So I finally mustered up enuff excitement to do a review. The good thing is that I've grown to like the songs that origianlly caught my interest even more. While the other songs just annoyed me more & more. Here we go!
1. Niko- Let's Go Wild. The cd strats off with the first new song from Bratt Sinclaire's Sinclaire Style label. Was all the hype worth the wait? Some agree and some say he is just getting the feel again. I agree with the second half. What I noticed is that the song needs a lot more soundworlds. The overall arrangement has the same vibe as previous Sinclaire productions, but somthing is missing. To me it sounded as if Maurizio possibly took a longer break from Eurobeat than expected. I hear it in the lack of umph in his vocals. Still ;that is not the main problem. I also notice the song itself lacks power just as well. The ingredient I did enjoy was the fierce syths during the verses, but overall the song was so-so for me.
7-/10
2. Melody & Mezzo- Niteshade. This song also sparked up quite a bit of controversary as to why it was included on SEB series. Upon hearing the final cut, I notice the production value and most of all DELTA's soundworlds really pushed this song to a higher level for me.The intro reminds me of HRG Attack's Russian themed songs; which is a good start. The riff is also mega wicked, but it goes wrong once the vocals kick in. I was never a fan of the original and like I mentioned many a TIME, the vocals are just too weak for my liking. I strongly believe the song would have been much more effective if it was rerecorded with Clara or another DELTA x female vocals. Sara May would have sounded cuter for me. Better yet ,the song would kick serious butt ,had it been an instrumental. What I do like is that whole middle break; or what ever you wanna call it and of course the outro sounds amazing. Notice those are instrumental parts.
7/10(for soudworlds only)
3. Nick Turbo- Tokyo Strike Force. Finally we get a Nick on SEB under his name. It was a smart decision to wait for this song, because it is really is a perfect vehicle for his vocals. The first thing that stands out is that killer intro. Sirens in Eurobeat should be a must! Remeber "Danger"? It's those sirens that build up to a wickedly and fast riff. Live Music wrote a really great combination of vocals and music during the verses. The breaks inbetween the lyrics give the song all the more power and the bridge as allways builds up to the perfect chorus for the song. The added female vocals and guitar tricks add even more excitement to the track. Everything seems to be a perfect musical composition, except the fact that it's a bit too short and is missing their trademark mini break in the middle of the song. For that reason it doesn't reach 10/10 status.
9/10
4. Manuel- Adrenaline. What an awesome intro. Great intros are a must for the Dr. It guarantees a song 8+ status. Latley I have been liking Manuel's vocals a lot more. Especaislly when he uses them in a more raspy octave than his normal high pitched, which I really don't like. He really sounds great on this round and a lot better than his previous entries. The best part would be the instrumental and vocal compostion of that third verse. Frickin sweet! Dropping the synths and resorting to raw guitars on the verse then dropping the vocals and just playing the synths and ooohs oohs in the bridge sound simply ingenious. He does resort his high vocals in that last chrous, but when he screams it just sounds so epic that it's hard not to feel the adrenaline pumping through your own viens! Definately one to grow on you.
9/10
5. Linda- Another Passion. For those of you who follow TIME songs closely ,you will notice the scrathy intro much like in Eternal Symphony. A good sign in creativity and gives it the classic Vinyl effect
I feel this song to give me the same effect as Just A Game 2008. Which means ,it has grown on me conciderably since the first TIME I heard it. The chorus sounds a bit like Maggie May- Another Day and the Riff sounds totally new .At least to me. Kinda like a Just A Game 2008 played backwards or somthing, but works right on target. The last chorus with dropped instruments sounds like perfect Elena style. All in all a great song that with TIME will eventually become AMAZING!
9/10
6. Brian Ice. TIME To Say Goodby. Spoken intros are also a welcome for me. Here he sounds normal as opposed to Everyday, where he sounded kinda childish. This is a clear example of how the AVEX preview didn't do the song justice. I probly like this song much more than most of you, but it's basically beacuse Fabrizzio sounds great. You can really hear the similarities in his vocals in this song to his older Memory records like Over Again or Talking to the Night.. The chorus is the only part that lacks imagination, but I did enjoy the riff quite a bit. Even the ubrupt outro kinda does it justice. Once again the melody in the verses and bridge are my favorite part.
