comments in the SEB 221 Bore review thread for a continued explanation, but basically, the problems infecting modern HRG don't stop at just rehashed melodies. I agree that the label is far less original in terms of musical structures than they were ten years ago, but it certainly doesn't help that they're falling terribly short in every other department, as well. If the majority of song they produced sounded like P. Stone's Light My Fire, which also uses a generic Bb-minor progression but totally excels in everything else, then I wouldn't be nearly as unimpressed by the label as I am now.
With Hi-NRG Attack, however, the issue of rehashing old songs is due to far more factors than the melodies themselves. To be fair, I have chronically complained that the label has overused the same stock Bb-minor chord structure in recent years. Compounding the repetitive chord progressions, however, are the problems with lackluster instrumentation, overexposure of Nick Festari, and dull, insipid vocal melodies. It's all of these various factors, in particular, that are severely hampering HRG these days and thus causing the label to sound pitifully redundant. When the production values themselves are so poor, there's little reason to notice or care about the differences between songs with similar musical progressions.
You can refer back to my comments in the SEB 221 Bore review thread for a continued explanation, but basically, the problems infecting modern HRG don't stop at just rehashed melodies. I agree that the label is far less original in terms of musical structures than they were ten years ago, but it certainly doesn't help that they're falling terribly short in every other department, as well. If the majority of song they produced sounded like P. Stone's Light My Fire, which also uses a generic Bb-minor progression but totally excels in everything else, then I wouldn't be nearly as unimpressed by the label as I am now.
01. Dance In The Starlight by Ace \\\ SCP
I always liked Ace. Futureland is bar far my favorite track from him. This time around, he's back with another aggressive title after his long streak of Aishu-esque titles (except Set Me Free). The intro has a double personallity. It starts Hyper Techno melodies then, it ditches it for Eurobeat melodies. Then, an amazing and aggressive synth riffs starts. It's extremely catch and I especially like that held note. Vocal wise, Mr. Codenotti is top notch. He brings agressive and catchy vocals to an agressive number perfectly. The chorus is simply very catchy, one cannot resist to its amazingness. There is one thing that my nerves doesn't like. Hopefully, it's only for, like, 15 seconds. It's those notes that "curves" to a more acute note. Ugh. Anyway, beside that little thing, it's the prefect tune.
10
02. Lovely by Irene \\\ SCP
I'm going to be hated here. I know it. The intro is a bit messy and lackluster. However, the riff that kicks up is pretty good but nothing special. I also love that galloping bass, it brings quite a bit of energy to the song. The vocals are, yes, "robotized". Knowing That I loved both April songs before, it might or might not surprise that I like the vocals! Yes, it's weird when we know that this particular vocalist can sing in a crystal clear voice. But, I like it. I like the vocals and the melody; I don't see why I'll give this a bad score. It's not a special track, but it's quite good!
9
03. Sunlight by Kaioh \\\ Go Go's Music
Oh, Kaioh. I always liked ya. This time around, it's no exception. Written, produced by himself at SCP. So, it sounds very SCP-esque and I love it. In fact, I never hated his solo tracks. This one and It's Like A Fire are amazing tracks. Yes, I've given the score out already. Let's face it already. Why would I need to critique a track that is simply perfect? There's no need to!
11
04. Strangers In The Night by David Dima \\\ Dima
More Dima. Well, this time along Di Marcantonio brings again his voice to a brand new song. This time around, it's in another classic and standard production with nothing new to the table. It got a good melody, vocals, mood and guitars. The riff isn't half bad either. However, the "classic and standard" part of the song hits me a bit. It feels almost too standard. Don't get me wrong, it's a good song. There's this feeling that there's something missing to give that extra spice that I cannot put my finger on. Hopefully, it's still a pretty good song.
8
05. Gimme Love by Norma Sheffield \\\ Sunfire
Yes, this is a Sunfire production and not A-Beat-C. To be perfectly honest, I'm really surprised by this song. Usually, Norma music makes me want to go to bed and have nice dreams. This time, we've got a pretty good tune at our disposal. The vocals are catchy and fits the mood of the melody perfectly. The riff is really good for a Norma song, I really enjoy it.
9½
06. Dance On Top Of The Fire by Cy-Ro \\\ Hi-NRG Attack
Cy-ro... again. The last volume's entry wasn't that bad. This track isn't either. At least, it's the best of the two offered on this volume. This track has a good meldoy. Not that it's new though... For a standard Hi-NRG Attack, it's an ok entry. However, it gets drowned it the multide of songs that sounds the same that they have written... I mean, Hi-NRG Attack not for Eurobeat in general.
7½
07. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Tonight by Annalise \\\ A-Beat-C
Another surprise. Annalise is usually a vocalist I despise because it usually sing boring aishu eurobeat. This time around, the song's got nice ring to it. I don't say that it's the hit of the century but it's certainly better than other Annalise song I heard before. Kudos for choosing this one from the drawer.
8
08. Last Of Eurobeat by Mark Farina \\\ Asia/Boom Boom Beat
MOTHER OF EUROBEAT. This. Is. EPIC. The Amazing Scale just cannot handle the epicness for this song. The riff, the energy, the melodies, just everything... it's just holy sh--. It's just too awesome. I purchased this track when it was released on Juno and since that day, I looped it more than several times. It's just THAT awesome.
IT'S OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!!!!
09. Reborn My Fire by Cherry \\\ Delta
The very boring parts needed to come and here it is... Reborn My Fire. *sigh* The melody is "okay" I guess. But the thing is so generic. It feels empty. Beside the riff, there's barely any energy. Yeah... so, next...
5
10. Into The Moon by Dave & Futura \\\ Sunfire
MEH. Was the thing I said to myself when I heard the song from the iTunes preview. The riff is good but the rest is really boring. I was playing this track on Audiosurf last night and I couldn't even break 100000 of RAW points. Even in a game, it's boring. Geez.
5
11. You Could Be Mine by Dream Fighters \\\ Dima
This one is pretty similar to the other Dima track I reviewed above. Good energy, guitars, melodies and vocal performance. But what really standout in this track compared to the other one are the lines :
"I'm king of the road
You queen of my soul
You know it".
That is just so catchy! Because of that, I consider this track better than Strangers Of The Night.
9½
12. Lucky Lucky by Garçon \\\ Hi-NRG Attack
*sigh* That intro just screams "press 'next!' already!". That's what I did no matter how hard I tried to give it a chance.
4
13. Boys Do Fall In Love by Lou Master \\\ SCP
Robin Gibb cover? Yup. I gave the original a quick listen and I can say that the Eurobeat version do not fail at all! It's true to the original and the vocals are exactly as sung in the original 1984 song! Now that I've heard the original I can say that I can really enjoy this version now because, at first, I wasn't fond of the chorus at all. After all, it's not bad at all. Kudos to the SCP team and Lou for that amazing cover!
10
14. Bad Joy by Tora \\\ SinclaireStyle
The only Tora song I really enjoy enough to put on repeat was the King & Queen remake on SEB196. So, I had next to no expectation for this one. I was right to hold no excitement for this one because, while it's not a bad track, it's nothing that rocks the floor like "Last Of Eurobeat", "Sunlight", "Dancing In The Sunlight" or "Boys Do Fall In Love". It has good energy, especially in the riff. The vocals, for me, is the weakest link. It's OK but could be much better. So, yeah, bottom line, not a bad track but the vocals lack.
