Super Eurobeat 151

1.Manuel - Big Boy (A-Beat C)
After a long pause in new materials, we finally get 151 and the album is introduced us by A-Beat C and the ever so popular new-comer Manuel. All of his songs have so far had a weird effect, where they all have rocked in the beginning but slowly gotten boring. After a lot of replaying the clip Avex had on their site before getting my own copy of 151 I was expecting a whole lot from this song, and I wasn't disappointed. Manuel sounds simply brilliant and the melos in combination with the chorus work marvellously. Perfectly energetic and catchy, a good example of how an album should be started with.
Rating : 10
AxU: 10

2.Max Alto - Change The World (A-Beat C)
I'm not the first one to notice how this song really sounds like a left-over song from Eurobeat Disney. The sounds, the vocals, the melody, practically most things about this song remind of the Disney times. Well like most people already know, it's a cover from the V6 song, and it's kind of interesting to see how they managed to make it sound so disneyish, and it's not necessarily all that good. The song itself is good, but like most of the songs on Eurobeat Disneys, this track also starts to get kind of repetitive quickly. The chorus is clearly the highlight for the song and it manages to make the song more longlasting, but we've heard much better.
Rating : 8-
AxU: 8

3.Go Go Girls - Raparapadance (A-Beat C)
The A-Beat C trademark: Go Go Girls are here yet again, and they are still gogoing strong. We got a couple of silly and funny Go Go Girls songs in the 140s and this song follows the same pattern and as long as you don't take it too seriously it's gonna hit you big time. The melody is merry and the vocals once again handled by Elena Gobbi sound great. The song may not be as big of a hit as the previous song from the Gogo's, but none the less it's fun to listen to and it'll make your day a bit more fun.
Rating : 9+
AxU: 8½

4.Cherry - Every Beat Of Your Heart (Delta)
Clara Moroni keeps on singing her songs and the fans just seem to never get enough of her, this time we take a huge step back from the previous Cherry song, as the fastpaced energy of Lonely Night is no where in sight, and we get a song in the lines of classic slightly slower eurobeat. The keyboard in co-operation with the guitar make the sounds soung a bit plain, but after a lot of replays the song really starts to open up more and more, yet we don't have a huge hit here.
Rating : 8+
AxU: 7½

5.Casanova - Satisfy My Soul (Time)
The mix-up with the titles Kasanova/Casanova distracted a lot of fans, as we were expecting Delta of course, but now it's Time doing a Casanova song, like during the early days of SEB. The song is also made in the good old traditional Time style, that most of the times gets really repetitive, but this time the song itself sounds quite great. The vocals and the sounds are so typical that you might experience a deja vu feeling with the song, but it's still well written and fits the album's style well.
Rating : 8+
AxU: 8-

6.Name - Don't Tell Me Stories (Delta)
Clara Moroni sings the first time on SEB under the Name title, and some of us were expecting to hear somebody else, but doesn't really matter. The song has a typical Delta touch to it, with rather plain sounds that only back-up the vocalist. The verses don't really stand out all that much, but the chorus and the c-melody sound simply brilliant, what is strange about the song though is how it sounds so old, it has a touch from the mid 90s basic dancemusic scene.
Rating : 8½
AxU: 7½

7.Dave Simon - Money (Time)
Like the previous Time song, this song carries on with the similar path. Lots of guitars and simplified sounds from the Time-tunnel. Every now and then I can't help but wonder if the producers at Time even try to bother and come up with new sounds, as all of these sounds have been used way too often in the past already. Nothing spectacular this time, the song works nicely if it is listened in the background while doing something else, but for listening it just doesn't really work.
Rating : 8
AxU: 9

8.Pretty Woman - Never Do (Delta)
Pretty Woman has been appearing a lot on SEBs in the past, as she's only done 5 songs, and 3 of them happened in the past 5 albums. This song isn't as hyper or energetic as her faster songs, and it reminds me a lot of Melody due to the sounds that reminded me of Fly. The calmpaced tempo fits the song perfectly, but I wouldn't say no to hearing this song on some future JGTC as a bit faster version, as it would also fit the song nicely. Great vocals and a killer chorus, one of the highlights for the album.
Rating : 9+
AxU: 8+

9.Tam Arrow - Fire To The Eurobeat (HI-NRG Attack)
Tam Arrow finally makes a comeback after a long silence without Euromach, and we get exactly the same kind of material we loved on Euromach. Energetic, catchy and something to make you feel good. His vocals sound great, and the only real complaint is the prolonged "Fire"s on the chorus, that just manage to annoy in the long run. A great typical HI-NRG Attack song that will really please the people who like this kind of energy, including me.
Rating : 9
AxU: 8½

10.Robbie Grain Feat. Name - All The Love Of My Heart (Delta)
Name re-appears an another time on the same album, and is also one of the few titles to have two songs on a single SEB, this happened the last time on SEB144 with Nuage. This song kics off with a brilliant intro that quickly builds up a bit of speed for the song, and once the cheery synth kicks in the song really starts to bloom. The vocals of these two vocalists sound marvellous together and what I loved above all in this song is the nice beat in the background that sounds like clapping at various parts of the song. The good thing with the song is how the different parts merge together so well that it can't sound nothing but great.
Rating : 10-
AxU: 9-

