Since there's a lot of discussion flying here and there about 167, I thought I'd subject it to a review. There's a lot of hits and a lot of misses on this album, generating an interesting contrast.
1. Chemical Love - Kevin & Cherry - Delta
9/10
This song's a great way to start of the album. Fast and catchy, Chemical Love has a really interesting structuring of the lyrics in the A-Melo. The small snippet of this song featured in Intial D certainly doesn't do it justice. Personally, I think the volume levels on the male vocals need to come up a bit as Clara drowns them out too much... but that's a preferential thing, really, I think.
2. Yeah! - Christine - SCP
7/10
I didn't think too much of this song fromt the Hinoi Team cover and the small sample on the avex site... but after hearing the final full product, it reveals itself to be a fun, upbeat and more importantly, catchy song. Christine has a nice, unique voice, but it's very rarely showcased these days. She's certainly not my favourite SCP artist, but this song is produced really well and I still enjoy it.
3. Ding a Ling 2006 - Jilly - Time
7/10
I only vaguely remember the original of this song, but from what I can recall, this remix does it justice. It's not as thorough a remake as previous '200X' series songs, but I still think it's a nice addition to 167.
4. Sun in the Rain - Manuel - ABeatC
10/10!
A. Beat. C. Power. This song is simply dripping with it. If this song doesn't make you want to dance, you are indeed a soulless creature. I think it's quite possibly one of the best songs Manuel has ever performed in. The backup vocals (Gobbi?) also contrast very well with Manuel. Not since "Shock Me" have I been this enthused by a Manuel song. Absolutely top notch.
5. Disco Energy - Bombers - BBB (Saifam)
10/10!
"Disco, disco energy... wooo!" Like someone mentionned in another review, this song takes us back to songs like "Virtual Love", though I feel this song is better. (and I voted Virtual Love for my #1 choice on 160) This song screams out a combination of Saifam's uniquely sounding male-powered songs with a distinctive splash of old disco funk. The combination is certainly a winning one and for me, completely justifies BBB's return in this one song.
6. Listen to My Heart - Lolita - ABeatC
8/10
A clear sounding, nicely paced song that has a very positive feeling to it. Almost overshadowed a bit on this album by some of the larger hits, but it still stands out as a typically solid Lolita song.
7. Get Up and Move It - 70's Queens Feat. Annaline & Virginelle - ABeatC
10/10!
Wow! Feel that disco power! The guitarwork in this song is really awesome and the disco samples are absolutely everywhere. It also lays down a really solid and moderately fast beat, for a great song filled with disco energy! I'd almost call this EuroDisco, but I'm in no way opposed to seeing this or further songs like this on SEB. If anything, the song is so busy with the synths, that it drowns out the vocals a bit. This is a new favourite for me.
8. Sex Gun - Joe D. Toaster - Hi-NRG Attack
7/10
This was another song that needed a few more listens before being finally judged. At first, I found it a little boring and unremarkable, but overall it's got a feeling like a lot of older HRG songs used to.
9. Walkin' In the Shadow - Pamsy - SCP
8/10
The song's really catchy and it's a great example of the newer trance-inspired SCP style eurobeat that is used for most of Pamsy's tracks. Of course, deviating from the standard feel of eurobeat makes the song feel much more dreamy using synths with a longer duration and tons of reverb. Tracks like this are a nice change once in awhile, but I still prefer the less trance influenced stuff from SCP.
10. Don't You Break My Heart Tonight - De Leo - Time
5/10
The song is a little bit bland and I think the vocals need a boost. Doesn't particularily offend or impress either way... it's distinctively Time, though. The thing I really don't like about this production is the odd vocal filter that's being used.
11. Lost in the World - Karen - ABeatC
6/10
I normally like Karen's songs, but I don't this song really showcases what she can do, very well. It's a very dreamy, light song and not altogether that bad, but I think Karen can be placed in better productions.
12. Heart and Go - Priscilla - Delta
3/10
I find I can't even really listen to this song without drifting off, it's that unremarkable and boring. I can't find much to like about this song. It's definately skippable.
13. Give Me Another Chance - Susy - BBB (Saifam)
7/10
It took a couple of listens to see the charm in this track. The lyrics are really catchy and and the song has a slightly lower BPM than most Saifam tracks tend to. Not bad, but not even close to the earlier Disco Energy.
14. Idol - Idol - Time
4/10
It's a very interesting song, that's for sure, but I'm not a big fan of Time, so it just doesn't work for me. It was putting me to sleep as I listenned to it.
15. Remind Me To Forget - Madison - Delta
3/10
This song has problems. There's very little redeeming about it. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't like anything about it. Remind me to forget this song.
