Super Eurobeat 225

Everything that is eurobeat can be discussed here.
Bonkers
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Post by Bonkers » 21 Sep 2013, 16:32

Lebon14 wrote:
Bonkers wrote:
Lebon14 wrote:I'm leaving this here:
https://soundcloud.com/lebon14/seb225albummegamix
I've said it once before: I love how you add some pitch!
I'm only speeding up the songs, haha.
That's what I meant. I love when all the tracks are set to a solid tempo in a mix (especially if they have all been pitched to a higher tempo).

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Post by Lebon14 » 21 Sep 2013, 20:29

Bonkers wrote:That's what I meant. I love when all the tracks are set to a solid tempo in a mix (especially if they have all been pitched to a higher tempo).
Indeed. I VERY rarely reduce the speed; I only do it IF it's like by 1 or 2 BPM, otherwise, pitch down just... doesn't sound good.

I will making my review later today, hopefully.
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Post by Bonkers » 21 Sep 2013, 22:34

Lebon14 wrote:
Bonkers wrote:That's what I meant. I love when all the tracks are set to a solid tempo in a mix (especially if they have all been pitched to a higher tempo).
Indeed. I VERY rarely reduce the speed; I only do it IF it's like by 1 or 2 BPM, otherwise, pitch down just... doesn't sound good.

I will making my review later today, hopefully.
Surprise! Surprise! I've actually been buying the new volumes :) I've decided to try to collect all I can.

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Post by Jay » 22 Sep 2013, 02:44

'Maybe One Day' by Karen is head and shoulders above nearly every other song on the album, which is quite a feat considering its age. One of the best that Karen has ever sung.

Delta was the other clear winner on the album with 'Fairy Tale' and 'Don't Forget.' Seems like they are finally getting their groove back!

The big losers were Sunfire and SCP. 'Magic Sunday'... What on earth is that? As for SCP, very disappointing all around, especially the Go 2 song. Another blemish, together with 'Samurai Blue,' on an otherwise stellar resume for the duo.

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Post by Lebon14 » 23 Sep 2013, 00:45

Well, here we go. I'll try to keep it short.

01. "Never Say Never" by Manuel (Go Go's Music) [4:26]
I was one that thought this was SCP and I was rightfully corrected by the booklet that says Go Go's Music. Oh well. The real feature of this track is that the track is written by Manuel himself. The song itself is VERY powerful. The intro kicks off gradually and a signature ding-a-ling is heard then the power kicks in, then into the riff. The riff is killer, backed up with powerful vocals. Talking of, they are a double-edge sword in my opinion: they are powerful and really show off Manuel's range, talent and vocal quality however, helf notes kind of fall on my nerves a little bit. Overall, great composition and good (but not great) guitar solo.

Rating: 9

02. "Adrenaline" by Ace (SCP) [4:24]
Another? Ace sure is active these days. What to say... I don't have has much to say as Manuel's song. I guess it's a middle of the road production. The riff is good, vocals do give the song's name justice. Melody is very good, though. Melody's highlight would be those spoken back up vocals which really adds depth and catchiness. Too bad that they only are in the intro. Overall, not a bad song. Really not!

Rating: 8.5

03. "Maybe One Day" by Karen (A-Beat-C) [4:05]
From the drawer, another A-Beat-C track. This song defines perfectly why I want more unreleased songs to be released. This is a gem. Quite literally. The production is very good. The intro is much more above average for an A-Beat-C song; not exactly the most exciting but not the boring stuff we usually hear. Melodies are catchy and good sounding. Vocals are powerful, catchy and lively. The riff is very good and powerful. Overall, this is really an A-Beat-C song to keep playing and enjoy!

Rating: 9

04. "Magic Sunday" by Dave Rodgers Feat. Futura (SunFire) [4:03]
Let the fillers start! Well... filler is a pretty big word. This is still an okay song by my standards. The melodies are weird sounding; that includes the riff. The vocals are good but not exceptional. I feel that the song as a whole to be "cheap" sounding. Can't shake off that feeling.

Rating : 7½

05. "Baby Tonight" by Tipsy & Tipsy (Asia/BBB) [5:31]
First and foremost, this song grew on me since the time I previewed this track on Junodownload but not to the point of thinking that it's a msterpiece today. My gripe still to this day with this track is the riff. Really weird sounding and an annoyance, to be honest. BBB has done much better riff in the past. Beside that, the chorus is a bit lackluster. Then, I've got nothing else to say actually.