7½
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BONUS TRACKS (I'm not going in details here)
========================================
15. SEB 4 U (Wild Mix) by SEB All Stars Feat. Andrea Martongelli \\\ SCP/All
I like this version better than the other. This time around, we can clearly hear "SEB 4 U for you maniacs" instead of "SEB 4 Your NES". This version is also speedier than the other version. So, a question arose in me : are the vocals were rerecorded to be faster or they used the faster vocals and slowed it down for the Power Mix or sped them up for the Wild Mix? Anyway, I still enjoy this track and I always like to have those alternate version.
10
16. Wild Boys (Original Version) by Rich Hard \\\ Sunfire
To be honnest, we didn't need the corrected version. It's an easy edit in any audio editor. I had made it by myself even before this got release. However, I kudos Avex for correcting themselves though. Oh, and, I prefer the speedy original version over the slower one. Yup. But I still love the slow one ttoo, don't get me wrong.
N/A
Overall, I think that's a pretty good album. However, I won't say it's better than SEB221. It has its up and down. However, I still find this compilation very memorable although we could argue againa nd again about the two last tracks. For me, I don't care. As long as I have my Eurobeat, I'm happy.
Overall rating : 8
Top 3 :
Sunlight
Dancing In The Sunlight
Last Of Eurobeat
Memorable Mention :
Boys Do Fall In Love
Bottom 3 :
Into The Moon
Reborn My Fire
Lucky Lucky
I always liked Ace. Futureland is bar far my favorite track from him. This time around, he's back with another aggressive title after his long streak of Aishu-esque titles (except Set Me Free). The intro has a double personallity. It starts Hyper Techno melodies then, it ditches it for Eurobeat melodies. Then, an amazing and aggressive synth riffs starts. It's extremely catch and I especially like that held note. Vocal wise, Mr. Codenotti is top notch. He brings agressive and catchy vocals to an agressive number perfectly. The chorus is simply very catchy, one cannot resist to its amazingness. There is one thing that my nerves doesn't like. Hopefully, it's only for, like, 15 seconds. It's those notes that "curves" to a more acute note. Ugh. Anyway, beside that little thing, it's the prefect tune.
10
02. Lovely by Irene \\\ SCP
I'm going to be hated here. I know it. The intro is a bit messy and lackluster. However, the riff that kicks up is pretty good but nothing special. I also love that galloping bass, it brings quite a bit of energy to the song. The vocals are, yes, "robotized". Knowing That I loved both April songs before, it might or might not surprise that I like the vocals! Yes, it's weird when we know that this particular vocalist can sing in a crystal clear voice. But, I like it. I like the vocals and the melody; I don't see why I'll give this a bad score. It's not a special track, but it's quite good!
9
03. Sunlight by Kaioh \\\ Go Go's Music
Oh, Kaioh. I always liked ya. This time around, it's no exception. Written, produced by himself at SCP. So, it sounds very SCP-esque and I love it. In fact, I never hated his solo tracks. This one and It's Like A Fire are amazing tracks. Yes, I've given the score out already. Let's face it already. Why would I need to critique a track that is simply perfect? There's no need to!
11
04. Strangers In The Night by David Dima \\\ Dima
More Dima. Well, this time along Di Marcantonio brings again his voice to a brand new song. This time around, it's in another classic and standard production with nothing new to the table. It got a good melody, vocals, mood and guitars. The riff isn't half bad either. However, the "classic and standard" part of the song hits me a bit. It feels almost too standard. Don't get me wrong, it's a good song. There's this feeling that there's something missing to give that extra spice that I cannot put my finger on. Hopefully, it's still a pretty good song.
8
05. Gimme Love by Norma Sheffield \\\ Sunfire
Yes, this is a Sunfire production and not A-Beat-C. To be perfectly honest, I'm really surprised by this song. Usually, Norma music makes me want to go to bed and have nice dreams. This time, we've got a pretty good tune at our disposal. The vocals are catchy and fits the mood of the melody perfectly. The riff is really good for a Norma song, I really enjoy it.
9½
06. Dance On Top Of The Fire by Cy-Ro \\\ Hi-NRG Attack
Cy-ro... again. The last volume's entry wasn't that bad. This track isn't either. At least, it's the best of the two offered on this volume. This track has a good meldoy. Not that it's new though... For a standard Hi-NRG Attack, it's an ok entry. However, it gets drowned it the multide of songs that sounds the same that they have written... I mean, Hi-NRG Attack not for Eurobeat in general.
7½
07. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Tonight by Annalise \\\ A-Beat-C
Another surprise. Annalise is usually a vocalist I despise because it usually sing boring aishu eurobeat. This time around, the song's got nice ring to it. I don't say that it's the hit of the century but it's certainly better than other Annalise song I heard before. Kudos for choosing this one from the drawer.
8
08. Last Of Eurobeat by Mark Farina \\\ Asia/Boom Boom Beat
MOTHER OF EUROBEAT. This. Is. EPIC. The Amazing Scale just cannot handle the epicness for this song. The riff, the energy, the melodies, just everything... it's just holy sh--. It's just too awesome. I purchased this track when it was released on Juno and since that day, I looped it more than several times. It's just THAT awesome.
IT'S OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!!!!
09. Reborn My Fire by Cherry \\\ Delta
The very boring parts needed to come and here it is... Reborn My Fire. *sigh* The melody is "okay" I guess. But the thing is so generic. It feels empty. Beside the riff, there's barely any energy. Yeah... so, next...
5
10. Into The Moon by Dave & Futura \\\ Sunfire
MEH. Was the thing I said to myself when I heard the song from the iTunes preview. The riff is good but the rest is really boring. I was playing this track on Audiosurf last night and I couldn't even break 100000 of RAW points. Even in a game, it's boring. Geez.
5
11. You Could Be Mine by Dream Fighters \\\ Dima
This one is pretty similar to the other Dima track I reviewed above. Good energy, guitars, melodies and vocal performance. But what really standout in this track compared to the other one are the lines :
"I'm king of the road
You queen of my soul
You know it".
That is just so catchy! Because of that, I consider this track better than Strangers Of The Night.
9½
12. Lucky Lucky by Garçon \\\ Hi-NRG Attack
*sigh* That intro just screams "press 'next!' already!". That's what I did no matter how hard I tried to give it a chance.
4
13. Boys Do Fall In Love by Lou Master \\\ SCP
Robin Gibb cover? Yup. I gave the original a quick listen and I can say that the Eurobeat version do not fail at all! It's true to the original and the vocals are exactly as sung in the original 1984 song! Now that I've heard the original I can say that I can really enjoy this version now because, at first, I wasn't fond of the chorus at all. After all, it's not bad at all. Kudos to the SCP team and Lou for that amazing cover!
10
14. Bad Joy by Tora \\\ SinclaireStyle
The only Tora song I really enjoy enough to put on repeat was the King & Queen remake on SEB196. So, I had next to no expectation for this one. I was right to hold no excitement for this one because, while it's not a bad track, it's nothing that rocks the floor like "Last Of Eurobeat", "Sunlight", "Dancing In The Sunlight" or "Boys Do Fall In Love". It has good energy, especially in the riff. The vocals, for me, is the weakest link. It's OK but could be much better. So, yeah, bottom line, not a bad track but the vocals lack.
