Super Eurobeat 211

1.Hotblade - Legendary Heart (SCP)
A new decade, a new beginning of sorts. Yet with a lot of previously seen titles, slightly sadly. When Legendary Heart was released under Christmas a few months back it struck like a thousand volts. Awesome synths, powerful vocals and a superb chorus that summed everything good about eurobeat in general. While the initial entry by Hotblade wasn't bad by any means, it was Legendary Heart that set a new high to reach for. After listening to the slightly different & longer version released on iTunes I'm feeling slightly puzzled. It might be just my imagination but the version on SEB feels slightly distorted and the track seems to be missing some of the power the other version had. I can't exactly pinpoint my finger to where the changes are, but it just sounds slightly inferior. Well minor details aside, Legendary Heart is a very powerful song that is ideal for future JGTC albums and any fans of male type o' eurobeat. Just a shame the great intro has been ripped off. A great song, just a tad bit worse than what you can get from iTunes.
Rating : 10-

2.Dejo & Bon - Wheelpower & Go! (SinclaireStyle)
It finally seems that Sinclaire is starting to find his groove back. Wheelpower & Go! is every bit as epic and memorable as Bratt's past hits. The synths are finally as phat as they should have been in most of the previous songs by the label. The powerful duo in charge of vocals provides a great rollercoaster of emotions, though gotta say that it's really hard to hear Fernando at all in the song with Maurizio's vocals overpowering his so strongly. The excellent chorus that throws plenty of masculinity at your face is either a direct hit or a miss depending on your preferences, but I have my doubts that a lot of people can actually dislike the song fully. This time around the finer details have been finetuned to perfection to make the song standout and right away conquer a spot on the Best of 2011.
Rating : 9½

3.Vicky Vale - Sunday Morning (Delta)
Either the people at Avex loved the song a whole lot or they just forgot it was featured on The Best Of 2009 already, either way it is slightly odd to hear Sunday Morning again. But hey, at least they chose a bubbly feelgood song that has a lot going on for it. Clara throws in her usual gameface and sings the track with her usual level, yet at the same time the song slightly feels void of emotion. The upbeat and happy mood the song has collides a bit with the vocals that could have been a bit more chirpy. The real thrill of a Sunday morning just doesn't get delivered. Sound wise the track provides typical synths and a bit of inventive use of transitions that fuse the different parts together seamlessly. A nice lil' song that somehow worked better on a nonstop a few years back, or... it just lost a bit of its edge over the years.
Rating : 8-

4.Francis Cooper - Cherry Lips (HI-NRG Attack)
HI-NRG Attack is really trying out hard to produce new and different styles, it also seems to work here and there. Cherry Lips has the label's stigma all over it, yet the calmer pace and use of piano with an airier synth makes the track sound like more modern european dancepop in general. The sounds are really nicely thought and the vocals are also fitting for the song, but where the song does fall short is the melodic structure. The chorus is slightly yawn-worthy and while the verses can draw in some power they still lack real punch. A song that has a good idea going on for it, but there just should have been a much much stronger melody to back it all up with.
Rating : 7+

5.Jay Lehr - Fallin' In Love Again (Fashion Version) (SCP)
I have been a big fan of Jay Lehr's sound as of late, the mature approach to eurobeat in a pop-like way seems to work fine for him. With Fallin' In Love Again the style is taken one step further. The song starts to borderline a pop ballad on most fronts, which from a wider audience's pov would prolly be all good, but through the eyes of a longtime eurobeat fan it's a tad too far. The synth is pretty simple and would have been a big hit in the 80's but now it just feels a tad outdated. Even though the song has left the land of eurobeat long ago, it's not that exact reason where it fails. The song just is unimaginative and boring, sadly. There's basically nothing very special about this piece that would help it remain memorable, where are the chirpy and fun lil' widgets the older Jay Lehr sonngs used to have?
Rating : 5