16. Harajuku Girl - Mad Cow & The Harajuku Angels - Hi-NRG Attack
6/10
With the last japanese influenced production by Rimonti, Maid Attack, I was expecting a lot from this and unfortunately, my expectations were not met. Maid Attack was very catchy, lyrically and I don't get that same feeling here with Harajuku Girl. Quite frankly, I think the song suffers from not having and good percussive synths. The beat is bland and there's nothing for the synths to fall back on. Unimpressive.
17. Love Me Or Leave Me - Dave & Nuage - ABeatC
7/10
It's a very solidly produced love song and it shows off Nuage's vocals very well. It's no "Car of Your Dreams" but it's not bad, especially in contrast to a lot of tracks on the album.
18. Music Come On! - Go 2 - SCP
7/10
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UPTNVKGJ
This is what I think the song should've sounded like.
It's certainly a change of pace for Ennio... Christian has done these kinds of slower ballads before, though. It's a very nice song, too... but to go from their hard-assed powerful tracks like "Looka Bomba" and "Not For Sale" to this, is a dramatic shift. It's hard to think of Go 2 as anything else... but it's still a good song. I'd just much rather have them not deviate from their usually great stuff.
Album Score: 7/10
Best Songs:
Sun in the Rain - Manuel - ABeatC
Disco Energy - Bombers - BBB
Get Up and Move It - 70's Queens Feat. Annalise & Virginelle - ABeatC
Worst Songs:
Remind Me To Forget - Madison
Heart and Go - Priscilla
Idol - Idol - Time
Honourable Mention:
Walkin' in the Shadow - Pamsy - SCP
Conclusion:
Again, we get a few really awesome songs and the rest of the album just falls apart. Personally, I really love some of the new tracks and I'm thankful just to have them and would rather not complain about the quality of the other tracks. I haven't rated three songs as 10's in a single album since the mid-150's. I wish they could all be hits.
Review of Super Eurobeat 167
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Cosmic_Bard
- Eurobeat Master
- Posts: 640
- Joined: 28 Mar 2005, 02:49
- Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Review of Super Eurobeat 167
Be the sound you feel inside your voice!
Save Your Voice to Sing a Song - Brian Ice
Save Your Voice to Sing a Song - Brian Ice
-
Densetsu13
- Eurobeat Master
- Posts: 682
- Joined: 17 Oct 2005, 07:27
- Location: Montreal, Quebec
- Contact:
;My turn! It's kinda weird since I haven't doen a review in a while and I've changed things up with my reviews.
1 - Abyssmal song. I don't like it at all.
2 - Dissapointing song. I liked some elements of it but for the most part I skipped this song beause I just wasn't interested in it.
3 - Average song. A song that doesn't rise above nor dissapoints greatly.
4 - Great song. An extremely strong song that needs just that final "uhmph" to get to the best level.
5 - Excellent song. A song I found myself just cherrishing greatly. Everything falls into place nicely.
So lets get on with the review!
1. Chemical Love - Kevin & Cherry - Delta
5/5
Power is what this song is. A phenomnial pair gets joined up again; Burdesi & Clara. The whole package is so extremely well put together and flows so well that I couldn't give it anything less than a 5. Newfield style synths, nice guitars, great vocals, speedy sound, what else would you want?
2. Yeah! - Christine - SCP
5/5
Finally a song on SEB by Christine that isn't the Asian sound. Not to say that the previous two songs are bad but I don't wanna overkill it! The nice pacing of the song might puzzle those who are used to the old speedy Christine. Having heard the sample a while ago on SCP's site, I was pleasantly surpised how well the entire package came together. Great job!
3. Ding A Ling 2006 - Jilly - Time
4/5
Great song but it sounds quite a bit like a Newfield song. At least the introduciton does. It also shows that Clara has a stranglehold on the market which can be both a bad and good thing. Anyway, the song as a remake isn't too bad but it's a little too soft. The crisp clear sound and nice style used for this remix is excellent. Just not punchy enough to get the 5 from me.
4. Sun In the Rain - Manuel - A-Beat C
5/5!
WOW! I honestly expected something more along the lines of All The Best rather than this. Rather speedy and the synths are killer! Reminded me at first slightly of Shock Me and Big Boy structurally but it changes it up. Old style Manuel definately.
5. Disco Energy - Bombers - 3B
5/5
It's been out for a while but this song definately deserves to be out there. Now if I was going to put a grade down for the mix, I'd give it a 4/5 simply because the way it was chopped makes it really apparent that there's so much that people don't get to hear. The song as a whole feels like a Ken Martin song (which boggles me as to why they used Ken Martin for China instead of this song). Also interesting is the structure of the song. After the first sabi, it goes into a little interlude (disco disco energy!) and directly into the C-Melo. Very cool stuff goin on in this song!
