I've decided to make my full review on SEB 207. I've had the weekend to listen to it nonstop and can finally make my final impressions on the songs themselves. The cd is definately a step up from 206. Meaning that some of the other labels showcased some great songs this TIME around. Not too many solid 10s, but some great songs that will definately outlive most of the ones from 206. The grades I give will more likely be reflected in my next weeks countdown.
Manuel- Limousine (GGms)
Let's start off with Manuel's latest or should I say last production at GGMs.
This one takes a few listens to get used to, beacuse at first listen it kinda sounds too chaotic. Not in the good HRG Attack way, but rather the melodies and parts of the song sound like peices from other songs, but in the end, it's the aggressiveness of Manuel's vocals that do it for me. He is well known for his screams and operatic vocals and this talent attributes in giving all his songs that epic sound. He is definately buisy this year and I wouldn't be surprised if he was still jumping back n forth from Dima to GGms studio. Why not? All the big Eurobeat names did it in the 90's. Anyway, this song grabs you from the start. I don't know if its the relativly short intro leading to the powerful synth or The way Manuel yell's out "BabYYYY Yeah!", but there is some epicness definately oozing out of this song. It's another perfect Eurobeat and 80s feeling mash-up song. Especially that chorus, where he is definately trying to seduce his lady friend with his limousine. I can imagine how the video should look like. Manuel riding on the Limo's sunroof while at the same TIME slowly cruising at the side of the young lady. Arms extended proffesing his undying love or whatever to get her attention. More likely I think he even wants to make a movie with her in the pool.LOL! What is it with Manuel and pools? He mentions it in
All Is Magic too. Anyway, it's definately the vocal performance that hooks the listener in. Take that with that fact that this song has a really powerful syth riff and you got one of GGMs best songs this year. This is one of those songs will grow on me with every listen.
9/10
2.
Christine- Bigga Boom (SCP)
Here is a song that's been getting a lot of slack from the E.P. community and personally I don't think its all that bad. It kinda gives me the feel of Pamsy's "Sunshine Baby". It's bouncy and fun, but not really silly nor childlike. Her vocals are not bad. I for one allways liked Christine's vocals and the pronounciation doesn't bother me the slightest. I'm used to thier accents and engrish and I love it. What I like is that there is not one single kiddy shoutout, just your basic Eurobeat bouncer. The stuttering in the beggining sounds like Beep Beep beep and that reminds me of old School Donna Summer
Bad Girls or
Atrium's - Ain't Nobody. There are alot of cool syntheziser bits and pieces inserted throughout the verses and The mini break down actually works wonderfully to introduce the third verse. Some of you hear Bigga Bum. Phooy! I hear BBBiga Boom and I like it!:D In fact, my only beef is the crap run TIME it has and I'm tired of saying it, but I hope SCP gets to producing some decent extededs, cuz thier songs are really beggining to sound good to me again and well, they deserve better than 4:00 mins. For now SCP has again showcased a song that will also probobly grow on me with every listen and that's a good song.
8+/10
3.
Dejo- 1.2.3.4 Fire! (Sinclaire Style)
Here is where I'm probobly gonna go against the flow of most of the members on the forum. The song is good, but IMOP doesn't deserve the praises some reviews are giving it. First off, there is the artist name ,Dejo. I have a big beef when it comes to aliases and crappy ones like Dejo just don't work for me. No imagination whatsoever. For the record I'm not too keen on Bon either. Plus it reminds me of the total rapage Gino Caria's "Too Young To Fall In Love" remake got last year. Anyway, as for the song; it's good, but not gonna reach the success of Night Of Fire. In fact I think all of D-Essex's songs at AbeatC and DELTA were way better. Even
We Came For The Rock was better. The next thing is that Maurcio's vocals sound a bit too hyped. I remeber him sounding way better on SEB 197 with
Super Eurobeat song. Finally, it's that monstrouse voice repeating 1234 in the intro and break. It gave
Toy For Love a bit more Power, but here they just annoy the hell out of me. That's what I don't like about the song. Now what I do like is the choice of lyrics in the verses. 1234 sounds good at the start of any verse, I also love the way verse 2 and one are combined as to make verse 3. I know the melody in the chorus has been rehashed TIME & TIME again, but it sorta works for this Fire themed type of song. What will probobly become tireing to my ears as the weeks go by, is the fact that there is little change in the melody between the chorus and acual riff and as the riff progresses it seems to lose its initial power. I think what really keeps the song going for me would have to be the lyrics and the way they are delivered. Not his tone, but passion, especially in the verses. Not bad, but no way can it dethrown
Toy For Love
7+/10
4.
