Okay, first impressions time...
1. YO SHINE / I DREAM OF YOU
I do love the funky disco feel that this one has. The bassline teamed with the piano accents makes for a really light and happy sound. I also love the synth hits after "you" "more" and "why" - little things that raise this track above the norm. Will be one of the highlights of the album for sure.
2. ACE / SET ME FREE
I held off buying this from iTunes as I had a very strong feeling it would feature on this release. The impact of this track is very high, and I adore the hook used as well. Ace is back on top form!
3. ANNALISE / LOVE TOY
I still can't work out whether this is an old-school A-Beat C production or a new Sun Fire track done in the style of the A-Beat C releases. Either way, it has that same feeling that all Annerley Gordon tracks from the 170s seemed to have - pleasant and fairly catchy, but hardly setting the world alight.
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4. MR. MOOG / BANG BANG COWBOY
The vocals sound a bit isolated in this track - the older production style battles with the fresher sounding vocals. I'm not crazy about this song if I'm honest, but at least it plugs the hole left by Hi-NRG's refusal to create tracks with silly lyrics and themes.
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5. VIRGINELLE / BABY COME BACK
This track sounds like has more of a hyper-techno kick drum - it sounds pretty high-pitched compared to other GGM productions. Gobbi's vocals are the star as ever on these tracks, and the little taster of the hook that we are given at the very end sounds pretty catchy - this could be one to watch when we get the full version.
6. DJ SPACE C / DANGER ZONE
The vocals in this track are fairly awful, and the fact that the chord never changes through the whole verse gives it a very stale and stagnant feeling to me. I do enjoy the song itself (always have liked the melody) but Saifam really need a fresh injection of Eurobeat inspiration as this just doesn't cut it in the Eurobeat world for me...
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7. DAVID & TOY / YOU & I
Dima does a Dave & Nuage with an aishu track that has its fair share of sickly sweet sentiment. It's pleasant enough, but doesn't have the same impact as the more aggressive tracks or the same melodic brilliance of tracks like Make Me Wonder. Undecided...
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8. JOE D. TOASTER / CRAZY DIAMOND
These slower HRG tracks seem to be getting slower with every release that passes! This one hasn't had the same instantaneous impact on me as the melody isn't quite as refined and the delivery doesn't quite have the same shine as Rainy Days or Cherry Lips. Still, I have a feeling that this is another track that will surprise me in full...
9. MELISSA WHITE / MOVIN' & LOVIN'
This is basically a Momo track but with Melissa on vocals instead. The melody and production are fairly run-of-the-mill SCP and compared to the opening 2 tracks from this album, this track is definitely not anywhere near the same league. I'm still waiting for another "Switch!" or "Wanna Be With You" style track from Melissa...
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10. MEGAN / TIME TO SAY BYE BYE
Over-compressed production and under-produced vocals? Why it could only be a female-sung Sinclaire track! This style is probably my least favourite in the whole of the modern Eurobeat scene - and that's including the awful Saifam Speed tracks that we are being given now. Bring back Dejo and Bon!!
11. CY-RO / JUMP ON THE SOUND
This one is really weird. Festari's vocals are delivered in a way that sounds like he has been told halfway through the chorus to keep the noise down by his neighbours - does no-one else hear the way he starts to half-whisper halfway through? Come-on, a bit more conviction is needed for a speedier track especially. Undecided about this one...
12. GO GO GIRLS / SEX KILLER
Wow, this one pushes the envelope in terms of structure and melodic progression, and not all of the experimentation works to my ears. I love the spooky and menacing bassline and the overall atmosphere created by the synths, but the ups and downs of the melody and the way the beat keeps changing and dropping out doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe it's just a bad sample...
13. CLAIRE M. / MUSIC
Thank god this track was included, as this was in danger of being the first album in ages that hasn't had any Dima tracks I truly love on it. I like the tone of Claire's vocals, and the classic vocal melody gives her a far debut than Destinee was given. That key change in to the synth hook is intriguing - can't wait to hear the full version!
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14. DIGITAL PLANET / A NEW DAY
This one sounds pretty nice, but it's just a shame about the really quiet vocals. I just wish the had a bit more purpose and impact to them. I can hear the older-style A-Beat C percussion here - man, I miss that so much! - and the melody is fairly memorable to my ears. Could be a nice track.
15. KING & QUEEN / YA YA YA (Slow Mix)
Okay, this basically sounds like a standard Eurobeat track has had all of its production stripped away, and a basic beat at half of the speed has been added with some other minimalistic layers to keep the melody on track. I can't hear a lot of merit in this one to be honest - only SCP knows how to make good remixes in other styles in my opinion...
SCP are the stars of this release for the first two tracks. They could have been duplicated 7 times and I would've been quite happy with this release. Sadly, we seem to have been given a fairly dated selection of sounds from other labels (I guess they had to balance out the overall sound for the 211 & 212 nonstop on 213...)