Super Eurobeat 103

1.Virginelle - Jealousy (A-Beat C)
The good old Virginelle is back with yet another hit to keep us dancing. It's remarkable how A-Beat C manages to produce such hits for these big titles time after time and they never seem to slow down. Elena Gobbi sounds brilliant and her vocal range is displayed perfectly in this song when the vocals range from quite a lot and in particular the chorus offers a lot of edge, in the edge when she screams 'Jealousy'. The nicely different synth adds a nice spice to the song.
Rating : 9½

2.Za-Za - Down Down (Delta)
We've had a few eurodance-like songs during the days of Eurobeat, but this time we're really close to the eurodance borderlines. Za-Za sings the vocals mostly, but in addition there are male rapping which is typical for eurodance, and when the rap reminds of the biggest eurodance acts it's unavoidable how eurodance was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard this song. The song sounds all around like the good old 90's eurodance and it's a really nice flavor and change for the album, thorough very catchy and it's fun to sing along to the repeated Down Down.
Rating : 10

3.Chester - I Wanna Be Your Lover (Time)
Chester is one of those really nostalgic titles for me. I remember getting my hands on my first original eurobeat CD and it had Chester's Bad Boy, I remember how much I loved it and kept on replaying it over and over. Now we are 5 years later with the same title, but it just doesn't feel the same for some reason. This song starts off with a great intro, but after that the song just goes downhill a lot: the verses and chorus are really mellow and left me feeling like the real highlight was still incoming. The song itself has a nice melody and it works nicely, but the vocals just feel completely out of place and don't really give any positive boost for the song.
Rating : 6½

4.Leslie Parrish - Mon Amour (Delta)
We're in for treats this time from Delta, they present us with many big names and the stakes are high. Leslie Parrish is most memorably remembered from her Initial D songs Save Me and Remember Me, but are her other productions worth anything? Mon Amour starts off with an intro that is very similar to both of the big hits, and I experienced a deja vu feeling as if I had heard this song somewhere else before. The verses feel kind of unexciting and the chorus only manages to improve a bit and in the end the song leaves you feeling really disappointed, too Norma Sheffieldish.
Rating : 7

5.Kate & Karen - The Power Of Life (Time)
An another great title from the times when Time was still magnificent. This time around the vocalists seem to be Elena Feretti and Emmanuelle Gubinelli and Clara's vocals are of course not present. This song was written by Di Marcantonio, which struck my eye right away and I was thinking as if I could hear his touch in the melody from the beginning. The song doesn't sound like typical Time, and it's a good change as I got a bit of an Eurobeat Flash from this song and I gotta say that even though my initial feelings bout the song were rather neutral, in the end I began to love it a lot.
Rating : 8½

6.Matt Land - Killer Queen (A-Beat C)
A new male name for A-Beat C, and one heck of a strong name it is. We heard Matteo Setti already years back on Time, when he did such songs as Unbreak My Heart and Hurricane, and now he is here with his own title and a style that seems to suit him perfectly. The song starts off with a speedy intro and the verses carry on the energetic pace, and when the vocals sweep you away in the chorus you'll be sold. This song leaves you wanting for more. Excellent all around, Gelatine!
Rating : 10+

7.Kelly Wright - Live In Tokyo (A-Beat C)
The good old Karen is here again, and even with two songs this time. This song has a pretty basic eurobeat formula, but it still manages to work pretty well. The chorus is extra catchy and the bouncy c-melody always works nicely. The song is rather identical soundwise to other Karen songs, and that's mostly the only part that bugged me with the song, otherwise basic good eurobeat.
Rating : 8

8.Mako - Dancer (Delta)
If you've followed the Eurobeat scene for a longer time, you'll right away recognize this vocalist as Mako has been around for a really long time under different titles, and you could probably recognize his voice the best from one of the biggest eurobeat hits of all time: Maio & Co. - Dark In The Night. This song carries on the energetic style Mako has been keeping ever since he debuted with Kiss To Kiss. This song reminded me quite a lot of his previous song Excitable, and in terms of comparison I feel that this song is slightly better. Typical energetic Delta male material.
Rating : 9-

9.Rose - A Song For You (Time)
Time has had these few names around for a long time and it's occasionally hard to tell if the song is actually old or new, like with this song: Rose as a name hasn't been so frequent to appear on SEBs, but she debuted all the way back on SEB7, and this song is quite similar to the style she had going even back then. A rather basic Time performance that doesn't make you puke or go yay.
Rating : 7-