Destinee- Wonderwoman Dream (Dima music)
First things first. Awesome intro!. Almost runs the full Dall Ora minuit style I have come to love from his productions. Infact, the intro reminds me of all those awesome Elena Ferretti hits gone by. Destinee sounds great too. Kinda like a young E.F. She was made to song this kinda Aishu style Eurobeat. What I love about this song is that it sounds like Dima's Energy Revolution songs from Europanic series. Not too much expirimentation going on and that's ok for someone like me who excells in old school Eurobeat sound. I do have a few beefs. They are small but kinda like WTF was it used for. My first would be the use of that annoying EhEhEh in that spoken intro. It reminded me of that crap "Umbrella" song from Rihanna and was totally uncalled for. The second is with AVEX and not Dima, but why the heck omit the lyrics to the second verse in the booklet. They've done this many x before and it really gets under my skin. Now that I got that off my chest, let's go right into that 3rd verse. perfect Aishu bliss, especially when that mini intsrumental part overtakes the bridge. So Dima manages to mimic every aspect of one of his early Europanic hits. Even the fade out is very retro. Now whatch this song makes some waves on my next week's top 40.
9/10
5.
Dream Fighters- All About You (Dima music)
I was ready to dismiss this song for the soul fact that I have been longing for a fast Dima style Eurobeat song and Dream Fighters just didn't sound like it was delivering, but here is another perfect example of one of those songs that sounds so much better once you got the lyrics in front of you. My hat goes off to Darksky as he is credited for the lyrics and does a damn good job IMOP. The first vesrse:
Feeling Lonely On The Ocean, we are floating on a boat, is pefectly capturing the songs essence, but when he rhymes it with the line
Do you know that all I want is you... I wrote and Dima adds in the piano beats. The song just goes to another level. This is probobly the best Dream Fighters song I have heard since
Storm Bringer. The riff itself is pretty simple ,but all according the feel of the song and once the flamenco-like? guitars start playing; I really get the image of The male counterpart searching for his soulmate amongst the ocean. It really seems to be the perfect Aishu image and if a video is ever made, it better damn well tell the story the lyrics are portraying and not just some crappy colours or Dima walking through a field of grass. That just won't do. This is another song that will make a huge jump in my countdown by next week. I'm not really caring for the spoken type intro, but that's not enough to ruin the rest of the bliss the song creates.
9-/10
6.
Joe D. Toaster- Feel The Power Inside (HRG Attack)
HRG Attack. What would SEB do without them? I believe they are finally getting their just dues and what incredible songs the Live Music Team are showcasing on SEB nowadays. Joe D. Toaster is no stranger to HRG Attack fans. Nick Festari still holds the championship for the way he aggressively delivered the words to
Beautiful; my favourote HRG Attack song ever! The first thing I noticed is that the intro isn't too agressive. Infact, It actually sounds like you are about to hear a Rick Castle song in the first couple of notes, but as soon as the synth riff kicks in, you know your in for one wild Roller coaster ride. The synths really steal the show from Joe this TIME around and here is why. Joe sounds reliably good, but there are parts especially in the bridge where his vocals actually get cut off by the chorus. listen to when he say Claude Debussy. He doesn't even get to finish the line when "Comon and Feel The Power Inside" line is allready starting. this causes his vocals to sound almost muffled right before said chorus begins,because he actually cuts hinself off and it sounds a bit odd. This is probobly the way the song was meant to sound, but probobly could have been delivered better...and what does Claude Debussy have to do with an HRG attck song anyway?

. Aside from that slight error, the rest of the production is spot on. Good vocal tone, like ,Festari allways has, thrilling riff and catchy chorus. and as I mentioned; the descending and ascending synth parts throughout the verses and chorus, absolutley steel the show from Joe, but in a good way to make the song sound all that much better and hiking its grade from a strong 9 to a solid 10.
10/10
7.
