Post
by Megan188 » 11 Jul 2010, 21:03
Here's a quick review of Super Eurobeat 205, since I felt like I had quite a bit that I wanted to say about it:
1. The Race Is The Game / Dave Rodgers: (9)
This is a pretty nice, straightforward Dave Rodgers track. It doesn't really have anything special to offer melodically, but the synth is beefy and catchy, and the production is definitely solid, even though this is from 1995, er, I mean 2006. In the chorus, however, I can't get over a misheard lyric that sounds like "boobs on fire" - what the heck would that be all about? Granted, boobs are something I really wish I had, but I sure wouldn't want them to catch fire while racing!
2. Evergreen / Karen: (8½)
This sounds like it could be from around 2001-2002. I honestly don't care that much for Karen's works; her songs are usually really melancholy and her voice isn't the strongest amongst eurobeat females. I gave this track a chance, and it actually isn't too bad. It's somewhat repetitive melodically, but in this case I think Karen does a good job with the vocals and suits the track quite well. Not really something that I'd continue listening to for months to come, but a solid performance, nonetheless.
3. Your Barbie Girl / Vicky Vale: (8)
I've been a fan of Morris Capaldi for a while, but at this point, I kind of just wish he would finally do something to innovate his increasingly-stale sound or at least produce far fewer songs at Delta. Initially, I thought his songs were fresh and interesting, but now I feel like they sound dull and have very weak melodic support. Your Barbie Girl is at least, fortunately, one of his more interesting presentations as of late, but it still suffers from the same problem. The synth hook and verse are both catchy melodically, but it still really feels like something is badly missing. The chorus doesn't really go anywhere to me and just sounds like an amateurish mess, but maybe it would've worked better had the backdrop supported it more effectively. Like Go Shinkansen, this song could've been fantastic, but is held back from classic status due to the tired and worn-out synth production.
4. Plastic / Hotblade: (9)
The new vocalist here doesn't sound Italian in my opinion. His heavy accent reminds me a bit of Ricky M, whose song Love Is Power I've been really digging as of late. The style of this track is basically an attempt to re-invent Go 2 with a different singer. The rave elements are so prominent here that I was surprised not to hear a rap verse somewhere in teh song. Overall, I found this to be energetic and catchy, making it a great club anthem, it's just that it has such a non-melodic feel that it seems like something that should've tried to have been a hyper techno track instead of a eurobeat one.
5. You Are Always On My Mind / Radiorama: (10)
I already made some fairly elaborative comments about this song earlier in this thread, but I may as well state, once again, that it's easily one of the highlights of this album. The original from 1999 was already one of the best songs in the Asia catalogue (and that's saying a lot), so to hear it in a completely different style is actually quite intriguing to me. Since Saifam tracks have such incredible replay value for me, I'd say it's actually not a bad idea for them to produce covers of their own songs like this every once in a while. Granted, I still don't want them to abuse remakes, but if the song choie is appropriate enough, then it actually quite works.
6. Nobody Loves Me Like You Do / Ester: (8+)
I could tell that this sounded like an earlier piece from the GGM catalogue, probably from around 2007, as the synth production here isn't quite as developed as their newer songs. As far as the track itself goes, I don't really have a whole lot to say. It's a very basic presentation from the label, with unexciting melodic elements, but at least an excellent vocalist who makes them work farily well.
7. Little Little Star / Jay Lehr: (10+)
Anytime I see Jay Lehr's name show up on an SEB tracklist, I automatically expect something rather slow that's either very italo or aishu-styled, so to hear a track from him that's quite above 160 bpm is something that I totally didn't see coming. The upbeat pace and 80's-styled synthline made me think of A-Ha's Take On Me, except with some SCP synths thrown in. The vocoder is actually quite effective and gives the track a more electronic feel that suits it well. The song itself is full of infectious melodies and great chemistry between the synths and vocals. What it all comes down to, this is a completely different presentation, but in a very good way. It's certainly going to end up as one of my most-played songs from the CD.
