Super Eurobeat 102

1.Mega NRG Man - Grand Prix (A-Beat C)
Everybody's favorite rocker is back, as Tomas Martin opens up yet an another album with a very energetic song. When you look at the title you can already expect something speedy and energetic, and they've really named the song well as it suits the song nicely. The song is like a perfect example of what kind of songs appear on JGTC-albums: Energetic, fastpaced, car-themed and with a slightly more mature attitude. The chorus is the power that keeps this song together, the verses aren't probably as exciting as they could be, but fortunately the rest of the song sounds great.
Rating : 8½

2.Lolita - Baby One Baby Two (A-Beat C)
From the energy of Mega NRG Man we take a trip to the happy-happy land that is Lolita. This song starts off with a rather annoying intro that doesn't fit the song at all, and I always get shivers going down my spine because of the intro. After the intro the song returns to the basic Elena Gobbi grounds as the song is cheery and bubbly, like most of her productions, this song though reminded me quite a lot of Romeo & Juliet from a few years back, just not as good. The chorus and c-melody are the best parts of the song, but in general this song is one of the worst Lolita productions thorough the ages.
Rating : 7½

3.Victoria - Sunshine Day (Time)
From this Time title, I've always had a lot of positive memories, mostly because her songs have always managed to work out much better than most such titles. Elena Feretti is at large here and you can right away hear that the song is nowhere near the level of the classic Stay. The sounds are too plain and the melody offers no hook what so ever, the chorus is pretty catchy and easy to sing along which adds a bit of an edge, but in the end I'm sad that they had to finish off a great title with a crappy song.
Rating : 7-

4.Kevin Johnson - Big Is Your Faith (Delta)
Oh my, where is our beloved Budriesi?! This time the vocals are done by Maurizio De Jorio, whom most of us know better as Niko. The song feels really strange as I always thought that his vocals just don't suit a slower song, and these so called eurobeat ballads from Delta have been a trademark for Budriesi. The vocals aside this is a cheerfull slower eurobeat song that reminds of us how multitalented the writers at Delta are, they can go from one end to the other in the blink of an eye and make even slower songs sound good. Still I want the real Kevin back.
Rating : 8

5.Dr. Money - My Love Is Crazy 4 You (Time)
Time's productions have also ranged quite drastically from slow to fast and from crappy to awesome, but the fact is that the vast majority of the productions are just plain typical and too neutral to really have any real impact on the listener. I've actually never liked a single Dr. Money song enough to listen to them freely on my own time, and this is yet another good reason why I don't do that. The song is such typical Time that you can't pick any real good or bad treats from it, just too neutral all around.
Rating : 6½

6.Ika - One For Me One For You (Time)
If I said that Victoria has been a title I've always had positive memories from, Ika is a title that I have always loved, every single release, including this song fortunately. What makes Ika stick out from the rest is that it's not done by Elena Feretti, but instead the phenomenal and talented singer Emmanuelle Gubinelli, her vocals always manage to brighten up any day. Most people identify Ika as the Godzilla-girl, and we're moving somewhat on similar areas with this song, the song isn't as aggressive, but definitely catchy. The chorus is simple yet effective and the light piano-based backgrounds suit the song well.
Rating : 9

7.Go Go Girls - O Sole Mio (A-Beat C)
Where as the previous Elena Gobbi song on the album failed to make an impact, this time we're moving on a whole new level. The Go Go Girls rarely manage to be this jumpy and bouncy, as this song could be defined as the perfect example for the happier side of eurobeat. The song starts off with a fun intro and the verses are enjoyable, but the chorus is the final blow that really makes the song work marvellously: The lyrics don't make much sense, but when have they done, and who cares anyways. An overall hyper song to suit the parapara people.
Rating : 9½

8.Rose - Like A Children (Time)
A hypnotic intro that promises a rather traditonal Rose song but surprisingly the song turns out to be much more fast and energetic than what we mostly hear from her. The song reminds me of the typical A-Beat C girl power that we get from Lolita and such, and it's a nice thing as that's not something I generally link to Time. A different song, yet the productions values aren't as high as for A-Beat C's similar productions.
Rating : 8

