Super Eurobeat 195

[Justican]

Justican's SEB 195 Review:

If you have noticed that ive put down my own personal score as well as the score I put for the "real" score which is what I would put if I had to review it for other people. Although the flucuation here isnt that great, songs on other albums have deviated alot, for example, Si La Do on SEB 194 has a Song Rating of 8 but my peronal score is 4, just so you know how I have rated it.

01. Dave Rodgers feat. Alex De Rosso - BURNING LIKE FIRE (A-Beat C)
Typical Dave Rodgers matierial which to me isnt that typical, as it sounds more like a Powerful T song then a Dave song. As there are many songs of this caliber from both artists, this tunes dosent really stand out but is a good start to the album, which this type of track is essential to the speedy theme. Its a solid track, made a tad better using the acoustic drums and guitar in the intermission as you know, you cannot be speedy forever.
Song Rating: 8
My Rating: 9

02. Project 2 - ULTRA MI-HA DELUXE (GGM)
When I first heard this, I was very iffy about the "woo!" playing all the time in the synth, but after a few listens to it, it seems to go. This song definatly reflects back to SEB 192 with its party theme so it seems, even its it already been done recently, its still a solid performance and will get you on the dancefloor singing its addictive chorus. This song has been creating alot of buzz and, altough i rather prefer most of the tracks from SEB 192, I still will enjoy listening to this.
Song Rating: 9
My Rating: 8

03. David Dima - KING OF THE WORLD (Dima)
Ever since Dima's Tsudare Night arrived, it was an instant classic. It was everything an epic EB track should be and King of the World is at the same caliber as its predecessors. Dima's songs seem to evolve in a way to keep his tracks fresh instead of being innovative, as you can tell the guitar solo is inspired after the efforts listened to in Save a Prayer. The synth variation also keeps it away from being "Ive heard that before!" which helps it with its evolution, all in all, nothing to fault here.
Song Rating: 10
My Rating: 10

04. Derreck Simons - STOP CITY LOVER (GGM)
Thats a name I havent heard in a while, looks like this track has been in a making for a long time and it shows, its really fresh and has a very addictive chorus. Like Dima's last song, the variation in the synth is nice and increases its longativity, along with the energetic lyrics, its a song that wont get old any time soon. So another great song, will there be a bad one on this album?
Song Rating: 8
My Rating: 9+

05. Gold-Rake - HURRICANE MAN (Eurogrooves)
More and more Energy from the people at eurogrooves, sounds awfully like Dave Simon's Speed Man, and also sounds like its trying to over the good folks at Hi NRG attack at being regardlessly hard, aggressive and random. It works, but its really not that innovative as it does suffer quite a bit of "Ive heard that many times before!" and it sounds like a big patchwork of a song. Ever since its conception, its was never going to be great, lets just give it a good score.
Song Rating: 7+
My Rating: 7

06. De Leo - SAVE ANOTHER DAY FOR ME (Time)
What can I say about this song except that the song is a perfect example why Time will always be one of the top EB labels. Every part of the song is so addictive and I havent been able to get sick of any part of the song after an agressive listening to, the song just goes so well together. An exception Synth that perfectly accompanies the chorus which has been stuck in my head all night, something which a really good EB song will do. Although its originality is no where to be seen, its the peak of the EB formula.
Song Rating: 10
My Rating: 10+++

07. Mari-San - DON'T BELONG (GGM)
Its a shame really, there are many songs out there where less is more, the biggest is definatly Space Boy -Grand Mix-, but here, the song longivity is dramatically shortend by the consistant "whoooooa!" in the synth, does Mari-San really have to do it in ALL of them? Im sure a little variation and having them in one of two would make the song alot more special. Other then that, Mari-San's "Style" is back and even more apparent then the last track, a very laid back but still with massive amounts of energy, its a great track, all the instruments and the lovely synth are above par, shame you cannot really hear the synth much thanks to the previous complaint.
Song Rating: 9-
My Rating: 7+

