I expected more from the first album of the new century to be honest, but here's my rundown of the tracks...
01 DAVE & FUTURA / SUPER EUROBEAT [A-Beat C]
A slow-burning angsty guitar intro gives way to the dull thud of the A-Beat C kick drum - not the most dynamic intro ever, but this track really kicks in to life when the main hook bursts into life. Going with the common option of adding vocal shouts over the hook, Dave is clearly firmly in control of the mic and Futura really only gets a look in with a couple of wispy lines in the verse - hardly a classic duet setup unlike the old days of Dave & Nuage. Still, this track seems to get better with repeat listens. The chorus is probably the strongest part, but I am starting to love the layered sounds of the bridge more and more as well. In terms of structure, it does start to feel a little sporadic and cut-&-paste with distinct sections being often messily arranged one after another - this is where the extended format falls down to be honest. However, this is a decent start to the album and decade and gives at least a glimmer of hope of better things to come...
Score: 8/10
02 YO SHINE / POWER OF MY LOVE [SCP]
Stupid name aside, I am entranced by this song. That trademark stuttering and galloping bassline is back in force as SCP allow Irene's unique vocals to soar through the octaves. The 90's house-style piano intro is a master stroke and instantly gives the track a strong club style groove that makes you want to dance. I also love the mini-breakdowns that have been added throughout the verse and chorus (especially the kick-drum and guitar bursts at 2:10). Melodically, this track takes you on a journey for the brooding and angsty verse, to the ascending hope of the bridge section and then the anthemic chorus - everything just seems to work perfectly. I had hoped that SCP was going to give us more tracks in this style in the 200's, and on this evidence they may just overcome GGM and Dima to become my favourite Eurobeat label once again
Score: 10/10
03 FASTWAY / ROCK BEATIN' WILD [SCP]
Testosterone alert - Fastway has his guitars and isn't afraid to use them!! This one seems to take a leaf out of Powerful T's book with some many different guitar line going on in the background - it's like a techno party in a metal moshpit!! Those hard rock breakdowns in the bridge are what adds that extra bit of grunt to proceedings, and once again I love the way SCP are employing those mini-breakdowns where all of the layered synths stop and giving way for the short sharp blasts of guitar and kick drum - it adds some more interest than just a steady 4/4 rhythm for the whole song. If anything, this track is perhaps a little too short and could have used an extra 30 seconds at least to allow those guitars to wring themselves dry, but overall I was very impressed with this latest Fastway track - his best solo effort for a long time in my eyes.
Score: 9/10
04 MIRKA / 10,000 LOVERS [A-Beat C]
Oh sweet lord, no no nooooooo!! This track is what I had feared the whole album would sound like after the announcement of a return to the beginning. Thankfully that fear wasn't realised, but this song is just so ugly. The kick drum is completely absent giving it a very mono sound, the hi-hats sound like a cheap Casio keyboard I had when I was like 7 years old, and the hook is hardly noticable either. Vocals are horribly saccharine sweet and just wash over me on some levels while burrowing into my ears and drilling evil poison into my brain on other levels. I see no benefit in having this track here at all, especially after listening to the 202 samples and hearing that none employ this ancient and outdated production sound. This should have been left in the archives or released independently, as here it just sounds like an unwanted waste of time.
Score: 1/10
05 MANUEL / NIGHTRAIN [GGM]
The one-time "new Prince of Eurobeat" in my eyes returns with a certain amount of anticipation on my part. The intro is kind of weird - a disjointed mish-mash of ideas and sounds that rarely gel, but for some reason it draws me in. The main hook is a fairly standard GGM affair - they are using the same sounds as they did in the 190's which will no doubt hack a lot of people off - but for me the track only starts getting interesting at the verse. Manuel has developed a much more raspy and operatic vocal style, and this quirky arrangement really gives him a chance to go wild and let loose. The chorus is going to take a bit of getting used to, as their are so many twists and turns in the melodic and chord progression that the first listen is quite an unsettling experience. However, I immediately loved the first 4 bars - a great piece of composition to my ears. Odd to hear that Manuel appears to have stumbled into the intro of Ester's "Never Gonna Give Up" at the 3 minute mark, but he soon boards the Nightrain again on his weird and wonderful trip. This might be a bit too "out there" for some people, and I can't decide whether it's just a mess or pure genius, but one thing's for sure - it left wanting to listen again and again.
