How have your impressions of the 180's changed overtime?

[#Infinity]

Since reviews are generally posted immediately after an album has been released, we don't really give very much long-term feedback to them, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to look back at them and see how our thoughts have changed since we started listening to them.

I'll start off this thread with my own input:


181: This was the mixed album for me, but the standouts have held up very well since I first heard them. Even though I still don't care for some tracks here, it's a great album for Gas Gas Gas alone and is among the better albums because the standouts are very prominent.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 9-
NEW GRADE: 9-
RANK: 4th

182: My thoughts about these songs have drastically changed overtime, but it's still just as solid as ever for me. I admit Speedy Runner doesn't really excite me much anymore, but I still love all of my original standouts (Superfast Tokyo Drift, Set Me Free, Burning Up The Night). Overdrive has grown on me to the rating of 10, but more prominently, I've really come to love On My Radio as of late - its lyrics and melodic progression are both very spot-on.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 9+
NEW GRADE: 9+
RANK: 3rd

183: This one's alright; I haven't honestly listened to it very much to be honest. The Lovebite, Crazy Race On The Street, Night Fighter, On Fire 2007, and Burn Into The Beat still get me going, but otherwise, it doesn't really stand out to me at all. Never really truly took to Time For A Miracle, either.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 8+
NEW GRADE: 8-
RANK: 7th

184: Again, not really my favorite album of this decade, but it does have its highlights. Super Rider has quite grown on me, and I still really enjoy No Borders and Yes I Will. It's decent otherwise, but I'm honestly a bit sick of Full Metal Cars and Speed Of Light - their respective artists' releases on 188 are far better.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 9-
NEW GRADE: 8+
RANK: 6th

185: I never gave this a full review, but honestly I find my original ratings to be a bit harsh. I was kind of uninterested during the month it was prominent, but coming back to it has made me realize how much better it is than I first stated. There's lots of standouts - Pararappa Dance, Bomba, My Oh My, Take My Desire, The One For Me (this has grown on me; I gave it a low rating before because I had trouble hearing the vocals), Emotional Child, Para Para Night 2006, Baby Fly, Candy Baby, and Final Destination are all very solid, and the only songs I could do without are Tell Me Why You Say and Kiss Me Now.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 7½
NEW GRADE: 9-
RANK: 5th

186: I really don't enjoy this album very much. Even some of the songs I gave high ratings to originally have lost some of their original impact for me (Nightshade and I Love My Dog especially). While I do really enjoy the songs by Niko, Nick Turbo, Manuel, Ciao Ciao, Ace, Vanessa, and Mark Farina, everything else ranges from just so-so/boring to flat-out abysmal. Even Delta managed to sound dull and uninteresting overall here. It's easily the 177 of the 180's decade for me.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 8
NEW GRADE: 7+
RANK: 8th

187: Only a month and a half has passed, but I still absolutely love this album. I stand by all the high ratings I gave in my review, as there isn't a single song that I don't enjoy, and almost everything on it is fantastic, especially Hello Hello!. Baby Don't Leave Me has also really grown on me now that I'm starting to enjoy its melody in front of the excellent production. Clearly 187 is one of the best Super Eurobeat compilations ever, as I continue to love it even more overtime rather than get tired of it.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 10
NEW GRADE: 10+
RANK: 1st

188: I may have been just a little too excited about this compilation, since it has its lows, unlike 187. Since it's the newest album, I'm not gonna comment much, since I've worn it out and am a bit tired of listening to Spirit Of The Night repeatedly at the moment (it should come back to me once I haven't overexposed it). I was a bit generous to Power Of Loving You though, mostly because I've been drawn as a new major fan of SinclaireStyle.
ORIGINAL GRADE: 10
NEW GRADE: 9½
RANK: 2nd

EDIT: Added a few more songs to 183 and 186 that I forgot and still quite enjoy.

[Lebon14]

Instead of going in details, I'll make a two sentences summary. The oldest is the album, the more I am bored of hearing the songs on them. There are only a few I listen to now...

Details

181

Loved @ first: Jungle Fever, Blood On Fire, Back In Danger, I'm Alive, Gunfire, Gas Gas Gas, NRG

Still listen now : Jungle Fever, Blood On Fire

182

Love @ first : Superfast Tokyo Drift, Love Is The Name Of Love, Planet Love, Overdrive, On My Radio, Everlasting Fire, Paraboy, I Bet For Lovin', Superman 2007, Set Me Free, Burning Up The Night (Total Fire).

