пятница, 8 июня 2007 г.

Precious Wilson - 1982 - All Coloured in Love

Precious Wilson - 1982 - All Coloured in Love

Label: Hansa
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Germany
Released: 1982
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk, Disco
Credits: Producer - Frank Farian

Tracklisting:

A1 I Don't Know 7:13
A2 Video 3:53
A3 I Heard It through the Grapevine 4:16
A4 Kisuaheli 4:20
A5 Soothe Me 2:35
B1 Raising My Family 3:40
B2 The Night The Music Died 3:57
B3 All Coloured in Love 3:35
B4 Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday 3:33
B5 Your Face Stays in My Mind 3:08
B6 I Need You 2:54

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

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Precious Wilson's second solo album is fine and enjoyable but not as strong a set as her first one On the Race Track (1980). By 1982, the arrangements were less lush and focussing on a "drier" sound and a few synth-pop tunes like "I Don't Know" and "Video". Nearly half the material consisted of cover versions, indicating that Farian was insecure about the right material for her. Nevertheless, Precious sings with passion and power on this album but it still leaves me with the impression that it could have been better. As with the first album, the backing singers La Mama accompany her beautifully.

Precious Wilson – 1980 -On The Race Track






Precious Wilson – 1980 -On The Race Track

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 202 912-320
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Germany
Released: 1980
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk, Disco
Credits: Producer - Frank Farian

Tracklisting:

A1 We Are On The Race Track (3:33)
A2 Cry To Me (4:22)
A3 Stop Runnin' (3:05)
A4 Stay By My Side (4:51)
A5 You Ain't Got Love (3:41)
B1 If I Loved You Less (4:25)
B2 Together Forever (4:13)
B3 Mr. Pilot Man (3:33)
B4 Funky Dancer (3:04)
B5 Killing Me Softly (3:50)

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

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A very fine soul album, produced in Germany. Expectations were sky high for Precious Wilson's first album in her own name, but commercially the album never fulfilled the high demands which is a shame, it had deserved to do much better. Precious Wilson's powerful voice sounds fantastic as she gives her all to these tunes which consists of a fair share of soul covers, "Cry To Me" (the first single), "Stop Runnin'", "You Ain't Got Love" and "Killing Me Softly", all expertly produced by Frank Farian. The original material includes the second single, "We Are On The Race Track", the excellent Bee Gees-style "If I Loved You Less" (originally recorded by Emily Jones), and the very highlight of the album, the majestic gospel ballad "Stay By My Side", penned by Keith Forsey, accompanied by a piano only and beautiful black harmony vocals by La Mama. That one sends shivers down my spine. Frank Farian's "white-wash" of R&B may have prevented Precious from breaking big as a major soul star or maybe the timing was just not good. But the album makes for great listening anyway.

Precious Wilson – English

Precious Wilson – English

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Biography

Jamaican-born Precious Wilson started out a backing singer in UK soul band Eruption. When the band won a record contract in a talent competition in 1975, they had a minor R&B hit with " Let Me Take You Back in Time" before the male lead singer left and Precious stepped into the foreground to fill his space. The group decided to try their luck in Germany, and one of many many live gigs in small discotheques caught the eye of producer Frank Farian...>>

Jamaican-born Precious Wilson started out a backing singer in UK soul band Eruption. When the band won a record contract in a talent competition in 1975, they had a minor R&B hit with " Let Me Take You Back in Time" before the male lead singer left and Precious stepped into the foreground to fill his space. The group decided to try their luck in Germany, and one of many many live gigs in small discotheques caught the eye of producer Frank Farian who asked if they'd like to become the heat-up band on Boney M.'s 1977 tour. In return, Farian and co-producer Rainer M. Ehrhart signed the band to Hansa Records. Their first single "Party, Party" made some noise but it was Precious' powerful vocals on their discofied version of "I Can't Stand the Rain" that sent the group to the top of the European charts and even entering the US Top 20. While the lead-off single from the second album, Leave a Light flopped, the second single "One Way Ticket" gave the group another massive disco hit, and soon after Precious broke from the band to pursue a solo carrere.

Still signed to Hansa Records and produced by Farian, her first solo single was released in the summer of 1979, a funky disco cover of the soul classic "Hold On I'm Coming". To secure her maximum promotion, Farian also included it on Boney M.'s current Oceans of Fantasy album on which she also featured with the group on the opening track "Let It All Be Music".

Her album On the Race Track was completed for release in October 1980. The lead single was yet another soul cover. Performed with her new backing group Sky Train, "Cry To Me" failed to meet Hansa's high expectations for the singer. The second single "We Are On The Race Track" gave Precious her biggest German hit single when it reached #11 in the charts.

New recording sessions began in the fall of 1981, and the single "I Need You (Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" was released. Seeing her move into synth-pop territory, "I Don't Know" gave the singer a hit in Switzerland where she enjoyed considerable popularity. The second album All Coloured in Love followed in Germany in August 1982. A different song selection was put together for the UK release on Epic, and the French-Italian-release on Carrere, the album was issued as Red Light but failed to see Precious' international carrere take off.

The relationship between Farian and Precious was cooling off considerably when the singer was dissatisfied about the single release "Let's Move Aerobic (Move Your Body)" and her third and final Hansa release, Funky Fingers (credited to Precious Wilson and La Mama - her backing group) was a non-stop medley-album of soul classics. Released in December 1983, it received very little support from the label and soon after left Precious without a record contract.

Moving back to the UK, Precious signed with Jive Records in 1985. Her first single " I'll Be Your Friend" created some excitement when it also gave her a modest R&B hit in the US. Jive Records, full of support for their new artist, arranged for Precious to sing the theme song of the movie "The Jewel Of The Nile", a song which was also included in her subsequent 1986 album, simply entitled Precious Wilson, featuring songs with several hi-profile producers such as Monte Moir, Richard Jon Astrup and Keith Diamond. Still, with new single releases "Nice Girls Don't Last" (Europe) and "Love Can't Wait" (US), the album inexplicably flopped. Still believing in Precious, Jive Records paired her with Stock Aitken Waterman for a 1987 single release, an upbeat Hi-NRG disco version of Jerry Butler's "Only The Strong Survive". It became one of the few SAW singles that never charted in the UK.

