Super Eurobeat 189

1.Go Go Girls - People Of The World (Go Go's Music)
There are things in life that just seem overly important for some reason, after 3 long years without proper happy-go-lucky Go Go Girls has felt long, glad that's over with, let's just not make it into an another 3 years, k? The way I value eurobeat as a means of channeling the positive energy through music means a lot since I tend to be a person who is affected by the mood of others and music in particular has an effect on my own mood. People Of The World returns us to the good times we have experienced so many times in the past with the GoGos, basic simple fun that makes you feel positive. The masterpieces in the past under GGGs have remained as personal favorites and fortunately People Of The World doesn't fall too far behind on such legends as I Wanna Be Fat or Gimme The Count. The song succeeds on being exactly the kind of eurobeat I have missed. Elena Gobbi contributes the song as a credited writer and her vocals are still as chirpy as they were 15 years back, this woman's made of happy feelings! A great way to open up the album with a very suitable global sounding intro, the only downside to the song is that it sounds slightly hollow at some points, with some extra oomph it might have been the next best thing.
Rating : 10-

2.Mad Cow & The Tverskaya Str. Girls - Balalaika Vodka & Rock'N Roll (HI-NRG Attack)
The Russian theme I'm not too fond with HRG productions is back, to each and everyone I guess. I had a hard time getting into this song no matter how much I tried, it sounds fun and faintly attractive, but something about it just puts me off every time I hear the intro. The song structure is very basic and it doesn't offer a single surprise, which is a shame as the sudden changes often offer a nice breather in HRG's productions. The thing that put me off on the previous album with A Perfect Hero is here again, the mastering of the song has either been forgotten or the producers just felt it was a good idea to have multiple layers sounding noisy at the same time. It may be just me, but I'd at least be way better off without these recurring themes, since I don't find anything good about them, then again Kiki & Fancy going bananas is fun time after time, go and figure eh?
Rating : 6½

3.Jimmy Diamond - My Lonely Night (Delta)
Aggressive Delta productions are usually pretty solid album tracks, but even they can't hit it hard everytime. My Lonely Night sounds nice on all levels, but the problem is that it just sounds nice, not quite the effect I expect from the new tracks. The way the song goes through verses to the chorus and from there on just seems slightly lifeless and variety is missing completely. Even the trademark slowing down the tempo a bit doesn't seem to work this time as it blends seamlessly, which one could think is good, but on this case it just isn't. A plus point for adding some extra vocals by Clara as they do sound nice, but was nice what I wanted? All in all, a song that sounds good in small doses but I probably won't give it a high amount of airplay.
Rating : 7

4.Momo - From Heartache To Heaven (SCP)
SCP offers us positive vibrations through a new vocalist who feels and sounds like the lighter side of Irene. Mellow but up-beat SCP music has a trademark feel to it through the Christinesque summery sounds. The song is very easy to approach as it seems really harmless and easy on the ear, and that works for both good and bad. Basically the song is a nice breather after 2 aggressive songs, but as it just hasn't been given enough love it lacks the extra punch that have made some of the similar SCP productions hits. In the long run I assume this song will remain as a bubblin' under song that is nice to return to every once in a while, but I doubt it'll remain as one of the memorable points of the 180s.
Rating : 7½

5.Annalise - Feel It In Your Heart (A-Beat C)
The A-Beat C fan in me still lives as I notice being hopeful for every new production they offer. Annerleys frequent appreances have worked for both good and bad lately, but in the end I do feel it's good to have her back, she just should re-introduce the screaming and loud style she was accustomed to in the past. Feel It In Your Heart sounds like an attempt to make an up-beat Lolita style song, but the cake is only half baked. Song structure feels fairly nice and there are good bits here and there through various sounds, but as with the other past ABC tracks it feels slightly hollow. Chorus is basically the best thing the track offers as it sounds fun and even catchy, so it isn't a total waste, but it does leave so much room for improvement.
Rating : 7-

6.Tora - Flame And Fire (Sinclaire Style)
Introducing new titles usually offers a new aspect for labels to present, but there's also the possibility of doing more of the same old same old, sigh. Flame And Fire sounds like a strange sense of deja vu, it tries very hard to sound fast and catchy but ends up being a washed down EES (elevator-eurobeat song). Very harmless, but oh so lifeless, a track that might strike a hit with some people but I can't just see myself playing it very much in the future.
Rating : 6½

7.Danny Rock - Heartbreak (Asia/Saifam)
Through Mauro Farina's importance to Asia it feels as if they've slowly become just a streak of manly songs that repeat the same formula over and over. But as the history has proven, they work from time to time and most of the time the productions also work on the general level. Heartbreak as a theme could be used with very strong lyrics and effective vocal work, sadly the song doesn't really offer neither to the extent I would hope. Mauro's vocals sound generic good, but it also sounds like he would have been singing a 100 other songs the same day as he does his work with the same style over and over. The soundworlds are basic good, chorus is nice and there are even a few electric guitars heard roaring from time to time. The generic niceness continues, but at least I think this song deserves some notion considering the level of the album otherwise.
Rating : 8-