Rating: 7½

06. "I Just Wanna Stay With You" by Dream Fighters (Dima) [5:01]
Well, Davide time. I'll say this outright: pretty good track. I liked the melody used at the beginning and during the entire track. The riff is pretty good and the song ends with a proper riff and outro instead of dropping the ball at the end of a chorus. YES, I,ve been editing quite a bit of Dima songs to add an extra riff lately but I digress. If I had to make a complain would be the vocal performance. Sounds a bit sub-par. Overall, I think that's a good song but lack the "catchy" effect.

Rating: 8½


07. "Fairy Tale" by Cherry (Delta) [5:24]
A new Cherry song that I like? AND slow paced? Indeed. I really like this track overall: the riff is awesome, melodies are really good and vocal performance. The only negative point is the chorus point that sounds sub-par. However, I don't think this song is as good as Set Me Free and Yes I Will but it's certain that this track is much better than most of Delta tracks this year.

Rating : 9½

08. "Kool Kitten" by Franz Tornado (Hi-NRG Attack) [5:15]
HOLY SHIT. This is the track where I rape the repeat button. This is what happen when Hi-NRG Attack put some efforts in their tracks! The riff is the most exciting of the whole compilation in my opinion. I like it the effect they used to start some of the riff portions, the repeat of the first beat. I like the stutter too. Oh man... too much awesome. Just too much aweosmness.

Rating: 10

09. "You Got Me Boom! Boom!" by Tora (SinclaireStyle) [4:49]
What's up with this intro? I hear a jingle that comes from some Hyper Techno songs. Then the riff comes in gradually. To be perfectly honest, this riff kind of falls of nerve especially the part when they raise the pitch and when they repeat the same note. It's a shame that the intro and riff are botched because beside that, it's catchy. Well, botched... that's a big word. It's not the most annoying I've heard. Anyway, overall, it's a very good song pretty much ruined by the intro and riff but I still keep the score high because of the other factors in the song.

Rating: 8

10. "Don't Forget" by Paul Harris (Delta) [5:04]
Two good Delta tracks in the same album? It's a miracle! I'll get it out right now, though: this is no Dreamlover but pretty close though. The intro starts boring but if you keep listening, an amazing riff, melodies, sweet and lovely vocals comes in. The perfect mix of all those makes this song very enjoyable. Good job, Delta.

Rating: 9½

11. "Moonlight Hero" by Ultraviolet (Dima) [5:06]
First, I kinda regret to have act like I did toward DarkSky because I was kind of hyped for this track being a new alias and all. Did my hype live up? Well, not really. Beside the okay riff, this is like listening to a child lullaby to be honest. Just the way "Moonlight Hero" is sung just make me think of that. Overall, what this song really lacks is catchiness all around. Nothing make me want to keep coming back to it. Bad song? No, not at alll, but I just can't come back to it because the catchy factor is just missing plus that children melody chorus doesn't encourage me at all.

Rating : 7

12. "Give Me Your Heaven" by Ciao Ciao (Hi-NRG Attack) [5:16]
Oh yeah. Another Hi-NRG Attack song where theya ctually put effort into! It automatically shows in the riff by using different instruments than the usual and more generic tracks we got in the past volumes. However, I don't think it lives up to Kool Kitten, though. It's a good song but the verses throws me off; something about the pitch of the vocals. Great effort!

Rating: 8½

13. "Fantasy Car" by Powerful T. (SunFire) [4:26]
The song I forgot in my album mix! Why? Because it's forgettable? No, not really. It's a good song. Definitely better than Magic Sunday. It's a shame that I forgot about it, then. However, it's far from being a masterpiece. Those SunFire sounds still sound cheap and I'm kind of starting to miss the maturity of A-Beat-C's. I think that's where Powerful T. shined with A-Beat-C most... Good song but nothing exciting.

Rating: 7½

14. "Beat Around" by Les & Megan (SinclaireStyle) [5:00]
I love how the song starts. It feels like both are on a stage in front of fans. Double riffs? Fuck yeah. This is pretty much the best track of the two Sinclaire entries by far. two catchy riffs, catchy melodies and good vocals all around. What more can I ask for?

Rating : 9½

15. "Hot Hot Racin' Car" by Go 2 (SCP) [4:30]
The last track. This song was also released in SEB Presents Initial D Fifth Stage D Non-Stop Selection Vol.2 where I thought this is great and all but... megamix version! So, I was kind of worried about the extended but, fortunately, it was released here. Have I been disappointed in the full version? Not really. The intro reminded me of Looka Bomba's and the pitched up and accelerating riff made me think of Don't Turn It Off's slow down. Talking of, the riff is pretty good but nothing special. The song overall is good but nothing special beside the points I've already talked about.