After a 1990 single release "I May Be Right 4U" on a UK indie label, the singer finally achieved some commercial success when her 1992 dance cover of Sheila B. Devotion's "Spacer", became a hit in France. Soon after, her guest performance on techno group Messiah's cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" reached the UK #11. Unable to sustain the moment, Precious Wilson disappeared as an active recording artist. In recent years, she's mainly been active on the club circuit, performing as both Precious Wilson and Eruption featuring Precious Wilson.

Releases:

Cry To Me (7") AMIGA
Hold On I'm Coming (12") Hansa 1979
Hold On I'm Coming / Funky Dancer (You Got Me Dancing) (7") Hansa 1979
Cr-Cr-Cr-Cry To Me (12", Sup) Hansa 1980
On The Race Track (LP) Hansa 1980
On The Race Track / Mr Pilot Man (12") Hansa 1980
I Need You / You're A Strong Man (7") Hansa 1981
I Need You / You're A Strong Man (12", Maxi) Hansa 1981
Three Of A Kind (LP) Hansa 1981
We Are On The Race Track (7") Carrere 1981
We Are On The Race Track / Mr. Pilot Man (7") Hansa 1981
I Don't Know (12") Hansa 1982
I Don't Know / Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday (7") Hansa 1982
Raising My Family / The Night The Music Died (7") Hansa 1982
Funky Fingers (LP) Ariola (Germany) 1983
I'll Be Your Friend (12") Jive 1985
I'll Be Your Friend (12") Jive 1986
Love Can't Wait (12", Promo) Jive 1986
Nice Girls Don't Last (12") Jive 1986
Precious Wilson (Cass) Jive 1986
The Jewel Of The Nile (7") Jive 1986
Only The Strong Survive (12") TELDEC 1987
Only The Strong Survive (12") Jive 1987
I May Be Right For You (12")

Precious Wilson - Russian

Precious Wilson - Russian

From - http://www.musicfan.ru

Прешес Уилсон (Precious Wilson) известна как вокалистка группы "Eruption", записавшая главные хиты группы "I Can't Stand The Rain" и "One Way Ticket". В составе Eruption она участвовала в работе над самыми удачными альбомами группы: "Eruption" (1977) и "Leave A Light" (1979). Её голос по праву считается визитной карточкой группы.

Прешес родилась в Спэниш Таун, Ямайка, в возрасте семи лет переехала с родителями в Великобританию. Первый успех пришел к ней в 1975 году, когда она вместе с группой "Eruption" победила в радиоконкурсе, проводившемся компанией "RCA". Во время выступления "Eruption" в Западной Германии произошла встреча с продюсером группы Boney М. Фрэнком Фарианом (Frank Farian), который предложил им контракт с "Hansa Records".

В 1977 году группа записала песню "I Can't Stand The Rain", имевшую огромный успех во всём мире, причём этот успех был обеспечен именно потрясающим вокалом Прешес Уилсон. Далее, в 1979 году, последовал не менее знаменитый хит "One Way Ticket", в котором тoже солировала Уилсон.

Летом 1979 года Фрэнк Фариан начинает работу над сольным проектом Прешес Уилсон, на замену которой в группу "Eruption" приходит Ким Дэвис (Kim Davies).
Фариан привлекает Прешес к работе над альбомом "Boney M"-"Oceans Of Fantasy", были записаны соло для "Let All Be Music" и "Hold On I'm Coming".

Под руководством Фариана к августу 1980 года была закончена запись первого сольного альбома Прешес Уилсон "On The Race Track" (в качестве аранжировщика ритм-секции был приглашён Мишель Крету (Michael Cretu)). Второй сольный альбом записывался в 1981/1982 годах и вышел под названием "All Coloured In Love". Оба диска продавались в Европе с большим успехом.

В 1985 роду компания "JIVE Records" выпустила сингл Прешес Уилсон "I'll Be Your Friend", который в течение четырёх месяцев продержался в европейских хит-парадах, затем последовал успех с композицией "The Jewel Of The Nile" из саундтрека к кинофильму "Сокровище Нила". В следующем году вышел очередной альбом под названием "Precious Wilson".

В 1986 году Прешес Уилсон присоединяется к движению против наркотиков и принимает участие в записи на "Abbey Road Studio" благотворительного альбома "It's A Live In World".
В 1987 году вместе с продюсерской группой "Stock/Aitken & Waterman" она записывает один из сильнейших диско-хитов сезона "Only The Strong Survive".

В 1990 году Прешес Уилсон дебютировала как театральная актриса в мюзикле "Blues In The Night". Уилсон приняла участие в записи альбома команды "Techno Eccentrics"- "Messiah". Их версия хита Донны Саммер (Donna Summer) "I Feel Love" попала в UK Top 20, кроме этого Прешес была соавтором своей второй песни с альбома "Messiah" - "Peace and Tranquillity".

В настоящее время Прешес Уилсон продолжает выступать на европейской клубной сцене, в том числе и под названием "Eruption", на которое имеет юридические права. В 2002-2003 годах она приезжала в Москву, где принимала участие в шоу Дискотека 80-х.