7½
========================================
BONUS TRACKS (I'm not going in details here)
========================================
15. SEB 4 U (Wild Mix) by SEB All Stars Feat. Andrea Martongelli \\\ SCP/All
I like this version better than the other. This time around, we can clearly hear "SEB 4 U for you maniacs" instead of "SEB 4 Your NES". This version is also speedier than the other version. So, a question arose in me : are the vocals were rerecorded to be faster or they used the faster vocals and slowed it down for the Power Mix or sped them up for the Wild Mix? Anyway, I still enjoy this track and I always like to have those alternate version.
10
16. Wild Boys (Original Version) by Rich Hard \\\ Sunfire
To be honnest, we didn't need the corrected version. It's an easy edit in any audio editor. I had made it by myself even before this got release. However, I kudos Avex for correcting themselves though. Oh, and, I prefer the speedy original version over the slower one. Yup. But I still love the slow one ttoo, don't get me wrong.
N/A
Overall, I think that's a pretty good album. However, I won't say it's better than SEB221. It has its up and down. However, I still find this compilation very memorable although we could argue againa nd again about the two last tracks. For me, I don't care. As long as I have my Eurobeat, I'm happy.
Overall rating : 8
Top 3 :
Sunlight
Dancing In The Sunlight
Last Of Eurobeat
Memorable Mention :
Boys Do Fall In Love
Bottom 3 :
Into The Moon
Reborn My Fire
Lucky Lucky
椛ちゃん、助けてぇぇぇぇぇ！
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drnrg
- Eurobeat Guru
- Posts: 6957
- Joined: 17 May 2005, 07:18
- Location: searching for missing Eurogrooves trax
The one thing we must never forget is that the labels produce a lot of songs. It's the choices that AVEX makes for SEB that someTIMES make me wonder. Don't forget all those unreleased material we have heard and thought it was well worth an SEB appearance, but never saw the light of day untill recently. I some TIMES think AVEX wants certain labels to sound a certain way and won't showcase thier more risque material? Whatever the cause; to state that a certain label's style is the cause of Eurobeat's downfall is downright outrageous. That's more like a personal feeling some of you might have, but there is nothing to back up a statement like that.
Anyway, I decided to give this new cd a listen, even though some reviews have inclined me to have second thoughts about my purchase, but being I'm a certified Eurobeat lover, I found that I mostly disagree with the bad ratings its getting. I laso found myself changing more than half of my original feelings of the previews I heard a week ago. Some previews I initially praised are now slightly above average, while others I disliked, have really grown on me.
The theme of this cd could have easily been. Back To Basics. Eurobeat 101. Meaning it's full of rehashed; or for a better term, Popular, melodies and ideas. Some work and some don't, but it's still all 100% Eurobeat.
Super Eurobeat 222 review
1. Ace- Dance In The Starlight(Extended version)(SCP)
First off; it gives me great pleasure to write the words “Extended version” next to an SCP song and this song really does give great use to the word “Extended” Ace has always been a hit or miss kind of artist. I appreciate his vocals mostly on his Go2 songs. I absolutely adore songs like “Future Land” and “T.V. Hero”. That’s another one forever etched in my mind. Then there is the other side of the coin. Songs like “In the Fire of the Victory” or something like that. Forgettable and boring. On this new song; it seems Ace has found that Euro mach spark once again. It’s a super rehashed melody, but that’s the whole charm of the synth. BTW, I will be using the term “rehashed melody” throughout this review, because it’s not a bad thing at all when dealing with Eurobeat and from the songs I hear; could be the theme of this disc. At the same TIME it will show, how some of us fans; actually look forward to familiar melodies and styles that we grew up with and made us love the genre in the first place. This new Ace song has all that and more. The shout outs fall right into place as perfect as in any Go2 song. The extras or special parts are those piano beats throughout the verses. Great sing a long chorus just adds to the fun, but the part that really caught my attention was the break; which falls perfectly at the 3:00 minuet mark. The synth style is a lot like the style used in the “Disconnected” extended version. Not as stellar, but follows the same idea. The hard drums accompanying that last bridge to chorus are just what the song calls for in order to ride into that last guitar laced mini break right before the outro. Very good job from a label that I know can put out great extended versions when they want to.
9/10
2. Irene –Lovely(extended version) (SCP)
Oh wow, poor Irene. She used to get so much love from the fanboys. This TIME her song is being used as a dartboard. Let me break this down like this. You guys want her to sound a certain way. You are probably stuck on her vocal style of the 170s? Well, isn’t this what you guys want? “Bring something new to the table” is the outcry. This is new, isn’t it? Now really,is it that bad? Have you paid attention to the overall production or just dismiss it because she sounds HRG Attack-esque? She does, doesn’t she? I dare say that I like her vocals better like this, because I’ll be shot down as being HRG Attack bias. In all honesty, I really do not like her vocal style in this song either, but I feel it fits the song’s style very appropriately. So what about the song? Let me be one of the first to give it some praise. Its starts off with a mega cool sounding intro. It’s very powerful with Go2 elements. The “do it do it” chants are the last thing I expected in an Irene song. Those shout outs give it a nice aggressive feel. I really didn’t expect such a good intro, by hearing the sample alone; which at first thought was gonna be another transy entry. Thank goodness it’s not. Once again the chorus seems to me to be the weakest link of the song, but I really love the power inserted in the verses. If you notice this song does a cut and paste job. It just grabs the original intro and sticks it right smack in the middle of the song, but it works like a charm and adds a bit of extra power to the small synth solo which follows. Besides, it’s a really cool intro that just had to be brought back one more TIME. I love replaying that mini synth solo right before the last bridge two or three times in a row and I wish it had been longer. Before I close out this Irene review; I would like to add that the song’s “Galloping” baseline: weather it sounds like that, because of it’s speed or whatever; really reminds me of Stil Novo. Just at way faster bpms.Naturally this is another factor of why I enjoy this song tons more than the rest of you? I still long for an extended, because I think it deserves one, but I think SCP did “Bring something new to the table” with this new Irene entry. The only thing I would have changed; is that I would have given Irene another alias. This might have been a major factor with the fan boys. Think about it? When Pasquinni or Farina sung in their falsetto style; they came up with new aliases and no one shot them down for their vocals, because they weren’t expecting the same thing from a different artist name. Just a thought. Anyway, I like this Irene song very much and already the first two SCP entries are better here than on 221.
+8/10
3. Kaioh – Sunlight (Go Go’s music)
So this track turns out to be the one turning heads. It’s a good song, but by far the best on the disc. First off; I remember who Kaioh is now and the song that really blew me away was “Are U Ready”. He sang that one under his Freddy Rodgers alias, right? That was a great song. What I really want to praise are his vocals. He really has seemed to mature since his “Are U Ready” days and he doesn’t have the really high tone like Dejo or even sometimes Ace. So what I really don’t care for; and feel is out of place, are those backup shout outs by the Go- Go girls. Those “get Up and rise up” sound very Kika and Kira-ish. Almost childish and takes points off the song’s power value. I know backups are very important to Eurobeat structure, but they could’ve ‘e used the back up style of “Dance in the Starlight” It is slightly different and less Disney-ish. I admit that the song really is very catchy and well written lyric- wise that it really doesn’t phase me as much, to hear it’s only 4:00 minuets long. Do I wish it was longer? Yes, and they (SCP/GoGO’s) could have probably added more special parts to it, but it seems to work just fine in its edit form. I did have to repeat it about 5 TIMEs before I finished my review on it. Anyway,Before I read the lyrics; I thought the chorus said, “I know the secret of Sun Light” but that sounds more like Dima’s lyric style;eh. A good song, not the best on the disc, but damn, I’m liking the direction his vocals are going, so I’ll give it a whole extra point for the point that it loses on those disny-ish back ups.
