Super Eurobeat 186

1.Niko - Let's Go Wild (Sinclaire Style)
There has been discussions and speculations in the air for quite some time now about the time when Andrea Leonardi is making his comeback to SEB. Let's Go Wild is the first presentation from the Sinclaire Style and while many people might've wished for a huge adrenaline rush we're treated to a rather mellow puppy. The Niko title is known to be _the_ name when eurobeat is discussed and although the song this time around is by no means bad, it just doesn't compete in the same category as the previous classics. The song is energetic and aggressive, yet at the same time it feels somewhat sloppy and unfinished. The vocals are great as usual, but the song might've needed just a bit more of that OOMPH to make it secure a solid status like I was expecting. A nice album opener and label introduction none the less.
Rating : 8+

2.Melody & Mezzo - Nightshade (Delta)
It has been quite a while since I was introduced to the Melody & Mezzo title and in particular the Spray remix of this very same song. I loved that version with all my heart so I have to admit I was eagarly looking forward to the eurobeat remix done by Delta. But something has been lost along the way. The earlier versions had a more strong, structured bass-line alongside the excellent preludes and interludes that just sound too generic eurobeat on this version. Reviewing the song as a standalone eurobeat song would mean I probably wouldn't give it exactly the highest rating, but it neither suffers from any major flaws, so the final rating hovers around the general good level, but this might open up the sky for some "foreign" eurobeat acts in the future, it's nice that Melody & Mezzo made it.
Rating : 8

3.Nick Turbo - Tokyo Strike Force (HI-NRG Attack)
HRG seem to be a constant up and down for me these days, it feels like half of their productions just go past without making any kind of impression at all, where as the other songs hit the jackpot. Tokyo Strike Force is one of the songs I've repeated a ton of times after getting my copy of SEB186 but no matter how hard I try, I can't find anything good about it. The chorus is bland, the vocals and lyrics together form no kind of hooks at all and the melody just sounds very random. Most of the songs from HRG that follow this kind of style are generally at least somewhat catchy but Tokyo Strike Force gets the questionable honor of standing out from the rest...
Rating : 6

4.Manuel - Adrenaline (Go Go's Music)
The recent songs under the Manuel title have been instant hits for me every time, so I was slightly alarmed after listening to the album once through and at the end I noticed I hadn't even paid any attention to the Manuel entry. I had to specifically loop this song for quite a while before I started to notice the good sides about it. Energy and action are present as usual, but it doesn't quite do it as uniquely as the previous 2 songs per say. Adrenaline is a song that might go unnoticed for some people, but the more attention it gets, the better it also gets. The sounds are rather suppressed and let the vocalwork take the frontstage, which at first felt odd, but by time I grew to love this production style a lot. Good chorus, excellent vocals and nice lyrical work from GGM yet again.
Rating : 9

5.Linda - Another Passion (Time)
Devotion, tender, love, passion, ere...I mean direction, summer, honey, sky, stars... The writers behind these lyrics must have a really limited vocabulary since it feels like this very song is a patch-work compilation of every other Time song. Generic eurobeat should have generic eurobeat lyrics, but this one's a whole new meaning for it. The track could have been so much better with some sort of new sounds, vocals that sound like they mean what they're singing and well... a more structured form for the song, now it feels like the same vocals go on and on and on and on and on and on.
Rating : 5

6.Brian Ice - Time To Say Goodbye (A-Beat C)
I was really hoping for a good follow up to Save Your Voice To Sing A Song, but I pretty much got the opposite. The spoken intro with just the drum beat sounds rather soothing, it all feels right at this point, but from there on... Time To Say Goodbye gives out a rather elegant kind of mood, which feels too fancy for a song that lacks imagination all around and after the intro it just starts falling into pieces. Vocalwork is usually the highlight of any Brian Ice song, but this track just feels uninspired and repetitive, which is a shame really as certain vocalists can bring life into songs that lack something from production side.
Rating : 6-

