SUPER EUROBEAT Vol. 196
Without any hesitation, I must say I’m proud to own Super Eurobeat Vols. 175, 185 and 195. Something about the SEB 1*5s has proven to be one of the heights of their ‘decades’ in the Super Eurobeat spectrum. 175 had the introduction to Go Gos Music; 185 had a very high level overall (Delta in particular was strong on this one); and 195 has songs that will not leave my head any time soon (even if, as of the writing of this post, it is still fairly recent).
What is allowed some hesitation is the idea that the 1*6 will follow the level of its predecessor. In some cases they match their level; in others, they simply fail to live up to the hype. 176 and 186, in some cases, are considered to not meet the success their respective predecessors attained. Upon hearing the samples for 196, I was ready to dismiss it as “1*6” syndrome.
However, upon receiving it, I’m ready to propose that 196 is NOT a letdown compared to 195. Granted, it is not as strong of a success, but it is certainly not too far a drop. Let’s observe.
I’m skipping the nonstop mix for the sake of focus on the original pieces.
ONE DAY (By Kate Rush) (DIMA)
Unusually pop-rock, casual feel. It’s a nice, positive vibe instead of the usual melancholy sound we’ve usually heard out of Dima these days. I’d actually pay to see this in a rock form, if Kate isn’t pitched Dave (heck, even if it were, to see this song done live in rock form would STILL be worthwhile).
GRADE: B+
MONKEY DANCE (By Y&Co ft. Domino) (Y&Co. LTD)
Synth riff sound is the same one we’ve grown to love from Y&Co. The song seems like a “celebration” of the original. Though, I’d have preferred to see something like Poodle 2009 or Speedy Cat 2009. RUVRY RIKE A FAYA~
GRADE: B+
MAMMA MIA (By Veronica) (EUROGROOVES)
Underwhelming. Riff was weak, as was the soundworld and chorus. Just shy of being solid, it came across as Bland. Sorry Eurogrooves, didn’t top Hurricane Man.
GRADE: D+
LOVE IN THE ELEVATOR (By Dave Rodgers) (ABEATC)
ABeatC has done their homework! A nice fusion of Dance Dave and Rock Dave, we get another solid entry from one of the big names in the scene. While not as amazing as it could have been, it’s certainly solid with just enough flash and polish to really be an enjoyable track.
GRADE: A-
BYE BYE TOKYO (By Delta Queens) (DELTA)
GOOD GRIEF this song is fast. I like the intro, it’s rather fun. The synth riff sound choice is iffy but ultimately won’t distract me from further listens. I’ve one particularly strong complaint: Start singing the lyrics to Joe Banana’s “Boom Boom Sexy Lady” over this song. It’s an almost identical match. (For added fun points, check out “Spiderman” by Mark Foster and “Go Rocky Joe” by Maximum Power. Newfield seems to love ‘dem tributes.)
GRADE: B
BRIGHT TIME (By Jay Lehr) (SCP)
I like how smooth this song is, right off the bat. The lack of speed is definitely appropriate for this song, even if we didn’t exactly expect speed from Jay Lehr. I’d be comfortable playing this out my windows downtown; people probably wouldn’t know the difference between this and most other pop songs, barring for the synths. It’s nice to see Lehr breaking out of his “innocent” shell, too— he’s entering more seductive territory, a move I certainly don’t mind hearing from this alias.
GRADE: A-
HANAMI (By April) (SCP)
Spacey. I almost expected it to be ABeatC for a second. It almost sounds like a mesh between Hatsune Miku and Fright Ranger. It’s a little monotone until the Chorus. The riff is a little sparse… not my favorite, but it’s just solid enough to warrant a C+. It’d be cool if this were a Diskowarp SCP collab, wouldn’t it?
GRADE: C+
GIVE ME SUNSHINE (By Futura) (ABEATC)
The intro has a strange magic to it, I like the intro. The jump to the synth riff caught me off guard. The riff isn’t quite a strong one, but my attention is definitely there. The singing strikes me as meek/timid, but it fits the style (and I’ll be darned if it isn’t a little adorable~). Is that a little Jazz I hear influencing the song? This… is a very unique composition style. In the preview I couldn’t hear much of a soundworld, but I definitely hear one now. It’s easily the first surprise of the album.