08. Mad Max - ROCK YOU (Delta)
I was very suprised with this song, to me, a strong synth is really important in a EB song, although its not strong and that the other parts of the song claim that title by the bucket loads, its flowing and breezy, giving it a relaxing feeling which, in turns, gives the rest of the song that feeling. Its definatly something that will reming you of what SEB 191 should of sounded like. A wonderful car driving tune, it contains a strong set of lyrics and some powerful guitar to get its speedy status and, hopefully like your driving, dosent faulter.
Song Rating: 8+
My Rating: 8

09. Fastway - MONSTERS READY (SCP)
Go Beat Crazy....erm, I mean Monsters Ready is pretty apparent that its a typical Fastway tune, just look at the mistake I did! Anyway, it fills the quota, speedy synth, "Stuck in my head" chorus and accelerating bridge, how can you fault a Fastway song unless you dont like the artist. The only thing you can say about the song is that "There not trying hard enough to make an original tune!", its a tad true, but for an artist like Fastway, its not the way, when they came up with spitfire, I was close to say how much of a pathetic attempt to try and reinvent there music, good thing I got to like it. Monsters ready was never going to be an epic tune, just a vastly enjoyable one.
Song Rating: 8-
My Rating: 8+

10. Megan - I WILL SURVIVE (SinclaireStyle)
When you hear an artists name, you always expect a certain type of song. It happens here, but instead, its the LABEL that makes that assumption. An early sounding Sinclaire style songs, its worked up so it sounds a bit more modern and with more energy. Its trance elements arnt original in eurobeat, its only way its suffers but theres always one in each album, its become a SEB tradition since it became popular back in the 90's and it never makes a song great nor poor. Its a song to listen to when your the agressive is a little too much or just a bit boring. A welcome addition to the album though, its give you a break yet retains the energy needed for a speedy track.
Song Rating: 7+
My Rating: 8

11. Mister Max - SHINE (Asia)
Its up to the Asia label to bring a little of its style to an SEB album, as its never typical. Mister Max has done alot of tunes which you can tell trys to deviate from his typical formula, but unfortunatly, hes still stuck in a rutt. Its dosent deliver as much energy as his previous tracks, and indeed, not as much energy as the other tracks on the album but dosent mean its not as funky and addictive as the rest. Well maybe its not, but the competition is fierce and Shine loses out on all aspect, not because its a bad song, just because its now one of Mister Max's forgettable tunes.
Song Rating: 7-
My Rating: 6

12. Scream Team - KOOKY SPOOKY (SCP)
There back and ready to scare your socks off.....BOOOO!! Its cheese and the best type of it, chedder....oops I mean...SEB style. Very similar to Horror Fantasy, just with alot more typical when coming with the comical Halloween samples, which helps it alot. I may actually ending up liking this better then Horror Fantasy as it has alot more energy and variation in the song, hopefully it will come up with another fantastic Para Dance like Horror Fantasy. Very Cheesy, Very addictive, you will get up and dance to it like a shaky skeleton...oh and....BOOO!
Song Rating: 10+++
My Rating: 10

13. Joe Banana - WILD BOY BAD LOVE (Hi-NRG Attack)
I was getting very concerned, Hi-NRG Attack last few songs where declining in quality very fast, I rated Si La Do for my own rating as a 4, it was a song that did nothing for me. Its a good thing Hi-NRG Attack are giving Joe Banana a chance to make another quality Hi-NRG Attack Tune just like his old tunes. As said, it does sounds like a big reformat of Dum Dum Pistol and follows the quality of most of the tunes he has done in the last few years. The synth isnt overblown like a few Hi-NRG tunes have been and the experiamental lyrics dont destroy the song like Si La Do. Very steady and very traditional for Hi-NRG attack and for me, thats all it needs to be very enjoyable.
Song Rating: 8+
My Rating: 9+

Album Final Words:

If SEB albums could have MOT tests, this one passes them all with flying colours. Bringing back as much as EB has learned over the last 10 years, SEB 195 is in no way original, just very comprehensive of what EB is. All the songs fit the theme, there all agressive and always racing, there is hardly a boring moment here. Lots of traditional styles here and for avid listeners to eurobeat, you will recognise the songs influences and already love many of the songs, although it maybe a bit to intense and some of the songs faulter for this as having too much of one thing can often spoil a song. Lets just be thankful theres been no Unbeliveable or Space Boy -Grand Mix- experiments that go horribley wrong on here.
Album Rating: 9+
My Rating: 9

Best 3 Songs:

Save another day for me
King of the World
Kooky Spooky

Worst 3 Songs:

Don't Belong
Shine
Hurricane Man

Honourable Mension:

Wild Boy Mad Love for its reinvigorating addition to Hi-NRG Attack Label.