6. Listen to My Heart - Lolita - A-Beat C
4/5
The intro is really cool and so is the A & B Melos. But after that the sabi degenerates the song and keeps it from really going farther. I really expected a lot from Lolita which is why I'm slightly dissapointed but it's still a strong song despite the slightly weak sabi.
7. Get Up and Move It - 70's Queens Feat. Annaline & Virginelle - ABeatC
5/5
Annerley Gordon's second song in the 160's series. Very surprising to see Annerley back in Eurobeat. Especially with the one that took over for her! The lyrics are very nice (you can tell Annerley was in charge of this department as they actually make sense lol...). I absolutely felt compelled to dance to the disco beat in this song.
8. Sex Gun - Joe D. Toaster - Hi-NRG Attack
3/5
Did anyone else get a dejavu of "Everybody Go" incidently by Joe D. Toaster too. I guess this is why I'm so upset with HRG. They really recycle too much without really providing much new. It's a nice song but I feel like I'm listening to the same HRG song and nothing new.
9. Walkin' In the Shadow - Pamsy - SCP
5/5
Gorgeous singing accompanied by mezmerizing music. Easy way to describe this song. It's absolutely breathtaking how beautiful this song is. It's easy to see why I'm such a big fan of Pamsy. While she has a similar style to her privious songs, there are different elements used (ie different instrumentations, different structural setup, more focus on a trance style, etc) that make this so different. It's gorgeous.
10. Don't You Break My Heart Tonight - De Leo - Time
3/5
When I first played this song, I for a sec thought I had played Butterfly by Dee Dee. Vibration fans will kinda get a kick out of this song since it's very similar to some of LED's stuff. Not very typical Time like with some new stuff goin on. In my opinion, I don't really get the Time feeling until I hear the sabi. It's a cool song showing some evolution in Time Records but it lacks that punch that really gets it over. Though I could see someone using this song to link a Time-Vibration mix.
11. Lost in the World - Karen - A-Beat C
2/5
Following the route of Love Forever, Karen goes into some trancey beats which doesn't work for her as well as it did. The vocals are crisp and nice but this song is easily (unforutnately) forgetable. It has no real soul in it that makes people want to listen to it. And that upsets me much because it's Karen, one of the best singers A-Beat C has.
12. Heart and Go - Priscilla - Delta
2/5
The biggest problem I have with this song is that it seems to jump around without really arriving at a destination. The song seems convoluted. It's really hard to follow. It almost seems as the intro and the melos & sabis are disjointed. The female vocals are the redeming part of this song.
13. Give Me Another Chance - Susy - 3B
3/5
Very Europanicy style which can be a plus. My biggest gripe is the vocals which seems so squeeky and strained. The song as a whole also really isn't all that punchy. It's a nice song but rather derived from Europanic! material.
14. Idol - Idol - Time
5/5
I love the fact that as much as I loathed Time before, I'm actually looking forward to their productions! Another Cristian De Leo project which actually surprised me since I thought this was gonna be a female project. Cristian is also surpasing my expectations! This song is very reminicient of S.M.S. but a lot slower and more impactful. I guess this is me eating my words for the many bad things I've said about Time (there I said it drnrg! But I wont take back my words for Overload! lol...) but great great stuff coming from this label, especially from De Leo! Also of mention, this song actually has an ending! Yay!
15. Remind Me To Forget - Madison - Delta
2/5
Bleh... I'm sorry but this song is kinda boring. I wasn't too thrilled. The pluses this song has however is the fact that the strong female vocals are really nice. Other than that I really passed this song to move on to Love Me Or Leave Me.
16. Harajuku Girl - Mad Cow & The Harajuku Angels - Hi-NRG Attack
3/5
Sounds like they're trying to actually get some new stuff at HRG! I'm glad that they're trying new stuff but as a whole I didn't find myself compelled to listen to this song much after my first intial play. It lacks that viceral punch. Though the really big plus is that its a new sound from HRG thats emerging! They're working hard and getting some progress!
17. Love Me Or Leave Me - Dave & Nuage - ABeatC
5/5!
Holy moley is this song beautiful. The airy trance sound mixed with extremely solid vocals. The entire song reminds me of the old school dance balads from yesteryears. Such a great song. If I had to compare it to any song it would be the club version of Missing by Everything But The Girl. Great sound! This also gets massive pluses for actually having a D-Melo rather than repeating the C-Melo! Thats what I'm talking about!