Still listens now : Set Me Free, Burning Up The Night (Total Fire)

183

Love @ first : I Feel Emotions, Bin In Japan 2007, Sexy Crazy Girl, Burn Into The Beat, Time For A Miracle

Still listens now : The Lovebite (new!!), Burn Into The Beat, Time For A Miracle

184 :

Love @ First : Super Rider, Wild Night, Spin Spin Baby, My Sweet Forever, Happy Snappy Valentine, Never Gonna Give Up, Love For Money 2007, Full Metal Cars, Yes I Will, Speed Of Light

Still Listens now : Super Rider, Full metal Cars, Speed Of Light

185 :

Love @ first : Pararappa dance, Emotional Child, Para Para Night 2008, Back To 80's.

Still Listen Now : Bomba (new!!!), Para Para Night 2008

186 :

Love @ First : Nightshade, Tokyo Strike Force, Adrenaline, Running Fire, In The Fire Of Victory, Love And Passion 2008, Rock N Roll, Rebel Yell.

Still Listens now : Nightshade, Tokyo Strike Force, In The Fire Of Victory, Rock N Roll, Rebel Yell.

187 :

Love @ First : Can Can World, Secret Destination, I Need Your Love 2008, Magical, Love Is A Pretender

Still Listens now : Can Can World, Secret Destination, Magical, Spitfire (new!!)

188 :

LOL WUT?!? The 4 songs I love the most, I name : Queen Of Mean, Tokyo Tonight, A Perfect Hero and Run & Run, I still listens to them a lot. For Go Go Champion I downgrade it to 6 because the intro is so SUCKY and Dave Rodgers' backvocals are so annoying that I refuse to listen to it anymore. Tsundere Night is a very good song but... I just don't want to listen to it.

If songs disappears from what I'm now listening that were in the "Love @ first" does not mean they are now garbage songs. Nope. I just got bored of listening to them. Those that as "new!" beside means that I've grown to like the song.

[drnrg]

Interesting topic, so why not jump in. I'm one of those who certain songs can grow on from constant listening.

181: The cd that still gots me hating on Fastway rapping. It just sounds so off to me. What I liked about this cd, besides my favs is that Jay Lehr sang what has now become my second favourite SCP track ever. Just one below the ultimate classic; Number One. Gas x3 has also grown on me with Manuel's aggressive vocals,esp. the "Do you like my car" line . Infact the only songs that I still don't care for are Annalise, King & Queen and the two Go 2 entries. The rest is pretty solid.
initial review =8/10
now=8+/10

182 Definatley one of my favs. Planet Love still sounds amazing on every level. Jeff Driller ,D.J. Force, Irene and Miky MC were my favs from first listen. Since then I have grown to enjoy the rest, especially Mellisa White, Kelly T.,Ace Warrior and 2 Fast. I realized how super Powerful that song was when Newfield released that alternate version not too long ago. Powerful T. was the only real song that didn't have a prayer for me.
initial review=9/10
now=9/10

183 Another solid cd and also one of my favs. This one was chalk full of instant classics for me. The return of Jacky O, Helena, Brian Ice, Garcon as well as DELTA's new titles are still heavy on my playlist. This cd presented two remakes from TIME and though I love them to death, they do suffer from overkill, because ,well; they are remakes. The second cd was also a waste for my liking, even the Mega NRG Man song was overdone.
initial review=9/10
now= 8+/10

184 The big thing here for me was the rehashed intros. I remeber not being really fond of Just A Game 2008 at first. After a few 100 listens and in extended, mind you; It easily became my favourite on that cd. Love For Money has been on my mind since I first heard it and is still one of the best ramkes TIME has to offer. Daniel is still another mega bomba for me. As well as Nikita Jr., Mike West, Jay Lehr , Mark Astly and Annie. The rest didn't really work for me and still seem to be missing something. I have grown to like Cherry's entry even more since the slower alternate remix was released. Gotta love the Dead or Alive beats in that one. Another very enjoyable cd.
initial review=8/10
now =8/10

185 The last cd with 4 TIME entries would cause diisastrouse for me ,at least untill 188. This one has two remakes, but certainly two of the best ever. DeLeo with his aggressivel style took Funky Lady to another level and the appearance of Gino Caria on a revamped version of his own song was magic to my ears. The only other tracks that I still really enjoy are Take It Easy, My Oh My, and Cody. The rest ;I either never cared for( Kika Fancy and Pamsy), or have lost thier initial sparkle
initial review=8+/10
now=7/10

