Super Eurobeat 153

1.Stephy Martini - Emotions (Delta)
Delta has really renewed their whole image lately a lot, and therefore it's not all that easy to expect something specific from an act. Stephy Martini has been heard before and each time she has presented us with a calm song and Emotions is no exception. This time around we just aren't even remotely close to eurobeat grounds, the song is very typical european rock/pop, there's just a small faint feeling of the typical eurobeat energy. So in terms that we're dealing with an eurobeat album I'd say that this song sucks, but if we observe it from a wider musical angle there's not much bad to say about it. Catchy, beautiful and over all fun to listen to. But not what I would've in particular wanted to hear.
Rating : 8

2.Dusty - It's My Life (SCP)
The album just keeps on throwing surprises at us. What we've learned from SCP so far, is that Dusty is the rocker side of Ennio, and I'd usually combine aggressive with this title, but we're way at the other edge. This is actually probably the very first time we've heard Ennio sing a slow song, and it's quite interesting to hear his vocal range very differently from his last presentation. The song is yet an another example of how we're moving on non-eurobeat grounds. The sounds are built with light trancepop elements and the song relies mostly on the vocals, which are overall magnificent. Second surprise for the album, but not a bad one by any means.
Rating : 9+

3.Maxx Ducati - Million Dollars (Vibration)
The third time's the charm they say... Though it doesn't happen in this case. This song is as much of an odd-bird as the two previous songs, and not in a very good way. A slow intro turns into basic vibration material, with a twist. The typical background combined with piano elements sounds really unique, but it gets really repetitive quickly. Another part about the song that didn't turn me on at all were the vocals: The lyrics are sung in your typical fast style but still they seem totally out of place and I can say that I didn't like the chorus at all. Quite a bottom for Vibration.
Rating : 6-

4.Donna - In Your Dreams (Delta)
Whatever happened to the energetic Delta, In Your Dreams is yet an another calm song in your typical Donna style. The song has the basic eurobeat beat in the background and the song is all around your typical material which just doesn't stick out at all. The vocals, the sounds, the lyrics, everything about this song screams oldschool. Where as Stephy Martini was different and beautiful, this song just doesn't light me at all.
Rating : 7-

5.Garcon - Pistol Man (HI-NRG Attack)
So this had to happen sooner or later, HI-NRG Attack got three songs on a SEB, something many people have been waiting for, but is it all worth it? Well we all know the good old Garcon who has presented many great songs on the newer JGTC-albums and they are trying to re-produce the hits they had a while back, which unfortunately doesn't work as efficiently this time. HI-NRG Attack can be innovative from time to time, but I always felt that their male artists suffer from the same problem, which is that they sound too similar and the sounds have no real experiements at all. This song has a few nice gadgets like the chimes in the background and the occasional female extra vocals, but otherwise I could just sum the song up as : Walking In The Jungle or Dollar Machine all over again. Still the song is catchy, and at least proper eurobeat unlike a few earlier songs.
Rating : 7½

6.Dave Simon - Disco Music (Time)
What Time has also realized in the nearby past is that they can really do many experiements with their songs and not everything has to sound identical, unfortunately it doesn't apply here. Dave Simon is known mostly for his huge hit I Need Your Love from the SEB80s. For the past 30 SEBs or so, the problem with Time men has been that their sound has stayed the same and I honestly couldn't tell the difference with this song and any of the previous Dave Simon songs if the vocals were taken off and only the backgrounds were played. Over all the kind of presentation I don't want my eurobeat to be.
Rating : 6

7.King & Queen - Boogie Boogie (A-Beat C)
I had heard a lot contradictional opinions about this song, so I honestly didn't know what to expect, I even started to prepare for a bad King & Queen song, but no sir, they'd never do that. Lolita and Nuage apparently have become the duo that is King & Queen these days and while I do think that Domino worked better as the other member for the title, I don't have much against Nuage either. The song represents the kind of A-Beat C material I appreciate the most: Simple, happy, addictive, over all perfectly produced eurobeat. It's easy to notice from the first sounds already how I'll feel about the song, as I knew from the first time around that I'd love the song. Energetic song and especially the chorus sounds marvellous.
Rating : 10-

8.Mike J. - Touch And Go (Time)
As this album is pretty differently balanced from the typical SEB form, it's nice to hear that even Time still managed to add in a good dose of their skills. I'm not totally sure if Mike J. is a new name, but the song sounds really fresh and reminds me a lot of the earliest Fastway productions. The song is energetic, catchy and what I like the most about it are the vocals that sound simple and even add a nice touch for the backgrounds that are still unfortunately your every day Time.
Rating : 8+

9.Jeff Driller - Control Alt Delete And Blow (HI-NRG Attack)
One thing I do have to complain about Avex is how they only seem to pick male artists from HI-NRG Attack on SEBs, we only had girls on 141 and 145, aside for those two albums we've been getting men all around, and I really do miss the screamy girls of this bubbly label. I spoke about the innovativeness of HI-NRG Attack on the earlier track from the label, and it's sad to notice it's not present this time around either. The chimes I gave some extra points in the earlier song are here as well in their exact same form. And if a quick scan to the label's catalogue it seems that this song is older than Pistol Man, but I'd still say that this song works much better. The vocals are all around effective and the swiftly sung chorus works like a charm everytime. I have this feeling that these two made it on the album due to the chimes that do give the songs a bit of a christmassy feeling.
Rating : 8½

10.Lisa Lion - Lionheart (SCP)
It's been quite a while since we heard from the newcomer Lisa, since she made her debut on 142 with Big On Emotion and now she's finally back like she said on the SEB150 DVD. The song is not as striking and memorable as her previous song was, but none the less, this song is perfectly at home on this album. Lisa's vocals sound good and the simple rock+eurobeat backgrounds work in their simple form nicely. A good chorus together with the c-melody give the song a sharp edge.
Rating : 9-