+8/10
4. David Dima- Strangers In The Night (Dima Music)
So far this new volume in the series sounding great, so when the next song on the disc is from David Dima; you really feel at ease with the cd’s quality. Right of the back; you hear a world of difference between this track and the 3 previous ones. More for the adult or Italo lovers crowd. It’s the cool off period. TIME to put your Corvette Stingray in cruise control and just feel the cool wind wisp through your hair as the song plays. That’s the feeling I get. Not only the music, but his vocals, have that perfect vibe for a night drive by the beach line. Since the theme on this disc is “Rehashed melodies”, you can easily hear the well-known style form his past hits. Songs like “I Can’t Stop Loving You” come to mind. Even though that’s more a Dream Fighters sound, but it still applies for this song. The only different element would have to be the intro’s sytle. The looping of the words "night", and "strangers" gives it a cool sound. Like I said; it’s a cool night drive song with vocals guitar and synths you can count on, but that’s about as much new stuff you’ll hear on this song. What it probably needed was a really catchy synth riff which broke off from the melody of the chorus to really make it stand out and maybe some female backup? I like the rehash of Joe Tempest- Shock The Night melody. That's one of my favs from Euro Panic series, but I think Dima could use some rehashed melodies from songs like “Samurai” or “Queen of Fire” to really shake things up.
7/10
5. Norma Sheffield –Gimmi Love (Sun Fire)
So this TIME we got some rehashing of a different kind. The song’s title has been used over 50 x in a Eurobeat song or part of a song. Actually the song’s title title sounds a little lazy for a Eurobeat Aishu comeback. Norma Sheffield is one of my favourite female vocalists from the genre. Her accent, tone ect... Basically, I love every aspect of her vocal abilities, so it’s not a big stretch for me to immediately accept her music for that factor alone. This song plays it safe on every level. I’ve been listening to it a lot, but really goes by unnoticed half the TIME. The ultra- lazy short intro; sounds, very much uninspired and gives no power to the synth riff at all. The part that shows any depth would have to be that last verse with its different vocal style and soundworlds, but this song really has to be one of the weakest entries from her catalog. It could have easily been sung by Nuage or Annalise in the 170s era. What happened to the style of songs like,“Ladies” or “I Love You like You Are”? Those stood out, but this one kinda goes by without much to say. Basically, I give it a 6+ for its vocals alone, but it really leaves much to be desired. Even by a fan boy, much as myself.
6+/10
6. Cy-Ro – Dance To The Top Of The Fire (HRG Attack)
And here we are at one of the high points of the cd. Or are we? First off; I do not wanna get lynched for changing my initial thoughts of this song. I still think it’s very good, but it does have its flaws. Let me first say, that I think it was bad judgment for AVEX to feature another Cy-Ro song so soon. I’m still enjoying BTBWIMC to the fullest and do not see the reason for this. AVEX does this a lot with the David Dima alias as well. I could suggest about 5 other songs that they could have opted for instead. “Maybe in the Dark”, “Go Go Japan Go”, or the new Stephy Martini song. Anyway, what this song does well; is its use of 5:00 minuets. Catchy Intro used in the style of “I’ll Kiss You”, powerful Synth riff and good melodies throughout the verse and bridge. Cy-Ro’s vocals also sound to be in top form. The rehash value is all over the place. That’s a good thing. What isn’t so special is the melody they chose to rehash. I hear HRG Attack songs every day and one of the most recent ones that comes to mind when I hear this new Cy-Ro song ,is “The Champion Of The Discotech” They tried something different with that song in the techno beats ,but the melody of the chorus didn’t really grab my attention. They use that same melody here. I realized; it isn’t that great when I finally caught on to it. The synth riff is great, but the chorus falls just a bit short of my expectations. Before I finish; I will praise the perfection of their middle break downs. Always perfect to a T. However; I must recognize that there is much competition from other labels on this cd and for the most part, they showcased better songs. I understand what some members mean about the “Fun” factor and this entry doesn’t have too much of that. What I don’t understand is how they can say the same thing about “Lucky Lucky”? A song that oozes the fun factor. Anyway, I’ll get to that one in part two of the review.
-8/10
7. Annalise- Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now (Sun Fire)
track 7 starts off with another Sun Fire entry. This one is from a few years back. The first thing you notice is that a lot more thought was put into the intro. It grabs the listener’s attention a lot more than the Norma Sheffield entry. This is another song that caused me to change my initial thoughts once I heard it in its entirety. This song falls under the category where a Eurobeat riff has the same melody as the chorus. Most of the time it works, but must be done carefully in order to really sound effective. I believe this Annalise song does just that. I’m really hyped to skip right to the middle breakdown, because I think this song features a rather great one. It strikes at the 3:00 minuet mark and sounds very crafty by first having the mini instrumental taken from the intro, and then having her repeat the chorus just once without backup music. What follows is yet another variation of the same mini into, before she finally repeats the bridge. It might seem simple to some, but I liked it and thought it gave the song a little different vibe from other AbeatC breakdowns that leave much to be desired. I say AbeatC, because the song was written while Sun Fire was still under that name. In the end, this is the song I think Norma Sheffield should have sung, but sounds really great by Annalise as well.
8/10
8. Mark Farina- Last Of Eurobeat (Saifam)
Which brings up to the high point of the Cd. Oh yes; this TIME I mean it. This is also the TIME for the best use of a Rehashed Eurobeat melody on the cd. I’m also proud to announce that Saifam, Boom Boom Beat, Asia records; whatever you wanna call them, showcase the best song on the disc. It is naturally TIME to praise the living hell out of a song. The last TIME I enjoyed a Saifam song above all other songs on a cd was probably the disc that featured “Disco Energy” and yes I searched for the extended till I got it. In fact this “Last of Eurobeat” takes me back to the Boom Boom Beat era. Let’s call that Asia record’s comeback era. So where do I start? How about that magnificent intro? Everything I love about the Boom Boom Beat is present. The somewhat eerie- haunting keyboards reminding, me a bit of that Tubular Belles melody. For those of you born after the fact; that’s the title of the melody of the movie; The Exorcist. There’s a little flavor of that melody in this intro. Than you have the strong synth style of songs like, “Bad World”. So far it’s a perfect recipe. Add the ultra aggressive vocals style of Mauro Farina along with a super catchy well known Eurobeat melody and you can’t go wrong. The ever present guitar sounds are also in there. You hear them blaring throughout the chorus. I will add, that this chorus is; hands down, the best I’ve heard this year and it has everything to do with the words “Boom Boom” The rest of lyrical value is just as I said. It’s about him being one of the last great Eurobeat composers, and to some extent I get the feel, he is saying he has found his fire to produce again. It’s definitely not about him leaving the Eurobeat scene. You people sometimes strike me as being super pessimistic. Anyway, I really hope this is a sign of a much awaited Saifam comeback’ with the absence of Eurobeat greats like Dall Ora and Newfield; I welcome the original master of them all. Before I heard this song in its entirety; “Spirit Of The Night” by Michelle Rose was my favourite 2013 Eurobeat song, but this song here, could easily be my top track by the end of the year. 112 repeats on my Windows player and counting. Yes; this is what I refer to, as a song to put me in the perfect Eurobeat zone.
