Super Eurobeat 212

1.Yo Shine - I Dream Of You (SCP)
Yo Shine's debut track got a warm reception from the eurobeat community and no wonder, Power Of My Love was a powerful track to start off with. I Dream Of You follows the footsteps of the debut: The track is easily approachable and has an uplifting atmosphere that should please most listeners. The song's structure is rather traditional and the sounds also fit the song pretty perfectly. With the decrease in Elena Gobbi appereances these days, it's nice to have these SCP girls doing their Lolita-esque performances to patch up for the lack of Elena. A fun song that works in its own niche very well, but it still needs a bit more of oomph to achieve perfection.
Rating: 8½

2.Ace - Set Me Free (SCP)
Christian has been working on his own style for quite a while. He started off as an energetic performer with explosive tracks. Calmer and more aesthetic tracks followed and for a while it felt that he abandoned the more dancy material. But no worries: Set Me Free is here to fix up the situation and with such grace you'll be blown away for sure. For a long time I had given up hope to get as instantly infectious songs as Play The Music was, but Set Me Free is definitely every bit as memorable (if not more) as Ace's debut track. Sound wise the track sounds very unique and distinctive: the rather grim and dark elements are accompanied by a perfectly fitting classic synth and a solid bass. Christian shows some magnificent vocal skills this time around with the incredibly catchy bridge and chorus that alone could build a strong ground for any song. Fortunately the verses also work just as well. As a complete package, Set Me Free succeeds in everything it does, it stands out from the rest of the album instantly and shows just how unique and excellent the best SCP productions can be.
Rating : 10+++

3.Annalise - Love Toy (A-Beat C)
Occasionally small bits of songs can create such strong mental images it's impossible to shake them off. Love Toy starts off with a heavily B-side Ace Of Base-like intro that just seems to stand out for all the wrong reasons. Love Toy ventures back to the style of the 160s when Annerley made her comeback to the eurobeat world as the song has that similar chirpiness as per say Say Yeah! Annerley seems to be enjoying herself a lot while singing this song, which makes the track feel a lot more genuine and direct. Love Toy as a song isn't perhaps the most memorable or original production, but the melody works out nicely and the chorus has nice hooks that help add to the track's appeal. The song is a definite step up from some of the rather tedious tracks Annerley has done in the recent years, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.
Rating : 7½

4.Mr. Moog - Cowboy (Dima Music)
A cowboy-themed track can never go too far west now can it? With all the chaps and hats... Davide throws in quite a performance with the western themed track that has horses riled up and barmaids weak in the knees. (Bang Bang) Cowboy is a pretty typical solid production from Dima, so not many surprised are catered. while the sounds are lush and full, the song could have used a bit more variety, now it feels to rely too much on reptition. Vocalwise the masculinity oozes through every nook and cranny as the style just reeks of manliness. Cowboy is a good song definitely, yet some more liveliness and a bit of extra dimensions would have made it much more outstanding.
Rating : 8+

5.Virginelle - Baby Come Back (Go Go's Music)
The eurobeat universe is a puzzling one. Years can go by without anything really changing and when something does change people get on their high horse and want things to remain like they used to be. I am one of those stubborn people who want certain things to remain as they have, at least some... Elena Gobbi is by far the one name in the industry that has remained as an all time favorite with her bubbly vocals, and... well same. Throughout the years the Lolita and Virginelle titles have released a huuuge array of instantly memorable tracks that I never seem to grow tired of, yet the past few years have been a bit quiet with the lack of Elena. The Power Of Love shone some light into the darkness, but it's finally time for a true nuclear bomb. Baby Come Back is a track that seems to be highly calculated and produced to perfection. The upbeat melody, chirpy sounds and Elena's lively voice create an irresistible mixture that doesn't need to shy away from my old favorites. If perfection was attempted, then I doubt they can get much closer than this. Oh how I missed this sort of feel-good eurobeat, please do come more often Virginelle!
Rating : 10+++++