9-/10
7. Stella- Round & Round. SCP is here with thier first entry. The first thing I feel is that it has a rather ugly intro. When I hear these x transy Pamsy songs ,I try to compare them to Mellisa White's- "Stary Sky" and I wonder why I liked that song so much, but none of these other ones. This song flows by like some heaven carpet ride, but I'd rather be on a rollor coaster ride set on fire, so it did absolutly nothing for me, save the last mini bridge and half a point for the somewhat catchy chorus. I hope no more of this from SCP. Please1
6-/10
8. Ace- Running Fire. I'm still enjoying "What Hot Love". Shooting it as much as hearing it.LOL! First things first. WTF with that intro? Nothing to do in the song at all. Lay off the Earth world themes! That said, the song burst into a mega intense riff that catches the listener quite by surprise. Ace Warrior songs are good, but I notice that the melodies he is given for the verses and bridge are rather week compared to the catchy choruses they usually have. All in all, I'm quite torn by those two reasons and given a proper intro would have made this song much more enjoyable. Infact, I think I'll put it through the Dr. NRG remix machine and ommit it completly. Best part is how the first lines in the chorus are NOT "Running Fire", but instead "Turning my Life around". Now if they could only turn those Intros around. Play them backwards or somthing, but give them some "umph".
7+/10
9. Ciao Ciao- Bang Bang Crashing Of The Boom. Unlike most of you, I LOVE this F**KING title. It screams HRG Attack power! What I love is that most Ciao Ciao songs follow a similiar melody and by just changing a few notes around gives the riff a whole new identity. The female vocalist, for Ciao Ciao ;Whoever she may be(too lazy too look), has a strong Italian accent and since I go crazy for those makes this one of my favorite five of the cd. The HRG Attack power oozes from end to another and never lets up. It uses simple ,but effective melodies in the verse and and bridge but fuses perfectly with the chorus. The best part is how it adds on those extra few synth notes right after each Boom Boom line. That is HRG Attack classic status.
9+/10
10. Ace- In The Fire Of Victory. SCP back in mode again. What A cool intro. I'm loving that riff alot, but now...oh oh, that melody in the verse and bridge are kinda disturbing. They do not fuse with the catchy chorus and give that "heavenly" feeling I do not like. You know what, this song reminds me of "Power Of Love". A song I really do not hold to classic status on my list. What pisses me off is how much I really enjoy the chorus and riff , but that the rest of the song sounds rather bland and uninteresting. I will give credit where credit is due...and that is the last part that builds up to the final chorus. That is some epic sounding SCP and really gives the Victory theme justice!. This song could also have the "Grow on me effect" I'll just have to wait and see.
8-/10
11.Vanessa- Love & Passion. Another song that is sparking some questions, especially towards me. Mainly about what I think about the eurodancy riff. I got no problem, In fact it reminds me of songs by Arena 69 and Gizzelle, especially "I'm Dreaming"? which I really don't concider it Eurodancy at all. The intro is buiding up the riff with the use of the sampled "Upside down line with synth effects injected here & there. This one is growing deep inside me with each listen. The classic Gypsy & Queen song is one of my favorites and this TIME around Mr. Dall Ora revamps it's melody to a perfect Eurobeat sound. Elena sounds like she did in Barbie, which is also a nice variation to her vocals. I keep wanting to hear Gambogi do the little "ahh" effect right before the synth riff, like was used in "I'm Dreaming", but I guess that's expecting too much
Definatly one of my top trax on this cd, but not a bonafide bulls eye. I think the release of MEGA Heartbreaker 2007 has somewhat tainted my impression on other remakes and really caused me to raise the bar for them to become classic status for me?
9/10
12. Mega NRG Man- People Like Dancing. That intro had a Casanova- "Lost In The TIME" vibe, but only the first few notes. After that it went horrobly wrong. So AVEX is really pimping Mega NRG Man alot now a days. So much, that his songs have become Hit/Miss for me. This one id a definate miss. What's missing? How about some F**king NRG! The riff lacks power. His vocals lack NRG and the melody is basically bland giving me no desire to come back to this song. That outro sounds like someone just turned off the sound before the song actually eneded. I think I'll do the same.Sorry Mega NRG Man. No love this TIME.