11.Oda - Speed Demon (King Of Kings) (Delta)
I was actually predicting that this song would be on 151, and quite surprisingly (to me) it did appear on the album. And well knowing Oda we get a song packed full of energy and aggressive vocals. This time it's unavoidable how anybody can hear Niko doing the vocals, but it doesn't matter at all, as his vocals fit the song perfectly. At first I really loved the song, but slowly the song lost a bit of its edge due to the chorus which is not as effective as it could've been. Soundwise the song shines shiner than many others as the backgrounds offer a lot of variety and it's nice to see how differently they use the synth in various parts of the song.
Rating : 9-
AxU: 10

12.Mary Lane - Love Me Forever (Time)
When this song started playing I was surprised so big time that I couldn't help but be amazed how pop-py eurobeat can sound. I often state to myself how other genres tend to be boring and too calm, and this song kind of managed to prove me otherwise. The song starts off with a great intro and after that starts a really cool song, due to various reasons: The sounds have the basic eurobeat beat in the background but this time Time has used a lot of typical pop-music guitars and dance sounds to really make the song more distinctive, and for me it worked perfectly. Nicely calm and soothing, and shows how variable Eurobeat can be, and still sound eurobeat and like basic pop at the same time.
Rating : 9
AxU: 7½

13.Maxx Ducati - Valentino Samurai (Vibration)
Vibration seems to come up with a new title every now and then, just to confuse the listeners. I heard a lot of positive feedback regarding this song before I got my hands on the CD, so I was really having high expecations but I was kind of let down. The song is missing out the effective beat and catchiness that I would've expected to hear from Vibration. The song itself tells about the famous italian race driver Valentino Rossi, and therefore also includes a lot of racing sounds. Not a bad song by any means, but it's just missing the punch that most Vibration songs have had in the past.
Rating : 8+
AxU: 9+

14.Van T.K. - Just Can't Get Enough (SCP)
This track is definitely the biggest surprise on the album, and definitely not what I was expecting to hear. The track has a similar kind of a feel to it as the Kevin Johnson cover on 149. The song is nothing like Van T.K.'s euromach debut Rockin' Dome, which is both a good and a bad thing. The song doesn't offer all that much energy or powerful singing that we know that Van T.K. can offer us which is kind of disappointing, but it's nice to hear the poppy side of him, as his vocal-skills really get to shine in this song. The calm song may not the best option from SCP, but the song fits perfectly the general calm mood of the album.
Rating : 8½
AxU: 7+

15.Nuage - Carry On Carry On (A-Beat C)
I was actually ready to have my expectations high when I knew that Nuage would appear on this album, but I have to admit I wasn't expecting anything as phenomenal as this song. Nuage is a brilliant vocalist and this song is just another trademark for her beautiful and soothing voice. The track kicks off with a great intro and from there on the song builds up more energy, and turns out to be the fastest Nuage song to date, which is a great thing as it really fits her. The sounds are very catchy and the occasional male extra vocals in the background suit the song just perfectly. What also made me love the song even more, were the lyrics that somehow fit Nuage's pure and innocent image perfectly. The real hit for this album.
Rating : 10+
AxU: 10-

16.Digital Planet - Fly Away (A-Beat C)
The previous Digital Planet song was good, and I was kind of neutrally looking forward to this song, and yet again I was surprised by yet another new kind of a style. The song reminded me of the 80s popscene in more than one way, the vocals sound brilliant and the song has one of the calmest sound worlds on the whole album. The slightly speedy synth in the background adds a nice spice to the otherwise calm song. The real strongpoint for the song are the soothing vocals, that really made me look back on the previous Digital Planet releases as I never paid much attention to them before. Beautiful and pop-py, perhaps the future for SEB.
Rating : 9+
AxU: 10

17.Melissa White & Ace - The Poison Of Love (SCP)
We heard from Melissa White the last time when she did a duet with Ace 10 albums ago, and it seems that these two really like making pretty duets together. We have a song that resemblences Rainin' In My Heart on many levels, but doesn't rise to the level of it's predecessor. Pretty chorus and great sounds. A song that fits the album well, but I was really expecting more from SCP... Two calm songs kinda made me a sad SCP-fan.
Rating : 8+
AxU: 7+

18.Lolita - Set Your Heart On Fire (A-Beat C)
And so the album began with a big new name, and it's finished off by a big old name. Lolita slows down a bit after her hyper, jumpy songs on the 140s, and it's nice to get a slightly slower song as it gives a lot of room for her great vocals. The simple, yet well written backgrounds and the melody itself work well. And what I loved about the song in particular were the verses, they're even better than the great chorus, and in the end I just fell in love with the song. Simply magnificent.
Rating : 10
AxU: 9½

Final Words :
After a painfully long pause in new releases it was great to get a new album, and most fans probably will be shocked by the huge change since 149. The general speed is down, and the basic pop-elements are very strongly present. It's interesting how Avex has picked the calm songs from the labels and put them together, and they all sound great in harmony. What was very good with the album was that there were no really bad songs at all, and the album is blessed with many perfect hits: Manuel, Robbie Grain Feat. Name, Nuage & Lolita all sound brilliant, and I can already see most of these songs on the next non-stop SEB. A great album at all levels, but like most I would've also loved to see more energy and speed, but if this is the future for Super Eurobeat I won't really mind, as long as the songs are great.

Final Score :
Bore : 9
AxU : 8½

Reviewed by Bore