18. Music Come On! - Go 2 - SCP
5/5
O.O! Thats what I did when I first heard this. This basically is a rock balad with Eurobeat. SCP is definately revolutionizing Eurobeat as we know it. Breaking ground with Trancebeat, Euro-House (Van T.K.), and now PopBeat? I guess thats what you would call it. It's such a beautiful song with so many great elements. Not was anyone would expect. Such a hot song. I really don't know how to explain it but it's breathtaking! And again I have to commend this song for having a D-Melo as well! It's about time Eurobeat didn't seem "lazy" by repeating the lyrics!
Album Score: 4/5
I've started getting harsher with my grading since everyone thought I was being too generous (and even then I'm sure people will say something XD) Oh well. This is what I think. 167 is a great CD that slowed down the BPM dramatically. This CD reminds me more of older SEBs which is a great thing.
Best Tracks
Idol - Idol
Kevin & Cherry - Chemical Love
Christine - Yeah!
Dave & Nuage - Love Me Or Leave Me
Go 2 - Music Come On!
Pamsy - Walkin' In The Shadow
70' Queens feat Annalise & Virginelle - Get Up And Move It
Dissapointing Tracks
Madison - Remind Me To Forget
Priscilla - Heart And Go
Karen - Lost In The World
1 - Abyssmal song. I don't like it at all.
2 - Dissapointing song. I liked some elements of it but for the most part I skipped this song beause I just wasn't interested in it.
3 - Average song. A song that doesn't rise above nor dissapoints greatly.
4 - Great song. An extremely strong song that needs just that final "uhmph" to get to the best level.
5 - Excellent song. A song I found myself just cherrishing greatly. Everything falls into place nicely.
So lets get on with the review!
1. Chemical Love - Kevin & Cherry - Delta
5/5
Power is what this song is. A phenomnial pair gets joined up again; Burdesi & Clara. The whole package is so extremely well put together and flows so well that I couldn't give it anything less than a 5. Newfield style synths, nice guitars, great vocals, speedy sound, what else would you want?
2. Yeah! - Christine - SCP
5/5
Finally a song on SEB by Christine that isn't the Asian sound. Not to say that the previous two songs are bad but I don't wanna overkill it! The nice pacing of the song might puzzle those who are used to the old speedy Christine. Having heard the sample a while ago on SCP's site, I was pleasantly surpised how well the entire package came together. Great job!
3. Ding A Ling 2006 - Jilly - Time
4/5
Great song but it sounds quite a bit like a Newfield song. At least the introduciton does. It also shows that Clara has a stranglehold on the market which can be both a bad and good thing. Anyway, the song as a remake isn't too bad but it's a little too soft. The crisp clear sound and nice style used for this remix is excellent. Just not punchy enough to get the 5 from me.
4. Sun In the Rain - Manuel - A-Beat C
5/5!
WOW! I honestly expected something more along the lines of All The Best rather than this. Rather speedy and the synths are killer! Reminded me at first slightly of Shock Me and Big Boy structurally but it changes it up. Old style Manuel definately.
5. Disco Energy - Bombers - 3B
5/5
It's been out for a while but this song definately deserves to be out there. Now if I was going to put a grade down for the mix, I'd give it a 4/5 simply because the way it was chopped makes it really apparent that there's so much that people don't get to hear. The song as a whole feels like a Ken Martin song (which boggles me as to why they used Ken Martin for China instead of this song). Also interesting is the structure of the song. After the first sabi, it goes into a little interlude (disco disco energy!) and directly into the C-Melo. Very cool stuff goin on in this song!
6. Listen to My Heart - Lolita - A-Beat C
4/5
The intro is really cool and so is the A & B Melos. But after that the sabi degenerates the song and keeps it from really going farther. I really expected a lot from Lolita which is why I'm slightly dissapointed but it's still a strong song despite the slightly weak sabi.
7. Get Up and Move It - 70's Queens Feat. Annaline & Virginelle - ABeatC
5/5
Annerley Gordon's second song in the 160's series. Very surprising to see Annerley back in Eurobeat. Especially with the one that took over for her! The lyrics are very nice (you can tell Annerley was in charge of this department as they actually make sense lol...). I absolutely felt compelled to dance to the disco beat in this song.
8. Sex Gun - Joe D. Toaster - Hi-NRG Attack
3/5
Did anyone else get a dejavu of "Everybody Go" incidently by Joe D. Toaster too. I guess this is why I'm so upset with HRG. They really recycle too much without really providing much new. It's a nice song but I feel like I'm listening to the same HRG song and nothing new.