11.J. Storm - Shout (A-Beat C)
Oh wow, I wasn't seriously expecting more of J. Storm on SEBs as he stated on his own forum a while back that he wouldn't do more eurobeat songs in the future, so this can only mean that the song is either an old presentation or that he has had some time to think and decided to make a comeback. This rock-attitude style from A-Beat C always seems to work rather well as they manage to give a nice edge to all of their presentations. Thanks to the heavy use of electric guitars and effective chorus this song sticks out rather nicely.
Rating : 8+

12.Irene - Dancin' Baby (SCP)
I think it's already pretty obvious that I am an enormous fan of all of the Kiki & Kika productions, and when I originally heard that Irene would be a new addition to the evergrowing alias-amount of this duo I couldn't hold my horses and just had to hear the song quickly. From the very first time I heard the song I thought of Party Girl and I was right at home. This song is just a tad bit slower from the Euromach hits, and I could very well imagine adding a few extra BPMs to this song and loving it even more. The song is as bouncy as you can expect from the SCP bubbly duo. Simple, and exactly my favorite kind of material.
Rating : 10

13.Joe D. Toaster - Black Night Cadillac (HI-NRG Attack)
The third male act from the same label, it's just wrong. I want Bazooka Girl. Unlike the two previous songs from HI-NRG Attack this song sounds rather different, yet the chimes are here AGAIN. The song uses heavily a lot of car sounds from drifting to engines, and it gives the song automatically a JGTC'ish feel, and I think that this song would work much better in a nonstop album anyways. The track is your everyday HI-NRG Attack with great vocals and a good chorus, but otherwise it won't remain in my favorites for a long time for sure.
Rating : 8-

14.Bonnie & Clyde - Criminals (Delta)
A new name on Delta, which could've as well been a Kevin Johnson & Cherry duet, as it's the same duo that presented us with the ever so magnificent Happy Phantom. The track relies mostly on the vocals by the male member of the duo as Clara only adds her vocals every now and then to back up Kevin. The song is yet an another addition to the new slower kind of Delta, which is really sad to see as I'd love to hear more of their aggressive material instead of this pop. A fun song for sometime, but I'd be surprised to see this on any of the future compilations.
Rating : 8

15.Lucya - Beautiful (SCP)
I'd have to say that I was really looking forward for Lucya making her debut. I emailed SCP a few times asking about her, and they said there might be new stuff coming from her, and finally she's here! I fell in love with Lucya's sweet voice when I heard her first songs and I've to date liked every release she's done, Beautiful doesn't make an exception. The song is similar to the earlier Christine song as it's slow and relies on airy and dreamy kind of sounds. The chorus is catchy and fun to listen to, but surprisingly the c-melody is what steals the attention from the rest of the song. Perfectly balanced eurobeat, that could've been a bit faster and then even more addictive.
Rating : 9

16.Nuage - You'll Never Stop Me Lovin' You (A-Beat C)
Every SEB in the past has had at least one cover song and on this album it's Nuage who presents the cover. The original song was sung by Sonia, who released her version back in the 80s. This version follows the basic style of the original with a bit of a modern touch, but over all the song isn't so 'fresh' that it could be called a very special modernized version. The original was slow and this song hasn't sped up the pace at all, which is a pity as I almost felt like falling asleep while listening to the song. The first miss for Nuage.
Rating : 6

17.Nick Mansell - Feel The Power (SCP)
I've often mentioned to my friends that I think that Nick Mansell's debut song Runaway on Maharaja Night Euro Fire 25 is one of the best songs SCP has ever done, and therefore I've had high expectations from every Nick Mansell song. This song is finally more aggressive and returns us to the land of good energic eurobeat. This album has been so calm up to this point that I really valued this song a lot more due to it's companions. Feel The Power has a bit of a similar touch as Runaway did and even the intro reminded me of Runaway. I would've loved to hear much more of this kind of energic material on the album.
Rating : 9+

18.Christine - Wings Into The Sky (SCP)
So the album has come to its conclusion and it ends in a calm mood, just like it began with. It's unavoidable to mention the previous Christine song Me, Myself & I as this song is very similar to the song. Even the same kind of asian echo sounds are used in the backgrounds, yet this song is a tad bit faster, but still it could be called a eurobeat ballad. Christine is known for her great vocal skills and this song is yet an another example of that. She sounds phenomenal and as the song is all around well produced it just backs her up.
Rating : 9½

Final Words :
When the last Super Eurobeat album managed to surprise me big time, this time it happened again, but in a negative way. I was really expecting for a phenomenal album as the tracklisting looked all around magnificent, but many of the acts that I had placed my hope on, failed big time. The album has a quite steady level all around, but what about it really doesn't work is the speed. I complained about this same part with SEB151 and I'll complain about it again. Eurobeat is supposed to be energetic and fast, and the general speed of this album is definitely below 150BPM and I've grown used to the general level of 155, so now the faster songs on the album stuck out right away as masterpieces. I was ready to praise this album to the skies before I got my hands on it, if in the future the albums keep on going slower and slower I'll have to rethink about buying the albums, as this is not what I really want in the end. Pop is a nice genre overall, but what I search from eurobeat is energy and speed, and that's what is fault here big time. Avex wake up and actually listen to what the fans say: We want speed!
The complains aside, I'll have to say that SCP did a great job with their 6 songs on the album, but I would've loved to get more of energy and action like Nick Mansell presented. King & Queen were as marvellous as ever, and the slow beauties on the album Christine, Lucya, Dusty & Irene all worked marvellously, and I sure hope to hear more of Irene in the future as well.

Final Score : 8

Reviewed by Bore