Claudia VIP- Lucky Star (HRG Attack)
OOOWEEEE! Whenever I start off a review like that, you know a song is putting me in that perfect Eurobeat zone. It seems Claudia has ditched her car for a shining star. It's funny ,but both HRG Attack song's theme is about being famouse, being on satge ect... Could it be the label is excelling in their current SEB heavy fame? let's hope it doesn't get to their head? Haha! This song wastes no TIME in gripping its listeners. Right from the first notes, you know what you are in for and it seems the writers came up with an infectuous riff melody and they are pimping it out throughout the song. It's a great melody and I can't be 100% sure if they have used it before or not in another song , but if they have; it sure wasn't as memorable as it is in this song. It might just well be the bass that is added to the melody that makes it all the more powerful, but whatever the case, it's working one hundred fold. the lyrics are devilered much like in the Dejo song, simple but just right to get the point across. The riff is more Italo than Robert De Niro is nowadays and really captures the feel of the song. It has a little bit of a vanity thing going too in the way she says Lucky Star. If you like the way Christian DeLo delivers his lines then you should have no problem with miss VIP. That awesome melody is back in the break and I absolutley love when all the music is dropped for half a second, signaling the start of the third verse. . I guess this is Melody C singing? Anyway, she sounds like Louise on
Love Me On The Phone. Here is another song that overuses the synthesizer, but again giving the song it's incredible power. Instant 10+. No questions asked.
10+/10
8.
Marko- I Need a Revolution (DELTA)
So I guess DELTA decided to drop the name Polo and just keep it as Marko. Hmmm... A little more imagination would have been nice, but anyway why depress on names when it's the actual song that's the star? Once again we have an intro that has been used many TIMES by Capaldi. At first this song really didn't sound to different from say "I Need A Hero ", but that's ok because that became a big hit in my top 10. I like this song a lot, but fear that overplay on my system will give it overkill. Who is the singer anyway? Luka? It sure isn't Marco. The thing is that when A super powerful song like this is released, I'm quickly destined to give it a 10. It has perfect Eurobeat riff, great vocal deliverance, Good sing a long value and even pretty decent lyrics, but the fact that every one of Capaldi's intros sounds the same, has been getting under my skin for someTIME. I could make a super mega Capaldi mix if these songs were on vinyl, but they are not and so his intros and breaks are fast becoming annoying to my ears. I really wish Newfield would also submit some new material to break the monotony the lable is starting to accumulate. Still ,I have to admit the song is really great on all other aspects, so i will give it a 9 and leave it at that.
9/10
9.
Mr. Moog- Stardust (Dima music)
We are up to the STAR of the cd. The cream of the crop. The Moneyshot of the porn film. The song I repeat 5 TIMEs in a row before I let the cd continue into Marika's song. This song is what I was expecting from Claudio Magnani ever since he made his comeback.
Say Goodby had that perfect style he used on songs from Silver back at TIME studios,but this new song totally takes a page from his De Niro alias.
Out Of Control, Follow Me Now. It's Dima writing in the style he used to at TIME.
Millenium quickly came to mind. Anyway, here is another perfect song that grips you from the start. Forget that some where I read the words trance and what not. That's not gonna ruin my perfect Eurobeat ride. This is traditional " Spacy" Eurobeat and the fact that Claudio Magnani is delivering the vocals, makes it all the more an instant classic and a top contender for song of the year. It's almost the Eurogrooves entry of the cd for me. The question is just what kind of Stardust are Dima/Darksky writing about? LOL! I distincly recall a song from Vibration catalog called "Cocaine" that even borrows lyrics from the classic Clapton song. The lyrics of
Stardust are accordingly to the Disco Stardust of the 70's too. How did you guys know it was refered to "The Queen Of Night" LOL! Anyway,
Avex decided to once again be dicks and omit the secong verse from the booklet, so whoever can guess those lyrics, please send them to me ASAP. The sing along factor gets broken by the second verse is that just won't do. Dima knows he found an addicting synth riff and uses it in almost every take. Even the break is just a raw cut and paste intro job, but the way the synth effects are used gives it the perfect platform to introduce the much awaited 3rd verse. Anyway what this song does, is give me the desire to hear my older SEBs with songs like Hot Love Games, High Satisfaction, $1000s, You Spin Me Round,ect.... This song is so amazing that it also would have blown my mind with Dima Vocals. Damn! Maybe Dima should sing Stardust part 2? Anyway 3 great entries from Dima and all different styles from each other. Let's hope for three more on SEB 208.
10++++
10.
Marika- Stay With Me (DELTA)
By the TIME I even let this song play, I'm so high on Stardust, that its hard to even get into it.

