I think it's TIME for another positive review of this cd. There are alot of different sounds and ideas put into this compilation. A couple of older names made a return as well as new artists makiing thier debut. It's probobly just me, but lately I get the feel that these newer SEBs sound more like a Eurobeat Flash collection more than an SEB. There are way more Uplifting(for lack of a better word) songs featured here than a traditional SEB. It also has to do with appearance of more Saifam & HRG Attack and less ABeatC and Eurogrooves; oh and let's not forget the two last remixes as well. The initial let down is the absence of Eurogrooves, but in the end the two HRG Attack songs and Manuel gave me the same feel as when 191 came out and I was pleasantly pleased. I remember liking the Go2 song that everyone else seemed to bash, because the group tried something new. It still had Eurobeat soundworlds, but much slower ,so I'm not surprise in the end I like the Manuel more than others do? What's great about these newer cds is the surprise factor. I Usually like the songs that stand out by previews alone, but in the end I end up enjoying some of the other ones as well. A crappy preview can sound so much better once I hear that intro, which is the case with many of the songs featured on this cd. So let's get to it. Dr.NRGs review of SEB 204.
01.
JAGER /
I WON'T FALL APART
SCP once again has the honour to start up the party. This TIME we get the newest addition to the label's stable; Mike Snap. I'm going to go ahead and say that this guy's vocals sound very weird at first listen. He kinda reminded me of Mike Jay's vocals from TIME. Another singer with such awesome songs that I kinda really got into his odd vocals in the end. This song kinda takes a poppy path here. It's catchy and has good singalong value, but I expected a little more style like "Speed Car". The intro is very good and takes a page from traditial SCP. The soundworlds; mainly percussion instruments, sound like Jay Lehr style and the riff is very strong. The whole song is infact a good SCP bouncer. You got the whoa whoas, strong riff and catchy chorus, but other than that, it kinda goes by too quickly. It doesn't even have a bridge to the chorus, just kinda jumps it right from the verse. I attribute these slight flaws to the fact that it is too short for an extended version. Comon, at least work it up to 5 mins. Finally as I allready mentioned ,his vocal ability is kinda off and sounds even more so in the somewhat irritating part after the chorus; where he inserts lines after each whoa whoa. I didn't particularly care this part and could have been ommitted for a stronger Eurobeat song. Add to the fact that the break, sounded promising ,but is too short to enjoy. I think Sergio Dall Ora should really school SCP in the intro and break department.LOL! In the end I was satisfied with the song, but it doesn't have the lasting value of such powerhouses like "Speed Car" and "Go Beat Gun" and is in no way ,the gem of this cd.
8-/10
02.
STELLA /
FOREVER FLY
Right from the first note of this song, I kinda got the feeling I was listening to some sort of Eurogrooves/SCP mash up. I was expecting Elena Ferreti to start singing.
I think the intro should have been longer to really introduce the beauty of the riff. :30 second intros just lack somthing. Not to say that this song is bad; infact ,it's my favourite SCP entry on this cd. It's a typical Aishu SCP number, but it really emphasiszes on the aishu soundworlds that I love. No tech sounds to ruin the atmosphere and Stella herself sounds really amazing. The chorus is really uplifting and the last part right after the riff is classic style I would expect from TIME. I even thought of Hely's "Forever Sad" See the similiarities in titles? The break with the "Forever Fly" whisper is great ,but again should have been longer and played around with a bit. This really is a gem of a song. So much that I had to go back and listen to her first song just to see what I overlooked the first TIME. SCP presents us with thier first perfect grade on the cd. BTW I noticed a couple of new names in the credits. E.Scarpa - P.Scarpa. I say use them more often for SCP aishu style Eurobeat.
10-/10
03.
POWERFUL T. /
FACE THE RACE
Next we get the return of Powerful T.? Or so AVEX would have us belive that he is indeed still active? Let's start off with the intro, which is an important part of any song. This one starts off very powerful. Even using hard guitars style like Toby Vale's "Heartbreaker", but soon after takes a different path and goes a very poppy route. It's not bad and sounds very 80's, but sounds a bit off ,especially when that MEGAA powerful riff kicks in. This is where the song gets most of it's POWER from, cuz the melody in the verses and bridge takes a backseat and almost goes by unnoticed. It's a shame because aside from the riff; this song has an amazing chorus. I can't put into words ,but the guitar effects during the part where he says "race" are exactly what you would expect fromn a Powerful T. song. Agression to it's max! Too bad the rest of the song is missing that overall aggressive vibe. Another part that sounds great is the everpresent guitar solo. What's funny is that the overall break part of the song sounds like a melody from a Dave/x female aishu duet. I think this part could have been more aggresive to really give me the Racing feel of the song. Hopefully we will have another Powerful T. in the future with All the right elements, but for now this one goes down as a desent Powerful T. entry.