9.Norma Sheffield - Be Alive (A-Beat C)
An another surprise that comes in the form of Norma, as a song Be Alive is very typical to her, but what really brings it some change is that the light and airy backgrounds sound really nice, and the chorus is also really catchy. A positive surprise for a change from Francesco.
Rating : 8+

10.Valentina - Don't Fly Away (A-Beat C)
The nicely different Barbara is here for a change with a song that reminded me of her collaboration projects with Domino. A cheery song that is done with the good old A-Beat C touch and it sounds rather old in a way, a few years back this song would've been perfeclty at place, now it feels like a nostagly trip, yet a fun nostalgy trip.
Rating : 8

11.Madison - Don't Take Advantage Of My Heart (Delta)
Delta has a talent to make their vocalists  sound a lot alike, and this time they've fortunately made a change as you can right away hear that it's not Clara Moroni singing, which is a nice change of pace. A really powerful song that is way above the general eurobeat level with much more depth in the sounds and vocals, which clearly sets this song apart from the rest of the bunch.
Rating : 9½

12.Dave Rodgers - Black Fire (A-Beat C)
Dave has been searching his identity a lot lately, as his songs have ranged from rock to dance and they've both worked nicely, so for a change we get a serious rock-attitude from the good Mr. Rodgers. Black Fire is a rather hollow song as there's not much of a chorus that would set the verses aside, and only the c-melody manages to make a small change with the song, but over all this song just doesn't work.
Rating : 6+

13.Eurobeat Girls - Saving The World (Delta)
Eurobeat saves the world, I like the concept... At least it has mostly saved my world from falling to depression, and I mostly have this wonderful genre to thank, and aside the subject I hope the site's tribute to everything that is eurobeat will be noticed. Well the biggest female name in the eurobeat industry Clara Moroni puts in her best with this energetic song that will definitely please any euromach fans, and I guess this song would've fit that series a bit better, but it also works here perfectly.
Rating : 9-

14.Tommy K. - Take Me Now (Time)
A title I honestly couldn't remember at all, I knew I had heard some Tommy K. before but didn't know what to expect, so perhaps I was slightly surprised by this energetic and great song. A basic eurobeat song structure alongside with great vocals and good sounds, not much more to say.
Rating : 9+

15.Derreck Simons - Be My Queen (A-Beat C)
Dave earlier on presented how a rock song shouldn't be done, and now Tomas Martin shows how he thinks it should be done, and at least he succeeds better than Black Fire did. A powerful song on most levels and the heavy use of electric guitars suits the song perfectly, especially the c-melody shines brightly. Simply efficient and if you like rock-type eurobeat then you'll be perfectly at home with this song.
Rating : 9+

16.D.Essex - Breaking The Law (Delta)
Maurizio is here again, with a title that is more suitable for him, and a song that also suits him much better. Energic, catchy and perhaps a bit too typical. We know that D.Essex songs mostly offer quality and this song is not an exception, it just isn't very original.
Rating : 9

17.Bobby Summer - Oh My Darling (Eurobeat Mix)
I still can't comprehend how they allowed him here, I get flashbacks to my teenage years when his europop songs were popular here in Finland, and I can unfortunately remember that Jabba Jabba or such too well. This song is fortunately not as annoying as his big hit was, and the eurobeat mix adds a bit of edge for the song. I can't say that I'd really like his vocals very much, but this song slowly turns out better and better, but it still feels a bit out of place.
Rating : 8+

18.MAX - Aquarius (Eurobeat Mix)
On to the final song, by the wonderful MAX that I loved so much that I actually got their album (which is a lot for me, when I mostly don't like J-Euro acts). This song is though somehow boring and has no energy or catchines like most of their eurobeat songs generally do. A kind of boring way to end the album, as I know that this band can do so much better.
Rating : 7-

Final Words :
A rather solid basic eurobeat album that goes up and down, but doesn't necessarily offer any real hits or crappy songs in contrast, perhaps the general level in this album is a bit too general as the songs are okay and nice, but don't really manage to leave any kind of marks in the end. Go Go Girls & Madison offer the best moments from the album, but I can say that I liked a lot of the songs as well, but probably not so much that I'd listen to them a lot otherwise.

Final Score : 8

Reviewed by Bore