Alright, now that I've been able to listen to the tracks in full (well, nonstop versions!) on my iPod, I figure I'd throw in a review to pay homage to one of the best albums of the 190's!
01 DOMINO & VIRGINELLE feat. MEGA NRG MAN / SUPER EUROBEAT (GGM)
From the start of this track (after the mini-megamix), we are straight into familiar GGM territory. Lots of "heys" and beat breaks with guitars and fragmented synths giving you a really varied and dynamic musical landscape. First of all, it has to be said that while Mega NRG Man's appearance is more of a cameo than a true joint effort, his rap section is actually really catchy and gets the energy level just right for the main hook and the girls' vocals. Elena Gobbi is on fine form here, and I get the impression at certain points that Domino appears to be trying to mimic her vocal style, which makes me chuckle. As for the melody, we have your typical rising scales that GGM seems to use to such good effect, and the energy level never really drops thanks to the crisp synths and fresh beats teamed with the energetic and hyped vocals. This track once again proves that GGM - more than any other label over the 190's (with the exception perhaps of Dima) - have become one of the most dynamic and instantly recognisable sounds and styles.
Score: 9.5/10
02 EUROGROOVES ALL STARS / SUPER EUROBEAT (Eurogrooves)
We are in familiar territory here in terms on this production. The main hook in particular consists of your standard Time synth sound with a fairly standard melodic progression. Similarly, you have the heavy bass beat backing up the track. The vocal melody tries some interesting things, and certain sections actually come off sounding like Hi-NRG Attack's more mellow styled tracks (that's a good thing!) Contrary to most Eurobeat songs for me, the chorus here is the true star and I love that additional dramatic "Super Eurobeat" as an ascending scale to add that extra bit of flair and style. Both vocalists have their chance to shine as well, and that's nice to hear as quite often the male vocals take over and overpower the female. I love the more muted backing to the second chorus as you can really hear how catchy the vocal melody is. Overall, a very nice track, although perhaps not as amazing as previous Eurogrooves tracks (I'm still waiting for Euronight part 2...)
Score: 8.5/10
04 ANDREA feat. SERGIO / BARBIE GIRL (Eurogrooves)
Okay, I really can't judge this very fairly as the song itself is just completely burned-out and old news for me. Instead, I'll comment purely on the production. The main hook is pretty awesome, and reminds me a bit of Saifam's style (e.g. Dream Of You by Alvin). The beats and bass seem a bit more poppy, which I guess ties in with the song itself. The vocal performance is reasonable - it's cute I guess that it's like a father and daughter thing - but overall I still can't forget how overplayed the song itself is. I had the same issue with Mamma Mia - good production and energy but an overplayed and overexposed song.
Score: 9/10 (production), 5/10 (song)
05 KRYSTAL & DIMA / LET THE MUSIC PLAY (Dima)
Mr. Dima - you are a Eurobeat god when it comes to production. My old favourite label (SCP) meets one of my new favourite labels here and it's a match made in heaven. Krystal is fast becoming one of the hottest female prospects on the Eurobeat scene, and she gets to show off her more playful and cutesy side here after the slightly more serious and whimsical Dream. The hook and general structure of the production makes this sound like a Kiki & Fancy song, and I don't think it would sound out of place with their vocals. However, that's not to say that Dima and Krystal don't do a fantastic job themselves - the energy and playfulness is ever-present in the vocal lines and I love the final line from Krystal in the chorus "fly with me forever!" The synth bursts in the gaps during the chorus are what make this track pure Dima, and I absolutely love the whole soundworld. After the awesome 1 Week, this is definitely a fantastic way to keep the partnership between these two artists going strong!
Score: 10/10
07 ALEKY / ETERNITY (Dima)
I haven't actually heard the original track by Overhead Champion, and to be honest I'm quite glad that I haven't as this song is a pure masterpiece on its own merits. For a start we have the most gorgeous interplay going on between the electric guitar and synths that give the song a real smouldering and powerful sound to my ears. I love the fact that Dima has taken the rulebook about typical structures in Eurobeat tracks and completely thrown it out the window! The lack of no real synth hook would normally be a massive disappointment, but somehow it gives this track a more complete and epic feel to it - I always feel like I'm on a journey when listening to this track rather than going round in circles with small variations (if that makes any sense!) Aleky puts on a great vocal performance, with clear and crisp vocal delivery that sit well on top of Dima's perfect production. The verses stay quite true to the commercial trance heritage of the track with arpeggio scales backing up the vocal lines. I adore the synth phrases between vocal lines in the chorus - they just add that extra bit of sparkle to the song. The guitar solo before the second verse also kicks some serious ass, and if all that wasn't enough - there's an absolutely fantastic key change in the final chorus!! I was in heaven from start to finish, and this is without a doubt the biggest debut on SEB in a long long time!! Bring on more Aleky (perhaps with an English language version of Eternal Blaze by Tsukasa in Dima Eurobeat style?? That would rock sooooo much!!)