6.Dave Rodgers - The House Of Fire (Sunfire Records)
Deja vu all over again, and not the good Deja vu from euromach. It seems as if there's zero effort put into this song. This sort of repetition and similar sounds have been the biggest plague bugging most of the Dave Rodgers songs lately. I really don't know what I could possibly say to promote the song since it just lacks about everything you could imagine... a good melody for starters.
Rating : 5-

7.Lilly - I Believe In Miracle (HI-NRG Attack)
One of the most exotic intros in a while, a shame the sounds are pushed too far to the back after the intro finishes off. I Believe In Miracle has the current slow trend going on, which is maybe becoming a bit of a drag. The song sounds good at parts where some of the sound layers aren't used, but the chorus basically just sounds too complex for its own good. Fortunately it seems the label also noticed this. As the song progresses the layers are stripped off here and there and suddenly the song sounds more beautiful and more emotional. This sort of a solution is still acceptable as it makes the later chorus repeats sound much more effective and memorable. A decent song on all grounds, yet more sharp edges are needed to finetune it even further.
Rating : 8

8.Speedogang - Jailhouse Rock (Asia/Saifam)
Well, it seems Saifam ran out of actual eurobeat songs, but at least we aren't that far off with speed. Jailhouse Rock sounds quite out of place at first, but the more repeats it gets the more it seems to fit. I feel as if though I should recognize the original song, but alas I do not. Jailhouse Rock in its current incarnation sounds like a fun lil' piece and it really reminds me how I enjoy the shorter 'radio' cuts, now it actually seems to end on a high instead of adding an unnecessary extra minute like a lot of the songs on SEB do. Actually it seems that very rarely the songs can actually provide something new and important with the extra minute this current SEB format offers them. Jailhouse Rock sounds fun, but nothing too spectacular. A track I can definitely keep on my iPhone to listen to here and there.
Rating : 8

9.Destinee - Make Me Wonder (Dima Music)
More calmer material, what's this, early 90s all over again? This new Dima girl has a slight resemblance to good ol' Christine and while I initially was listening to the album I somehow confused the track to be SCP. Make Me Wonder is track that seriously could have used an actual idea to provide it some edge. There seems to be very little if any logic to the track. I mean bitching about lyrics in a eurobeat song is hardly ever needed but like what the hell is the chorus supposed to be. Random words paired together to seem like an actual profound chorus? I don't think so... Boring is the keyword.
Rating : 7-

10.David Dima - Don't Wanna Be A Survivor (Dima Music)
Is there a lack of inspiration going on, anyone remember Jackie O' - Survivor? These two songs have very similar progressions and lyrical ideas going on. While I do gotta say right away that this track is a hundred times better, it still feels like a part II for the previous song of similar caliber. Don't Wanna Be A Survivor has a fun chorus, good verses and mediocore sounds, what does that leave one with in the end? A song that sounds good at point A, bad at B and somewhat underwhelming at C. While I do consider this song a fairly decent production as a whole, I still feel it does leave you desiring for more. It has nothing on some of the better incarnations the label has pushed out anyways.
Rating : 7½

11.Sarah - Aloha-Oe Until We Meet Again (Asia/Saifam)
Combining anthem-style tracks to eurobeat has occasionally worked out fine, yet most of the time they just seem odd. Aloha-Oe Until We Meet Again is one of the latter. A weird song that sounds upbeat and slightly reminiscient of the good old EuroPanic!, but still a bit unfinished. The vocals aren't really finetuned all the way as the vocalist just doesn't seem to hit the right notes or alternatively the production is just that weird. Not a track that will remain in history as Saifam's more memorable material definitely. Though it could be worse, at least the song doesn't put you off instantly. Attach a few more magnets and it might actually work.
Rating : 7

12.Garcon - Gogo The Night (HI-NRG Attack)
Gogo The Night showcases a perfectly unbalanced song. The verses are mindblowingly transparent and boring, yet the chorus somehow draws power from some mysterious source and suddenly sounds really fun and catchy. The weird part is that the sounds hardly change at all, yet there's a clear difference between the different parts. You could strip out the chorus and attach it somewhere else and I could actually imagine the production becoming fully functional. So as said, the track suffers from really bad verses, but it also has a problem of dragging on for way too long. With at least 50% of the track sounding boring and lackluster it hardly manages to make one listen to it. Even with a good chorus the song just doesn't end on a high note.
Rating : 7+

