Super Eurobeat 149

1.Go Go Girls - Go Go's And The Monkeys (A-Beat C)
A solid decision to place the Go Go Girls as the album opener, and well if you're familiar to the title's previous releases then you also know that they're all made of gold. This time we get another hyper song that is eurobeat at it's best due to the perfect production. The vocals are handled by Elena Gobbi once again and she does a great job, and even though this is not as memorable as some other songs we've heard from the Go Go's it's still one of the better ones, and worth of a near perfect grade.
Rating : 10-

2.Jimmy Bravo - Mazinger Go! (Vibration)
The light girl-type eurobeat is changed into a more aggressive style as Vibration shows what they can really do. After the great album opener I was expecting the level to notch down but no sirree, we're treated to different type of eurobeat, but with as much kick. The song uses electric guitars heavily and the song relies on great vocals done by Jimmy Bravo of course. A great chorus that sums of the energy of the song, and when the c-melody is pretty much irresistible you can't complain. Another marvellous hit.
Rating : 10

3.Manuel - Let's Go, Come On (A-Beat C)
This song was so much praised before it was even officially released due to it's appereance on the Initial D 4th Stage. I've liked Manuel's previous songs and well now I can pretty much get where all of the hype is coming from. This track is really energetic and done with the similar style all of his previous songs have been done, so don't expect anything new or exciting but more of the same old same old. But the same old with Manuel's case isn't a bad thing as this song has nearly as much kick as the previous song, a great song to get you moving.
Rating : 9+

4.Donna - Get Me Burning Up (Delta)
The few marvellous titles on Delta always get my attention easily, and Donna is one of those titles. Her previous songs have had a lot of energy and class in them, and this song hasn't lost the class of her releases. The previous songs by Donna haven't right away opened up for me and this song also took some time for me to get into. The song is much calmer than the previous 3 songs and there-fore it at first seemed boring, but once you give the song some individual airplay it starts to sound really good. The song is really strong because the beautiful, yet simple backgrounds function perfectly, and we're moving very much on the same grounds as Susy Wender.
Rating : 9+

5.Matt Land - Superfantastico (A-Beat C)
I can't be anything but biased when I review this song, as I've slowly began loving Matt Land and his music more and more, and at the moment I would name him definitely as my favorite eurobeat artist, and well again I try to save my skin by saying that it's because of the songs, not the man (but of course the vocalist adds a lot of edge for the songs as well). Anyways this song has a similar tone as his previous songs, it's not as energetic as for example Fever The Night but it's still fastpaced and the chorus is perfectly catchy. The lyrics add the song a certain gay-tone to them (or perhaps it's just me), and that adds a nice spice to the song. He sure likes the word Fantastic.
Rating : 10

6.Newfield, Moroni & Sinclaire - Don't Let My Love Disappear (Delta)
The title that right away lights a lot of respect as all of the big names from Delta are on board, but like before it's still Clara Moroni handling the vocals. The song starts with a cool humming and after the intro the song reveals itself as a rather calm, yet very beautiful eurobeat song that mainly trusts Clara's vocals as the backgrounds aren't the most distinctive part about the song. The thing with the backgrounds is that at first they seem really silent and non-existant but slowly I began noticing nice flavours here and there, like chimes and guitars and naturally the c-melody sounds good, can you expect it not to? A song that just needs some airplay before you really will notice it's brilliance.
Rating : 9+

7.Fastway - Run (SCP)
The song people had been expecting for quite a long time, and anyways every new Fastway release is worth the wait in my opinion, and yet again he shows why we love him so. The track is heavy on guitars and it has a serious rock-attitude as Fastway makes the song rise above the rest due to his awesome vocals. The verses don't sound very special at first, but after you listen to the chorus and get to the 2nd verse it suddenly sounds plain awesome, and after that the first verse also opened up for me. A great great song, if you like energic materials then you can't escape this one for sure.
Rating : 10

8.Franz Tornado - Bazoocow (HI-NRG Attack)
The only HI-NRG Attack dose on the album is by the one and only Franz Tornado and of course the expectations are high. The song is very much like anything you can expect to hear from the label, in both good and bad. I was expecting for another classic hit and perhaps the reason why I was disappointed is because I had my expectations way too high for the song. The track starts off with a rather dull intro and the verses can't build up as much energy as I would've wanted them to, but fortunately the chorus is really catchy and the c-melody is plain perfect. If only the verses could stand up to the level of the chorus & c-melody, yet by all means this is not a bad song, actually it's very good, but the level of the album has been so high that it can't compete with the best.
Rating : 8½

9.Alexis - Take Me Take Me (Time)
The few songs I was really fearing on this album are here, and well after the slight disappointment with Bazoocow I was positively surprised. This song kicks off with a really beautiful intro that reminded me of Susy Wender right away and we're moving on similar grounds anyways. The song is midtempo, and it uses piano heavily which makes it seem like many Time songs, but the song works due to the great melody, the chorus works really well and the c-melody is really beautiful.
Rating : 8+

10.Norma Sheffield - Listen To Me (A-Beat C)
Has Norma sold her soul to the devil? Why does she suddenly sound good? How on earth did she suddenly get a song that is actually beautiful and catchy at the same time? Will the questions ever end? The similar style she's been doing for oh so long is naturally present, but the difference is that the pace is slightly faster than with her songs generally is. The track sounds rather similar thorough it and that's basically the only thing I can complain with the song. Not a huge masterpiece, but surprisingly good.
Rating : 8½