Rating: 8½

Overall, this is a good album. There are no really weak song. SCP offered okay stuff. Delta and Hi-NRG Attack really shined here. The A-Beat-C song was a really great diamond from the drawer. SunFire was probably the weakest link. Dima was not bad but not very good either. Sinclaire offered a good show along with Manuel's track and Asia... well, it's okay I guess. Could definitely much better. Overall, this album is much better than the catastophe that was SEB224.

Overall rating : 8½

Top 3:
Fairy Tale / Cherry
Kool Kitten / Franz Tornado
Don't Forget / Paul Harris

Honorable Mention :
Never Say Never / Manuel

Bottom 3:
Moonlight Hero / Ultraviolet
Magic Sunday / Dave Rodgers Feat. Futura
Baby Tonight / Tipsy & Tipsy
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Post by drnrg » 23 Sep 2013, 03:59

Good review.
I must say it also shows some added maturaty from past reviews where someTIMES it would read "No! Just NO!" haha!

Good points about the songs where they shine or fail makes for good review.

It is a very good compilation of songs. 8)

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Post by Akira » 23 Sep 2013, 14:15

I was so disappointed when I first listened to SEB 225 ;_; In my opinion, it's the weakest album of this year. So, my short review:

01. Never Say Never /Manuel: Loving that riff, but I've never really liked Manuel's opera-styled vocals. Too much shouting for my taste. Pretty good, though.

02. Adrenaline /Ace: I can hear some pop-dance elements in there, and I really like them. However, the song itself is weaker than other SCP songs this year.

03. Maybe One Day /Karen: It's my favourite song of this album, but I don't think that's really a good sign. Is current eurobeat so boring and weak that my favourite track from this album is actually an old track? Fortunately, SEB 221-224 covers up this mess.

04. Magic Sunday /Dave Rodgers feat. Futura: Right after Maybe One Day, I can't help but miss the good old days of ABeatC. I don't really like SunFire.

05. Baby Tonight /Tipsy & Tipsy: Don't like the riff. Don't like the style. Not the worst song of this album, though.

06. I Just Wanna Stay With You /David Dima: Not bad, but just too forgettable.

07. Fairy Tale /Cherry: An okay track, in my opinion.

08. Kool Kitten /Franz Tornado: I just didn't like this track at all. Especially the stuttering effect. The riff is fine, though.

09. You Got Me Boom! Boom! /Tora: I had expected more from the previews... The introduction is just boring.

10. Don't Forget /Paul Harris: Ironically, I wasn't looking at the tracklist when I started reviewing the album and I forgot this song. Sorry, Paul Harris!

11. Moonlight Hero /Ultraviolet: Don't really like it... No matter how much I listen to it, it doesn't "grow" on me... Just the opposite, the more I listen to it, the more bored I get.

12. Give Me Your Heaven /Ciao Ciao: I really like the effort Hi-NRG Attack has put on this track. Really catchy. However, Hi-NRG Attack has produced better songs this year.

13. Fantasy Car /Powerful T.: Okay, kill me, but I've just never really liked Powerful T.... That aside, it's an okay track.

14. Beat Around /Les & Megan: I love the introduction. I don't like the rest of the song.

15. Hot Hot Racin' Car /Go2: Loving this song but I just hate the part where the riff starts speeding up and then the song sort of "stops".
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Post by WNight » 23 Sep 2013, 16:04

So the Karen track is currently getting near universal praises even from people I least expect to. Man, you guys just surprise me sometimes. :P

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Post by Darkholme » 23 Sep 2013, 16:44

I expected a bit more from Fairy Tale. With that said, it's still pretty good.
I really liked the first 3 tracks, I get a lot of metal vibes from Never Say Never and Manuel's voice fits it well. Favourite track is probably Don't Forget or Maybe One Day, need to listen more to it 8)

All in all, a solid album but far from 224. I'll be listening to most songs from that album for a long time ahead!

I was a bit disappointed by Sinclaire Style, I didn't get much into the Tora track and Beat Around was good but I still expected more. I won't blame them, though. Beating both Prayer and Pull The Trigger is gonna be really difficult

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Post by the_ditz » 23 Sep 2013, 17:50

After the first listen, the only tracks that really stood out were Never Say Never, Adrenaline and Beat Around (which is no surprise really, as they were the top samples I thought).