10.Karen - You Really Are The Man I Love (A-Beat C)
A few songs in the middle and Karen returns, with a song that weirdly enough reminded me of the classic Mike Oldfield song Moonlight Shadow, I kept on hearing similar melodic parts with this song and everytime the verses started I automatically began humming Moonlight Shadow in my head. Like the previous Karen presentation this song is also very generic, and only the slightly heavier backgrounds give it some distinction. Not bad, but we know that A-Beat C can do much better, like they presented already with a few songs.
Rating : 7+

11.Linda Ross - Supernight (Time)
An another title that we originally got familiar by Clara Moroni, but this time around it's again Elena holding the drumstick. This song is way faster than the previous Time presentations and it right away gives the song a great boost. The melody is speedy and the chorus in co-operation with the c-melody will make you move for sure. I've never been the biggest fan of Elena Feretti as a vocalist, and that's what made me not like the song as much as I would've if the vocalist was different, she just isn't the best singer to sing energetic songs like this one.
Rating : 8+

12.Norma Sheffield - If You Wanna Stay (A-Beat C)
Time goes by, Norma gets older, her songs stay the same, is there something wrong with this picture? Probably not, as she's still somewhat popular amongst fans as far as I've heard. I just wish she renewed her image and style time to time, this song has nothing good in it, than the great c-melody which combines the beat and acoustic elements perfectly.
Rating : 6-

13.Mad Max - Don't Break My Heart (Delta)
A song that begins with Clara Moroni's nice backing vocals and after that turns into an extremely energetic delta-parade. Rarely are songs this energetic from the beginning to the end and I have to say I'm loving it soo much. The nice little jigs on the background with the synth and the beat always managed to steal my attention from the vocals. The song is all around a good example of how eurobeat can be produced to perfection.
Rating : 10

14.Dr. Money - Lucky Man (Time)
Time displays another energetic song, and this time with a vocalist that suits the song nicely. If you're familiar to the older Dr. Money songs you'll know what you are getting. Rather pointless lyrics, energy, speed and good old eurobeat. This song reminds me of the SEB80s era when a lot of the songs had a similar touch as this song does. High grade because of the nostalgy trip.
Rating : 9-

15.Larabelle - Lovable Love (Delta)
Delta has had a strong line-up so far, and this time we get the title whom most remember by her familiar song Love As A Weapon. It's been quite a long time since Larabelle was spot on a SEB, and if the songs are like this I'm not wondering at all. The song is rather slow, and has a really uninteresting soundworld, over all a really big disappointment in comparison to the two previous songs by the same title.
Rating : 5½

16.Mega NRG Man - The Power Of Gasoline (A-Beat C)
Tomas Martin is back with another new song, and this time I got a really big deja vu feeling, but I just can't point out that what song I had in mind. When the intro plays there's this melody that made me sing some other song, but I am not sure what. The intro sounds really phenomenal, and I was expecting a lot, but after the intro the song goes downhill little by little and it just doesn't have the edge that his best productions do.
Rating : 7

17.Dave Rodgers - Stay The Night (A-Beat C)
Dave carries on with his chosen path, and unlike most of his songs, this song is more of a light dance-tune and the basic electric guitars are no where in sight. A good intro slows down a bit too much and in the end the verses sound really transparent as if there was just the vocals and the beat in the background. The chorus in it's simplicity though sounds a lot better, and the nice c-melody patches up the problems the verses have. A good example of how with good vocals and a bit of effort a crappy song can turn out alright.
Rating : 8+

18.TRF - Survival Dance (No No Cry More) (Eurobeat Mix)
I myself found the wonderful world of TRF just a while ago when I began watching the anime-series Da! Da! Da! and heard how magnificent Boy Meets Girl actually is, so I had my hopes up for this song. The vocals that I loved so much before are present again and fortunately the song is also pretty efficient. The song is much cheerier than Boy Meets Girl and it has even a slightly childish feel to it, which was sort of disturbing and lovely at the same time. Haven't heard the original song so I can't really compare the mix, but I still liked the song especially because of the catchy chorus.
Rating : 8½

Final Words :
The new era has brought us with many new changes such as the delightful J-Euro visits, and a few new names as well. This album is rather uneven as there are many really great songs but in contrast there are also very crappy songs that won't make you feel like listening to the album a lot. A pretty basic eurobeat album, and it's rather balanced on the male and female sides as both genders offer hits and misses. An album that will please the true eurobeat fans for sure, but there are better ones out there as well.

Final Score : 8+

Reviewed by Bore