7.Stella - Round Round Round (SCP)
So a new title from the SCP-stables for a change, one could say that it's refreshing to get new names since they usually bring something different to the scene, but does Stella? The song has a really upbeat mood and it reminds me of a metamorphosis between Christine and Pamsy. It feels like a more widely appreciated pop-track that doesn't even feature a too hyped synth line. Round Round Round might just show a new direction for the SCP girls since it doesn't try to be a eurobeat ballad, totally wacked out banana-track nor a trance-flavored song, but a plain feel-good pop track at its best. If this is indeed a new vocalist I'm more than happy to welcome a new influence about, as at least I got this warm and happy feeling inside me whenever I hear this song. Nothing groundbreaking, but nicely different even with very small touches and differences.
Rating : 8½

8.Ace Warrior - Running Fire (A-Beat C)
I was playing Guitar Hero at my friends' the other day and for some reason I kept getting flashbacks to this song and thinking how Running Fire would fit the game pretty well if it was just arranged a bit into a more acoustic version. After I got that image in my head I kept hearing the small bits of guitars and drums from the background as the song suddenly felt a lot more elegant than what it probably is. The track is a clear step up from the previous White Love-entry, but still the track can't reach the level of the best performances which featured excellent electric guitars, fitting synths and memorable lyrics. Either way, this song is nicely produced but it just lacks the final touch, maybe next time.
Rating : 8-

9.Ciao Ciao - Bang Bang Crashing Of The Boom Boom (HI-NRG Attack)
Well, quite honestly: Can anyone dislike a song with a title like this? I knew before hearing the song that this song would be excellent and it was quite true. HRG's pointless lyrics can occasionally create the weirdest and most horrid songtitles and Bang Bang Crashing Of The Boom Boom is one of those. I have to say that this track might have the best title to present to people that aren't familiar to the eurobeat scene. The title alone pretty much tells what you are about to get, but it also leaves some room for imagination. Energetic, catchy, and most of all: the chorus is just plain moronic, but oh so much fun. Well done HRG, but next time try more of those slightly darker sounds we heard in Bomba.
Rating : 9

10.Ace - In The Fire Of Victory (SCP)
It has been quite a while since we heard a solo track from good Mr. Codenotti and maybe the long gap between the track had some effect in it, but In The Fire Of Victory works really well. While I understand myself that this track isn't quite as highly produced and catchy as some of the previous Go 2 entries, I love it for some odd reason. I've always enjoyed Christian's vocals a lot, but in this track he just sounds an ounce better for some reason, maybe the chorus is to blame... A definite track for Initial D.
Rating : 9

11.Vanessa - Love And Passion 2008 (Time)
Some songs just are too classic to be meddled with, would Love And Passion fall into that category? I think not. I have been a huge fan of the original for ages and although I had all of my defences maxed up before hearing this song, something softened me up and I noticed liking it a lot. While the original song wasn't very cheery or speedy, the remake does things the opposite way and even with good taste, maybe Claudio Accatino's handywork in the song have a thing or two to do with it. Although there's nearly 2 decades in between the remake and the original it feels like Elena's vocals haven't changed one bit and it's nice that the same vocalist is doing the remake as well (vs. having some newbie ruining it).
Rating : 8½

12.Mega NRG Man - People Like Dancing (A-Beat C)
I can't remember when was the last time that a Mega NRG Man song really sucked, but the time is here yet again... Sadly. I generally enjoy his aggressive songs that ooze of masculinity, but People Like Dancing just sounds like a rehashed song without any actual fire in it. The eurobeat bass often brings nice life into the track but now it feels like they're beating a dead horse on the ground.
Rating : 5

13.Nuage - Hey Hey (A-Beat C)
So Nuage might be going bye-bye? It'd be a shame to lose a good vocalist such as her, but then again I have been one of the critics that have pointed time after time how her songs have somewhat lost the spirit they used to have in the past. There have been a few darker years recently where only a fraction of songs have managed to stand out and luckily the goodbye song from A-Beat C is at least full of trying. The song has an Annalise-esque mood to it and it could very well have been a King & Queen song with mixed up vocals from Denise & Annerley. Hey Hey is very upbeat and if you enjoy a more care-free kind of eurobeat that gets old relatively fast, then this is your track definitely. Fun for a while, but not for heavy airplay.
Rating : 7½

14.Bea - Paradise (A-Beat C)
Bea, Bea... Bea. I don't know what it is about this name, but it just sounds nice to the ear. This song stinks of Norma Sheffield in so many ways, but the different vocalist gives it a nice breeze of fresh air. I generally don't go for this kind of sighing, but something about the simple melody strikes as appealing to me. Paradise is a song I could be listening to when I go to bed since it has a weird tranquil aura to it, but for other purposes the song doesn't really work... Future Aishu-Euro track for sure.
Rating : 7½

