Boney M – 1978 - Nightflight To Venus

Boney M – 1978 - Nightflight To Venus

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 26 026 OT
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Germany
Released: 1978
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
Credits: Arranged By - Christian Kolonovits , Johan Daansen , Mats Björklund , Michael Cretu , Stefan Klinkhammer
Artwork By [Design] - Dengler/Kohlmeier
Engineer - Fred Schreier , Hartmut Pfannmüller , John Lund , Tammy Grohé
Photography - Didi Zill

Notes: As usual the Boney M LP came with fake timings. There are 4 pressings of this LP. The most significant difference is the length of Nightflight To Venus. On the very first (and impossible to find) German pressing it was 7:09 min., the second pressing was 5:55 min., the third 4:58 min. & the final and most common 4:46 min. The timings given here are for the fourth pressing.

Tracklisting:

A1 Nightflight To Venus (4:58) Written-By - D. Kawohl* , F. Farian* , F. Jay*
A2 Rasputin (5:50) Written-By - F. Farian* , F. Jay* , Reyam*
A3 Painter Man (3:17) Written-By - E. Phillips* , K. Pickett*
A4 He Was A Steppenwolf (6:51) Written-By - F. Farian* , F. Jay* , S. Klinkhammer*
A5 King Of The Road (2:35) Written By - Burlington , R. Miller
B1 Rivers Of Babylon (4:18) Written-By - Dowe* , F. Farian* , Reyam* , McNaughton*
B2 Voodoonight (3:31) Written-By - Sgarbi*
B3 Brown Girl In The Ring (4:00) Written-By - F. Farian*
B4 Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night (5:33) Written-By - F. Jay* , K. Forsey* , M. Bjorklund*
B5 Heart Of Gold (4:00) Written-By - N. Young*

Codec: Lame 3.92
Quality: CBR, 320kbps, stereo

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

This 10+ million selling album was one of the best-sellers from 1978, rivalled only by 'Saturday Night Fever'. Although Boney M. was always considered a disco act, and this album was released at the height of the disco fever, 'Nightflight To Venus' - containing no less than 4 UK Top 10-hits - is actually so much more than just another disco record; this album takes Boney M. into a wonderworld of fantasy ... the mysterious title track opens with a robot voice inviting the listener on a night flight to Venus on board the starship Boney M., breaking into a hypnotizing drum beat with space effects, a catchy guitar riff, suddenly changing into a military march theme, and then back to the basic beat, while the robot voice continues with technical details on the voyage to Venus ... the very first and LP-pressing contains a 7:00 version (also telling about "Moon City" and the cool-down of Venus' atmosphere from 450 degrees to the current pleasant 75 degrees), but that edition - which also featured a poster - was quickly withdrawn, and is very hard to find. A second edition was released, and the title theme had been edited to a 5:55 version, a superior mix and arguably the best version. It was once again edited to 4:58, released in several countries, and then finally Farian settled on a 4:46 version which is the most common mix, and also the one that was released on the CD re-issue. 'Nightflight To Venus' flows nicely into the next tale, the story of 'Rasputin', 'Russia's greatest love machine', an edit of which was the second single off the album, and a huge hit everywhere but in the US. A gorgeous piece of a disco theme with its kitchy kozak parody and not least Farian's concluding 'Oh those Russians!' ... the full-length 6:39 version was only released on the withdrawn first pressing of the album but it also snuck out on a few British pressings. Boney M.'s two previous albums had proved that they could do the least expected cover versions, and covering psychedelic UK band Creations 'Painter Man' in a raunchy guitar-loaden rock stomper was no exception to the rule! In Germany, the song was put on the B-side of 'Rasputin', but in the UK, it was released as a single by itself and reached the UK Top 10, February 1979, and it remains a very popular Boney M. track. Then starts the strange tale of the lonesome 'Steppenwolf' man, a 7-minute-piece – and incident or not, very similar to the Temptation classic "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" – with a heavy dragging beat, dramatic string orchestration, haunting echo-laden trumpets, and the two Boney M. divas Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett singing in unison in a cold staccato. Marcia Barrett leads a wonderful mid-tempo disco version of 'King Of The Road' that nicely rounds off side 1, a small gem of a recording! Side 2 opens with the first single off the album, 'Rivers Of Babylon' which was a landslide of a single, and actually the best-sold single in Britain just next to Paul McCartney & Wings' 'Mull Of Kintyre'. Boney M.'s adaption of this traditional proved pure magic, the 7" kept the top spot of the UK charts for 5 weeks and gave the group their only US #30-hit. In the US, this was also released in a 7:15 extended version, featuring a small impro part by Liz Mitchell, unavailable elsewhere. Just as the single was dropping out of the UK Top 20, DJ's started playing the B-side which was an adaption of a Jamaican nursery rhyme 'Brown Girl In The Ring' ... and this calypso theme with Liz Mitchell's charming vocals and Marcia's answer-back 'tra-la-la's shot to the UK #3. 'Voodoonight' was a song that was released as an A-side in Japan, an eery mid-tempo disco song with a dark-voiced 'Voodoonight' chant. Every trace of kitsch is however wiped off with the sophisticated, mature 'Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night', elegantly arranged with Marcia Barrett on lead vocals. Sheer class, that's what it is, one of Boney M.'s best tracks ever, as is the closing track,Neil Young's 'Heart Of Gold'. Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett's voices blend wonderfully on the acapella intro, leading into a stunning interpretation which keeps true to the original spirit of the song, another piece of pure magic and a fitting end to Boney M.'s most successful album! This 1994 CD re-issue would have benefitted from enclosing their mega-selling 1978 Christmas single 'Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord' as a Bonus Track, as well as its B-side, the funky disco stomper 'Dancing In The Street' (with all vocals by producer Frank Farian) that was issued as an A-side in the U.S. to coincide with Boney M.'s first promotional tour statesides, Spring 1979 (although this never brought the group its much deserved breakthrough in the US). Also, one could wish that BMG had enclosed the innercover group photo from the original LP in the booklet as well as the postcard photos of the fab four individual members.