Releases:

Cry To Me (7") AMIGA
Hold On I'm Coming (12") Hansa 1979
Hold On I'm Coming / Funky Dancer (You Got Me Dancing) (7") Hansa 1979
Cr-Cr-Cr-Cry To Me (12", Sup) Hansa 1980
On The Race Track (LP) Hansa 1980
On The Race Track / Mr Pilot Man (12") Hansa 1980
I Need You / You're A Strong Man (7") Hansa 1981
I Need You / You're A Strong Man (12", Maxi) Hansa 1981
Three Of A Kind (LP) Hansa 1981
We Are On The Race Track (7") Carrere 1981
We Are On The Race Track / Mr. Pilot Man (7") Hansa 1981
I Don't Know (12") Hansa 1982
I Don't Know / Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday (7") Hansa 1982
Raising My Family / The Night The Music Died (7") Hansa 1982
Funky Fingers (LP) Ariola (Germany) 1983
I'll Be Your Friend (12") Jive 1985
I'll Be Your Friend (12") Jive 1986
Love Can't Wait (12", Promo) Jive 1986
Nice Girls Don't Last (12") Jive 1986
Precious Wilson (Cass) Jive 1986
The Jewel Of The Nile (7") Jive 1986
Only The Strong Survive (12") TELDEC 1987
Only The Strong Survive (12") Jive 1987
I May Be Right For You (12")

Eruption – 1983 - Our Way


Eruption – 1983 - Our Way

Label: Hansa
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Germany
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo, Disco

Tracklisting:

"I Can't Help Myself" / "It's The Same Old Song"
"Joy To The World"
"Let There Be Rock"
"Big Bang"
"In A Thousand Years"
"Much Too Late"
"Ecstasy"
"We Don't Need Nobody"
"Time"
"Again And Again"

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Eruption's album on Ralph Siegel's Jupiter Records is a disappointing mixture of bland pop-soul-lite songs which only the most avid collector (like myself ha ha) would want to own. Needless to say, Eruption had to face that "their way" wasn't the way to go anymore. Go for their first two Hansa LPs Eruption and Leave a Light instead.

Eruption - 1980 - Fight Fight Fight





Eruption - 1980 - Fight Fight Fight

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 201 716-320
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Germany
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo, Disco

Tracklisting:

A1 Go Johnnie Go (Keep On Walking, John B.) (3:28)
A2 You (3:35)
A3 Fight Fight Fight (3:12)
A4 It's Allright (3:55)
A5 Go Ahead (3:34)
A6 We Gotta Talk About It (3:43)
B1 Call My Name (3:52)
B2 Stand Up And Sing Hallelujah (3:18)
B3 Spaced Out (3:45)
B4 Come Back To Me (3:49)
B5 Moonlight (3:47)
B6 Heading For The Top (3:07)

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Eruption's first album without Precious Wilson introduced new lead singer Kim Davis whose voice was much rawer than Wilson. Furthermore the group was determined to only record original material this time. They enjoyed a continental hit with the poppy "Go Johnnie Go" while the remaining 11 songs were a mixture of pop ("We Gotta Talk About It", "Call My Name"), soul, Caribbean rock, reggae and even gospel on "Stand Up And Sing Hallelujah". A good album, despite a few banalities, an interesting change of sound, but it was clear that Eruption's own material was never as attractive as the covers of their first two albums.

Eruption – 1978 - Leave A Light




Eruption – 1978 - Leave A Light

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 200 213
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Germany
Released: 1978
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
Credits: Producer - Frank Farian , Rainer M. Ehrhardt
Credits: Engineer - Fred Schreier , John Lund , Tammy Grohé
Lead Vocals - Precious Wilson
Producer - Frank Farian , Rainer M. Ehrhardt
Notes: Demonstration Copy, Not For Sale.

Tracklisting:

A1 Leave A Light (I'll Keep A Light In My Window) (8:20)
A2 Sweet Side (3:23)
A3 Up And Away (3:15)
A4 Left Me In The Rain (3:54)
B1 Valley Of The Dolls (4:36)
B2 One Way Ticket (3:18)
B3 Hey There Lonely Girl (3:20)
B4 No Good Searchin' (4:15)
B5 Fire Is Gone (4:02)

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Eruption's finest album took off slow when the lead single "Leave a Light" struggled in the charts, going no higher than #43 in the German charts, a major comedown after the Top 10 hit "I Can't Stand the Rain". It is a very good version though, I like it a lot. It was the second single release that took off - "One Way Ticket" had "hit" written all over it and duly hit the Top 10 all over Europe. The group's own material was better than on the first album, and lead singer Precious Wilson's awesome vocals, especially on the ballad "Valley Of The Dolls", makes this a very enjoyable collection.

Eruption - 1977 - I Can't Stand The Rain



Eruption - 1977 - I Can't Stand The Rain

Label: Barclay
Catalog#: 900 548
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: France
Released: 1977
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
Credits: Producer - Frank Farian

Tracklisting:

A1 I Can't Stand The Rain (6:33)
A2 Movin' (5:00)
A3 I'll Take You There (2:50)
A4 Computer Love (4:35)
B1 The Way We Were (4:20)
B2 Do You Know What It Feels Like (4:46)
B3 Be Yourself (3:42)
B4 I Can't Carry On (3:23)
B5 Wayward Love (3:50)
B6 Party, Party (3:35)

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Eruption's first album contains two great tracks - their disco version of "I Can't Stand the Rain" and their rendition of "The Way We Were". Most of the honour, however, goes to lead singer Precious Wilson who has a fantastic voice that lifts the band's own mediocre material.

Eruption – English

Eruption - English

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History

The original members were Greg Perrineau, Morgan Perrineau, Jerry Williams, Eric Kingsley, and Precious Wilson (born 18 October 1957, in Spanish Town, Jamaica). Eruption was formed in 1974 in Britain. In 1975 they won the RCA Soul Search Contest, whilst their first single "Let Me Take Your Back in Time" was released in 1976.

By 1977 Frank Farian, the producer of Boney M, had taken control of the group's career. Farian constructed in St. Ingbert, in the Saarland, a disco called "Rendezvous." The disco was designed to test the groups and tracks he produced at the time. He held the opinion that any gigs in discos could show the quality of these items. In these gigs he discovered Precious Wilson's soulful voice.

Farian duly signed the group with the Germany-based Hansa Records.

Their 1978 cover of "I Can't Stand the Rain" was a big hit, reaching number five in the UK Singles Chart, and number 18 in U.S. Billboard Hot 100. One year later they released their well known hit, "One Way Ticket". But, Precious Wilson left the group in 1979 in favour of a solo career. She was replaced by Kim Davies. The band remained active until the mid 1980s.

Precious Wilson still performs sometimes under the brand name "Eruption", with her new backing band.