8. Little Love / Sara: (8+)
Well, at least we finally get another Delta song that isn't produced by Morris Capaldi, albeit one that already came out in 2008. While I've generally found this to be a catchy, quirky little tune, I have to ask, what in the world is going on with the vocals? Sara sounds like her blood alcohol content is well above 2.0. She did a great job in Crazy For Love and Baby Fly, but here she doesn't even sound like she's trying to sound normal. It kind of turns what could've been a cute, happy song into a rather crass, and almost creepy-sounding one. I still like the production and tune itself, but I just wish the vocals weren't so badly screwed-up.
9. Somebody To Love / David Dima: (9-)
This sounds like it could have easily popped straight out of a Disney movie from the 1990's. It has a very epic, somewhat "African" melodic style that Dima only recently seems to have started pursuing. I'll be honest and say that it still sounds a tiny bit mushy to my ears, but with such a distinct and interesting tune, I'm sure that it could easily grow on me even more within time.
10. Little Lies / Sarah: (10)
Again, I already talked quite a bit about this song. That hollow, bouncy offbeat bassline gives it a very heavy eurodance feel, but other elements remind us that we're still listening to an Asia production. This song completely stands out to be because it has an incredibly dynamic melody that just really puts you in a happy, cheery mood. It doesn't go over-the-top, but its creative, logical melodic flow makes it another one of this album's best tracks.
11. It's All Up To You / Cy-Ro: (7)
This is actually a pretty interesting piece, since Roberto Festari is so used to performing on fast, crazy, wild Hi-NRG Attack productions. Unfortunately for this track, though, I can't say that I'm particularly impressed. The aishu melody is pretty bland and doesn't hold my attention enough to warrant the near-6-minute song length. It's nice to at least have a bit of experimentation from Hi-NRG Attack, as most of their productions this decade have been rather formulaic, but in this case, I think they could've done a lot better.
12. Kiss My Boo Boo / Mom And Dad: (10+)
Well, who would've expected that the song I thought had dumb song/artist titles would actually turn out to be one of my favorites on this release? First off, I absolutely love that synthline - it makes so many twists and turns and therefore isn't predictable, yet it flows incredibly smoothly as well. I find Roberta Grana to be an excellent vocalist for this kind of happy, cheesy eurobeat song. She sounds crisp and firm, yet still girly enough to feel perfectly at-home in this cutesy track. Even the lyrics are fun to follow along, if you pay attention to them. Another song that I will surely be looping several times over for quiet a while.
13. survival dAnce ~no no cry no more~ (Dima Remix) / TRF: (9½)
Time already did a remix of a different recording of this song on SEB 103, but the version here by Dima takes a completely different approach with its source material. Whereas the Time remix sounded speedier and happier, this enactment of the song has a more serious and dynamic composition, continuing the aforementioned "African" theme that I observed in Somebody To Love. Both versions are excellent in my opinion, but I think this one fits the deep personality of the original track a bit better. Overall a great J-Euro presentation, and perhaps my favorite so far of the 200's!
14. Take A Look In My Heart / Desire: (7½)
This is a cover that shouldn't really have been considered, in my opinion. We already got an excellent remake of the same just three years ago on SEB 175, so why re-do it yet again so soon? This disco feel just doesn't bring any life to the song at all, and to make matters worse, we're completely missing that infectious synth hook that made the original so catchy! Although this version is still tolerable, it comes off as being rather dull and transparent in contrast to the sharp, catchy adrenaline rush that was the SEB 175 cover.
TOP 3 SONGS:
1. Little Little Star / Jay Lehr
2. Kiss My Boo Boo / Mom And Dad
3. You Are Always On My Mind / Radiorama
BOTTOM 3 SONGS:
1. It's All Up To You / Cy-Ro
2. Take A Look In My Heart / Desire
3. Your Barbie Girl / Vicky Vale
HONORABLE MENTION:
- Little Lies / Sarah
FINAL SCORE: (9-)
- unlike the weedy and pathetic Do With Me)