The Karen track is inoffensive but far from classic A-Beat C as far as I'm concerned. Really don't get why everyone is going gaga over it! :???:

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Post by Bonkers » 23 Sep 2013, 20:17

the_ditz wrote: The Karen track is inoffensive but far from classic A-Beat C as far as I'm concerned. Really don't get why everyone is going gaga over it! :???:
It's Karen. The vocals are loud and forceful.

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Post by #Infinity » 24 Sep 2013, 02:40

the_ditz wrote:After the first listen, the only tracks that really stood out were Never Say Never, Adrenaline and Beat Around (which is no surprise really, as they were the top samples I thought).
What about Fairy Tale? You loved Clara Moroni's two songs from SEB 222 and 223, so why is this the forgettable one of the three? If anything, it's her only truly great work so far this decade, while her other two are boring and disjointed.

I agree with your notion about the Karen track, though. I'm honestly not a big fan of hers, as she would always tend to go off-key, as if she either didn't have strong lungs or just sang way too hard for her own good. Maybe One Day is probably one of her better works from her catalogue, but it's pretty standard stuff for the time it was recorded (probably around 2002, based on the production style).

Anyway, I just finished listening through this album, and it's definitely stronger than SEB 222, but not quite up with 221 or 224 for me personally. My favorite songs are still the two Delta tracks, but I'm also highly impressed by Never Say Never. Most of the other presentations here are rather solid but not phenomenal. Luckily, the only two real misses are Dream Fighters and Tora, but I'd still probably only listen to a few of these songs several times in the future. Overall, I'd probably rank this CD about the same as SEB 223, sort of a midway-level release between strong and disappointing.


1. Never Say Never / Manuel: 9/10
2. Adrenaline / Ace: 6/10
3. Maybe One Day / Karen: 7.5/10
4. Magic Sunday / Dave Rodgers feat. Futura: 7/10
5. Baby Tonight / Tipsy & Tipsy: 8.5/10
6. I Just Wanna Stay with You / Dream Fighters: 4.5/10
7. Fairy Tale / Cherry: 9.5/10
8. Kool Kitten / Franz Tornado: 6.5/10
9. You Got Me Boom! Boom! / Tora: 4/10
10. Don’t Forget / Paul Harris: 10/10
11. Moonlight Hero / UltraViolet: 6.5/10
12. Give Me Your Heaven / Ciao Ciao: 8/10
13. Fantasy Car / Powerful T.: 6/10
14. Beat Around / Les & Megan: 6.5/10
15. Hot Hot Racin’ Car / Go 2: 8/10

Top 3:

1. Don't Forget / Paul Harris
2. Fairy Tale / Cherry
3. Never Say Never / Manuel

Bottom 3:

1. You Got Me Boom! Boom! / Tora
2. I Just Wanna Stay with You / Dream Fighters
3. Fantasy Car / Powerful T.

Honorable Mention:
- Baby Tonight / Tipsy & Tipsy
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Post by Jay » 24 Sep 2013, 05:41

#Infinity wrote:I agree with your notion about the Karen track, though. I'm honestly not a big fan of hers, as she would always tend to go off-key, as if she either didn't have strong lungs or just sang way too hard for her own good. Maybe One Day is probably one of her better works from her catalogue, but it's pretty standard stuff for the time it was recorded (probably around 2002, based on the production style).
I disagree.

I am not afraid to state that Karen has put out some incredibly dire songs with shoddy vocal work ('Lost in the World' and 'Love Forever' spring to mind), but 'Maybe One Day' and her other recent SEB inclusion 'Evergreen' are a clear step up from those. There is a stark difference in the effort and energy that she is investing into those particular songs. Just makes me wonder why these two Karen songs were not released much earlier in place of some of her more mediocre ones.

On its own merits, though, 'Maybe One Day' competes well with the solid A-Beat C productions released during the 2002-3 period and holds up nicely against the contemporaries on this album with blissful vocal work and beautiful sounds. Sure, the song is a step or two below 'Sunday' and 'Beautiful Day,' but I doubt it was meant to be anything more than decent eurobeat. The song also serves as a nice point of contrast between the loudness of certain songs on the album like 'Never Say Never' (which, for the record, sounded far better in the sample than in full).

Also, 'standard' is a subjective term; your interpretation of that term may be completely different to somebody else's. Speaking of which, I found it interesting how you gave 'Baby Tonight' an 8.5/10, which you stated was a standard Saifam fare earlier in this thread, yet you gave it a noticeably higher rating than the Karen song, which you also considered 'standard.' Curious to know what the rationale behind that is.