Discography

Albums

1977 Eruption
1978 Leave a Light
1980 Fight Fight Fight
1983 Our Way
1994 Gold 20 Superhits
1995 I Can't Stand The Rain

Singles

"Let Me Take You Back In Time" (1976)
"I Can't Stand The Rain" / "Be Yourself" (1977)
"Party Party" (1978)
"Leave A Light" (1978)
"One Way Ticket" / "Left Me In The Rain" (1979)
"Sweet Side" (1979)
"Go Johnnie Go" / "Call My Name" (1980)
"You (You Are My Soul)" (1980)
"Runaway" / "Good Good Feeling" (1980)
"Up And Away" (1982)
"In A Thousand Years" / "We Don't Need Nobody" (1983)
"I Can't Help Myself" / "It's The Same Old Song" (1983)
"Joy To The World" / "Time" (1983)
"Where Do I Begin" (1984)
"I Can't Stand The Rain '88" (1988)
"One Way Ticket '94" (1994)

Eruption - Russian

Eruption - Russian

From http://www.musicfan.ru/eruption.htm

В 1974 году в лондонском пригороде Брикстон на одном из концертов музыканты-любители - гитарист Грего Перринье (Greg Perrineau), бас-гитарист Морган Перринье (Morgan Perrineau), клавишник Джерри Уильямсом (Gerry Williams) и ударник Эрик Кингсли (Eric Kingsley) встретились с певицей Прешес Уилсон (Precious Wilson). Выступление импровизированного ансамбля прошло с большим успехом. С того времени и начала существование группа, получившая название "Eruption" (в преводе с английского - извержение вулкана, взрыв).

Первая премия на на конкурсе RCA Soul Search Contest (1975) , дала им возможность записать дебютный сингл "Let Me Take Your Back In Time" (1976), сразу попавший в Британские хит-парады и продержавшийся в Top 50 полгода. Успех укрепил музыкантов в намерении стать профессионалами. В 1977 году они были приглашены в гастрольный тур по европейским странам. На одном из концертов в Германии их приметил продюсер Boney M Фрэнк Фариан (Frank Farian), который подписал контракт Eruption с немецкой рекорд-компанией Hansa Records.

В результате этого сотрудничества Eruption за короткое время становится одной из ведущих европейских поп-групп. Первый сингл "I Can't Stand The Rain" (1977) имел большой международный успех и достиг 5-го места в Британском хит-параде и 18-го в США (это было их первое и последнее попадание в U.S. Top 40).

В конце 1977 года выпущен первый долгоиграющий виниловый диск группы c одноимённым названием "Eruption" и второй успешный сингл "Party Party". Одновременно шла работа над следующим диском "Leave A Light", который поступил в продажу в ноябре 1978 года. В начале 1979 года на сингле выпускается хит "One Way Ticket" (тот самый "Синий иней") - номер 9 в Великобритании. Сингл становится золотым и платиновым во многих странах Европы.

Летом 1979 года Фрэнк Фариан решает что Прешес Уилсон должна начать сольную карьеру и она покидает группу. В конкурсе на замещение открывшейся вакансии приняло участие около двухсот певиц. Победительницей стала 26-летняя Ким Дэвис (Kim Davies) из Ньюкасла. Её родители приехали в Англию из Британского Гондураса. До работы в Eruption она пела в различных варьете, в 1977 получила премию музыкального журнала как лучшая певица ночных клубов, участвовала в телешоу Тома Джонса (Tom Jones), выступала в мюзикле с Эми Стюарт (Amii Stewart).

В обновлённом составе группа записала третий альбом для Hansa - "Fight Fight Fight" с успешным хитом "Go Johnnie Go" (1980).

В начале 80-х группа заключает новый контракт с Jupiter Records и записывает диск "Our Way" (1983).

Группа Eruption продолжала выступать до середины 80-х.

В настоящее время под названием "Eruption" время от времени появляется Прешес Уилсон, имеющая права на название - именно она приезжала в Москву на концерт "Дискотека 80-х". Однако в 90-е годы реанимировался и прежний состав группы (с вокалисткой Джейн Джеймс (Jane James)), который тоже был в Москве и выступал в клубе "Утопия".

Советское телевидение впервые показало Eruption с песней "I Can't Stand The Rain" осенью 1978 года в передаче "Международная панорама", затем в программе "Мелодии и ритмы зарубежной эстрады" была показана запись их выступления на телевидении ГДР.

Весной 1980 года в журнале "Кругозор" на гибкой грампластинке вышли песни "I Can't Stand The Rain" и "Computer Love", в том же году Всесоюзная фирма грампластинок "Мелодия" выпустила диск-гигант под названием Ансамбль "Ирапшн" (оригинальный альбом 1977 года).

В России в 90-е годы компанией RDM на CD был выпущен альбом Eruption "Our Way", а затем BMG Russia - сборник Eruption Gold - 20 Superhits, на котором кроме записей "Eruption" оказались и песни из сольных альбомов Прешес Уилсон.

Discography

Albums

1977 Eruption
1978 Leave a Light
1980 Fight Fight Fight
1983 Our Way
1994 Gold 20 Superhits
1995 I Can't Stand The Rain

Singles

"Let Me Take You Back In Time" (1976)
"I Can't Stand The Rain" / "Be Yourself" (1977)
"Party Party" (1978)
"Leave A Light" (1978)
"One Way Ticket" / "Left Me In The Rain" (1979)
"Sweet Side" (1979)
"Go Johnnie Go" / "Call My Name" (1980)
"You (You Are My Soul)" (1980)
"Runaway" / "Good Good Feeling" (1980)
"Up And Away" (1982)
"In A Thousand Years" / "We Don't Need Nobody" (1983)
"I Can't Help Myself" / "It's The Same Old Song" (1983)
"Joy To The World" / "Time" (1983)
"Where Do I Begin" (1984)
"I Can't Stand The Rain '88" (1988)
"One Way Ticket '94" (1994)

четверг, 7 июня 2007 г.