[Nine]

I don't really have much to say to warrant a whole review of the album at this time, but I do have my top and bottom song preferences. Of course, for me GoGo's Music won me over.

Top 3:

Derreck Simons / Stop City Lover (5/5)
Mari-San / Don't Belong (5/5)
Project 2 / Ultra Mi-Ha Deluxe (5/5)

There are two other songs I want to point out that I really enjoyed too... Burning Like Fire and I Will Survive.

Honorable Mention(s):
Dave Rodgers feat. Alex De Rosso / Burning Like Fire (4.5/5)
Megan / I Will Survive (4.5/5)

For the songs I disliked... Kooky Spooky was just "epic fail." David Dima isn't my style and Save Another Day For Me was just easily the most forgettable song on this album for me.

Bottom 3:

Scream Team / Kooky Spooky (0/5)
David Dima / King Of The World (1/5)
De Leo / Save Another Day For Me (2/5)

Overall, the album was decent. The songs I liked outweighed the songs I disliked but at the end of the day I will probably only go back to 5 or 6 tracks.

[Jay]

Save Another Day For Me was just easily the least forgettable song on this album for me.

So you thought it was the most memorable song off the whole album? :p

[pokecapn]

Thinking about it, Ultra Mi-Ha Deluxe is the worst song on this album and probably the worst one in dozens of albums. It's like elevator eurobeat, as long as you're not paying attention to it it sounds like everything else, but if you pay attention the song is completely empty of substance, energy, and passion.

[Nine]

Save Another Day For Me was just easily the least forgettable song on this album for me.

So you thought it was the most memorable song off the whole album? :p

Oops, I meant most forgettable. ;

[trainerkelly]

From my first listens of the CD, "ULTRA MI-HA DELUXE" and "DON'T BELONG" are the worst singing-wise. Mari-san's voice annoys me. XD;; Right now, they're on my "Ears Bleed" list, along with "YESTERDAY"; it may change after more listens, may not.

I don't like the lyrics for "KOOKY SPOOKY" for the most part (a bit too sappy, cheesy romance for my taste), but the song still makes it onto my favourites list for it being fun.

I hope to do a large review on this, like I did with SEB 193, so suspect that in perhaps a few weeks? XP Maybe...

[WNight]

My Ranking :
Burning Like Fire [10+]
Ultra Mi-Ha Deluxe [10]
King Of The World [8 1/2]
Stop City Lover [9]
Hurricane Man [10]
Save Another Day For Me [8]
Don't Belong [9 1/2]
Rock You [10+++++]
Monsters Ready [10++++]
I Will Survive [10+++]
Shine [10++]
Kooky Spooky [10+++]
Wild Boy Bad Love [9]

Some Comments :
Rock You is arguably the best track for me on the album, It's speedy, powerful and it's very catchy with the transitions between each parts of the song nicely done up. Fastway's/Megan's/Scream Team's track isn't too far behind and they also presented very well done tracks that I truely enjoyed listening to. Following behind is Shine, also a very nicely done Saifam track that I initially disliked a lot as I thought it sounded stupid but turned out to be one of the better tracks on the CD. Burning Like Fire was a track that I had very high expectations for (What else is new?) due to the song having such a strong collaboration line-up and a very aggressive sounding song title, However, It didn't quite live up to the standards I was looking for, It is a very powerful and catchy song though. Dave could do a lot better than this but for now, This song is actually pretty good.

Ultra Mi-Ha Deluxe was arguably the slowest song on the album, but it wasn't bad and in fact, I enjoyed listening to it due to it's catchiness overall albeit it's fairly slow speed. Hurricane Man is on the other hand a totally different story from Ultra Mi-Ha Deluxe and it is a speedy song that really gets me moving. Wild Boy Bad Love is a very wacky sounding song that is actually very nice to listen to, Definitely a nice entry by HRG since Run & Run. Don't Belong is a song that has had it's haters and lovers, I personally fell on the lover side although I do admit that I occasionally have issues with Mari-San's vocals in the song, but it's a very nice track overall. Stop City Lover was just good, nothing more.

