Super Eurobeat 205

1.Dave Rodgers - The Race Is The Game (A-Beat C)
Times have changed and it occasionally has felt as if Dave has had to hand his throne to other men as the real king of eurobeat. Fortunately The Race Is The Game showcases what he is still capable of. The track actually is the first song by him in quite a while where his wide vocal range is given a proper track to work with. The track is not quite as ingenious and instantly catchy as per say Space Invader was years back, but this track instead takes its time to slowly creep to your consciousness. The melody has a very strong presence that balances out vocals and sounds pretty perfectly without raising either on a pedestal. The chorus is the only part of the song that really has something to fix: the chorus sort of jumps from the bushes then ends in a similar fashion. Maybe giving it a slightly more focused role would have worked better. Either way, this is definitely a nice track to open an album with, but not quite the direct bull's eye I would have wanted it to be.
Rating : 8½

2.Karen - Evergreen (A-Beat C)
Revising the 1990's again with Evergreen, a pretty fitting title for the return of Karen. Sadly it's not quite up to the peaks of her career. The song sounds faintly Disney'ish with the similar synth and positive mood, but it definitely lacks balls. The vocals are the only part about the track that really stand out in any way. The sounds really don't offer much to speak of: basic synth without any extra hooks and a basic beat to back it all up. The rest of the sounds are just barely noticable and could just as well have been left out as it wouldn't really have made much of a difference. Not quite what I wanted the return of Karen to be like.
Rating : 6-

3.Vicky Vale - Your Barbie Girl (Delta)
I don't really know, but when I do see the word Barbie I do expect something catchy and fun. And that's exactly what Delta provides. Your Barbie Girl shifts the gear up and provides us with a very simple yet upbeat track. The track is built around a rather quirky melody that really lets it lose on the sabi that sounds extremely pleasant, sadly though the sounds elsewhere lack the similar spirit. If the verses and chorus was given a bit of extra love from the sound department this track could've easily been categorized in the same elite class as Shibuya Girl, but now it has to be satisfied with a role of a nice song, that is fun to come back to every once in a while.
Rating : 8

4.Hotblade - Plastic (SCP)
I'm definitely not the only person who was puzzled about this track and its odd lyrics. SCP male energy is perfectly at home with Plastic that could just as well have been a Go 2 song, since the vocals here are highly reminiscent. That's not per say a bad thing, but it does eat up some of the track's originality away when this new vocalist can't quite put out a unique performance. That is not to say the vocals are bad by any means, quite the contrary I like how he sounds, but this song just doesn't showcase anything new. A catchy, fun simple song that does its job in the normal fashion without really changing the key elements.
Rating : 9-

5.Radiorama - You Are Always On My Mind (Asia/Saifam)
If I was reviewing this song after it was initially released I would probably have been pretty brutal against it, but fortunately that is not the case. It's not too common for Asia songs to grow on me over time, but this time it really did happen and I have started to value the simple and positive mood this song provides. The vocals aren't exactly spectacular or different but they deliver the message out clearly. The verses sound delightful and the pitching in the chorus sounds really nice. This song is not quite the type I usually enjoy from Asia, but it still works fine as it is: a feel-good lil' piece of sunshine. Nothing that would win awards or anything, but it still manages to brighten my day.
Rating : 8½

6.Ester - Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (Go Go's Music)
Some songs just are, a tad too odd, y'know? I've gotten used to hearing HRG tracks that are frankly a mishmash of one too many ingredients, but now GGM manages to pull of the same. This song is definitely upbeat and at points it really does make you feel good as well, but most of the time it just makes you puzzled about the weird use of the elements. The synth, sounds, vocals and weird blackout cuts here and there do give the song some structure, but things just don't work out well together. At times I am completely in love with the track, then some of the odd elements take over and I just get left with a Do not want-expression on my face. A hard song to grade since it has some good in it, but quite truthfully the complete package could've used some finetuning and leaving out some of the oddity out.
Rating : 6½

7.Jay Lehr - Little Little Star (SCP)
A song to sing as a goodnight song is not quite what I would classify as normal in the eurobeat world. Little Little Star sounds so original and different from the other Jay Lehr tracks in the past it definitely deserves more attention and a spot on more compilations than just this one. The spacy sounds with the upbeat melody make this a track that could have worked out well for a female vocalist as well, but Jay definitely handles the task with a 5 star rank. An absolutely adorable song that keeps making me wanna crawl in bed with one of those lamps that project a starry sky in the ceiling.
Rating : 9½

8.Sara - Little Love (Delta)
An absolutely amazing intro. That is followed by an absolutely annoying verse. That is followed by an absolutely awesome chorus. That is followed by an extremely irritating sabi. That's basically how this song goes... I love it, I hate it, I love it, I hate it... The yo-yo movement in the end is still something that managed to win me over due to the sheer amusement factor. I absolutely loved the better parts of the song so much, that by time I started to like the lesser parts just as much. The vocals are basically the key factor that drew me in with the song plus the magnificent melodic part at 3 minutes, I just can't say no to this song. So warm and fuzzy, I just want a little love as well.
Rating : 9-