Boney M – 1998 - Christmas Party




Boney M – 1998 - Christmas Party

1. Silent night holy night/Snow falls over the ground
2. Oh Christmas tree
3. Hark the herald angels sing
4. Zion's daughter
5. First noel
6. O come all ye faithful
7. Petit papa noel
8. Darkness is falling
9. Joy to the world
10. White Christmas
11. Jingle bells
12. Feliz navidad
13. When a child is born
14. Little drummer boy
15. Mary's boy child/Oh my lord
16. Auld lang syne

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

As Boney M. enjoyed huge chart success with their 1978 Christmas single 'Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord' which was the 5th best selling single ever in the UK at the time it was only a logical consequence to record a whole album with christmas carols. Mary's boy Child is naturally included on this mesmerizing Christmas album which was originally released in November 1981, gaining Boney M. 6 Platinumand 15 Gold records. The first single off the album is the opening track 'Little Drummer Boy', Liz Mitchell sings the lead vocal (as she does on all the tracks here) and it is beautifully accompanied by The Christmas Choir from London. 'White Christmas' & 'Jingle Bells' are turned into wonderful reggae versions, still full of atmosphere as is the up-tempo disco version of 'Feliz Navidad'. 'Winter Fairy-Tale' is a nice instrumental track before 'Mary's Boy Child' ends side 1. Side 2 is more low-key, opening with a Christmas medley consisting of 'Silent Night' and two English re-works of German psalms, 'Snow Falls Over The Ground' and 'Hear Ye The Message', with Liz Mitchell occasionally singing in German! Equally heavenly is the version of the French 'Petit Papa Noël' with its wonderful deep choir ending the song. 'Zion's Daughter' is an English re-working of Händel's 'Tochter Zion', an up-tempo song that was to be released as the second single off the album, backed with 'White Christmas', for Christmas the following year. In Scandinavia, however, they opted for 'Feliz Navidad', Spain chose 'Jingle Bells', both singles were backed with 'White Christmas'. One of the many highlights on the album is the wonderful 'When A Child Is Born', beautifully sung by Liz Mitchell whose contralto voice in general keeps the songs pleasantly low-key, avoiding the songs from getting hysterically overblown as it happens on many Christmas albums. 'Darkness Is Falling' is another English re-working of a German traditional, 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' is not the song you'd usually think of but an original song, co-penned by producer Frank Farian who also shares the lead vocals with Liz Mitchell, a nice mid-tempo song to round off this remarkable album that remains a classic ...

Boney M - 1985 - Eye Dance




Boney M - 1985 - Eye Dance

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 207 100-620
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Europe
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Arranged By, Keyboards, Programmed By - Harry Baierl , Pit Löw
Arranged By, Keyboards, Programmed By, Guitar, Bass - Mats Björklund
Artwork By [Cover Design] - David Simic
Drums - Curt Cress
Engineer - Bernd Berwanger , Carmine Di , Michael Bestmann , Tammy Grohé
Producer - Frank Farian
Vocals - Bobby Farrell , Liz Mitchell , Maizie Williams , Marcia Barrett , Reggie Tsiboe
Notes: Recorded and mixed at: Far Studios, Rosbach; Basic Studio, München.

Tracklisting:

A1 Young, Free And Single (4:15)
A2 Todos Buenos (3:58)
A3 Give It Up (3:55)
A4 Sample City (3:35)
A5 My Chérie Amour (4:15)
B1 Eye Dance (3:50)
B2 Got Cha Loco (3:55)
B3 Dreadlock Holiday (4:15)
B4 Chica Da Silva (3:50)
B5 Bang Bang Lulu (3:55)

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Liz Mitchell once described the making of this last studio album by Boney M. as "a complete mess". 'Eye Dance' was stamped by an incertainty in which musical direction to go, and with a striking indifference by Farian who seemed much more interested in his new co-operation with members from Toto as FAR Corporation.Packaged in an anonymous cover without the familiar logo andwith the group only portrayed in five individual photos on the backcover, it simply didn't appeal neither visually nor musically to the fans, and with the massive absense of Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett's vocals, this came off more as an aborted Reggie Tsiboe solo album, only turned into a Boney M. album in the very last minute. The first single released in Spring 1985 was promising, though, a sunny up-beat version of Stevie Wonder's 'My Cherie Amour' was released. Much repeating the formula of 'Kalimba De Luna', Reggie is doing the lead vocal, and Amy & Elaine Goff sing the light backing vocals. The full-length 9-minutes version was a musical extravaganza, a great recording, although the 7" single edit didn't maintain quite the same magic. The B-side 'Sample City' also didn't showcase neither Liz nor Marcia. With lead- and backing vocals all by Farian himself, the song was based on a rock-oriented backing track of 'I Can't Stand The Rain'. Whereas 'My Cherie Amour' was intended to repeat the success of 'Kalimba De Luna', Farian similarly released a counterpart to 'Happy Song', a solo single by Bobby Farrell: 'King Of Dancing' which was a reworked version of Boney M.'s 'Dancing In The Streets' backed with the Farian / Rulofs penned track 'I See You'. None of them was to be included on the subsequent album as this single was a flop. In August, when the album was nearly completed, 'Young Free And Single' credited to Boney M. feat. Bobby Farrell was released as a forerunner. In itself a great hi-NRG track, introducing new song writers Mary Applegate and Robert Rayen in the team, but the highly synthesized sound, Bobby's voice disguised in a vocoder, and Liz & Marcia only doing the answer-back lines in the verses, it didn't sound like Boney M. at all also due to the fact that arranger Stefan Klinkhammer, who arranged all the Top 10 Hits prior and therefore highly connected with the typical Boney M. sound, wasn't part of the whole 'Eye Dance' album. It was also clear that the group themselves didn't really know how to act while promoting the single on TV, now having both Bobby & Reggie in the line-up. 'Young Free And Single', backed with an instrumental dub version entitled 'Blue Beach', failed to excite the old fans, and with Boney M. now being hopelessly out of fashion, it failed to capture the young audience it was aimed towards. It was the opening track of the album, followed by the latin flavoured 'Todos Buenos' which despite a catchy melody line and a hook-laden chorus failed to be the happy, holiday-flavoured summer hit it pretends to be. As with 'Young, Free And Single', it comes off too synthetic, the drums too cold and clinical, and the production remarkably short of ideas. Farian's apparent lack of any interest in Liz and Marcia can also be seen by the fact that the chorus is sung by La Mama ladies Madeleine Davis & Patricia Shockley together with former Silver Convention vocalist Rhonda Heath. They also did the chorus of the following track, the R&B-flavoured 'Give It Up', a good song with Reggie on lead vocal but again the musical arrangement comes off somewhat lacklustre. Side 1 concludes with 'Sample City' and 'My Cherie Amour'. Side 2 opens with the title track which is one of the better cuts on the album, although Farian singing both the deep voice and the high falsetto voice himself. The failed funk try-to-be 'Got Cha Loco' was the first track on the album to feature Liz Mitchell on lead vocal and the original Farian-Mitchell-Barrett sound on the chorus but remains flat, dull, repetitive, simply uninteresting. A cover version of 10CC's 'Dreadlock Holiday', sung by Reggie & Farian, was much better but didn't really fit a Boney M. album. The track was planned as the next single off the album and was also the finale in Boney M.'s subsequent anniversary show but eventually never materialized although an excellent remix with re-recorded vocals by Farian was released 1987 as Top Deck, backed with an instrumental dub version of 'Todos Buenos'. It was also this remix of 'Dreadlock Holiday' that was included on Boney M.'s 'More Gold' compilation 1994. 'Chica Da Silva' is the only song on the 'Eye Dance' album that actually sounds like Boney M. The fact that Farian co-penned the song with Reyam and C. Courage who were no longer working with him makes it very likely that this was originally composed for the 'Boonoonoonoos' album, being arguably too similar to 'Consuela Biaz' ... 'Chica Da Silva' was the only other song on the album, besides 'Got Cha Loco', with Liz on the lead vocal. Farian offered her the lead vocal of the closing track, calypso-flavoured version of the traditional 'Bang Bang Lulu', but Liz declined, finding the lyrics too vulgar, and the song was handed over to Reggie. A remix of was released on single by summer 1986 but flopped badly - the song remains a #1 hate title by fans. 'Eye Dance' does have its moments but as an album concept, it is hugely disappointing, and the question is if we hadn't been better off without it ...