8-/10
04.
LOLITA /
GOOD LOVE AND MYSTERY
Wow! We are to one of the first surprises for me on this cd. Lolita's style has never really been my cup of tea. I can name all her prefered songs in one hand. My favourite being "Cooling My Desire", So I wasn't really expecting too much from this entry. What blew me away is that this song starts up with a powerul and somewhat aggressive intro for a GGMs song, so I immediatley got into it's groove. By the TIME the riff started playing, I knew not to expect any screamy/Screachy vocals, but rather a pretty great track. The part that really caught me off guard was the bridge. I love the way the music is dropped during this part and I love the way she sounds singing Over & Lover. It also really introduces the catchy chorus even more. They use this music drop effect again in the beginning of the second and third verse. and finally in the last chorus. I guess I really appreciate the labels percussion once the chaotic synths are dropped. I feel the same way about alot of HRG's songs, that is why I love thier intros even more. I guess I'll start counting my Lolita hits on my other hand if her songs are gonna showcase a bit more power.
9/10
05.
MANUEL /
ALL IS MAGIC
We are up to my favourite track off this cd. This song oozes all kinds of Epic value and I'm not surprise its from DiMarcantonio. First off, I was a huge fan of Manuel's "All The Best" so it comes to no surprise that this song blows the rest of the entries on this cd out of the water. Right from the start you can listen to Dima's expirimentation by borrowing a bit from Beatles- "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". Sung intros are allways possessing that Epic feel and Manuel's vocals inject just the right kinda power in this kinda Aishu song. Even the whispers sound great. I notice that while it has a definate Aishu vibe; the instruments are played in a very powerful syle. The backing soundworlds and percussion throughout the song give me a "chuga chuga" vibe. Kinda like a train. Very 80s and seldom used in this manner. An 80s Italo Fan should immediatly feel the groove of the song. The synths are used Italo style and in different ways throughout the verses. They accompany Manuel's everchanging vocal range perfectly and all his shout outs are spot on for this type of song. Oh yes and this song has an 80s new wave break that showcases yet another idea in the third verse by dropping the music and using aggressive guitars to emphasize and remind us that we are not listening to a aishu song. Not at all, but rather a powerful track that wouldn't sound out of place next to any 90s Italo gem. Hopefully Dima and Manuel will team up and create more "MAGIC" like this in the future for Manuel to sing. Amazing first showing for this promising new composer. I wonder if the inital dislike from other fans is because he left GGMs or because they really feel the song is that bad? Anyway, the definate HIT for this new cd up untill the final magic whispers.
10+++/10
06.
MELA /
SANDY
Second surprise of the cd comes from one of the songs that did absolutly nothing for me when I first heard the preview. I had basically written it off as some crappy happyhardcore offering from Saifam, but to my suprise, it turns to be one of my favs from the cd. and this cd has many. First off, you gotta understand the whole idea behind the song to truly appreciate it. She kinda letting the guy know she is one and only and the one of his dreams. "the one he has never met before" Even the roars and cheers in the intro are kinda giving off her high self assurance feel of the lyrics. Man, and that intro is classic Saifam done the right way. The bass guitars and those synths are in perfect harmony. I can see Mela comming out on the stage and doing this performance especially for her guy who seems to be in the audience. The overall uplifting atmosphere is exactly what was missing from some of Saifam's creations in the last few years. Not only the girl, but the song sounds like no other. Not your typical Saifam. Not by long shot. That intro returns and just at the right TIME to introduce yet another different one-TIME only part of the song. Pianos ,vocal sampleings and chear effects make this one one of Saifams best good feel songs in years. Kinda like "Chilly Boy", but a bit slower to fit the TIMEs. A perfect summer song.
10/10
07.
