Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Aneuta -80~90’s Girl Pop Non-Stop Cover-
Release Date: 6/30/10
Price: 2381 yen

N.O.-SYO outdoes himself with this spiritual successor to Oreuta. Initially I thought the whole album would be by N.O.-SYO but they wisely added other artists to the mix, including Delaction, Spacey, and NRG Factory. Vocals are performed by Hime Trance mainstays Tsukasa and Kei, and some songs actually have the original artists providing the vocals. It all adds up to one of the most enjoyable trance albums of the year.

It’s worth noting that full versions are now up for sale on various download services, including iTunes Japan. Neither of the Akira Asukara tracks nor the bonus track by Hatsune Miku are available, however. To make matters worse, you have the buy the tracks individually for 200 yen each (3000 yen for all of the tracks), plus they’re low quality and saddled with DRM. You’re much better off buying the CD, as the tracks are given generously long edits so I doubt you’d be missing much.

01. 1986 Nen no Marylin (N.O.-SYO Remix) / Saaya Mizuno
Originally performed by Mikano Hondo and, if you couldn’t guess by the title, released in 1986. Saaya Mizuno turns out a respectable vocal performance while N.O.-SYO rocks on with his trademark rock guitars and trance synths.

02. Aoi Station (N.O.-SYO Remix) / Miho Miyazaki (AKB48)
Strings galore permeate this cover of the Sonoko Kawai song, also originally released in 1986. Covered here by Miho Miyazaki of AKB48, it’s a brilliant arrangement that gives an epic feel to the song. No guitars to be found on this track, but the violins more than make up for it.

03. Damattenaide -Neo Vibs 2010- (N.O.-SYO Remix) / Julia Mazda
A self-cover by Julia Mazda. It was originally released in 1993, but I’m not sure if the vocals have been re-recorded for this album. Julia has a fantastic, deep voice, so I’m glad they chose to keep her. The original song already had a pop-rock sound, so N.O.-SYO is a great fit.

04. Strawberry Time (N.O.-SYO Remix) / Yukari Hyougo
Originally by Saiko Matsuda and released in 1987. The cover is mostly a straight trance track, save for an electric guitar solo during the middle.

05. Itoshisato Setsunasato Kokorozuyosato (N.O.-SYO Remix) / Kei
Hime Trance star Kei sings this cover of the Ryouko Shinohara song from 1994. Kei’s vocals match the original pretty closely. Nothing too special about this track; it’s mostly what you’d expect from N.O.-SYO.

06. My Revolution (KRT + Spacey Remix) / Tsukasa
“My Revolution” was originally sung by Misato Watanabe in 1986 and was your average PWL-style 80s pop song. Tsukasa and Spacey update it here with a modern J-trance sound. It’s far from the best Tsukasa track ever, but the synths are pleasant and euphoric.

07. Friends (NRG Factory Remix) / Naomi Tamura
“Friends” was first released in 1985 by Rebecca. I was wondering why the lyrics sounded familiar until I realized it’s the same song Nagisa covered on Wa Euro Best. NRG Factory are perhaps best known for their contributions to DDR, and while their trance remake of the song is nothing revolutionary, it does add a healthy amount of variety to the album.

08. Dreams (Delaction Remix) / Akira Asakura
The original was released in 1996 and was used as an OP theme for a Gundam anime. It was originally done by Romantic Mode, a band consisting of Akira Asukara, Masaki Suzukawa, and Joe Rinoie. Akira provided the vocals for the band, and returns here to cover herself. Delaction offer up another energetic remix.

09. Yuzurenai Negai (NRG Factory Remix) / Naomi Tamura
An NRGetic self-cover of the Naomi Tamura song first released in 1994. Gotta dig that guitar solo at the end.

10. Sekai de Ichiban Atsui Natsu (KRT + Spacey Remix) / Tsukasa
A cover of the Princess Princess track from 1987. A little on the generic side, but still enjoyable. I think I prefer KRT to garamonn, though.

11. Hold On Me (Spacey + DJ Polaris Remix) / Heartland
Originally sung by Kahoru Kohiruimaki in 1987. DJ Polaris has been hit and miss in the past, but I do quite like this cover. It’s particularly nice to hear Heartland’s vocals not pitched up as they were with her “Tokyo” cover.

12. Resolution (Delaction Remix) / Akira Asakura
Another self-cover by Akira Asakura. As with “Dreams,” Resolution was originally done by Romantic Mode, and was released in 1996. I have to give this remix a slight edge over “Dreams,”

13. Otoko (N.O.-SYO Remix) / Kei
Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled N.O.-SYO rock trance. Thius one’s a cover of the Ruriko Kubou song from 1993. Kei sounds absolutely fantastic on this song, doing her best to channel the rock star within. And, of course, N.O.-SYO rocks.

14. Return to Myself ~ Shinai, Shinai, Natsu. (NRG Factory Remix) / Reika Morishita
Originally performed by Mari Hamada in 1989. The cover is a little on the boring side, but that may be due to the source material. Gets a little better during the instrumental parts, where the synths really come out.

15. Yume o Oikake Tsuzukete – Aneuta Theme / N.O.-SYO feat. Kei
An original song written and composed by Kei and N.O.-SYO. This is more like what I expected from a collaboration between Kei and N.O.-SYO, unlike “Somebody’s Voice” from Hime Trance 4 which sadly lacked that distinct trance rock sound.

16. Somebody’s Voice -respect for Aneuta- / N.O.-SYO feat. Hatsune Miku
Speaking of “Somebody’s Voice,” it’s featured again here on Aneuta, except this time it’s “sung” by Hatsune Miku. I’m not the biggest Miku fan in the world, especially when she’s not used properly. Sadly, she just doesn’t fit this song the way Kei did. The worst part is N.O.-SYO completely rearranged the song to include new guitars, synths, and bass, giving it an even more epic feel. It would’ve been much nicer to have heard this with Kei doing the vocals again.

Order at CDJapan.