Score: 7.5/10
06 TIPSY & TIPSY - NEVER ENDING LOVE [Asia]
Hmmm, let's see. The tinkling piano and watery beats in the intro don't really bring to mind the best that Asia has to offer, but let's give it a chance. The chorus melody has that melancholic melody and comes off sounding like a much more insipid female version of the chorus of "When The Sun Goes Down". I think the main problem that this track has is lack of purpose or real meaning - it just all sounds a bit amateur and far from the masterpieces that we all know the Factory Team can turn out when they are on form. Sure, the melody is fairly okay and there really isn't anything that offends me, but I can't see myself listening to this track more than just the odd occasion when my media player decides to randomly select it. Must try harder Asia...
Score: 4/10
07 QUEEN 26 - YOU ARE MY WONDER [Delta]
Queen 26 has always been hit and miss for me. The disco-style abominations of the early to mid 100's were horrible, but on the Eurobeat Masters series she seemed to have finally jumped into this millennium and found a renewed energy. This track is a mixed bag for me however. The beat is there, and there are the odd flashes of real melodic merit (mainly found in the chorus), but too much of the song suffers from a melodic progression with ADD! The notes are up and down so much that even the vocalist sounds unsure of the notes she should be singing at times (listen to the bridge section if you don't believe me - flat much?) The synth hook has no "meat" or substance and the guitar line at times sounds far too loud, giving the whole track an unpolished feel. I'd love to love this track, but there are too many flaws in the production and songwriting to give it a long-term place in my playlist.
Score: 5.5/10
08 MR. MOOG / SAY GOODBYE [Dima]
This was probably the first Dima Music track that I hadn't been looking forward to since his return to the series. The artist title just made me think if that insipid disco-style the Queen 26 used to peddle constantly. Thankfully, this track doesn't go down that line, but it does mark a change in pace for Dima - gone are the speedy beats and high-energy synths and instead we have a much more funk-inspired bassline and glistening synths at a lower BPM than you might expect. The hot main synth hook is still present (thankfully) giving it that trademark Dima flair, and I'd definitely say the chorus is this tracks shining moment by a country mile. However, there was something missing for me - I'm not sure what it was, but I was left thinking that SCP would somehow have been better suited to tackle this track. I still enjoy the track a lot, but much less than most other Dima tracks of late...
Score: 8/10
09 CLAUDIA VIP - IN YOUR CAR [Hi-NRG Attack]Trademark Hi-NRG Attack from start to finish really - this is probably the one track that was accurately represented in the sample really, as you always know what to expect with them. I can't really pick out any really unique part of this track (perhaps the delay before the chorus?) that distinguishes it from more or less 98% of the label's back catalogue, and that's probably the big problem. It's nice, but I've heard it all before. The chord progression follows the ascending 1-2-3 patterns so loved by the label in the chorus, and this gives it a familiar but sadly fairly bland character. In the right mood, I could easily play this song again and again, but most of the time it's just bog-standard HRG and I know they can do far far better.
Score: 6/10
10 K DELEO - WONDERLOVER [Eurogrooves]
This is an intriguing one. It sounds the ending credits for an anime series or something, and I love the transition from the chorus into the main synth hook. Speaking of which, save for the familiar heavy kick drum, the "soundworlds" are far fresher than a lot of the other Eurogrooves tracks we've been hearing lately. Lyrically, I almost reached for the sick bucket and the tender breakdowns with the piano were very cutesy but a little bit too much for me. If this is a sign of things to come from Eurogrooves, I reckon I'm pretty happy as we will have some more diverse sounds to enjoy. It's not going to challenge to be among my favourites on the album, but I would happily play it again despite the sickly sweet sentiment...