6/10
13.Nuage- Hey Hey. Argh! More Normaesque intros. They work for her songs, but sadly not any others . To get right to the point, the riff sounds to happy for my style. Once again, I would rather have visions of Samurais fighting with swords than Sailor Moon jumping around with pom poms. It just doesn't work for me. The redeeming quality would be the bridge right after the verse. It seems to appear from a different song, but that chorus is all about puppys and kittens and baloons. Sorry, Not my cup of tea.
6/10
14. Bea- Paradise- Two tracks I partically don't care for ..and look at that; another kick in the balls from AVEX. Useless intro with even more usless riff. Is this a new vocalist? She sounds good, but is given a very souless song to sing. I wanted to like it, because new artists usually spark interest with me, but this song doesn't really do Bea justice and the fact that the riff goes on and on in the end didin't help things either.
6-/10
15. Leslie Parrish- Big Bad & Hot Love. Finally! Hell yeah. Hard in your face intro from DELTA. Love the guitars. Here is a perfect example of how a good Mellow/Powerful song should be made. I'm basing that on the fact that the melody in the verses and bridge is a bit softer(if you can call it that) to it's chorus and riff. This song has heavy vibes form previous Leslie Parrish songs, particularly her first ones. It will definatley grow on the listener, which will give it more status concidering that it is allready gripping you from it's initial first notes. Guitars and pianos allways do wonders for DELTA and here is no exception. Great allround sounding Eurobeat with many surprises injected here and there in the classic DELTA spirit!
9+/10
16. Mark Farina- Rock N Roll. Seems I have been listening to these song for months now. Here it is again. I'm lazy to write a full review on it, so I'll just say that it's a great vehicle to showcase Maurio's vocals. Sounds like he did in many Asia classic like Russian and Rock Of Love. The song is both Macho and fun and uses the guitars to perfectly push forward it's Rock N Roll theme. Welcome back Saifam and with a bullett!
9/10
17. Cherry- Rebell Yell. I was sceptical of this title whan I first saw it. I mean, I love Billy Idol's punk/rock classics as much as the next rocker, but I thought Cherry? "She's Allright" doesn't exactly scream Billy Idol to me. Then I heard the sample and it's immediate similarity to "Rain" and right away, I knew I would like it. The intro bursts into the chorus in a way that leaves the listener at the edge of his/her seat anticipating greatness and once the riff kicks in, all you can think is WICKED! fast,powerful and gripping-Grpping-GRIPPING! The vocals start and the classic lyrical composition immediatly starts to fall off the listeners toungue. One thing I remeber form the classic ,is that it was heavy on the synth sounds and DELTA capitalizes on that effect to the fullest degree. Just listen to that ending and tell me it didn't leave you gasping for air exactly as the original did!
9+/10
18. Vivi- I Love My Dog. I knew this song would eventually come up. Too much hype for something that barely deseves a bark. The lyrics are too disturbing and they mention candies and dogs and I think even my little pony
So I hop on the carpet ride with Vivi and let her show me her heavenly world, but I was not impressed. I envisioned baloons and carousles and even Pikachu joined in. I think he was the dog in question? On the positive side. Viv's vocals suit this SCP style perfect and the musical compostion isn't half bad. Maybe different lyrics would have made it more enjoyable ,but for now it definatley needed a hard dose of NRG. BTW what is up with AVEX following Cherry's MEGA-INSANE- IN -YOUR FACE- ROLLOR -COASTER -DEATH -RIDE song with Viv's Puppy Dog and kittnes wearing socks with Donald Duck on one side and Micky Mouse on the other?(That's reference to Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses, for those of you who like horror flicks)
6-/10
Well an era has come to an end. This cd was not really how I expected it to end. There should have been way more powerful songs. I was hard on my grading system, beacuse I beleive half of the songs were not very good at all. The ones I did like ,I gave high 9s, but I didn't hear a 10. It could be ,beacuse of the mediocre company they had to share, but with each listen my favs are quickly becoming classic staus. Cheers to TIME,DELTA and HRG Attack,Saifam and Adrenaline, but the rest were missing that special touch that gives this Dr. the ULTIMATE high.
best songs:
Ciao Ciao
Leslie Parrish
Manuel
Cherry
Vanessa
Linda
Nick Turbo
Mark Farina
Honourable mention:
Brian Ice
Fillers:
all the rest