9. Walkin' In the Shadow - Pamsy - SCP
5/5
Gorgeous singing accompanied by mezmerizing music. Easy way to describe this song. It's absolutely breathtaking how beautiful this song is. It's easy to see why I'm such a big fan of Pamsy. While she has a similar style to her privious songs, there are different elements used (ie different instrumentations, different structural setup, more focus on a trance style, etc) that make this so different. It's gorgeous.
10. Don't You Break My Heart Tonight - De Leo - Time
3/5
When I first played this song, I for a sec thought I had played Butterfly by Dee Dee. Vibration fans will kinda get a kick out of this song since it's very similar to some of LED's stuff. Not very typical Time like with some new stuff goin on. In my opinion, I don't really get the Time feeling until I hear the sabi. It's a cool song showing some evolution in Time Records but it lacks that punch that really gets it over. Though I could see someone using this song to link a Time-Vibration mix.
11. Lost in the World - Karen - A-Beat C
2/5
Following the route of Love Forever, Karen goes into some trancey beats which doesn't work for her as well as it did. The vocals are crisp and nice but this song is easily (unforutnately) forgetable. It has no real soul in it that makes people want to listen to it. And that upsets me much because it's Karen, one of the best singers A-Beat C has.
12. Heart and Go - Priscilla - Delta
2/5
The biggest problem I have with this song is that it seems to jump around without really arriving at a destination. The song seems convoluted. It's really hard to follow. It almost seems as the intro and the melos & sabis are disjointed. The female vocals are the redeming part of this song.
13. Give Me Another Chance - Susy - 3B
3/5
Very Europanicy style which can be a plus. My biggest gripe is the vocals which seems so squeeky and strained. The song as a whole also really isn't all that punchy. It's a nice song but rather derived from Europanic! material.
14. Idol - Idol - Time
5/5
I love the fact that as much as I loathed Time before, I'm actually looking forward to their productions! Another Cristian De Leo project which actually surprised me since I thought this was gonna be a female project. Cristian is also surpasing my expectations! This song is very reminicient of S.M.S. but a lot slower and more impactful. I guess this is me eating my words for the many bad things I've said about Time (there I said it drnrg! But I wont take back my words for Overload! lol...) but great great stuff coming from this label, especially from De Leo! Also of mention, this song actually has an ending! Yay!
15. Remind Me To Forget - Madison - Delta
2/5
Bleh... I'm sorry but this song is kinda boring. I wasn't too thrilled. The pluses this song has however is the fact that the strong female vocals are really nice. Other than that I really passed this song to move on to Love Me Or Leave Me.
16. Harajuku Girl - Mad Cow & The Harajuku Angels - Hi-NRG Attack
3/5
Sounds like they're trying to actually get some new stuff at HRG! I'm glad that they're trying new stuff but as a whole I didn't find myself compelled to listen to this song much after my first intial play. It lacks that viceral punch. Though the really big plus is that its a new sound from HRG thats emerging! They're working hard and getting some progress!
17. Love Me Or Leave Me - Dave & Nuage - ABeatC
5/5!
Holy moley is this song beautiful. The airy trance sound mixed with extremely solid vocals. The entire song reminds me of the old school dance balads from yesteryears. Such a great song. If I had to compare it to any song it would be the club version of Missing by Everything But The Girl. Great sound! This also gets massive pluses for actually having a D-Melo rather than repeating the C-Melo! Thats what I'm talking about!
18. Music Come On! - Go 2 - SCP
5/5
O.O! Thats what I did when I first heard this. This basically is a rock balad with Eurobeat. SCP is definately revolutionizing Eurobeat as we know it. Breaking ground with Trancebeat, Euro-House (Van T.K.), and now PopBeat? I guess thats what you would call it. It's such a beautiful song with so many great elements. Not was anyone would expect. Such a hot song. I really don't know how to explain it but it's breathtaking! And again I have to commend this song for having a D-Melo as well! It's about time Eurobeat didn't seem "lazy" by repeating the lyrics!
Album Score: 4/5
I've started getting harsher with my grading since everyone thought I was being too generous (and even then I'm sure people will say something XD) Oh well. This is what I think. 167 is a great CD that slowed down the BPM dramatically. This CD reminds me more of older SEBs which is a great thing.
Best Tracks
Idol - Idol
Kevin & Cherry - Chemical Love
Christine - Yeah!
Dave & Nuage - Love Me Or Leave Me
Go 2 - Music Come On!
Pamsy - Walkin' In The Shadow
70' Queens feat Annalise & Virginelle - Get Up And Move It
Dissapointing Tracks
Madison - Remind Me To Forget
Priscilla - Heart And Go
Karen - Lost In The World
You can hate me but you know you have quality issues =p
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