Boney M – 1984 - Ten Thousand Lightyears




Boney M – 1984 - Ten Thousand Lightyears

Label: Ariola Eurodisc S.A.
Catalog#: I-206.200
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Spain
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Disco

Tracklisting:

A1 Exodus (Noah's Ark 2001)
A2 Wild Planet
A3 Future World
A4 Where Did You Go
A5 10.0000 Lightyears
A6 I Feel Good
B1 Somewhere In The World
B2 Bel Ami
B3 Living Like A Moviestar
B4 Dizzy
B5 The Alibama
B6 Jimmy
B7 Barbarella Fortuneteller

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

The first album featuring new member Reggie Tsiboe was released May 1984 but had originally been scheduled for release Autumn 1983 with another African adaption "Jambo - Hakuna Matata (No Problems)" released as the first single. The excellent new recording was driven by a heavy drum beat, loaded with percussion, handclaps, flutes and steeldrums with lead vocals by Farian and Liz, and backing vocals by Liz, Marcia and Reggie, but it was not what the fans wanted, and "Jambo" reached only a disappointing # 48 on the German charts. New songs were recorded, some were scrapped - among those "Jambo" and a cover version of Paul Simon's "Mother And Child Reunion" - and whereas the original concept of the album seemed to have been more in the vein of Boonoonoonoos, it had now evolved to a semi-concept science-fiction album instead. 10.000 Lightyears opened with "Exodus (Noah's Ark 2001)", a song that deliberately borrowed the guitar theme from "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" (which Farian had just recorded with Precious Wilson) and the chorus from Bob Marley's "Exodus" ... nonetheless, a fantastic recording with a sharp, clean, electronic rock sound, lots of sound effects and really taking Boney M. into the 1980s, with a story line of the world's population having to emigrate on Starship "Noah's Ark 2001" to a new and better world. On board the ship, they are welcomed by a mystery voice of the "Wild Planet", a bouncy, sci-fi, hi-NRG track. "Future World", a mid-tempo track with a heavy beat and a great chorus, expresses the hopes and expectations to this new and better world, 10,000 lightyears away. In the dreamy title track featuring angelic vocals by sisters Amy & Elaine Goff on the chorus, the narrator however is woken by the alarm clock to discover it was all just a wonderful dream. "Somewhere In The World", a beautiful mid-tempo song featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra, concludes this tale. With lead vocals by Liz and harmony vocals by Marcia, the song was also released on single, backed with "Exodus", to accompany the album. Alas, it peaked only at #49 in the German singles charts. The remaining songs were all but one original material. "Where Did You Go" was a classy adult ballad composed by Dietmar Kawohl. The irresistible hook to "I Feel Good" makes it a missed opportunity for a single release as does the final track, sung by Reggie, "Barbarella Fortuneteller". Many of the tracks on side 2 remain, although enjoyable, mostly filler tracks, like the joyous, brass-loaded "Bel Ami", the melancholic "Living Like A Moviestar" which was planned as the second, but never materialized, single off the album; the low-key "Alibama" and the 1982 re-recording of "Jimmy" which had been scheduled as the 3rd single off Boonoonoonoos, April 1982. The only cover version on the album was a re-make of "Dizzy", described as "a masterpiece for the disco scene, a teeny-flipper with a firework of technically polished tone tricks!" and a song about which Farian told in the promotional booklet: I couldn't get the thought out of my head to bring out a solo record with myself, but I simply didn't have the right song [...] In a short time a specially produced maxi single will be released with an extended club mix version, digitally recorded and mastered, with the song "Dizzy" by singer Frank Farian together with Sandy Davis. Sandy Davis also did the lead vocal of the demo version of "The Alibama" which - apparently by mistake - snuck out on the promotional LP release which featured different mixes of some of the songs, most notably "Future World" and "10.000 Lightyears", the latter even including an extra verse: 'Reality comes knocking at my door / I face the same obligations once more / Dreams took me 10.000 lightyears away / I'd give all I've got if that's where I could stay' which was cut off the commercial version. Although the LP reached #23 in the German charts, 10.000 Lightyears hardly charted elsewhere and failed to be a triumphant come-back for Boney M. despite being a highly enjoyable and diverse album. Liz Mitchell was now in focus even more, taking the lead on 11 out of 13 songs, it was ironic that Farian - now having three great singers in the group - didn't take advantage of those possibilities and proving that Boney M was more than just a plastic band as often critized those days by the press. Although Reggie sang lead on "Barbarella Fortuneteller", both he and Marcia were relegated to being backing singers only.