8.Rick Castle - Bad Boy (HI-NRG Attack)
If HRG could re-produce the best songs through out their history, it would not be like this, definitely. Bad Boy returns once more to the semi-slow style they have stamped all over Rick Castle these days. A mellow mood to the song has a weird effect as I just instinctively connect HRG and positivity. Giving the label 2 songs on an extended album is semi-controversial as there are clearly HRG fans out there but the label has practically always been one of the alternative labels and I wouldn't really call them as the mainstream presenters in the eurobeat world. With so many songs on the album, this track just feels out of place as it ain't sounding effective nor memorable.
Rating : 6½

9.Cherry - Dance Dance (Delta)
The long streak of really catchy Cherry songs has finally come to an end, sadly. Dance Dance at first sounds effective and catchy but the more I listen to it, the less appealing it seems. The aggressive sounds are a faint memory and although vocalwork is as professional as ever, it just doesn't deliver with heartfelt energy. The synth sounds like the biggest issue with the song as it feels airy and out of place with the otherwise fast and butch sounding song. Lyrics are plain and simple but sound good coming through Clara's lips, but as a saying we have: When you've been giving by a spoon, you can't take with a laddle.
Rating : 7

10.Nuage - Baby Take Me High (A-Beat C)
At first when I heard this song I was slightly surprised when I noticed liking it, but the rough face of reality has shown itself after a few days of heavy airplay. This song sounds as if it was recorded in the midst of the worst A-Beat C depression, it has basic good structure but the production values offer so little to make it really shine. It's plain and simple, the writers have a nice idea with the verses and they even sound good to the ear, but it all misses extra meat around the bones, nobody likes gnawed dishes. Denise's vocals sound pleasant to the ear, but compared to the way she sang many songs in the 170s it doesn't deliver all the way. I tried hard to like the song and I actually do, but not as much as I would want to...
Rating : 7½

11.The Snake - Spirit Go Wild (SCP)
Electric guitars are here again through the new addition to SCP's performers. For the first time when listening to this song I noticed how much the vocalist for Snake sounds like Ace. The style is similar and the vocal-range both vocalists offer seems identical, but fortunately the vocalists offer different kind of productions to not be actual clones. Spirit Go Wild slows down the pace after the previous entries but still manages to pull off an effective way of doing masculine eurobeat. An effective chorus, good vocals and heavy use of butch sounds work for this song's advantage. Not quite the instant hit Queen Of Mean was, but doesn't either fall too far behind from Speed Of Light.
Rating : 8½

12.Dream Fighters - Stormbringer (Dima Music)
More masculine energy delivered by Davide, his solid professionalism comes through most of the time with well produced tracks. Stormbringer is catchy, fun to listen to and memorable, but at the same time it sounds slightly half-done. Where as Tsundere Night felt perfectly balanced all around, this track feels slightly unfinished with the high amount of non-lyrical parts that break down the effective peaks of the song. It feels like a constant up and down when the vocals can create a high amount of vocal-threat, but everytime the vocals end the threat fades away. Maybe cutting a minute of the song would have done it good as I strongly feel it's prolonged and would sound way more effective without the cuts from time to time.
Rating : 8+

13.Phil & Linda - You Give Me More (Time)
Well, the album is about to be finished, yet we still have the sole presentation from Time to deal with. I am not the one to lose my shoes over the recurring Disco-theme, even though I consider myself a fan of the 70's and 80's discomusic. You Give Me More sounds more than anything: annoying. I tried to comprehend it myself, but the only actual reason for getting annoyed by the song is that the vocal work by Philippe just sounds bad. The thing is that after such a low-quality album in general, ending it with a song I can't stand feels oddly fitting, no reason to listen all the way to the end at least. All around the kind of stuff I don't appreciate one bit.
Rating : 5

Final Words :
It may just be the "my-vacation-has-just-ended" talking, but somehow the songs on this album just turned up sounding boring and plain time after time. The return of the Go Go Girls feels slightly washed out when the rest of the album just didn't manage to light any sparks what so ever. The few songs on the album that sounded faintly good probably won't have the energy to become longlasting favorites, but instead be good examples in a few years of: "Hey, I don't even remember this song, it's quite nice". I have to say that after the rollercoaster ride of ups and downs through the 180s so far, it's probably for the best to end the decade on a low since that gives an easy uphill for 191, and from the past with the SEB90s, we can just hope they'd do something similar as in the past. This album does come down to being as one of the saddest SEBs of all time, moving scarily close to SEB177 territory. Average for the album is probably a tad higher than the actual rank I give it, but the generic feel the album has is unsatisfactory.

Final Score : 6½

The Best 3 songs

- Go Go Girls - People Of The World
- The Snake - Spirit Go Wild
- Dream Fighters - Stormbringer

The Worst 3 Songs

- Phil & Linda - You Give Me More
- Mad Cow & The Tverskaya Str. Girls - Balalaika Vodka & Rock'N Roll
- Tora - Flame And Fire

Honorable Mention

- Leaves lots of room for improvement for the future, no mentions given, sadly.

Labels present on the album:

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

Reviewed by Bore