King Of The World isn't quite the follow up I was hoping for after Tsundere Night but definitely better than Stormbringer, It's also quite a powerful song with a fairly catchy melody but doesn't offer much more. Save Another Day For Me was easily the worst song on the album but definitely not bad as it does have it's good parts like a listenable overall structure.

Overall, The whole album is just filled with nice tracks that I will definitely listen to a lot, It's arguably the best 19x album thus far and I really feel that it deserves more than a perfect grade. What is funny is that I initially dissed off the album as being very average upon hearing the samples but was quite proven wrong. My only major gripe with the album is that it doesn't really quite fufill a speedy theme overall although there are songs like Hurricane Man, but if we actually ignore that, What I can say is, this album rocks and the whole album is going to go into my mp3 player for sure.

Final Grade : [10+++]

[Densetsu13]

Save Another Day For Me is so awesome. It is the perfect blend of SCP's One Touch and Delta's Fighting

To my Save Another Day For Me felt like One Touch and My Heart Radio.

It's annoying, when I sing along whenever the B-melo comes up in Save Another Day I switch into the B-melo for Fighting unintentionally XD

[pokecapn]

hang on ham on ghskaghldsakf i hate this song

[Javy]

Am I the only one who thinks Rock You's synth is incredibly weak, watery and hallow? I mean its a fun song just feels so underproduced.

[Nine]

Am I the only one who thinks Rock You's synth is incredibly weak, watery and hallow? I mean its a fun song just feels so underproduced.

I personally thought the synths in Rock You sounded more earthy than watery.

[the_ditz]

Am I the only one who thinks Rock You's synth is incredibly weak, watery and hallow? I mean its a fun song just feels so underproduced.

It is quite a weak and "watery" sounding synth during the hook in Rock You, but I still think it has something to do with the way the song has been mastered as well. It's definitely not as powerful as other Delta tracks like Super Rider.

[DJ Mike TJG]

I must confess I've been absolutely blown away by this compilation. After some very lacklustre releases this one actually has no songs whatsoever I'd classify as "bad". There's a couple of average tracks, but a lot of what's on here is fantastic! I'm really loving the slower, power numbers - Dave Rodgers included! (Which may be astonishing in itself given how much I've slated his stuff from the past couple of years.)

The far and away highlight for me is, without a doubt, King Of The World. I don't think Dima can put a foot wrong - truly he's churning out awesome track after awesome track!

More thoughts when I have time to get some cohesive review scores together.

[Brisk]

Am I the only one who thinks Rock You's synth is incredibly weak, watery and hallow? I mean its a fun song just feels so underproduced.

I actually thought the whole song was terrible. Definently the worst on the album; pretty disappointing from Delta. Only thing it has me going for it is Clara in the background.

[the_ditz]

I caved. It was my birthday a week ago, so I asked my brother to give me a Japanese iTunes card as a gift (I've actually ordered a copy of the album on CD but I couldn't wait for it to arrive!)

I am more than a little surprised to report that my favourite track is easily the stunning Ultra Mi-Ha Deluxe by Project 2. The vocal melody in that song is just an absolute joy to behold and the production is absolutely perfect in my eyes! The combination of voices between Leo and Mari-San is a great choice, but it's really the awesome melody that they are given that makes the voices work so well. At first, I absolutely hated the random shouting adlibs during the intro, but listening to the track on the way home from work today, I actually found myself screaming along! Mari-San's voice is still overcooked in many places, but this proves that it was the song more than the vocalist that made me hate Secret Destination.

As for the other tracks, I totally agree with DJ Mike TJG that there isn't a single bad track on the album. Sure, there are tracks that I like less than others, but I can truly say that this is the first album for a very long time...in fact, perhaps the first SEB album EVER where every track is a winner in some way.

I intend to do a complete review when my CD arrives and I can enjoy the tracks in full CD quality. Even Grandpa Dave impressed me!!

I'm off to blast some more Ultra Mi-Ha Deluxe on my iPod...."YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH MOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN....YEEEAAAHH-HEEEEEAAEEEAAAHHHH MOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!!!"