13.Futura - Lonely (Sunfire Records)
Oh wow, how offkey can they make her sound? I mean she has had past tracks where everything has felt completely out of place and weird, yet Lonely steals the show even more so. But what is remarkeable about this song is that in its weirdness, it actually starts to sound good after a while. The verses are just so distorted they actually feel quite ingenious. Vocal wise I am still not very convinced about Futura since the tracks either mask her vocalrange or the productions just make her chirp out the weirdest chordprogressions. At times she sounds as if she was taking a dump while trying to sing, which as a mental image is fairly entertaining at least. What the song succeeds in, is the chorus. It actually sounds really mellow and fun. As a whole the song is just plain weird, but with some repetition and time it does start to sound quite decent. But I do have to admit, I am not sure if the song is just so marvellous and I'm not getting it, or have the producers been smoking something while they wrote it?
Rating : 9-

14.Ken Laszlo Feat. Domino - Let's Get It Done Tonight (Go Go's Music)
Wow, the 80s are back with Ken and Domino. These days it's more common for eurobeat tracks to have a solid production that has nothing to shy over when compared to modern dancemusic. Let's Get It Done Tonight sounds so rich and full of different layers it could very well work at the local disco. Vocalwise Domino has a very small role in the track, but it doesn't really matter since Gianni actually sounds good all around here. A thoroughly thought out project that shows how different Go Go's Music tracks can be. There's very little reminding you that it's actually done by the same people who wrote such different tracks as Para Girl or One-O-Nine. Naturally there are guest writers present, but I imagine Sandro has had his hands all over the piece as usual.
Rating : 10

15.Jager - I Won't Fall Apart (Rock Power Version) (SCP)
Well, at least it's not a J-Euro track, that's improvement. They also chose an effective track to be featured as a rock version so it could definitely be worse. I Won't Fall Apart was greeted by eurobeaters with a lot of warmth, so hearing how the track handles a rock approach is definitely interesting. Introducing more guitars automatically adds in some extra difference but the production as a whole is much richer and fuller of acoustic elements. The elements just don't sound nearly as effective as the electric ones did, but then again it could just be due to personal preference. A decent way to end the album definitely, but I'd still listen to the original more gladly.
Rating : 8

Final Words :
Maybe I'm alone here, but I was sort of skeptical whether Super Eurobeat would even go on. Lately it seems there's just a lot of negativity going around with labels and the productions seem to be on a different league than a few years back. While this album does provide some high class material, it still feels as if something is missing. Maybe it's just me, since I've heard quite a few people enjoying the albums as a whole as well. Either way, I do consider 211 a huge let down with its slow pace all around. While Legendary Heart and Wheelpower & Go! start the show with brilliant energy the rest of the album just drags the pace down slowly and steadily. I would have hoped to hear more thrills and less of this ballad material. HI-NRG Attack is giving out mixed up signs with their tracks. While there are really good and interesting elements infused, it also seems that they are really strictly tied to a specific style at a time. Without even counting the actual average for the tracks, I am gonna grade the album on sheer gut emotion. An album that doesn't really provide much material for longlasting listening.

Final Score : 7-

The Best 3 songs

- Ken Laszlo Feat. Domino - Let's Get It Done Tonight
- Hotblade - Legendary Heart
- Dejo & Bon - Wheelpower & Go!

The Worst 3 Songs

- Dave Rodgers - The House Of Fire
- Jay Lehr - Fallin' In Love Again (Fashion Version)
- Sarah - Aloha-Oe Until We Meet Again

Honorable Mention

- Futura - Lonely (For the weirdest performance...)

Labels present on the album:

Delta: 1
Dima Music: 2
Go Go's Music: 1
HI-NRG Attack: 3
Saifam: 2
SCP: 3
SinclaireStyle: 1
Sunfire Records: 2

Reviewed by Bore