186 At this point the quality was going down hill for me. Only a handful of songs initially got my attention and that remains the same. The instant classics became Bang Bang Crashing Of The Boom Boom, Dall Ora's entries, Nick Turbo, Mark Farina and Leslie Parrish. I have since grown to like Adrenaline even more, but the rest once again have lost thier sparkle. Not to mantion all the duds like Vivi and Bea's style ,that do absolutley nothing for me. The Cherry remake of Rebell Yell has become totlaly overshadowed by that brilliant "Yes I Will remix" .I basically care spit for that second cd, but this TIME it had great remixes. Specifically, Factory Team, Mark Astly and the forementioned Cherry remix.
initial review=7/10
now= 7+/10(for Adrenaline and Yes I Will.

187 This one was and still is my least favourite SEB in years. First off;I didn't even purchase it.I did recieve a link just to listen to it, but since then deleeted it. I only bought tracks off Mumo that I really liked. Second; less songs with the ones I really wouldn't want in extended. Once again only two TIME songs doesn't help the situation one bit. The only songs I even listen to now a days are De Leo, Dany(wonderful track),Delta Queens, Matt Land(nice Comeback) and Rick Castle. The funny thing is ,that one of the tracks that I originally flamed at; Can Can World, has kinda ,sorta in a twisted fun way grown on me like a 5 o clock shadow that you kinda wanna shave off, but looks slightly rugged in the mirror, giving it a cool look. This is attributed to Luca's cameo vocals in the verses and bridge. I still loath the title and artist name, but the song is now a 7+.
initial review=7-(I'm still not sure how to rate a cd with only 13 songs)
now=7(for the good songs)

188 This cd is still new and I'm listening 2-3 TIMEs a day. It has done a complete boomerang effect and shot right back to the 182 status. Only two songs that I really don't go for, but even Irene is growing on me as we speak. The incredible quality this round was due mainly in part to ABeatC's awesome entries. Mega NRG man, DJ NRG, Norma; all great . Go Go's delivered a great track from Gloria V.(somthing that not always is the case *cough* Mari-San). The big news was Dima returning, and what a comeback. Silly girly toon title, but what a magical track. Pianos and everything. DELTA just gets better than better with each release. Both Daniel and Cherry are instant hits for my liking. Even The Snake totally took me by the the balls with such a powerhouse rockin song. Finally, and no news to anyone is the effct that A Perfect Hero left on me . I hadn't realized the size of my review untill I looked at it later on, but that song seemed to be written with my Eurobeat style in mind note for note. Nuff said.
initail review 10/10(at the moment my favourit of the bunch)

Eurobeat Masters vol. 17 In the mist of all this Newfield released a cd with many unreleased DELTA songs that completely foreshadowed a few of the weaker SEBs, therfore I must give it recognition. One song that I absolutly love to death and had somewhat become my avatar is Turbo Disco. Another song were the listener once can again lose themselves in Mateo Rizzi's one of a kind composing style. Another instant hit for me was I Need A Hero. Rejash or not, it was still an instant smash. Quiero L'amour, My Stars, Kiss Boom Boom , Fever and Dangerous Speed Cars also became among my favouries for that month. Apart from that ,we got extended of some of the classics from Paul harris, Delta Queens and Daniel. Newfield really stuck it to the man with that compilation.
initial review=9/10
now= Hasn't lost an ounce of MAGIC.

rankings
#1. 188
#2. Eurobeat Masters vol 17
#3. 182
#4. 181
#5. 183
#6. 184
#7. 185
#8. 186
#9. 187


The 180's have surely become one of my favourite era's to date. There has been a seesaw effect towards the middle ,but definately sound Right up there with the 170's

Predictions for 190's:
1. Mr. Dall Ora will start up a new label and get more songs on SEB under different name
2. Powerful T. will make an astounding comeback
3. Claudio will return to Live Music Studio(don't wake me, I'm dreaming)
4. Fastway will rap and ruin yet another SCP song
5. Domino will actually relese a new song on Go Go's label under her old title.
6. Saifam will introduce 5 new vocalists(yeah right)
7. Dima will get more than 1 song on SEB
8. Sinclaire will return to DELTA where he actually made hits.
9. DELTA will become the new SEB powerhouse. Oh wait a minute...That already happening

[zoupzuop2]