Score: 10+++/10
16 NORMA SHEFFIELD / HERE IT COMES THE SUN (A-Beat C)
I haven't made any secret of the fact that I am no fan of Norma "oh dear, there appears to be a clothes peg attached to the end of my nose" Sheffield, but there is something quite strange happening in this track.... it really isn't bad. Sure, it still has the fairly watery and whimsical bell synth hooks and the whole soundworld is just a bit empty in places, but the melody seems to be what takes this from mediocrity to fairly decent. I love the final line in the chorus "bring me to your love" and the way it blends so unexpectedly straight into the tingling hook. Norma's vocals still leave me a bit cold - I know that I always mention about how artists should have their own style, but I just don't like the tone she has and the way she pronounces many words makes me wince. The previous track on this CD - Nothing Changed - sounds so much more normal, so what has happened over the years to make her voice change in such an ugly manner? Anyway, as a song I will probably not skip this all the time like every other Norma Sheffield, but in this company it struggles to stand out.
Score: 7/10
17 NUAGE / BEFORE TOMORROW (SinclaireStyle)
Oh wow, check out the boom boom bass!! Nuage has been given some serious raw energy to contend with here from Sinclaire, but she surprisingly holds her own very well. My main concern is that she may be made to sound a bit too much like Megan, but that's maybe just the songwriting more than her delivery. The beat seems a bit too exposed during the main hook, and I feel there is an arpeggio layer missing or something around the mid range (the bass is very bassy and the main synth quite trebly, but there's not a lot in between to my ears. Anyway, this one is all about the way that Sinclaire has turned Nuage into a funky Euro-techno (it's not hyper-techno, but Euro-techno) diva! The verse has this amazing stuttering deep synth line that gives the song a cool industrial edge, and I absolutely adore the vocal melody in these sections. I also love the piano arpeggios after the chorus. However, fast forward to 2:38 and you will hear the most weird and intriguing section of this whole song. We get a Eurodance-techno-Eurobeat-pop clash with more raw power than you can shake a stick at, and I think it's what keeps drawing me back to listen to this track again and again. Never before has Nuage sounded so angsty and rebellious! here's hoping this may be the start of a fun new partnership between the popular vocalist and the producer who occasionally (as was the case with Move On Now Baby and as is the case here) creates pure Eurobeat gold!
Score: 10/10
21 BLACK EVA & NICK TURBO / RUNNING TO MY CAR (Hi-NRG Attack)
I definitely hear what drnrg was saying when he mention HRG Aishu - this track definitely be the result if Dave Rodgers, Annerley and Live Music Studio had some joint love child!! The hook shows that the label isn't just about the BPMs or how many notes you can squeeze into one measure, and it definitely sits well in the context on this duet. It's also great to hear both vocalists on a fairly even playing field, as HRG is the world's worst for overpowering the females with the male vocals. The rise and fall of the vocal melody retains the melodic heritage of the Hi-NRG Attack, but also introduces more sincere and gentle phrasing from the Aishu field, and the result is a very refreshing track from the label that is often accused of rehashing old ideas and melodies. I can definitely see a future for Hi-NRG Attack if this is representative of their newer material - the Bratt Protone album on Juno is still the pinnacle of their productions for me, but this track proves they can turn their hand to a slightly different style successfully and create a fresher and more sincere sound.