6.DJ Space'C - Danger Zone (Asia/Saifam)
The lack of original material from Saifam is a bit disturbing, although my lack of knowledge on these titles we've recently heard is quite lacking and I have to admit I'm not familiar with Danger Zone. So as an entirely new track for me, I've got no quarrels at all with DJ Space'C, yet...While these remixes have been fairly decent in general, I doubt I'm alone on this, but I would more gladly hear original eurobeat instead of eurobeatized 'classics'. Saifam's male vocals have been so highly Mauro saturated that hearing a new one for a change is refreshing. It also helps that this DJ sounds raspy and sexy, the plus effects of smoking (or not). Danger Zone works out nicely and while it's no floorfiller or an instant hit, I imagine it has its own audience out there.
Rating : 8-

7.David & Toy - You & I (Dima Music)
The lighter and simpler side of Dima is back again with this duet. Unfortunately the song feels like an outright B-side reject that doesn't quite manage to offer any kind of thrills at all. Vocals work out fine together, but when there doesn't even seem to be a song of any kind to back them up, there's little to go on with. Boredom to the maximum.
Rating : 5+

8.Joe D. Toaster - Crazy Diamond (HI-NRG Attack)
I do have to admit that HI-NRG Attack seem to be more thoroughly thinking their productions these days. While the slower pace seems to be dominant, the tracks actually are quite multilayered and unique which is definitely a step up from the old array of similar tracks. Crazy Diamond is a 'HI-NRG Attack ballad' all the way, with the soft and light sounds combined to the most beautiful male vocals I've ever heard from the label. Somehow the song just sounds tacktful and surprisingly mature. The high pitched girls and chirpy sounds are no where to be seen, one could even ask the question: Is this even HRG anymore? Either way, this is a beautiful beautiful song that stands out on its own feet and actually many other ballads by different labels pale in comparison.
Rating : 9½

9.Melissa White - Movin' & Lovin' (SCP)
Melissa's presentations have been a bit of a hit and miss kind of a faire. While there've been memorable performances such as My Wish, there've been some rather unpleasant ones as well, mainly Promised Discoland. Movin' & Lovin' sounds heavily like the end of Euromach Melissa tracks such as L.O.V.E. You & Me, but not in a good sense. Movin' & Lovin' is stuck with an unimaginative melody that has very little to none going on for it. Melissa tries to save the show with her pretty vocals but they're not really able to fix up a lost cause. In the end the track vanishes into the ranks of forgettable songs, nothing really bad, but nothing really good going on this time around.
Rating : 6-

10.Megan - Time To Say Bye Bye (SinclaireStyle)
Well, that annoying metallic synth got resurrected by someone, again, who was it? Go on, I'm not gonna bite hard. Wheelpower & Go! showed how full and strong the Sinclaire tracks can be, but sadly we venture back to the land of hollow repetition. Time To Say Bye Bye seems to be a carbonate copy of the other female tracks by the label, as in it has nothing really unique or different about it. While the melody itself has some nice hooks and the chorus is pretty chirpy the production masks away the positive sides so strongly away they're pretty unnoticable. Take one step forward, then two backwards again, that's what I seem to be getting off SS.
Rating : 5½

11.Cy-Ro - Jump On The Sound (HI-NRG Attack)
Fortunately as a counter-attack to the slower Diamond, Jump On The Sound is a more energetic performance (yet still far from the hyper Euromach). The more mature approach by HRG continues with this Cy-Ro performance, but the song unfortunately isn't offering as unique and special material as Crazy Diamond. Jump On The Sound has a nice chorus and some pretty funky sounds going on for it, but the verses and generic sounds feel rather lackluster. There's plenty of effort to make a catchy track, but sadly it just doesn't have enough gunpowder to catch my heart (very melon). Now if Avex would pick some variable styles from HRG instead of sticking with one single style.
Rating : 7-

