Super Eurobeat 171

1.Neo - Midnight Love (A-Beat C)
With this kind of a release pace for new songs I can already feel the novelty value of Neo vanishing. The multiple songs he has presented us with during the past year or so have been time after time excellent and I've been constantly predicting the level going down, but still to date it hasn't happened. Midnight Love is yet an another hit for this prodigy. Excellent synths, great and catchy vocals that make it really fun to sing along to the very generic song title. Really nice way to kick off the album, plus should please all the Initial D fanboys.
Rating : 9½

2.Melissa White - Wanna Be With You (SCP)
Shudder, the initial feeling I got when I heard the start of this song was that Van T.K. would be back. The intro features exactly similar sounds as the Van T.K. disco influenced songs have had in the pasts and I'm at least not really feeling too comfortable when I mix up a song by this fine young lass to him. Either way, after the slightly disturbing intro the songs kicks off and loses most of the similarities to TK. The song features very strong vocal work my Melissa that really makes the track shine out. Excellent chorus with a nice c-verse are the highlights for the song but otherwise the song can't really reach the level of her best tracks. Still a nice song over all and a nice merit for her discography.
Rating : 8+

3.Mr. M - Welcome People (Time)
At least it wasn't hard to guess which label we were dealing with when I originally head this song. The familiar vocals by Gambogi are a nice feature that work as the strongest point this track has to offer. The vocals sound slightly distracting as I always heard the song title slightly distortedly and always figured he must be saying different things instead of welcome. Exactly what you can expect to hear from Time with a nice swift outro at least.
Rating : 7-

4.Groove Twins - Dance Dance Monsteru (A-Beat C)
So first we had DDR now we have DDM, poor man's equivalent I guess... Lolita has been given the honor to sing with the older Lolita as Annerley Gordon seems to be featured in this weird track. This song has a weird giddy feeling mixed a rather annoying vocalwork (which is fairly surprising how much I love Elena Gobbi and all of her aliases). The chorus features some of the most annoying sound effects in quite a while and that accompanied with horrid "DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE!" shouts it was enough to give me the creeps and skip to the next song fast. Really not a song I enjoyed listening to.
Rating : 6-

5.Oda - Rainbow (Delta)
One of the more anticipated songs by many, and surely a song that will also please those who were looking forward to it. Rough edged fast track with nice vocals and over all catchy sounds. Slightly different style than most of the Oda releases but still a fitting track to carry on the legacy.
Rating : 7½

6.Annie - DD Dance (Time)
The previous Annie track was featured on SEB exactly 3 years ago, and one could really question where has she been all this time when Time actually releases a catchy and well produced song that shines out from the majority. DD Dance starts with a really catchy feel-good intro that will reveal most of the positive features the track has to offer: Good vocals, catchy melody and brilliant sounds. The track has a rather fast pace that doesn't really slow down at all which really pleased my ear and after multiple repeats I could really put this song as one of my favorites from 171.
Rating : 9+

7.Rick Castle - You'll Never Be Lonely (HI-NRG Attack)
Out of the various HRG titles Rick Castle has rarely managed to really make a lasting impression on me. Many of the tracks released under this title have been rather nice or good, but nothing very memorable or right on catchy. You'll Never Be Lonely sounds just like that: Fast beats and a really hyped c-melody are the strong points the song has to offer, but as the downside the vocals and verses don't really manage to bring much of life into the song. Not a bad production but just feels somewhat incomplete.
Rating : 7

8.Go 2 - Power (SCP)
What can I say? Really, what do you expect me to say? Go 2 are here and with a song titled Power. What could it be? A ballad maybe? Or a love song? No! Surprise, surprise it's a fast paced energyfilled eurobeat song to their usual style. And to their usual style it also means high quality, catchy and well produced. Oh and Alberto Contini has touched the song too, the suspense! What will the future bring...
Rating : 9

9.Queen 26 - Popcorns & Sex (Delta)
Moan, whine, grunt... Very surprising way to start off the track with the word sex in the title. The track is a clear step away from the slower disco beats to a more eurobeat friendly material. Really bouncy vocals and a melody that will surely make you feel good if you're not already drowned in sugary goodness. A song that took a while for me to finally reveal, but in the end it did feel like a rather nice song. Not as much of a direct hit like Inside Your Heart was, but still an okay song.
Rating : 8-

10.Cy-Ro - Intercooler (HI-NRG Attack)
Wow, what a blast this track turns out to be when you give it a chance. At first round this song sounded rather boring and not like anything special to the ear, but after I had looped the album for 6 hours I suddenly started noticing that I unconsciously jumped back to this track. The verses are rather mediocore but the chorus really makes up for any downsides the song has to offer. Excellent vocals that are just too bloody irresistible and fun lyrics to sing along too! Great song to feel happy with by HRG.
Rating : 9+