Score: 9/10
23 DAVE & FUTURA / DANCE IN MY TOWN (A-Beat C)
Oh my god... I just want to give Futura and big squishy hug when I hear her vocals in this track. She sounds so innocent and cutesy that my face was in danger of having a permanent puppy-dog look on it, but I managed to snap out of it before the wind changed!! Anyway, this track is awesome - I'm pretty sure many people on this forum agree with me, but here is my reasons for liking it so much. First of all, you have that stunning classic sounding A-Beat C hook that just oozes power and speed. These kinds of hooks are what made the label such a force to be reckoned with! Secondly, we have the fantastic vocal performances (yes, even from Grandpa Dave!) Futura has done puite possibly the biggest turnaround from one album to the next - I'm Superstar was pitchy, poorly written and an awful performance all round, but Dance In My Town shows she can deliver a very cute yet assured vocal performance. The line "Fire in the night" during the chorus just melts my heart when I hear it, and I adore the dramatic ascending scale to the final "YEAH!" in unison. It's just a really cute and quirky classic Eurobeat track - I thought they had stopped making these tracks with the Burning Desires etc., but if Dave can recreate the magic that resulted in this masterpiece, A-Beat C will rise again as one of the strongest labels on the scene!
Score: 10/10
24 FRANZ TORNADO & THE TRI-STAR GIRLS / SUPER EUROBEAT (Hi-NRG Attack)
...and after the fresh sound of Running To My Car, we land straight back in the generic world of Franz Tornado. Every normal Hi-NRG Attack cliche is evident here - the way the female backing vocals come in halfway through the verse; the beat drop before the bridge; the pounding tom-toms leading up to and during the chorus... it all just sounds a bit manufactured and far from the best material that Hi-NRG Attack have ever put out. I can't really concur with drnrg's praise of the lyrics either, as we're back in the bog-standard "fire" "desire" "higher" "liar" territory. Perhaps I'm just being cynical, but I just don't know why amazing songs like Super Knife were ignored by Avex and far more standard and generic tracks like this one get snapped up...
Score: 6.5/10
27 DELTA QUEENS / SUMMER BOY, SUMMER GIRL (Delta)
We are definitely in familiar Delta territory here, but happily it's the kind of production that made the latter Eurobeat Masters releases such massive smash-hits! I adore that gurgling gated arp during the intro - it's pure Delta - and the Delta Queens appear to be on fine vocal form here. The hook itself is probably the true star of this track - crisp, bright and full of cheeky energy. The vocal melody sounds quite poppy on the whole, and this seems to add to the summery party that the track has in my eyes. I can definitely hear the Capaldi production techniques giving the track a more modern twist and keeping it lively among these newer labels, and overall I think this shows that Delta can still produce a hit track despite losing their top-ranking position among the labels on the Super Eurobeat series.
Score: 8.5/10
28 GO 2 & DJ BOSS / SUPERSTAR (SCP)
Oh dear, how embarrassing! Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if you went to a club and your dad invaded the DJ box and started trying rap over the tracks? Well look no further as you have a perfect example of what that would sound like right here!! DJ Boss sounds pretty naff it has to be said - his ramblings really add nothing to the song, but in the same breath I have to say that without them, this track would really sound like a fairly standard cookie-cutter Go 2 track with no real unique features. The hook shows that SCP can still cut it in this department, and there are some cute sections ("You've got to push your luck a bit harder" sounds pretty cool for some reason!) I also enjoy the breakdown section before the first chorus as it adds a bit more spice and variety to the mix. Go 2 are sounding a bit old-hat now - I find myself thinking "well, it's good, but it's no Super Striker!" and I wonder how much longer the team can keep going if their ideas are going to continue getting more stale and less original. The first course of action is to dump DJ "embarrassing dad" Boss from any future tracks - only then can they possibly find their mojo again.
Score: 8/10
Top 3 tracks:
ALEKY / ETERNITY
DAVE & FUTURA / DANCE IN MY TOWN
KRYSTAL & DIMA / LET THE MUSIC PLAY
Bottom 3 tracks:
ANDREA & SERGIO / BARBIE GIRL
FRANZ TORNADO & THE TRI-STAR GIRLS / SUPER EUROBEAT
NORMA SHEFFIELD / HERE IT COMES THE SUN
Very, very honourable mention:
NUAGE / BEFORE TOMORROW
This album has soooo many great new tracks that I cannot wait until they appear on iTunes in extended version. A new star has been born in Aleky, and GGM and Dima steal the show once again for me. Perhaps the 2 biggest shocks come from the amazing new sound from Nuage and the stunning "rebirth" of Futura (perhaps the quickest rebirth ever!!)
I want more new Eurobeat in the current style - I sincerely hope it isn't the last we've heard of the styles!