Predictions for 190's:
1. Mr. Dall Ora will start up a new label and get more songs on SEB under different name
2. Powerful T. will make an astounding comeback
3. Claudio will return to Live Music Studio(don't wake me, I'm dreaming)
4. Fastway will rap and ruin yet another SCP song
5. Domino will actually relese a new song on Go Go's label under her old title.
6. Saifam will introduce 5 new vocalists(yeah right)
7. Dima will get more than 1 song on SEB
8. Sinclaire will return to DELTA where he actually made hits.
9. DELTA will become the new SEB powerhouse. Oh wait a minute...That already happening

Huh.
* Well, I wouldn't mind some more Time songs; they've actually been pretty impressive lately. I still listen to I Need Your Love 2008; it's actually pretty cool.
* MOAR Powerful T.! :3 Well, the good stuff anyway.
* I do miss Mr. Claudio Magnoni... he really amped up the Star Power for HRG. Mr. Rimonti is getting a drop tired, and we DO get tired of Garcon and the pitched females that AREN'T Bazooka Girl.
* Oh come on. Fastway's rapping is not THAT miserable, if you ask me. Granted it doesn't ADD to a song much, but I don't think it detracts much either.
* Oh snap. X3
* Translation: Mauro Farina will produce 5 new titles to sing under. None of them will be any different from the other. XP
* AMEN. MOAR DIMA PREASE.
* Sinclaire is not going to go back. He's pretty officialy splitsville from Delta, and I doubt he's aching to return either. Besides, the only thing stopping him from going strong is his constant need to try to remake Speedway and Night of Fire over. And over. And over again. Once he tries some DIFFERENT soundworlds (I.E, maybe something that DOESN'T sound almost EXACTLY the same every time-- even listening to Ale's "If You Ever Leave", I could hardly tell the difference between then and now) he'll be a force to be feared and respected. Until then he remains brought down by his own chains.
* No comment. 'tis already true. ;3

My predictions:
* Sinclaire WILL choose some new soundworlds, highly boosting his song quality and making his label a force to be reckoned with.
* Dima will produce the next super-smash hit as well.
* Hi-NRG Attack will either find new vocal talent, revive their old "frantic" style (read: Bazooka Pistolero, Caballero With Sombrero), or unfortunately perish. Being a smaller label, they will not adjust as well to the new way of dealing in the Eurobeat music industry. (I'm REALLY hoping this prediction's wrong)
* Dave Rodgers will eventually bring ABeatC back from the brink, with more aggressive and slightly less melancholy songs than the recent track record. He'll quit smoking, which will combine his new high-quality style with better vocals, reviving interest and improving ABeatC's showings overall.
* Delta remains a strong force.
* SCP plays a show/gig in the USA, with Go2, Christine, Pamsy, The Snake, and maybe even Domino. Avex films the event and attaches it to one of the SEB's. USA fans go so nuts that Avex deci-- shoot. "Predictions", not fantasies. XP

[drnrg]

zoupzuop2

* Hi-NRG Attack will either find new vocal talent, revive their old "frantic" style (read: Bazooka Pistolero, Caballero With Sombrero), or unfortunately perish. Being a smaller label, they will not adjust as well to the new way of dealing in the Eurobeat music industry. (I'm REALLY hoping this prediction's wrong)

That just came out of nowhere. That's nowhere near even about to happen. Not even on a pathway there. They have thier own unique style, unique soundworlds, unique vocalists(how small the stabel might be) and if you ask me, That's one of the main reasons they have been around so long.

I know it's a bad prediction .but what songs if any for you, could even back up that statement?

zoupzuop2

* Sinclaire is not going to go back. He's pretty officialy splitsville from Delta, and I doubt he's aching to return either. Besides, the only thing stopping him from going strong is his constant need to try to remake Speedway and Night of Fire over. And over. And over again. Once he tries some DIFFERENT soundworlds (I.E, maybe something that DOESN'T sound almost EXACTLY the same every time-- even listening to Ale's "If You Ever Leave", I could hardly tell the difference between then and now) he'll be a force to be feared and respected. Until then he remains brought down by his own chains

I know that about DELTA, but I do heavily agree with you about finding new soundworlds. Not only that , but he really has to inject some power into his percussion and bass. Ale's If You Ever Leave never did anything for me either. It's not such a bad idea to reveive thos old chord progressions and riffs from his old DELTA hits and just alternate them a bit here and there in order to come up with a surefire hit.


zoupzuop2

* Dave Rodgers will eventually bring ABeatC back from the brink, with more aggressive and slightly less melancholy songs than the recent track record. He'll quit smoking, which will combine his new high-quality style with better vocals, reviving interest and improving ABeatC's showings overall.