By the way, my ratings:
  1. NEVER SAY NEVER / MANUEL: B
  2. ADRENALINE / ACE: B+
  3. MAYBE ONE DAY / KAREN: A
  4. MAGIC SUNDAY / DAVE & NUAGE: F
  5. BABY TONIGHT / TIPSY & TIPSY: B
  6. I JUST WANNA STAY WITH YOU / DREAM FIGHTERS: D
  7. FAIRY TALE / CHERRY: B+
  8. KOOL KITTEN / FRANZ TORNADO: B
  9. YOU GOT ME BOOM! BOOM! / TORA: C
  10. DON'T FORGET / PAUL HARRIS: A
  11. MOONLIGHT HERO / ULTRAVIOLET: D+
  12. GIVE ME YOUR HEAVEN / CIAO CIAO: C
  13. FANTASY CAR / POWERFUL T.: C+
  14. BEAT AROUND / LES & MEGAN: C
  15. HOT HOT RACIN' CAR / GO 2: D
Top 3:
  1. MAYBE ONE DAY / KAREN
  2. DON'T FORGET / PAUL HARRIS
  3. ADRENALINE / ACE
Bottom 3:
  1. MAGIC SUNDAY / DAVE & FUTURA
  2. I JUST WANNA STAY WITH YOU / DREAM FIGHTERS
  3. HOT HOT RACIN' CAR / GO 2
Last edited by Jay on 24 Sep 2013, 06:20, edited 2 times in total.

#Infinity
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Post by #Infinity » 24 Sep 2013, 06:13

Jay wrote:
#Infinity wrote:I agree with your notion about the Karen track, though. I'm honestly not a big fan of hers, as she would always tend to go off-key, as if she either didn't have strong lungs or just sang way too hard for her own good. Maybe One Day is probably one of her better works from her catalogue, but it's pretty standard stuff for the time it was recorded (probably around 2002, based on the production style).
I disagree.

I am not afraid to state that Karen has put out some incredibly dire songs with shoddy vocal work ('Lost in the World' and 'Love Forever' spring to mind), but 'Maybe One Day' and her other recent SEB inclusion 'Evergreen' are a clear step up from those. There is a stark difference in the effort and energy that she is investing into those particular songs. Just makes me wonder why these two Karen songs were not released much earlier in place of some of her more mediocre ones.
I'm not comparing Maybe One Day to Karen's other, more recent songs when I call it "standard." Against junk like Lost in the World, I agree that Maybe One Day and Evergreen are huge steps up. Rather, I'm particularly referring to other A-Beat C songs that were produced around the same time as Maybe One Day, particularly from around the late 120's and early 130's. In relation to something like Matt Land's Overload (SEB 129) or Dave & Karen's Contact (SEB 131), Maybe One Day isn't particularly remarkable or original.

The ironic thing is that the particular time period during which Evergreen and Maybe One Day were produced was probably the highest point of Karen's whole career at A-Beat C. Aside from the Dave Rodgers duet above, Don't Play with Me (Euromach 15) and Open Your Heart for Another Story (SEB 134) are also among my favorite tracks she's ever appeared in. Though Maybe One Day is still better than about 90 percent of Karen's other works, it's still probably the least of all the songs that featured her from around that era.
Jay wrote:Also, 'standard' is a subjective term; your interpretation of that term may be completely different to somebody else's. Speaking of which, I found it interesting how you gave 'Baby Tonight' an 8.5/10, which you stated was a standard Saifam fare earlier in this thread, yet you gave it a noticeably higher rating than the Karen song, which you also considered 'standard.' Curious to know what the rationale behind that is.
I didn't rate Baby Tonight that much higher than Maybe One Day. On my scale, a 7.5 out of 10 is still pretty good; it's just not on the same awe-inspiring level as something like Burning Like Fire for me personally. Baby Tonight is still a highly satisfying piece, but it doesn't stray too heavily from the norm for Asia Records, so it isn't quite the masterpiece that, say, Yellow Butterfly is.
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Post by the_ditz » 24 Sep 2013, 07:07

Fairy Tale is quite enjoyable on the whole (I enjoy the melodies a lot) but I was so disappointed by the poor vocal work from Clara. There are a number of sections where her voice comes off sounding childish and distinctly off-key, so that obviously affects my overall impression of the song.

I only gave the full album a quick listen through, so the 3 tracks I mentioned were those that had the instant hook that I like (although Adrenaline isn't without its faults too). I'm sure upon further listens, things will change a little ;)

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