It really doesn't even sound too much like DELTA, but what gets under my skin is how people immediately start fishing for sounds to compare this song to Euro pop or whatever and say it's the
Labyrinth Of Love of the cd. This is just a Eurobeat song and that's that. It's really not even Aishu beacuse it has a rather fast synth riff and way too much explosion effects to be aishu. Infact, aside from the aishu sounding intro, it really is just a mid tempo Eurobeat song. The vocals are ok, but its the Synth progression that sounds good to me. It probobly won't make too many waves in my top 40, but should have a nice run untill 208 is released. It's a good song to be released under DELTA's catalog and it's nice to see Rizzi and Clara in the writing credits again.
7/10
11.
Jay Lehr- Hi-Love (SCP)
Seems SCP has been bitten by the Dima hi-hat bug? I wonder if that's how the title of the song was born? I'm still enjoying
Little Littler Star on a weekly basis and on a Jay Lehr scale; this song sounds like part two of
Little Little Star. I much rather enjoyed the later a bit more and it's probobly cuz it was a first of it's kind. Here we have the same vocoder effects, vocal deliverance and basically the same soundworlds as Little Little Star, so why would I like this song better when it sounds as if they just overlayerd new lyrics on top of a LLS's melody? I mean,It's a good song and definately keeping the SCP track run high, but I miss Disco Lehr just a little bit. What I do like is the imaginative riff, but in the end, the song just goes by too quick for me to really feel the grip and it's 4:00 min run TIME doesn't help in the least. I actually enjoyed
Bigga Boom a little more this round.
8/10
12.
Dave Rodgers- The Race Of The Night (Sun Fire)
Dave's new Sun Fire lable is definately taking off nicely. Once again the man takes honours for best intro in a song. It's just one guitar orgy fest after another. This song has a kinda Tech intro in the backround like the type TIME would use on songs like
Forever Young ect.. Most were written by Live Music Team too. Overlaping that is an amazing guitar chords. You got the line "Once upon a TIME" which makes no sense, but still sounds like it should be right where it is, a couple of more female backup effects like
Louder and Faster has and BAM!! the riff in the way only Dave can dream up. The song isn't as Powerful as
Louder and Faster, but sure to make dents in my top 10. As it stands now, both Dave Roders songs are in my top 10, so I'm thinking that for the moment, when it comes to Eurobeat racing songs, the man can do no wrong. In fact ,Dave yet has to be dethrowned when it comes to a perfect Racing themed Eurobeat. Probobly the only slight downplay is during the bridge. Dave's vocals seem to lose a bit of punch, but it's probobly how he intended this to sound? I also think the guitar solo could have been cranked up a notch, but all is forgiven by the TIME the third verse begins. There is a lot of special effects in the backround and when you especially listen for these effects, then you will be taking that perfcet Eurobeat ride with Dave. Plus if you blink, you will miss out on a quick but effective outro. Really anticipating the next Sun Fire entry.
10-/10
13.
M-O.V.E-(Japanese characters that my p.c doesn't have) Eurogrooves remix.
Does anyone even know what the title of the song is in English? So why is Dall Ora getting kicked to the curb? I will say right from the start that the riff is Eurogrooves heaven, but the rest of the song has another atmosphere. It's a mix of Aishu and Agressive rapping and then you got this ultra cool riff and the whole thing is really too much for me to absorb. Add to the fact that I don't really care for her vocals and I can't sing along, and it all becomes a major mess that leaves me in a catatonic(is that the correct word?) state. It's really hard for me to grade a song that I can't even fully grasp, but as far as the riff; well that gets a solid 10, but then again a song is more than just a riff.
N/A
14.
Ace- Take My Breath Away(Healing version)
There is just to much healing going on this last trax and I'm not even hurting, that is untill this song rolls around. How can it be a good idea to slow down a song that is known for it's powerful delivery? Shit, They might as well do a Hearbreaker healing remix and call it Heart Mender. Have those chicks do the ahy ahy's in the same way they are singing ah ahas in this song. Message to AVEX: Please stop doing this to our Eurobeat classix. It just makes no sense to bring the Eurobeat vibe this cd is giving me down to a complete hault when they know I'm just gonna go straight to track number 9 when this healing song ends..
Best 3 songs
Mr. Moog- Stardust
Claudia VIP- Lucky Star
Dave Rodgers- The Race Of The Night
Bottom 3 songs other than trax 13,14
Marika- Stay With Me
Dejo- 1.2.3.4 Fire!
Jay Lehr- Hi- Love
Honourable mention
Dream Fighters- All About You(Great lyrics)