10++++
9. Cherry – Reborn My Fire (Delta)
Next up is the song; that is also getting a lot of negative feedback from the community. Granted; it is not the best from the Cherry catalog, but again; this is the revival of Eurobeat. Well known sounds and melodies should be welcomed with more enthusiasm. This song has its flaws, but it also has some really ear catching elements. I love this style of DELTA’s songs. This particular style reminds me of one of my favs from Luke. “Turbo Disco”. She also sounds really good when they loop her saying “Fire” I love that effect and is one of the reasons I give the song more replay value. The synth riff is also really Old School. Not played at mega speed and you can appreciate its melody. It actually sounds really good with a couple of listens. It has the grow effect. Clara, for the most part sounds good. Not stellar, but also not as bad as some of you are saying. I think they might have hyped her vocals a tad in the verses, but I hear her just fine in the bridge and especially; the chorus. My gripe is the song’s length. The reason it has a somewhat uninspired rehash vibe is because it doesn’t add many special parts. Like I mentioned, rehashing can work wonders for your song, but it can also hurt it, when not chosen right. This song fails miserably in its Intro and breakdown value. First off;The break down, is practically non existent. I cannot specify a good breakdown enough if you want your song to stand out above the rest. 4:18 is way too short for a Delta song, because they don’t have enough room to spread their wings. As far as I can remember; Delta showcased perfect breakdowns for vinyl mixing throughout the start of their career, so why the sudden laziness? The intro is another aspect that sounds ultra lazy on this song and adds to its short length. It’s TIME for Capaldi and Rizzi to really start coming up with some cool ideas for intros and breaks. Call up Newfield for some advice, if that’s what it takes, but do it, because this is the type of uninspired rehashing just won’t do. It does; however have many charming parts as well. One is how Clara sounds like she says “Reburn My Fire” as opposed to what the title suggests. It’s funny, but for all the gripes I have about the songs intro and break: it really is one of my preferred tracks on the disc. Call it Fanboy-ism or whatever, but I do enjoy it while it plays.
-9/10
I'm gonna stop for now cuz after looping each song multiple TIMES during each review; I'm pretty much Eurobeat fried. the next part will feature 3 of my top songs, so it does get better
Anyway, I decided to give this new cd a listen, even though some reviews have inclined me to have second thoughts about my purchase, but being I'm a certified Eurobeat lover, I found that I mostly disagree with the bad ratings its getting. I laso found myself changing more than half of my original feelings of the previews I heard a week ago. Some previews I initially praised are now slightly above average, while others I disliked, have really grown on me.
The theme of this cd could have easily been. Back To Basics. Eurobeat 101. Meaning it's full of rehashed; or for a better term, Popular, melodies and ideas. Some work and some don't, but it's still all 100% Eurobeat.
Super Eurobeat 222 review
1. Ace- Dance In The Starlight(Extended version)(SCP)
First off; it gives me great pleasure to write the words “Extended version” next to an SCP song and this song really does give great use to the word “Extended” Ace has always been a hit or miss kind of artist. I appreciate his vocals mostly on his Go2 songs. I absolutely adore songs like “Future Land” and “T.V. Hero”. That’s another one forever etched in my mind. Then there is the other side of the coin. Songs like “In the Fire of the Victory” or something like that. Forgettable and boring. On this new song; it seems Ace has found that Euro mach spark once again. It’s a super rehashed melody, but that’s the whole charm of the synth. BTW, I will be using the term “rehashed melody” throughout this review, because it’s not a bad thing at all when dealing with Eurobeat and from the songs I hear; could be the theme of this disc. At the same TIME it will show, how some of us fans; actually look forward to familiar melodies and styles that we grew up with and made us love the genre in the first place. This new Ace song has all that and more. The shout outs fall right into place as perfect as in any Go2 song. The extras or special parts are those piano beats throughout the verses. Great sing a long chorus just adds to the fun, but the part that really caught my attention was the break; which falls perfectly at the 3:00 minuet mark. The synth style is a lot like the style used in the “Disconnected” extended version. Not as stellar, but follows the same idea. The hard drums accompanying that last bridge to chorus are just what the song calls for in order to ride into that last guitar laced mini break right before the outro. Very good job from a label that I know can put out great extended versions when they want to.
9/10
2. Irene –Lovely(extended version) (SCP)
Oh wow, poor Irene. She used to get so much love from the fanboys. This TIME her song is being used as a dartboard. Let me break this down like this. You guys want her to sound a certain way. You are probably stuck on her vocal style of the 170s? Well, isn’t this what you guys want? “Bring something new to the table” is the outcry. This is new, isn’t it? Now really,is it that bad? Have you paid attention to the overall production or just dismiss it because she sounds HRG Attack-esque? She does, doesn’t she? I dare say that I like her vocals better like this, because I’ll be shot down as being HRG Attack bias. In all honesty, I really do not like her vocal style in this song either, but I feel it fits the song’s style very appropriately. So what about the song? Let me be one of the first to give it some praise. Its starts off with a mega cool sounding intro. It’s very powerful with Go2 elements. The “do it do it” chants are the last thing I expected in an Irene song. Those shout outs give it a nice aggressive feel. I really didn’t expect such a good intro, by hearing the sample alone; which at first thought was gonna be another transy entry. Thank goodness it’s not. Once again the chorus seems to me to be the weakest link of the song, but I really love the power inserted in the verses. If you notice this song does a cut and paste job. It just grabs the original intro and sticks it right smack in the middle of the song, but it works like a charm and adds a bit of extra power to the small synth solo which follows. Besides, it’s a really cool intro that just had to be brought back one more TIME. I love replaying that mini synth solo right before the last bridge two or three times in a row and I wish it had been longer. Before I close out this Irene review; I would like to add that the song’s “Galloping” baseline: weather it sounds like that, because of it’s speed or whatever; really reminds me of Stil Novo. Just at way faster bpms.Naturally this is another factor of why I enjoy this song tons more than the rest of you? I still long for an extended, because I think it deserves one, but I think SCP did “Bring something new to the table” with this new Irene entry. The only thing I would have changed; is that I would have given Irene another alias. This might have been a major factor with the fan boys. Think about it? When Pasquinni or Farina sung in their falsetto style; they came up with new aliases and no one shot them down for their vocals, because they weren’t expecting the same thing from a different artist name. Just a thought. Anyway, I like this Irene song very much and already the first two SCP entries are better here than on 221.
+8/10
3. Kaioh – Sunlight (Go Go’s music)
So this track turns out to be the one turning heads. It’s a good song, but by far the best on the disc. First off; I remember who Kaioh is now and the song that really blew me away was “Are U Ready”. He sang that one under his Freddy Rodgers alias, right? That was a great song. What I really want to praise are his vocals. He really has seemed to mature since his “Are U Ready” days and he doesn’t have the really high tone like Dejo or even sometimes Ace. So what I really don’t care for; and feel is out of place, are those backup shout outs by the Go- Go girls. Those “get Up and rise up” sound very Kika and Kira-ish. Almost childish and takes points off the song’s power value. I know backups are very important to Eurobeat structure, but they could’ve ‘e used the back up style of “Dance in the Starlight” It is slightly different and less Disney-ish. I admit that the song really is very catchy and well written lyric- wise that it really doesn’t phase me as much, to hear it’s only 4:00 minuets long. Do I wish it was longer? Yes, and they (SCP/GoGO’s) could have probably added more special parts to it, but it seems to work just fine in its edit form. I did have to repeat it about 5 TIMEs before I finished my review on it. Anyway,Before I read the lyrics; I thought the chorus said, “I know the secret of Sun Light” but that sounds more like Dima’s lyric style;eh. A good song, not the best on the disc, but damn, I’m liking the direction his vocals are going, so I’ll give it a whole extra point for the point that it loses on those disny-ish back ups.