DANNY ROCK /
RAINBOW
The fact that this ong follows Sandy really gives it that "umph" to make it sound even better, but since I already own this song, the initial hype is gone. I was never a huge fan of this one. It's fast and uplifting, showcases great guitars and the perfect vocals of Mauro Farina, but just sounded too much like all thier songs comming out during that period, that it didn't really have a lasting effect on me. The fact that this song has a rather crappy technoish break that goes nothing at all with the rest of the song's atmosphere, gives it even less replay value. It's a fun song to listen to especially if your still on the "Sandy" high, but Saifam can do better.
7+/10
08.
CINDY /
SQUEEZE ME
We are up to one of my highlights of the cd. This has everything to do that I was promised new exciting HRG Attack with diiferent ideas from it's preview...and this song delivers. I admit that I've been on an HRG Attack high these days ever since they started releasing thier unreleased songs on Juno. I've especially been enjoying Cindy's songs, "Russian Gangsters" and "Try My Sister", so it's no surprise that I started liking this song right from it's intro. There are about 5 different ideas used in that intro alone. The riff is typical HRG Attack, but from the catchy good stuff. What you really gotta listen for is all the raw piano notes injected during the verses and the very subtle piano beats in the chorus. HRG Attack always have powerful choruses and this one really gives off the feeling that Cindy wants to be squeezed hard by her man. Her vocals sound great and it's great to hear some decently pitched female vocals now adays. My favourite verse is the third one ; where you can hear the soundworlds at a more crisp value. Meaning they turn down the mono effect a bit. One can really enjoy the labe'ls songs even more now that they are in extended. One of the best parts is right after the third chorus ending with an aggressive guitar note and going into the last break effect. This is HRG Attack expirimenting and you can hear it in the different instruments and effects used in the song and I'm glad they at least got rid of the Christmasy chimebell effects used a few years ago.
10/10
09.
PAUL HARRIS /
BANG BANG
We are up to another Paul Harris song on the series. Sadly enough this one doesn't provide the same excitement "Dream Lover" had for me on SEB 202. As far as can remeber The word "Bang" or any other way it's used in a song has guaranteed me a powerful aggressive song that I immediatetly concider a stand out on any SEB. Think of past songs like. Bang bang Bang, Bang bang Boom Boom, Bang Bang, Bang Bang For Your Love,Bang bang Crashing...ect.. and that spells certified hit for me. So where does this song go wrong? Let's start with the intro. I'm officially sick of this rehashed intro and wouldn't mind if I didn't hear it for another five years. Are they offecially out of ideas for intros at DELTA or what? The cool part is the repeating of Bang Bang, but then I get the feeling I'm gonna listen to Big Bad & Hot Love for the 100th TIME and this is supposed to be a brand new song. Also we have some very mediorce melodies in the verses and bridge that sound anything , but BANG BANG. The chorus itself is barely passable for the kind of aggressive vibe I expect from a BANG BANG themed song. The phrase "Bang Bang" just doesn't take center stage in the chorus and Paul sounds too bored to pull it off. This the same guy who sang
Iron Man? Where is the power in Luks's vocals when he really needed them?
6+/10
10.
MELISSA WHITE /
PROMISED DISCOLAND
Luckily a cool disco feel of a song follows that DELTA train wreck. This TIME we have Mellisa White with an older unreleased song as SCP's third showing on the cd. This one goes down as one of my favs from her. The intro is cool , but again should have been longer. I'm pretty sure I would like thier songs even more if they extended thier intros form half a minuit to a full 60 seconds. The melody of this song follows very much that one of "One Touch" .Especially during the verses. It could have easily been pulled off by Jay Lehr as well. Here, Mellisa sounds great and this song also sounds like it could have been a big hit in 80s. The strong synths injected after each TIME she says "Promised Disco Land" are giving the song even more incredible power and really give the song that 80s Hi Energy feel. The song also features a good break and perfect Bridge that showcases my favourite last chorus, where for a split second right after she says Promised Discoland, you hear an amazing synth effect that is used only once in the whole song. Finally a good outro puts this song in the near perfect grade on this cd. Hopefully 7a will find more hidden gems like this one in SCPs unreleased archives.
9/10
11.