Boney M – 1981 - Boonoonoonoos


Boney M – 1981 - Boonoonoonoos
Label: Carrere
Catalog#: 67.815
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: France
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
Credits: Arranged By - Christian Kolonovits , Geoff Bastow , Giorgio Sgarbi , Harry Baierl , Stefan Klinkhammer
Bass - Dave King , Günther Gebauer
Drums - Curt Cress , Keith Forsey
Engineer - Tammy Grohe*
Guitar - Helmut Rulofs , Johan Daansen , Mats Björklund
Keyboards - Harry Baierl , Kristian Schultze , Max Greger Jr.
Orchestra - London Philharmonic Orchestra, The (tracks: A4)
Producer - Frank Farian
Saxophone - Dino Solera (tracks: A5, A6) , Tom Scott (tracks: A1, B5)
Notes: Contains a color Super-Poster.
Rating: No votes yet. Rate It
Submitted by: ZeldaZonk

Tracklisting:

A1 Boonoonoonoos (4:37)
A2 That's Boonoonoonoos / Train To Skaville / I Shall Sing (5:56)
A3 Silly Confusion (7:12)
A4 Ride To Agadir (5:09)
A5 Jimmy (3:52)
A6 African Moon (2:50)
B1 We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World) (6:28)
B2 Homeland Africa (Ship Ahoy) (4:20)
B3 Malaika (2:48)
B4 Consuela Biaz (3:50)
B5 Breakaway (3:45)
B6 Sad Movies (3:22)
B7 Goodbye My Friend (5:10)

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Boney M.'s 5th studio album had originally been planned for release November 1980. Several tracks had been recorded in the summer of 1980 in Nice, and two new tracks, "Children Of Paradise" / "Gadda Da Vida" were released as the intended flagship single in September. The singled reached #11 in Germany but Farian apparently was not completely satisfied with the material for the new album, and November didn't see the release of a new Boney M. LP. A new single was released instead, a cover version of Massara's 1979 South-European hit "Margherita (Love In The Sun)". In some countries, however, it was decided not to release the single since Massara's original version had already been a hit there - so it was not released in the UK, Spain or Italy and therefore didn't made it on the album too. With Farian deciding not to include the four songs that had been released on singles in the autumn, the album was once more postponed to record more material in the spring. One of the songs of these spring '81 sessions was a lovely rendition of the kisuaheli song "Malaika" with a beautiful acapella intro by Liz & Marcia in harmony. The mix used on the first pressings was rather low-key and finished with a key-change drums & claps part with the girls chanting "Malaika na kupenda malaika' before the song faded. It was remixed for the 12" single, and an edited, more up-beat version was used on the next pressings. It would be further edited for the resulting album, the LP versions being just 2:48 whereas a longer 3:27 mix was included on the MusiCassette and the 1994 CD re-issue. "Malaika" was another double-A-side single, and the other side was the story of "Consuela Biaz", somewhat reminiscent of "El Lute" with its pan flute part. Liz has named this one of her very best performances, and it's also favourite of many fans. The early pressings of the single featured Farian singing one line "Tell me, is our dream about to end?" before the second verse, but this was left out of later pressings. Just like "Malaika", "Consuela Biaz" was also edited for the LP on which a 3:50 mix was included, the MusiCassette contained a 4:36 mix. Strangely, the full-length 5:18 mix was only released on the French 12" single and the Hungarian 7" single! "Malaika" reached #13 in Germany, in Spain it climbed into the Top 10, but it was not released in the UK. In May, Boney M. flew to Jamaica to perform in a big benefit concert as well as to record a TV-special with their new, yet unreleased songs off the new album. The new Boney M. album was now finally completed and released along a new single on 1st September 1981 with the album finally being released 1st November 1981 with a different photo on the innersleeve. The edition was however immediately withdrawn since a huge picture on the innercover with Boney M. in the Ocho Rios waterfalls showcased Liz in all-soaked clothes. The new double-A-side single "We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World)" c/w "Boonoonoonoos" marked a musical departure for Boney M. 'We Kill The World' was a song composed by Italians Giorgio & Giusella Sgarbi (who had also composed "Voodoonight" for Boney M.), it revealed a change in style with its rock-oriented beat and Marcia Barrett doing the edgy lead vocals. It was ingeniously coupled with a slow mid-tempo part "Don't Kill The World", written by Farian, which would be sung by a young boy Bryan Paul. The choir parts also featured the three La Mama ladies. "We Kill The World" did slightly better in Germany than "Malaika" had done, reaching #12. In Spain and South Africa, the single topped the charts but in general Boney M. suffered from the fact that Bobby was fired soon after the single and album were released, preventing them from promoting it properly. The album opens with the mysterious title track "Boonoonoonoos", a great mid-tempo track with a yearning melody line and beautiful harmony vocals by Marcia and Liz. It would effectively break into the joyous tongue'n cheek "Train To Skaville" jam with additional parts ("That's Boonoonoonoos") written by Farian & Rainer M. Ehrhardt. The track featured crazy rap parts by Bobby, thus making his debut on record. A spoken part by Maizie (also making her debut in the studio) "Ska ska ska Jamaica ska" which was used in the film they taped on Jamaica was not used in the final mix - it was a missed opportunity to actually have a track featuring all four members of Boney M. The last part of the medley was "I Shall Sing" with a barrel organ part before Liz sings the first verse to drum & claps only. The full-length 12:18 mix of the medley would only be available on the French limited edition double album set, an 11:14 mix was issued on the German 12" single and 2LP, and on some album pressings, whereas others featured a 10:35 mix which is also the one issued on the CD release. The next song "Silly Confusion" also took the sound of Boney M. into completely new territories. The 7-minutes, Giorgio Moroder-style opus was a dreamy, nearly psychedelic track. Frank Farian and Liz Mitchell took shares in the verses whereas Marcia did the vocals on the chorus. The vocals for this song had been recorded in Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Studio in Jamaica. The song suddenly breaks down into an experimental synthesizer part on which La Mama did the vocals, including an operatic finale! A very rare German LP-pressing features a somewhat different mix of the second part. The next track was also a musical tour-de-force, a cover version of Mike Batt's "Ride To Agadir", which was also one of the songs for which a dreamy video sequence was taped on Jamaica. It opens with an acapella part by Farian, soon joined in by Marcia & Liz in beautiful harmony before the music starts with a Pink Floyd-inspired, guitar-loaded beat with a grandiose orchestration by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (who also played on Mike Batt's original 1979 version). After this bombastic song, "Jimmy" opens with a simple guitar line with a sax theme. A nice little track, composed by Farian and guitar player Johan Daansen, sung by Liz who also co-wrote the lyrics with Brad Howell, the secret lead singer of Milli Vanilli some years later on. A more up-tempo version of "Jimmy" would be recorded in spring 1982, intended to be the third single off Boonoonoonoos but it was eventually not released before May 1984 when it was included on the 10.000 Lightyears album. Side 1 closes with the reggae title "African Moon", a track recorded in Nice in the summer of 1980, and also one of the 'dream' sequences taped on Jamaica with Boney M. sailing on rafts on a river. The LP mix was a 3-min. edit, the full-length 4:12 mix was only released on the Limited Edition 2LPs. The song was remixed for the B-side of the "Jambo" single 1983, and a fantastic 6:39 version with a long instrumental part was released on the accompanying 12" single. Side 2 opens with "We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World)", followed by one of the 1980 recordings "Homeland Africa (Ship Ahoy)", a yearning track with a haunting, melancholic melody line with distant ghostly vocals by Liz, Marcia and Farian. It was also one of the dream sequences of the TV-special. The song was followed by the edited versions of the "Malaika" / "Consuela Biaz" single - (the very first album pressings featured a reverse running order: "Homeland Africa", "Consuela Biaz", "Malaika"), followed by "Breakaway", a lazy slow funk track with a lengthy jazzy sax solo, originally one of the tracks written by Kelvin James for Marcia Barrett's aborted solo project. Although it still featured Marcia's backing vocals, Farian had re-recorded the lead vocal by himself. The next song is a pleasant but forgettable version of "Sad Movies" with Liz Mitchell on lead vocals. More remarkable is the immensely sad closing track "Goodbye My Friend" with a troubadour-like verse, sung by Liz, about a soldier boy marching off for war, followed by tribal chant chorus. After the second chorus, there's a slow funeral marchdrum part with distant choir vocals (by Farian) before the chorus is finally repeated. Boonoonoonoos remains Boney M.'s very most ambitious album, a fantastic musical Caribbean-African fantasy ...There are numerous different pressings of the album, and worth seeking out are Limited Edition double-album sets released in Germany, France and the UK ofwhich the French 2LP includes the very longest version.