+8/10
4. David Dima- Strangers In The Night (Dima Music)
So far this new volume in the series sounding great, so when the next song on the disc is from David Dima; you really feel at ease with the cd’s quality. Right of the back; you hear a world of difference between this track and the 3 previous ones. More for the adult or Italo lovers crowd. It’s the cool off period. TIME to put your Corvette Stingray in cruise control and just feel the cool wind wisp through your hair as the song plays. That’s the feeling I get. Not only the music, but his vocals, have that perfect vibe for a night drive by the beach line. Since the theme on this disc is “Rehashed melodies”, you can easily hear the well-known style form his past hits. Songs like “I Can’t Stop Loving You” come to mind. Even though that’s more a Dream Fighters sound, but it still applies for this song. The only different element would have to be the intro’s sytle. The looping of the words "night", and "strangers" gives it a cool sound. Like I said; it’s a cool night drive song with vocals guitar and synths you can count on, but that’s about as much new stuff you’ll hear on this song. What it probably needed was a really catchy synth riff which broke off from the melody of the chorus to really make it stand out and maybe some female backup? I like the rehash of Joe Tempest- Shock The Night melody. That's one of my favs from Euro Panic series, but I think Dima could use some rehashed melodies from songs like “Samurai” or “Queen of Fire” to really shake things up.
7/10
5. Norma Sheffield –Gimmi Love (Sun Fire)
So this TIME we got some rehashing of a different kind. The song’s title has been used over 50 x in a Eurobeat song or part of a song. Actually the song’s title title sounds a little lazy for a Eurobeat Aishu comeback. Norma Sheffield is one of my favourite female vocalists from the genre. Her accent, tone ect... Basically, I love every aspect of her vocal abilities, so it’s not a big stretch for me to immediately accept her music for that factor alone. This song plays it safe on every level. I’ve been listening to it a lot, but really goes by unnoticed half the TIME. The ultra- lazy short intro; sounds, very much uninspired and gives no power to the synth riff at all. The part that shows any depth would have to be that last verse with its different vocal style and soundworlds, but this song really has to be one of the weakest entries from her catalog. It could have easily been sung by Nuage or Annalise in the 170s era. What happened to the style of songs like,“Ladies” or “I Love You like You Are”? Those stood out, but this one kinda goes by without much to say. Basically, I give it a 6+ for its vocals alone, but it really leaves much to be desired. Even by a fan boy, much as myself.
6+/10
6. Cy-Ro – Dance To The Top Of The Fire (HRG Attack)
And here we are at one of the high points of the cd. Or are we? First off; I do not wanna get lynched for changing my initial thoughts of this song. I still think it’s very good, but it does have its flaws. Let me first say, that I think it was bad judgment for AVEX to feature another Cy-Ro song so soon. I’m still enjoying BTBWIMC to the fullest and do not see the reason for this. AVEX does this a lot with the David Dima alias as well. I could suggest about 5 other songs that they could have opted for instead. “Maybe in the Dark”, “Go Go Japan Go”, or the new Stephy Martini song. Anyway, what this song does well; is its use of 5:00 minuets. Catchy Intro used in the style of “I’ll Kiss You”, powerful Synth riff and good melodies throughout the verse and bridge. Cy-Ro’s vocals also sound to be in top form. The rehash value is all over the place. That’s a good thing. What isn’t so special is the melody they chose to rehash. I hear HRG Attack songs every day and one of the most recent ones that comes to mind when I hear this new Cy-Ro song ,is “The Champion Of The Discotech” They tried something different with that song in the techno beats ,but the melody of the chorus didn’t really grab my attention. They use that same melody here. I realized; it isn’t that great when I finally caught on to it. The synth riff is great, but the chorus falls just a bit short of my expectations. Before I finish; I will praise the perfection of their middle break downs. Always perfect to a T. However; I must recognize that there is much competition from other labels on this cd and for the most part, they showcased better songs. I understand what some members mean about the “Fun” factor and this entry doesn’t have too much of that. What I don’t understand is how they can say the same thing about “Lucky Lucky”? A song that oozes the fun factor. Anyway, I’ll get to that one in part two of the review.
-8/10
7. Annalise- Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now (Sun Fire)
track 7 starts off with another Sun Fire entry. This one is from a few years back. The first thing you notice is that a lot more thought was put into the intro. It grabs the listener’s attention a lot more than the Norma Sheffield entry. This is another song that caused me to change my initial thoughts once I heard it in its entirety. This song falls under the category where a Eurobeat riff has the same melody as the chorus. Most of the time it works, but must be done carefully in order to really sound effective. I believe this Annalise song does just that. I’m really hyped to skip right to the middle breakdown, because I think this song features a rather great one. It strikes at the 3:00 minuet mark and sounds very crafty by first having the mini instrumental taken from the intro, and then having her repeat the chorus just once without backup music. What follows is yet another variation of the same mini into, before she finally repeats the bridge. It might seem simple to some, but I liked it and thought it gave the song a little different vibe from other AbeatC breakdowns that leave much to be desired. I say AbeatC, because the song was written while Sun Fire was still under that name. In the end, this is the song I think Norma Sheffield should have sung, but sounds really great by Annalise as well.
8/10
8. Mark Farina- Last Of Eurobeat (Saifam)
Which brings up to the high point of the Cd. Oh yes; this TIME I mean it. This is also the TIME for the best use of a Rehashed Eurobeat melody on the cd. I’m also proud to announce that Saifam, Boom Boom Beat, Asia records; whatever you wanna call them, showcase the best song on the disc. It is naturally TIME to praise the living hell out of a song. The last TIME I enjoyed a Saifam song above all other songs on a cd was probably the disc that featured “Disco Energy” and yes I searched for the extended till I got it. In fact this “Last of Eurobeat” takes me back to the Boom Boom Beat era. Let’s call that Asia record’s comeback era. So where do I start? How about that magnificent intro? Everything I love about the Boom Boom Beat is present. The somewhat eerie- haunting keyboards reminding, me a bit of that Tubular Belles melody. For those of you born after the fact; that’s the title of the melody of the movie; The Exorcist. There’s a little flavor of that melody in this intro. Than you have the strong synth style of songs like, “Bad World”. So far it’s a perfect recipe. Add the ultra aggressive vocals style of Mauro Farina along with a super catchy well known Eurobeat melody and you can’t go wrong. The ever present guitar sounds are also in there. You hear them blaring throughout the chorus. I will add, that this chorus is; hands down, the best I’ve heard this year and it has everything to do with the words “Boom Boom” The rest of lyrical value is just as I said. It’s about him being one of the last great Eurobeat composers, and to some extent I get the feel, he is saying he has found his fire to produce again. It’s definitely not about him leaving the Eurobeat scene. You people sometimes strike me as being super pessimistic. Anyway, I really hope this is a sign of a much awaited Saifam comeback’ with the absence of Eurobeat greats like Dall Ora and Newfield; I welcome the original master of them all. Before I heard this song in its entirety; “Spirit Of The Night” by Michelle Rose was my favourite 2013 Eurobeat song, but this song here, could easily be my top track by the end of the year. 112 repeats on my Windows player and counting. Yes; this is what I refer to, as a song to put me in the perfect Eurobeat zone.