JOE BANANA /
CATACLYSM NIGHT
This song gets chaotic insanity award of the year. From it's crazy title to it's overthetop sound effects, it has to be one of HRG's most expirirmental creations this year. I'm at a,loss with words of how great this song turned out. I think I have only heard the robotic effects on an HRG Attack song a number of TIME's and right now I can't reacall where, but it's immediatley giving this song that fresh vibe. Joe Banana has certainly been buisy belting out hit after hit. I think this would have been a perfect TIME to ressurect the Steve Tempest title, as this song very much follows that same choatic/criminal melody. This is one of HRG Attack newest versatile trax. They keep the same Dead Or Alive melodic vibe, but throw us off guard with a totally uplifting chorus. It's that chorus that is giving the song it's incredible melodic power. For those of you who remember "I'm Your Gangster" also by Joe, you will hear where the song gets it's choatic melody style from. That is one of my favourite Joe songs for it's pure gothic value, so it's no surprise I went completely nuts over this song. this one lowers the mono effect a tad more than the Cindy song, so you can really get a crisp sound and there are no irritating hyped female vocals to ruin the atmosphere. You can really hear all this differences in the new HRG Attack material and I'm for one am hyped at all the new effects this song has. The choatic synths are still present but don't overshadow the melody; not even in the riff, which uses a slightly different approach in the way it's played and by the last TIME the break comes around we are treated to a great drum roll which introduces the last chorus perfectly. This is HRG Attack at thier chaotic creative peak. Pure Insanity, as one member put it, but done perfectly. looking very forwad to Cy-Ro's new song which looks to be sung by festari as well.
10/10
12.
M.O.V. feat. FRANKIE /
HEAT ME UP
Its TIME to suck it up & down!
I don't know about Nine getting the "head" feel in the Lolitas song, but I'm sure getting the vibe in this song. It's subtle, but first he says shake it up & down and then he says suck it up & down. This song oozes all sorts of sexual innuendo vibes and partly the reason I enjoyed it so much. Another would be it's overall aggressive melody that remnded me of older DELTA material like
Alien Light and
Tsunami Comes. This is what
Bang Bang should have tried to at least sound like. The vocalist, who sounds new; has that aggressive sound I so much adore in male vocalists. There is a heavy Italian accent in there and I wouldn't be surprised if it was Roby himself taking the mic. there absolutly no flaws in this song at all and just keeps injecting more and more power with each passing second. It has everything I like in a song, great intro, outro, chorus, riff and even that much coveted break with old school vocal sampling. even Clara sounds great sampled as she says NNNight. I Really hope Roby starts dishhing out some more fresh material at DELTA. I know this one is older unreleased music,but DAMN does it hit the spot, much like a good B.J. would
10/10
That pretty much ends the collection for me, since these two next songs are wasted space IMOP. Warning:Short reviews uphead
13.
MAX /
TORA TORA TORA <2010>
Never cared for the original, so I care even less for this Japanese remix. The whoos are irritating to the
MAX and I'm being sarcastic by using the group's name here. The rest just goes by with no impact on me whatsoever, cuz it has no singalong value. Not even the
Running In The 90s effects can save it. It just sounds so dated and club related, so I say skip it.
5/5
14.
Ace/
Don't Stop The Dance [Vintage 2001 Deluxe Edition]
There is nothing vintage about this song whatsoever. I mean the song isn't horrible persay, but doesn't belong on an SEB series with a reputation for dishing out fast catchy music. Will that one Westerner actually purchase this cd at $34 bucks for this song alone? I seriously doubt it, but any way on the bright side, Ace sounds good and I like the continuous piano beats, but the Chorus is too Backstreet boys like and not from the good end. It inspires no dancing whatsoever. The song also features some wicked violine notes ,but only for a mere moment. In the end I would rate it high on a pop song value. Much better than all that Lady Gaga, Jason Deluro, Kie$ha crap Westerners listen to that's fur sure.
0/10(on Eurobeat scale)
8+/10(on a pop scale)
Best Three
All Is Magic- Manuel
Cataclysm Night- Joe Banana
Heat Me Up- M.O.V feat. Frankie
Bottom Three
Tora Tora Tora- Max <2010>
Bang Bang- Paul Harris
Rainbow- Danny Rock
Honourable Mention
Sandy- Mela
A very surprising cd that I eneded up liking a lot more than I ever thought I would. I basically love all kinds of Eurobeat, so these are the collections I love from SEB. A perfect summer vibe with a lot of expirimenting ,but never sounding like another genre. Lets hope 205 follows a similiar path.