GRADE: B++ (not A-), with the additional + for being something unique~
STARGATE (By Starkly Ice) (HI-NRG ATTACK)
Not fond of the very beginning. Intro is very HRG, nothing is new here. BUT WHAT IS UP WITH THE SYNTH RIFF? It’s so un-HRG! It’s so un-fast! …and I like that! Starkly Ice presents a pitch from left-field that caught me just as off-guard as Give Me Sunshine. Rick’s voice is still just a drop less accurate than his “Midnight Lady” days, but that’s forgivable. The riff is actually still enjoyable. There’s this unusual old-school element to it, and I’m rather fond of some of HRG’s earlier presentations. My props to Hi-NRG Attack for a unique entry!
GRADE: A-
UPSIDE DOWN (By Queen 26) (DELTA)
I like the sense of humor in the intro, Delta continues the HRG homages again here. The riff is very old-school, almost beckoning to the Sinclaire days. After the dark, intricate tapestry of Dark Secret Love, a song like Upside Down is a nice change of style. The writing/composition is very nicely done. Delta’s usual strong bass is here, though it overpowers much of the soundworld. The piano harkens to SAIFAM to me, for some reason. It’s solid and enjoyable, though it didn’t leave too strong an impression on me. It’s a drop more solid than Bye Bye Tokyo and doesn’t sound like any other-label Eurobeat that I know about.
GRADE: B+
PIRATES (By Rich Hard) (ABEATC)
ARRRR! The intro be promisin’, which be a good thing fer my doubloons. The riff is excellent, almost taking a page from Hans Zimmer’s scores for Pirates of the Caribbean. The voice is a nice mesh of Dave and Manuel, but with a definite unique flair of his own. The chorus could’ve been stronger (for instance, background singers could’ve been more pronounced), but the new vocalist is VERY good. The piano and synth solos are VERY nice and actually fit pretty darn well. ‘Pirates’ is a VERY solid entry that shows that Dave & Luigi have been doing their homework on what works and what doesn’t. It’s still a little iffy in spots, but ABeatC has made a nice transfer to the 2009 style of Eurobeat. I hope we see more Rich Hard. (Did ABeatC use the name generator on Eurobeat Prime?)
GRADE: A-
KING & QUEEN <CLASSIC MIX> (By Tora) (SINCLAIRESTYLE)
I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never heard the original in full, so I guess I’ll be the “non-expectations” viewpoint. The intro is pretty crazy; it’s a nice way to hype up the listener. While opening with a sound effect is nothing new from Sinclaire, it’s well done here. The synth riff is definitely presented as a tribute to the original, as much as I can gauge. Chorus is nicely rounded out. I must say, Sinclaire has really impressed me the last few entries. I used to be very critical of his soundworlds and sound choices, but this is definitely something to make the original proud. Sinclaire has taken a classic and adjusted it masterfully for 2009.
GRADE: A
SHOT SHOT SHOT (By Giorgia V) (GO GOS MUSIC)
The infamous Youtube-advertised song, how does it stack up? The intro seems to promise a better synth riff sound than GGM has been using lately, will they finally use a different sound than that “hit-brass” they seem to use so much? Survey says… yes-ish. It’s definitely a bit more like my old favorite at ABeatC. The soundworld and mixing are much stronger than Race Queen, which is good. The chorus is a little bit stereotypical for GGM, but it doesn’t detract from the song much. The synth riff is well-done for a usually predictable GGM. One critique is… we all already know that Giorgia V is a cosplayer… can they stop capitalizing on that? (I’m still awaiting the day she decides to cosplay as Kasumi Tendo— was that out loud?)
GRADE: B
Ultimately, SEB 196 is not the album that SEB 195 was, but it’s certainly high up in the standings as far as SEB 19*s go.
ALBUM GRADE: B+. Certainly one of the better entries of the 19*s. Not as strong as it had the potential to be, but a large percent of the entries were strong, for my money.
Seeing as I’m a very big fan of supporting Eurobeat the old-fashioned way (that is, tangible purchases), and that the means of downloading these tracks from mu-mo.net and other services are currently disallowed from foreign IPs, I’ll provide a link to CDJapan’s entry for this album, so you can pick this one up for yourself. CDJapan has been pretty good to me for the last 3 SEBs I purchased tangibly, and I’m sure they’ll be just as good to you.