15.Leslie Parrish - Big Bad And Hot Love (Delta)
One thing that Delta has been doing more than great lately is the material under Cherry, but what about the other Clara titles? Big Bad And Hot Love follows the trend as a well produced Cherry-like song that is catchy and easy to dance to. Intro squeezes together all of the best parts about the song and I could probably listen to the intro alone for ages as it sounds so well thought. The song can't quite reach the aggressiveness of Rain or Yes I Will, but for some reason it didn't bother me at all. Clara Moroni has this nice talent of being able to bring the songs she sings to life and this song pretty much flows on due to the good vocals. A bit of extra edge and stronger bass would have made this a bull's eye.
Rating : 9-

16.Mark Farina - Rock N Roll (Asia/Saifam)
I was quite okay when Saifam was booted off SEB in the past, so the question is: What about now? I am all for variety on SEB so having more labels usually means better songs as well, but well Rock N Roll doesn't at least promise much for the future. My opinions on Saifam productions are pretty torn between two, occasionally they produce awesome tracks that last for years to come, but mostly I've felt their songs just lack imagination and get old really fast. I tried hard to like this song as well, but I just think it sounds boring and although the chorus is fairly energetic and catchy it still lacks something other than a speedy synth and vocals to make it really work. Till next time, maybe we can get a new Like A Fire sometime soon, or maybe release Hurri Hurricane on SEB...
Rating : 6

17.Cherry - Rebel Yell (Delta)
Remaking 80's rock songs seems to be the Cherry-trend for the time being and while there have been great examples of how some of them work, it might be fairly questionable how well Billy Idol works. This song has been covered by so many different artists it's probably difficult to bring anything new into it, maybe the fact that a eurobeat version doesn't exist yet is the only real difference. The sped up track resembles the cover that Scooter did some years back quite a lot, if the vocals had been done my a male these two could be paired really easily. Vocals work nicely, original melody is easily recognizable and the sounds fit it all, but still it just doesn't click correctly like Rain did. Maybe Rebel Yell just isn't meant to be a eurobeat song.
Rating : 7+

18.Vivi - I Love My Dog (SCP)
If songs were given cuteness points, this track would score a perfect ten without any questions asked. Like many others have brought up, the lyrics have this very odd beastility flavor to them, which mostly works as an amusement factor for me. The song is so god damn cute it's impossible to pinpoint much bad about it. The fact is, it's fun to listen to and all the images of cute puppy dogs running around make it even more enjoyable. Funky lyrics, good vocals and cuteness raised by ^N make this song a crowd divider surely. I fall into the lovers, good way to end the album with.
Rating : 9+

Final Words :
I have actually given pretty okay grades to a few of the songs on this album and they will probably remain on my playlist for a while, but the general problem with this album is that the material mostly falls into the category of "plain nice". I can't pinpoint any songs that would really become favorites of mine for the future, but there's a lot of stuff I will enjoy listening to in the car at the background. If this is the last SEB with 18 songs I can only keep my hopes up that in the future we'd be getting 13 quality songs instead of 18 songs that are so and so. This SEB remains the worst one for this decade, but I still emphasize that it ain't a bad album, it just suffers from the generic SEB syndrome: Too mediocore. The one thing that stands out from this album is the remix of Cherry's Yes I Will from the 2nd disc, the song is finally a proper remake instead of just adding some whoos and whees here and there. A totally different outlook to a magnificent song!

Final Score : 7

The Best 3 songs

- Vivi - I Love My Dog
- Manuel - Adrenaline
- Ace - In The Fire Of Victory

The Worst 3 Songs

- Linda - Another Passion
- Mega NRG Man - People Like Dancing
- Brian Ice - Time To Say Goodbye

Honorable Mention

- Cherry - Yes I Will (New Generation Remix)

Labels present on the album:

A-Beat C: 5
Asia/Saifam: 1
Delta: 3
Go Go's Music: 1
HI-NRG Attack: 2
SCP: 3
Sinclaire Style: 1
Time: 2

Reviewed by Bore