There is absolutley nothing wrong with his vocals. I don't see why people keep trying to throw the blame on that. The evident problem is The intros. The intro is about 60% important in getting the listener's attention. A bad or inadequate intro will suck out half the song's power and charisma. To quote Lebon's "riff out of nowhere" theory quite frankly means that AbeatC's intros and now ,breaks usually have little, if anything at all to do with the rest of the song. It's evident Dave can still sing up a storm with song's like The VIP is Jp and compose great songs like Go Go Champion, but he must work hard at capturing that magic of a good solid intro.

[zoupzuop2]

That just came out of nowhere. That's nowhere near even about to happen. Not even on a pathway there. They have thier own unique style, unique soundworlds, unique vocalists(how small the stabel might be) and if you ask me, That's one of the main reasons they have been around so long.

I know it's a bad prediction .but what songs if any for you, could even back up that statement?

It's not necessarily any particular songs; it's more of how they've been doing in general; overuse of the three producers/engineers, Rimonti, Festari and Girbaudo, as well as misuse of the female vocalists (read: pitching the everloving snot out of their voices) AND a lack of all that many vocalists, does damage their variety. This is not to say that any of the vocalists are particularly poor; however, too much of the same thing does get a bit boring and/or tired. (Plus, I'm seldom fond of Garcon's nasally timbre. There are times he uses it well; others, poorly)

As well, their iTunes offerings and website are signs that their interest in maintaining their online presence is fading a bit. They could at LEAST start pushing some more titles onto iTunes... that HAVEN'T already been released there. (If I see the Baby Bazooka version of Caballero With Sombrero, OR Blah Blah Ringo one more time... I'm gonn'a SNAP!)

Okay, so "perishing" was a poor prediction. However, I just haven't seen them perform as well as they used to, at least in my opinion. It's nothing personal against HRG; they were my first true Eurobeat loves, and I still get giddy when I see a "Mad Cow" or "Franz Tornado" title in a SEB rumored tracklist report. It's just that something seems to have dropped; they just don't seem to carry that same old magic. Hopefully a recent track will change my mind.

And, regarding Dave's vocals... yeah. That is true. I just don't want the habit to go on so long that it DOES start effecting his vocal range. Hopefully he's kicked the habit knowing what it does to one's voice.

[drnrg]

zoupzuop2

As well, their iTunes offerings and website are signs that their interest in maintaining their online presence is fading a bit. They could at LEAST start pushing some more titles onto iTunes... that HAVEN'T already been released there. (If I see the Baby Bazooka version of Caballero With Sombrero, OR Blah Blah Ringo one more time... I'm gonn'a SNAP!)

I take it you are reffering to the lack of new material they are offering on Juno and such, because The other labels have all jumped on the Juno & itunes train. That doesn't mean they are fading in anyway.

As for thier songs of late: The weekest was probly Spin Spin Baby, but other than that, Thier songs have been pretty well recieved by the E.P. fans. Boom Boom Crashing, Tokyo Strike Force, Crazy Race...,Bomba; for the more aggressive members and I Bet For Loving, Lovers In The Night and Baby Don't Leave for a more mellow tone. I'm still kinda at a loss with what "magic" you are reffering to, but I do agree on finding new vocalist or rienstsating old ones. I would have to say that I miss Roberto Gabrielli's vocals the most, after having found out that he sang most of HRG Attack's first songs.

As for Dave; I had no idea this smoking habit was such a crisis for him. If it's that out of control, then , yeah he should go "Cold Turky", but what I said about AbeatC intros...still counts

[zoupzuop2]

As for Dave; I had no idea this smoking habit was such a crisis for him. If it's that out of control, then , yeah he should go "Cold Turky", but what I said about AbeatC intros...still counts

I never said it was out of control. Smoking for any period of time longer than, say, a month would have SOME detrimental effects on one's voice, no? It'd just be a shame if that started happening... which it hasn't much, yet.

[Bore]

Well I'm tempted to do a list but that'd probably ruin the idea of actually writing my full 180s look back once the 180s are actually over... so I'll restrain myself ;/

[JasonMath]

Well I'm tempted to do a list but that'd probably ruin the idea of actually writing my full 180s look back once the 180s are actually over... so I'll restrain myself ;/

You also still have to write a review on Super Eurobeat 188...

[Bore]

Heh I'll get to it, was out of town for nearly a week here and haven't really had any chance to even get down and sit properly for a few hours to sort the review out. As before, the time it takes to get the reviews done varies a lot. Some reviews came out the day before the next SEB was released. All depending on the amount of free time I got to spare.