11.Kevin Johnson - Never Gonna Give You Up (Delta)
Knowing how terrible covers generally are I wasn't expecting much from this song, and yet again I was surprised. The classic Rick Astley song has been transferred into the classic eurobeat form very well and I can't actually even understand how magnificent the song sounds. The song itself is a classic and I could pretty much quarantee that anybody who followed the musicscenes in the late 80's (the original was released back in 1986) should know this song, as it's one of the biggest classics from the 80's. Kevin Johnson manages to do justice to the song and even though the elements from the original are present he still can make the song sound fresh and good, so a big yay for Delta.
Rating : 9+

12.Happy Hour - Eclipse Of Your Love (A-Beat C)
Another strange that from A-Beat C, and once I began listening to it for the first time and hear Dave Rodgers I right away got my expectations higher than I originally thought I would have. The song starts off with vocals by Nuage (or possibly Karen) and the first verse sounds really good even though it's shared by Dave. The chorus on the other hand has Dave, Lolita & Nuage(/Karen) singing together and it sounds really good. The song relies on the great harmony between the different vocals and it's songs like these that remind us why we like duets and such so much in the eurobeat world. A great song that isn't itself very original, and it reminded me a lot of the Virginelle song from SEB147, which is a good thing though.
Rating : 9+

13.David "Off" - Heat Of The Night (Delta)
I've never really paid much attention to some of the eurobeat acts like David "Off" as the songs haven't really brought any kind of emotions either way, and this time I was pretty surprised as this song turned out to sound quite good. The song starts off with an intro that sounds very EuroPanic-y, and it aroused my interest as the rest of the song is also blessed with similar energy and a lot of edge. The track itself isn't the even close to the level of the best songs on this album, but it's not that far either, as the track at least has a killer chorus and a great c-melody.
Rating : 8½

14.Robbie Grain - Crazy (Delta)
And as opposed to the previous title we get the other Delta title that has only released 4 songs, yet they've all been great. This song is yet another different song and it doesn't even remotely remind me of her previous songs, and that is actually the reason why I've liked Robbie so much. The song starts out sounding rather mellow and uninteresting but the chorus in co-operation with the c-melody gets things rolling. The true fact is that this is not as much of a hit as the previous 3 songs, but it's still a great song, it just lacks the final punch to make it a bull's eye. Still even though she's in the company of many big stars on this album she doesn't get left far behind.
Rating : 9-

15.Mike West - Waiting For My Love (Time)
What would an album be without a Time song to spoil it up? Nothing, I say you nothing. The previous songs were quite good, and this song really kind of messes it up. The song starts off sounding really good, and the chorus at first hearing sounded good, but unfortunately the illusion didn't last for long. After the first few listens to the song it still sounded good but slowly I got really bored with the song and the typical electric guitars in the background can't arouse my interest the slightest. Somebody might appreciate the song, but I just got really tired with it, and quickly.
Rating : 7+

16.Nuage - Running To The Night (A-Beat C)
How well can a song kick off? Nuage songs have mastered the awesome intros, and if her previous songs had a killer start this one sweeps everything we ever before heard down the drain. The nice laughter in the beginning always manages to make me get all fuzzy inside, and the intro is also blessed with interesting sounds and when the rest of the song rises to the same level I am in love. The song is your typical Nuage style: midtempo speed, great vocals, a catchy chorus and all of the elements that make good eurobeat. She really has claimed her place as the big name in the eurobeat scene.
Rating : 10

17.Scream Team - Ice Cream (U Scream) (SCP)
Another title that I am going to give a lot of credit in the future, I was actually expecting Scream Team to be a one time deal, but they surprised me by presenting another song, and again at the awesome horror style. The previous song has claimed its place as one of the biggest hits in the SEB140's so far, and now it's going to get a lot of competition from another jewel by the same title. The song title reminds me of the TV-show Charmed everytime I see it (as Charmed had an episode titled We All Scream For Ice Cream), and that created a funny loophole for me. If you heard Horror Fantasy I could just say that they reproduced the pattern to a new song and it works just as well, if not even better. A catchy song with the typical SCP eurobeat style.
Rating : 10

18.Nameless - S.M.S. (Time)
The album is finished off by a song that I can't believe is made by Time, the song is just so similar to something you might hear from SCP or A-Beat C, not Time. The track is really catchy and it fits the album really well as it also presents something rather different from the standards. The songtitle and the melody itself for some reason remind me of another song titled SMS, but perhaps I am just hearing the similarities in my head. But anyways this is a very good eurobeat song that won't break out from the typical style, but it still offers something we don't hear from Time very often, and it's a good way to end the album.
Rating : 9

Final Words :
After the previous SEB I was pretty much anticipating the 149 to be good, and as Avex generally does with the XX9's this one is also very well put together. The strongest point of the album is that it offers a huge load of perfect songs and I think it's actually higher than on any other SEB to date. The tracks are all good or very good which makes the album rise above the vast majority of the SEBs, and pointing out the best song from the album is really bad, but if I just summed up all of the songs that got the perfect grade the list would still be long. Anyways I have to give a lot of credit for all of the record-labels as they've done one heck of a job (well even though Avex chooses the songs), as we're treated to one of the best SEBs thorough the whole history, and the last 2 SEBs from the 140's just made me like the decade a lot more. Hopefully we'll continue at the same level after the big 150.

Final Score : 9½

Reviewed by Bore