10++++
9. Cherry – Reborn My Fire (Delta)
Next up is the song; that is also getting a lot of negative feedback from the community. Granted; it is not the best from the Cherry catalog, but again; this is the revival of Eurobeat. Well known sounds and melodies should be welcomed with more enthusiasm. This song has its flaws, but it also has some really ear catching elements. I love this style of DELTA’s songs. This particular style reminds me of one of my favs from Luke. “Turbo Disco”. She also sounds really good when they loop her saying “Fire” I love that effect and is one of the reasons I give the song more replay value. The synth riff is also really Old School. Not played at mega speed and you can appreciate its melody. It actually sounds really good with a couple of listens. It has the grow effect. Clara, for the most part sounds good. Not stellar, but also not as bad as some of you are saying. I think they might have hyped her vocals a tad in the verses, but I hear her just fine in the bridge and especially; the chorus. My gripe is the song’s length. The reason it has a somewhat uninspired rehash vibe is because it doesn’t add many special parts. Like I mentioned, rehashing can work wonders for your song, but it can also hurt it, when not chosen right. This song fails miserably in its Intro and breakdown value. First off;The break down, is practically non existent. I cannot specify a good breakdown enough if you want your song to stand out above the rest. 4:18 is way too short for a Delta song, because they don’t have enough room to spread their wings. As far as I can remember; Delta showcased perfect breakdowns for vinyl mixing throughout the start of their career, so why the sudden laziness? The intro is another aspect that sounds ultra lazy on this song and adds to its short length. It’s TIME for Capaldi and Rizzi to really start coming up with some cool ideas for intros and breaks. Call up Newfield for some advice, if that’s what it takes, but do it, because this is the type of uninspired rehashing just won’t do. It does; however have many charming parts as well. One is how Clara sounds like she says “Reburn My Fire” as opposed to what the title suggests. It’s funny, but for all the gripes I have about the songs intro and break: it really is one of my preferred tracks on the disc. Call it Fanboy-ism or whatever, but I do enjoy it while it plays.
-9/10
I'm gonna stop for now cuz after looping each song multiple TIMES during each review; I'm pretty much Eurobeat fried. the next part will feature 3 of my top songs, so it does get better
Dance In The Starlight / Ace: Solid track from Christian as usual. The composition was quite unpredictable and as such, a tad bit more exciting to listen to as compared to his other recent works. Strong hook, strong chorus and strong vocals are the highlights of this track. A definite keeper.
5/5
Lovely / Irene: An amazing song that needed absolutely none of the modifications lying around. That flaw aside, this is a strong performance. Strong vocal melody is what defines this song to me. Save the bots for April, SCP.
4.5/5
Sunlight / Kaioh: This song, is amazing! It really is. I wasn't the biggest fan of Dave Jr not too long ago, but if this type of presentations represents his future direction as a fully matured eurobeat artist rather than a child singer, then all the best to him. Strong presentation overall and need I mention, epic intro?
5/5
Strangers In The Night / David Dima: Standard Dima track. By no means able to live up to the fantastic Sunrise but gets the job done. Not a favourite as I feel it could be better, but not bad.
3/5
Gimme Love / Norma Sheffield: Never was the biggest fan of Norma but if more of her works sound like this and her debut on Sun Fire, I can see myself rapidly heading down the pro-Norma path already. An amazing song in every aspect and also, Norma sounds exceptionally good here, was A-Beat-C missing something?
5/5
Dance In The Top Of The Fire / Cy-Ro: Without taking sides, I can definitely count on one hand the number of songs I like from the label since the 200s. Even then, they never stuck around for long. An okay song, but bleh ... next.
2.5/5
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Tonight / Annalise: Been a while since the last Gordon song. I liked most of her works from the 170s and 180s (even if she was overexposed) and while it still isn't close to the near untouchable Loverboy, I still enjoyed this track quite a bit, the vocal melody (especially the verse) was striking.
4/5
Last Of Eurobeat / Mark Farina: At long last, an enjoyable 3B song! However, I still don't think it's as phenomenal as everyone is making it out to be. The energy is definitely there, and the riff is a million times more memorable than any other stuff the label shat out prior to this track but that's just about it, I never found the vocal melody to be as good as the background itself but i'll give credit where credit is due where Mauro is concerned, he is an amazing vocalist and the way he says boom boom in the chorus is like a hark back into his tried and true territory. Best 3B track in a long while definitely.
4/5
Reborn My Fire / Cherry: Bored me to tears literally. Why would I listen to this over her other songs like Anyway, Anymore or Yes I Will? I won't, and hopefully better (and newer) tracks are on it's way. Knowing Delta, they won't disappoint ... I hope.
2/5
Into The Moon / Dave & Futura: Not too shabby but it seems like most of the effort went into perfecting the background and not so much the singing parts, which quite honestly, was boring compared to songs like Sun Fire, which essentially had the best of both worlds. More of that and less of this.
3.5/5
You Could Be Mine / Dream Fighters: Better than the DD song by quite a bit, because of it's more aggressive melody, and that's about it.
4/5
Lucky Lucky / Garcon: About on par with the Cy-Ro song, same comments apply.
2.5/5
Boys Do Fall In Love / Lou Master: A long shot from his debut track, which threw me off slightly. Still, this cover grew on me pretty fast and now it's one of my most played tracks on 222. Great tune for a refreshing summer bath.
5/5
Bad Joy / Tora: Sinclaire's female tracks are mostly and push and pull affair for me. The tunes he creates are usually catchy, as this song yet again proves but I am not too fond of the technical details he opts for most of the time whether it be synth choices, tunnel voice whatever. For that, I think this song is somewhere in between. Not much else to say.
3/5
SEB 4 U (Wild Mix) / SEB All Stars feat Andrea Martongelli: Faster, and also more guitars, and Andrea Martongelli, it's fking Andrea Martongelli, need I say more.
5/5
Wild Boys Original / Rich Hard:
Ehm, no. Stick with the 221 version.
1/5
Top 3:
Sunlight / Kaioh
Dance In The Starlight / Ace
Boys Do Fall In Love / Lou Master
Bottom 3:
Reborn My Fire / Cherry
Dance In The Top Of The Fire / Cy-Ro
Lucky Lucky / Garcon
5/5
Lovely / Irene: An amazing song that needed absolutely none of the modifications lying around. That flaw aside, this is a strong performance. Strong vocal melody is what defines this song to me. Save the bots for April, SCP.
4.5/5
Sunlight / Kaioh: This song, is amazing! It really is. I wasn't the biggest fan of Dave Jr not too long ago, but if this type of presentations represents his future direction as a fully matured eurobeat artist rather than a child singer, then all the best to him. Strong presentation overall and need I mention, epic intro?
5/5
Strangers In The Night / David Dima: Standard Dima track. By no means able to live up to the fantastic Sunrise but gets the job done. Not a favourite as I feel it could be better, but not bad.
3/5
Gimme Love / Norma Sheffield: Never was the biggest fan of Norma but if more of her works sound like this and her debut on Sun Fire, I can see myself rapidly heading down the pro-Norma path already. An amazing song in every aspect and also, Norma sounds exceptionally good here, was A-Beat-C missing something?
5/5
Dance In The Top Of The Fire / Cy-Ro: Without taking sides, I can definitely count on one hand the number of songs I like from the label since the 200s. Even then, they never stuck around for long. An okay song, but bleh ... next.