12.Go Go Girls - Sex Skiller (Go Go's Music)
Usually when the GGG name comes up, I always pay attention to the songs right away, but for some reason Sex Skiller went under my radar for a very long time. When I got my hands on the album I mostly looped Baby Come Back for ages and nearly forgot there was more Elena Gobbi on the very same disc. Sex Skiller has strong horror-vibes going on for it, which instantly adds up some uniqueness to the track, on top of that the song is actually blessed with a dang effective melody (not to mention the killer chorus). Vocals are done by the lovely Go Go duo who throw in some magnificent screeching and offer quite distinctive pitch changes. If initial impressions meant everything, this song would probably have gotten forgotten, but fortunately time really opened up its magic to me. Effective, distinctive, fun and most of all memorable.
Rating : 10-

13.Claire M. - M.U.S.I.C. (Dima Music)
M.U.S.I.C. is a very effective lil' piece of music, what do'ya know? This time a single detail in the production made it stand out and remain memorable: the well thought breakouts. While the song itself doesn't offer much special in terms of sounds, it still feels finetuned due to the constant tempo changes and the vocals that fit in together just perfectly. Claire M. starts out strongly with this track that worked fine even for my non eurobeat-listening friends. These sort of simple yet effective songs show what popular music in general is about, a single hook is enough to create a hit.
Rating : 9

14.Digital Planet - A New Day (A-Beat C)
I might be a bit off here, but I strongly feel this song has the wrong performer. Everything about this song screams for Matt Land, the lighter not so masculine style would've been perfect for him. A New Day sounds a lot like the memorable A-Beat C performances in the 150s did, I could easily hear this song paired with the likes of Change The World or Fly Away. A New Day as a song works out really nicely, but the production is what has gone wrong at some point. Compared to any of the other songs on this album, the whole song just sounds stuffy and like it'd be in mono. It's a real shame though since the song actually showcases how catchy the A-Beat C songs can be. A very good song, bad production, results... well positive, yet at the same time quite sad.
Rating : 8½

15.King & Queen - Ya Ya Ya (Slow Mix) (A-Beat C)
Ya Ya Ya might not be one of the bigger King & Queen songs, but it's still an important track during the eurobeat evolution phase in the 90s. The slow mix changes the track into a much more modern and more calmer (duh) format, which quite surprisingly works out decently. While the song does seem slightly out of place (like most of the remixes/j-euro tracks), it does breathe in new life to an old (nearly buried) classic.
Rating : 7+

Final Words :
Listening to 212 has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. The high peaks are very noticable and offer some really highclass music, yet when the album goes downlow you just want to dwell in the depression. As a full album this one succeeds far better than 211, but it's still not constant enough to keep the level above the average. A lot of the tracks on this album appear to be pretty mediocore or unnoticable, the actually bad tracks are fortunately not that frequent. The Go Go's Music performances this time around show some real magnificance and SCP throw in their better array of guns with Set Me Free. Overall pretty much all of the labels succeed somewhat well and offer good music for us, yet Sinclaire's same old tune just keeps getting older and older every time. If the female tracks are gonna be like Time To Say Bye Bye time after time, I'd more gladly ditch them all together for a handful of male songs instead. 212 is an album that's probably worth the money with a fairly nicely balanced amount of male and female productions. The women draw the longer straw this time, but 214 could turn the tables around yet again. There's a rumor going on that we'll be getting more speed... If this is the case, then I'm the first in line for a preorder. Preferably with more Elena as well. Also we want our Delta back, there's too much of Dima currently on the albums and the weak songs seem to make it on SEB which screams for label inflation.

Final Score : 7½

The Best 3 songs

- Virginelle - Baby Come Back
- Ace - Set Me Free
- Go Go Girls - Sex Skiller

The Worst 3 Songs

- David & Toy - You & I
- Megan - Time To Say Bye Bye
- Melissa White - Movin' & Lovin'

Honorable Mention

- Joe D. Toaster - Crazy Diamond

Labels present on the album:

A-Beat C: 3
Dima Music: 3
Go Go's Music: 2
HI-NRG Attack: 2
Saifam: 1
SCP: 3
Sinclaire Style: 1

Reviewed by Bore