Aleph - Fly To Me ~ Review

A true Italo legend, this is one of those special timeless songs cemented in Italo history.
It's also Giancarlo Pasquini's first real hit - and only his second release at that!
To this day (alongside Fire On The Moon), this is Aleph's most popular song ever.
It got massive amounts of airplay, the band performed it live on the program Discoring Best of 80s, and nobody's vinyl collection is truly complete without a copy.
Also one of Time Records' biggest hits, early in the game in 1985 (the label's first release was in 1984).

Now for the review.
This is an amazingly cool song. It's a perfectly layered formula!
There's some subtle differences in composition between the ridiculous amount of mixes for this song, but for the most part, they all sound the same. That is unless you have a very keen ear. Then, you'll notice that depending on the mix you're listening to, there are two different types of vocal sets (mainly in the chorus), some versions have removed some synths, among other very slight differences.
This song takes on all different directions, keeping the mood up the whole way through.
One great highlight would be the awesome guitar solo!
All in all, this is a beautifully produced song, and one that will (still) be played years to come.

OVERALL SCORE:
8.5/10

A real must-have!!

Aleph - In Your Eyes ~ Review

Now this is something special. A true piece of Italo history!
Who would have known that this little record would launch the career of the King Of Eurobeat, Giancarlo Pasquini?
As important as this single is, there's no beating around the bush on one (very sad) fact: it sounds like it was recorded down a toilet.
Yes. The sound quality is just pathetic. So much so, that it will drastically affect the score I will give it.
But enough about the poor mastering, let's mention the song's history.
Aleph performed this, and one other known, but not released song (All Is Nothing) at gigs as early as 1982 in Italy.
When asked about the song, Pasquini had this to say:

"It was a song we used to play during our live performance...in the middle of different pop rock songs...One day, a deejay, from a famous local disco "Caravel" called Antonio Caranci asked to us to produce our own song for his label."

And so, in 1984, this record was released!
Nowadays this single is very hard to find in it's original sleeve. Most are being sold in generic covers.

Now onto the review of the actual song.
Dance Mix describes it perfectly. The original version is a bit different.
At it's heart, it's really a very simple melody, though the vocals do it no justice. I don't know why, but this is the worst vocal work Pasquini has ever done.
Also, I'm very dissapointed to see only two versions on here. Acapella, Bonus Beat, anything extra would be more than welcome...
But despite all its shortcomings, there's just something magical about this song. It's hard to describe, but it'll always have a place in my heart. It's very relaxing.

So the moral of the story: even legends can have rocky starts, but they'll still be legends.

RATINGS:
Dance Mix: 8.5/10
Instrumental: 8.5/10

*OVERALL: 9/10

The legend begins... humbly.

*(Sleeve art/songs/other stuff in general)

UPDATE:
It seems the copy I heard wasn't as clear as others. In all actuality, this is really a pretty clear song, so I've raised the scores 0.5 per track.

Super Eurobeat 001 - Extended Version ~ Review
This is of course the Avex Trax re-release from 1994. Why re-release, you ask?
The original was released on January 21st, 1990 under the label Beat Freak. It was also a megamix.
Volumes 1-8 were done on Beat Freak but on the 9th, it was switched to the Japanese label Avex.
In 1994 (presumably because the landmark 50th volume was to come out soon), Avex re-released the first 8 volumes with new artwork and in extended format (sans volumes 4 and 8, which were megamixes).
And so here we are, at the "first" album. Let's get the actual review underway.

01. Vanessa - Just A Game
Rating: 7/10
She's done better, but overall an enjoyable song and a good way to start the album. Bonus points for the rapping man! :P

02. Sophie - Soft Time
Rating: 9/10
Elena's vocals are spot on, and that's a really good thing because the melody of this song is heavenly!
A very "epic" sounding song, with some occasional very 80s sounding synths.

03. Gipsy & Queen - Love & Passion
Rating: 7.5/10
Really good synth line first of all. Nice beat/percussion too. Pretty catchy song overall.

04. Rose - Perfect Time
Rating: 7/10
For some reason, not the clearest sounding song. Must've had a less than fortunate master.
Kind of a sad sounding song, but a good melody, though it can get boring after some time.

05. Anika - Crazy Lover
Rating: 7.5/10
If you though Perfect Time sounded unclear, try this for 5 seconds!
Putting that aside, this, unlike the last song, is pretty happy sounding.
Nicely done song. Not really anything missing.

06. Sophie - Rapture
Rating: 10/10
Ohhh boy. If you had never heard of Blondie's original, this would be the weirdest eurobeat song you'd ever heard!
The beat and percussion is, in a word, unbelievable. When combined with the amazing "bassline" (quotation marks because it's synthesized of course), it becomes head-bobbing-ly addictive!!
Nice touch with the brass in the main synth line! Sounds amazing!
Also, getting the male rapper from other Vanessa songs to do the rap breakdown here is just genius.
This is likely the best cover of a non-eurobeat song in eurobeat history.

07. Aleph - Hero
Rating: 7.5/10
Being a ridiculously huge fan of Aleph, I must confess this wouldn't make it into their top 10 for me.
Compared to their other songs, this would be a 3/10. Seriously.
Aside from that, it's still a good song, even if a bit mediocre.
I'm not sure why most eurobeat fans like this song most... (Note I said eurobeat fans. Italo fans would say Fire On The Moon, or Fly To Me, I'm sure)

08. Sophie - Face To Face
Rating: 8/10
Nice bridge, enjoyable chorus, good synths. Not much more to say about the song for me.
Really great song, though it likely won't make any "best of" lists sadly. Just not that big of a hit I guess.

09. Fred Ventura - It's My Time
Rating: 8/10
Ah, the legendary Fred Ventura - eurobeat's unofficial Elvis lookalike.
Great singing, and nice synths in the chorus. Really amazing and epic sounding song.

10. Virgin - Super Catching Desire
Rating: 8/10
Wow! Great synth line, vocals are great for the song, and it's catchy to boot!
Doesn't get boring at all.

11. Lisa Johnson - Love
Rating: 6/10
...Yeah ok this is kind of a buzzkill.
The main synth line reminds me of Tarzan with her hollering...
Really not my kind of song.
Also might be important to note that this is 1 of 2 songs on the re-release that weren't on the original...

12. Frank Torpedo - Love For Money
Rating: 9.5/10
...and this is the other!
Unlike Love, this one is actually good!
Gino Caria at his absolute best, this is just truly a TIMEless song. :P
Amazing synth lead and well produced.

13. Mike Hammer - Divine
Rating: 9/10
What a way to end the album, especially considering that it was track 1 on the original!
I suppose it works either way.
Farina's vocals are mind-blowing, demonstrating his wide range beautifully.
Very innovative song too, and ear-worm levels of catchy-ness!

OVERALL ALBUM SCORE: 104 out of a possible 130

A worthy tribute to the album that started it all!