9.David Dima - Somebody To Love (Dima Music)
Occasionally an efficient bass-line is all I need to love a song. This track features one of those key elements. Usually it's Davide's vocals that steal the show, but now the simple sounds and fun bass made me love the track, it's just a shame the magnificent sounds get overpowered by vocals here and there. Chorus mainly. So scratch out a chorus out of this song and it'd be pretty much a sold deal for me, now I have to make some amends and admit that while I do like the song, I still feel it's not something I would play on repeat. A very typical presentation by Dima Music that will please fans of the style, but I doubt there are a lot of people who would classify this track as one of the label's true masterpieces.
Rating : 7½

10.Sarah - Little Lies (Asia/Saifam)
It's all in the little things, the little things that can make a difference. The third song about small things is the one to draw the shortest straw as well. I initially liked how this song builts an upbeat mood that is fun to listen to, but after a while I noticed it does sound fairly hollow. Melodic presentation lacks some real hooks that would make me come back to this song, chorus aside the rest of the song feels like a lifeless carcass. Credit is given where it's earned though: the female vocals are pleasantly different and actually sound really different from the normal stuff Asia tends to put out. I actually feel this time there's a singer and not a bot doing the singing. Maybe this metapod will someday evolve into a butterfree, there's some more work to be done.
Rating : 7

11.Cy-Ro - It's All Up To You (HI-NRG Attack)
Slower material from HRG has been a bit of a roulette, never know about the quality that the results yield. It's All Up To You feels refreshingly different and like the producers finally adapted some sounds and styles from different labels. The track sounds really unique and there are only a few very obvious chirpy sounds here and there that remind you that it's HI-NRG Attack we're dealing with. If this track was given a new vocalists as well, this could have very well been something that finally breaks HRG from their curse of repeating the same old pattern over and over again. A nicely balanced slower tune and I would definitely want to praise the sounds this time around, it's not the same synth line with a few extra elements here and there.
Rating : 9

12.Mom And Dad - Kiss My Boo Boo (SinclaireStyle)
I'm quite sure I am not the only person around the site who has a tendency to adapt lines from eurobeat songs into every day. I tend to use those said lines out of the blue with my friends, who mostly never have any clue what I am talking about, this leads to various odd situations where I'm given odd looks, yet I'm enjoying myself thoroughly. Kiss My Boo Boo is an absolutely perfect example of such silliness. The track is just so full of child-like enthusiasm and fun I can't help but throw in the "Kiss my boo boo"-line whenever I am with my friends if I've hurt myself. I can already see how many people will hate this track due to it's happy and very pediatric theme. I have to disagree though, this is finally something I thoroughly have enjoyed by Sinclaire, while the track could have some more energy and some good hooks, I still value this track highly and consider it a contender for Toy For Love as the label's best presentation.
Rating : 9+

13.TRF - Survival Dance (No No Cry More) (Dima Remix) (Dima Music / Avex)
As far as J-euro comes I have consider TRF as one of the best acts out there. Survival Dance is definitely a classic so I'm not one bit surprised it was given a remix, maybe it would have been better off without one though... As far as Dima comes as a remixer this is far from the better end of material. I don't know if it's the key changes in the "oh oh oh" in the chorus or the sounds, but there's just something that feels off. I can't quite enjoy this song like I would want to. There are small bits of that old charisma the track has, but sadly most of it has been lost in the process of remixing it again. A rather bad modernization of a classic.
Rating : 6

14.Desire' - Take A Look In My Heart (Eurogrooves)
The question is, why did this have to be reworked _again_? I wasn't too happy with the previous remake on 175, but this time they go even deeper underground. This remix is a Healing Version as stated by the booklet, but it's still a bad Healing version as it is. There's just too many oddities about the production here. The violins sound really nice as an extra flavor, but the melody itself suffers from the slowed down pace and I strongly believe the song also loses a lot of its original edge when Elena sings it instead of Clara. There's just something about how the track has been produced as it comes off as slightly apologetic for it's existance, but worry not, I forgive thee! Another bad way to end a SEB sadly.
Rating : 5

Final Words :
Following a very weak album it's very easy to improve, but well... this album isn't exactly that much further ahead in quality. This time around the album actually offers quite a strong array of good songs. The usual trend of having good songs that don't quite reach the level of absolute magnificance is present though. Yet there were quite a few impressive tracks that I have been coming back to for a long time now. It was really refreshing to hear HI-NRG Attack put out a unique track with a solid production that definitely showcases the label is capable of publishing good material as well. Jay Lehr's presentation in it's simplicity is though what the stole my heart away, there's just something very unique and memorable about this very song. Overall I did enjoy this album a lot and feel it's from the strong end this decade has put out so far (which is still not, ahem, not quite much). The crap and mediocore songs do sort of stand out on this album though, can't say that I will remember a lot of these songs in a year.

Final Score : 7½

The Best 3 songs

- Jay Lehr - Little Little Star
- Mom And Dad - Kiss My Boo Boo
- Cy-Ro - It's All Up To You

The Worst 3 Songs

- Desire' - Take A Look In My Heart
- Karen - Evergreen
- TRF - Survival Dance (No No Cry More) (Dima Remix)

Honorable Mention

- Dave Rodgers - The Race Is The Game

Labels present on the album:

A-Beat C: 2
Delta: 2
Dima Music: 2
Eurogrooves: 1
Go Go's Music: 1
HI-NRG Attack: 1
Saifam: 2
SCP: 2
Sinclaire Style: 1

Reviewed by Bore