11.Sophie - My World 2006 (Time)
Hehe, it's funny how opinions can differ so much. Just had a conversation about this song and we looked at the song totally from the opposite ends. I myself was very satisfied how it turned out as it sounds way more refreshing and catchy than the original ever did to me, yet sounds like some people don't agree ;). Really nicely produced song that balances between the old italo world and current modern sounds. Very  nice remake by Time, but I still wish we could get some slightly newer songs featured as well. From the 93-95 era preferably.
Rating : 8½

12.Cody - Die Die (Delta)
What a lovely song title, I was actually expecting this song to be as good as it turned out to be, so for a change a song title really reveals all you can ask for. Excellent fast paced melody that really would work nicely by itself but with the strong vocal work the track shines even more brighter. When the singer tells you to Die Die don't you just feel all fuzzy and giddy inside? I did!
Rating : 8

13.Dana - I'm OK (SCP)
Seems that nearly each album has at least one really surprising song that takes me off guard. Newcomer Dana is the one that did it for me on this album. A song in the spirit of Kiki & Fancy or the other female acts on SCP that is just irresistible in it's simplicity. Very awesome sound worlds that really reach their peak in the chorus which feels as spectacular every time it starts and ends. Really awesome vocals by this new title (yet I can't help but feel disturbed and think of Dana International when I think of it). A perfect female track by SCP and the true jewel on this album.
Rating : 10

14.Annalise - Say You Will (A-Beat C)
So yeah, I praised Annerley Gordon to the skies previously when she made her comeback and already it's time to take some of those words back... Say You Will is a direct continue to Say Yeah with a slightly similar mood to it, yet calmer and not nearly as catchy. The song has a very strong Delta flavor to it and I could really imagine this song being performed by Queen 26 instead of Annalise. Not a very special song on any level and really didn't give me much to look forward to after being put after the Dana song.
Rating : 6-

15.Powerful T. - Ace Of Spades (A-Beat C)
After his previous hit on 154 Powerful T. has been keeping it slow for quite a while. Ace Of Spades carries on with the good old style we've heard in the past, but doesn't quite come near to the usual level we've heard. The song doesn't really strike as at all interesting or special on any level, the only real thing you'll notice about it is the vocals but those have been long estabilished in the past anyways. A rather mediocore presentation that just goes by unnoticed and gets forgotten after the next song starts playing.
Rating : 6

16.Ai Yamamoto - Wonderful (SCP)
After we lost Dr's Girl we haven't really had any actual eurobeat sung by native japanese people. I don't really know for sure whether Ai Yamamoto is a native, but comparing her way of pronouncing English and by the name I'd jump to conclusion and say she is. A rather typical eurobeat faire with slightly hard to get vocals, I was slightly bugged about the pronounciation all the way and always smiled when I heard her pronounce "Baby" as it reminds me of  the funky way Nuage pronounces it as well. Nice "elevator eurobeat", but that's it.
Rating : 7-

17.Mark Gillan - Honesty (Time)
Thinking up crap puns from song titles is an art that I really can't master at all, but I feel I should be honest with this song. Yet if I did that I'd end up doing the same thing I did with the earlier Mark Gillan song. Maybe I'll be a broken record and again go: Boring. Sorry :x.
Rating : 6

18.Nuage - I'm Gonna Carry On (A-Beat C)
So we've reached yet an another end of an album, and it's the fair Denise doing the goodbyes this time. We've come to know her as the ballad screeching girl that keeps coming back for more. I'm Gonna Carry On borderlines between normal pop music and eurobeat as it doesn't really have the clearest eurobeat elements (the A-Beat C flava aside). Not really a strong presentation in its category when it's against other really well done ballads.
Rating : 7-

Final Words :
I am really starting to feel concerned for the direction that Super Eurobeat is heading. I didn't enjoy 160s very much in general and I was predicting that 170s would be even worse in comparison and the initial opener for this decade really couldn't prove me wrong. The album features only a few really good songs and in general the songs are either just "nice" or "boring". Lots of songs on this album that I ended up skipping after a few times and the album just feels like a waste of money. Not really a good album to invest your money when you got way better albums available made in the past few years. Also I was very disappointed with what A-Beat C had to offer on this album, only Neo could keep the flag high for the label.

Final Score : 6½

The Best 3 Songs

- Dana - I'm OK
- Neo - Midnight Love
- Annie - DD Dance

The Worst 3 songs

- Groove Twins - Dance Dance Monstaru
- Annalise - Say You Will
- Mark Gillan - Honesty

Honorable Mention

- Cy-Ro - Intercooler

Reviewed by Bore