Score: 7/10
11 NATHALIE - LIVE IT UP! [SinclaireStyle]
The drunk whistling synths are back in force for Sinclaire here, and you can definitely hear that he's been spending his time producing a lot Hyper Techno when you hear the beats and breakdowns in this track. For once, I actually think the kick drum is perhaps a bit too chunky for the track, as Nathalie's vocals are too smooth to compete. This has a fairly simple playground chant feel to its melody in the verse, while in the chorus there is no support for the vocals which leaves them sounding lonely and exposed on top of a big bass monster trying to eat them at any moment. I can hear the old school Eurobeat influences in this track (as with a lot of Sinclaire tracks), but on the whole I don't think he really hits the mark with this one - it's a bit too repetitive for my liking and the stuttering nature of the synths make it a difficult song to listen to.
Score: 6/10
12 KEN BLAST / WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN [Delta]
Awesome to see Odyssey getting his big break! The brooding intro with all the electronic blips followed by that dreamy synth line really create a unique landscape for this track. One thing I notice more and more with the production of this track is that it sounds like Newfield has left a lot of the vocal sections fairly sparse (perhaps to allow the vocals to shine?) You can especially hear this at the end of the chorus into the hook - the level of the synth in the hook seems about 20% higher than the bars before it. Anyway, that was a bit of a random aside - the song itself... The melody is nice - not groundbreaking, not horrible, but just...nice. I can hear a couple of lines where you can hear the vulnerability in the voice, but during the chorus I was finding myself singing along by the end which has to be a good thing right? Personally Travis, I would have preferred your first outing on SEB to have a bit more bite (like Fight! or - dare I say - Burn My Heart) but all in all this was a really nice way to round out the new material on the album. Props
Score: 7.5/10
13 GIRL NEXT DOOR / CLIMBER'S HIGH (Dima Remix) [Dima]
Damn, why do all these Japanese tracks all have such awesome vocal melodies? And why does this track have such an awesome synth lead in the main hook - I was captivated by it, and wanted to just loop it! On this evidence, the inclusion of a Eurobeat remake of a Japanese track is going to be a cool idea from 7A - god knows it's about time she had one!! We can but hope that a Dima/SCP/GGM remix of Eternal Blaze by Tsukasa turns up soon!
Score: 8.5/10 (but 10/10 for the hook!!)
14 DAVE RODGERS / WILD REPUTATION (Rock Mix) [A-Beat C]
Wow, this is a bit weird. Hollow is the prevailing word in my mind when I hear this - there is just no effective bass, all treble-heavy thrashy guitars and really bad drum loops. I enjoyed the 2005 remix of this track, but this one falls short of the mark by some distance. A very indulgent remix from grandpa Rodgers and a poor end to an SEB that should have delivered more.
Score: 3/10
TOP 3:
YO SHINE / POWER OF MY LOVE
FASTWAY / ROCK BEATIN' WILD
GIRL NEXT DOOR / CLIMBER'S HIGH (Dima Remix)
HM:
MR. MOOG / SAY GOODBYE
BOTTOM 3:
MIRKA / 10,000 LOVERS
DAVE RODGERS / WILD REPUTATION (Rock Mix)
TIPSY & TIPSY / NEVER ENDING LOVE
Overall, there were two awesome tracks on this album (the two SCP offerings) and a few good tracks that I will listen to again, but the utter drivel that was also included (namely Mirka and Dave Rodgers Rock Mix) really brings the overall quality down and we are left with a sadly anti-climactic album that really doesn't show the best of modern Eurobeat. Luckily, the quality of the samples for 202 seem much better on the whole, so there is hope - but 201 will go down as a stumble into a new century of Super Eurobeat rather than a triumphant return.
Luckily I've never really paid attention close enough to ever really be bothered by it.