2.5/5
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Tonight / Annalise: Been a while since the last Gordon song. I liked most of her works from the 170s and 180s (even if she was overexposed) and while it still isn't close to the near untouchable Loverboy, I still enjoyed this track quite a bit, the vocal melody (especially the verse) was striking.
4/5
Last Of Eurobeat / Mark Farina: At long last, an enjoyable 3B song! However, I still don't think it's as phenomenal as everyone is making it out to be. The energy is definitely there, and the riff is a million times more memorable than any other stuff the label shat out prior to this track but that's just about it, I never found the vocal melody to be as good as the background itself but i'll give credit where credit is due where Mauro is concerned, he is an amazing vocalist and the way he says boom boom in the chorus is like a hark back into his tried and true territory. Best 3B track in a long while definitely.
4/5
Reborn My Fire / Cherry: Bored me to tears literally. Why would I listen to this over her other songs like Anyway, Anymore or Yes I Will? I won't, and hopefully better (and newer) tracks are on it's way. Knowing Delta, they won't disappoint ... I hope.
2/5
Into The Moon / Dave & Futura: Not too shabby but it seems like most of the effort went into perfecting the background and not so much the singing parts, which quite honestly, was boring compared to songs like Sun Fire, which essentially had the best of both worlds. More of that and less of this.
3.5/5
You Could Be Mine / Dream Fighters: Better than the DD song by quite a bit, because of it's more aggressive melody, and that's about it.
4/5
Lucky Lucky / Garcon: About on par with the Cy-Ro song, same comments apply.
2.5/5
Boys Do Fall In Love / Lou Master: A long shot from his debut track, which threw me off slightly. Still, this cover grew on me pretty fast and now it's one of my most played tracks on 222. Great tune for a refreshing summer bath.
5/5
Bad Joy / Tora: Sinclaire's female tracks are mostly and push and pull affair for me. The tunes he creates are usually catchy, as this song yet again proves but I am not too fond of the technical details he opts for most of the time whether it be synth choices, tunnel voice whatever. For that, I think this song is somewhere in between. Not much else to say.
3/5
SEB 4 U (Wild Mix) / SEB All Stars feat Andrea Martongelli: Faster, and also more guitars, and Andrea Martongelli, it's fking Andrea Martongelli, need I say more.
5/5
Wild Boys Original / Rich Hard:
Ehm, no. Stick with the 221 version.
1/5
Top 3:
Sunlight / Kaioh
Dance In The Starlight / Ace
Boys Do Fall In Love / Lou Master
Bottom 3:
Reborn My Fire / Cherry
Dance In The Top Of The Fire / Cy-Ro
Lucky Lucky / Garcon
This. While Last of Eurobeat is the strongest of the four tracks Saifam has released in the past few months, it would be foolish to compare it to the likes of Gun Boy, Like a Fire, or Domino.the_ditz wrote:Hmm, everyone is creaming over the Mark Farina track and they seem to have forgotten all of the original tracks that he has released before which were far better.
You seem to apply the word 'style' rather broadly. Yes, every label brings to the series its own unique identity to the series, and as such, many of their songs will sound fairly similar to each other. That's common. What's NOT common, however, at least with a musical act that's still fresh and robust, is for their identity to devolve to the point where the production sucks, the melodies are disjointed, and the vocalist doesn't fit the track/barely sounds like he's even trying.drnrg wrote:The one thing we must never forget is that the labels produce a lot of songs. It's the choices that AVEX makes for SEB that someTIMES make me wonder. Don't forget all those unreleased material we have heard and thought it was well worth an SEB appearance, but never saw the light of day untill recently. I some TIMES think AVEX wants certain labels to sound a certain way and won't showcase thier more risque material? Whatever the cause; to state that a certain label's style is the cause of Eurobeat's downfall is downright outrageous. That's more like a personal feeling some of you might have, but there is nothing to back up a statement like that.
Such is the case with Hi-NRG Attack. Heck, a lot of their music sounded pretty repetitive around 2005 to 2007, but guess what? It still worked. The production was a lot meatier, the vocalists gave it their all, and the songs were handled such that the hooks stood out. Around 2008, however, the label began to decline, increasingly relying on reverby synths, stock Bb-minor progressions, poorly-guided or transparent melodies, and overexposure of a single male vocalist. My best guess for the latter is that Federico Rimonti has simply gotten too old to perform regularly on the male tracks, so the majority of them have been handed over to Nick Festari, the only remaining man in the HRG lineup. Regardless, the label has aged tremendously since it first began, and it shows in the deteriorating quality of their music. They've tried to evolve their sound to keep up with the times, but they're clearly becoming increasingly frustrated over how they can still sound relevant, and as a result, they've mostly resorted back to old, safe ideas without the ability to focus on retaining the quality of their work. Like it or not, the label's motivation has most certainly been sapped away by eurobeat's struggling popularity and frequent pressures by Avex, though the latter doesn't apply to HRG as much as it does to, say, SCP.
Hi-NRG Attack can go on producing the same, repetitive, uninspired material for years to come, but at this rate, they'll never live up to the high standards they set around the early 2000's, back when they were more prominent in the eurobeat game and had a larger repertoire of vocalists. The recurring qualities that hallmarked the label in the past may still exist, but they've been marred by the horribly sound quality and lack of creativity that's haunted them for the past few years now.
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EurothunderNL
- Eurobeat Boom
- Posts: 208
- Joined: 20 Apr 2007, 19:58
- Location: Netherlands
I don't understand why some people here are so negative about HRG in general. OK the songs AVEX picked aren't my favorites; but songs like 'Eurobeat rebirth', 'No money no honey', 'Mecha fireball', 'Shake me to the power', 'Ride no destination', 'Squeeze me', 'I bet for loving', 'The King of my heart' and lots of older digital releases ('Black jack', 'I remember'. 'Velfarre don't close your eyes', 'On the Ginza', 'Rock the music', 'I'm so desperate', 'Super tumbling torero', 'Tokyobeat', 'Loving you through the night', 'Let's fall in love together', 'Once upon in my heartache', 'Do you miss me now' etc etc etc are more than GOLD. At least to meHi-NRG Attack can go on producing the same, repetitive, uninspired material for years to come, but at this rate, they'll never live up to the high standards they set around the early 2000's
I would rather thank HRG for producing so many great tracks [and made them available through I-Tunes etc].
We couldn't have been more clear about why some of us dislike HRG, so if you still don't understand then you need to work on your reading comprehension skills.EurothunderNL wrote:I don't understand why some people here are so negative about HRG in general.
Interesting how everybody's top 3's so far consist of the same 4 songs ('Sunlight', 'Boys Do Fall In Love', 'Dance in the Starlight' or 'Last of Eurobeat') and the bottom 3's contain the same 4 songs ('Lucky Lucky', 'Dance to the Top of Fire', 'Reborn My Fire' or 'Into the Moon'). I can't name any other albums in recent memory where we've achieved consensus on the best/worst tracks of the album.
IT'S A NEW RECORD!!!Jay wrote:Interesting how everybody's top 3's so far consist of the same 4 songs ('Sunlight', 'Boys Do Fall In Love', 'Dance in the Starlight' or 'Last of Eurobeat') and the bottom 3's contain the same 4 songs ('Lucky Lucky', 'Dance to the Top of Fire', 'Reborn My Fire' or 'Into the Moon'). I can't name any other albums in recent memory where we've achieved consensus on the best/worst tracks of the album.
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