Boney M – 1979 - Oceans Of Fantasy






Boney M – 1979 - Oceans Of Fantasy

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 200 888-320
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 1979
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
Credits: Arranged By - Chr. Kolonovits* , K. Forsey* , M. Cretu* , St. Klinkhammer*
Artwork By [Art Direction & Design] - M. Vormstein
Artwork By [Illustration] - Jürgen F. Rogner
Bass - G. Unwin* , R. Besser*
Drums - K. Forsey*
Engineer - Fred Schreier , Michael Bestmann , Tammy Grohé
Guitar - M. Björklund* , N. Woodland*
Keyboards - M. Cretu*
Other [Prod. Assistant] - Rainer M. Ehrhardt
Photography - Didi Zill
Producer - Frank Farian
Saxophone [Alto] - Lisa Gordanier
Saxophone [Baritone] - Lance Burton
Saxophone [Tenor] - Bobby Stern
Trombone - Geoff Stradling
Trumpet - Jim Polivka , Scot Newton
Notes: Gatefold picture sleeve with inner 24" x 24" fold.
Tracks B1-B3 are listed on cover in order: B2, B3, B1

Special thanks to the Original Trinidad Steel And Showband

Recorded and mixed:
Europasound Studios (Friedrichsdorf)
Union Studio, Munich

Tracklisting:

A1 Let It All Be Music (5:33)
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Liz Mitchell , Marcia Barrett , Precious Wilson
Written-By - W.S. van Vugt*

A2 Gotta Go Home (3:45)
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Liz Mitchell , Marcia Barrett
Written-By - Farian* , Jay* , Huth* , Huth*

A3 Bye Bye Bluebird (4:47)
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Frank Farian
Written-By - Farian* , Jay* , Reyam*

A4 Bahama Mama (3:33)
Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Marcia Barrett
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Liz Mitchell
Written-By - Farian* , Jay*

A5 Hold On I'm Coming (4:05)
Backing Vocals - Frank Farian
Lead Vocals [Featuring], Backing Vocals - Precious Wilson
Written-By - Porter* , Hayes*

A6 Two Of Us (3:18)
Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Marcia Barrett
Lead Vocals - Liz Mitchell
Written-By - Lennon* , McCartney*

A7 Ribbons Of Blue (2:01)
Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Marcia Barrett
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Liz Mitchell
Written-By - Forsey*

B1 Oceans Of Fantasy (5:26)
Effects [Special Sound Effects] - Ludwig Rehberg Jr.
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Frank Farian
Saxophone - Benny Gebauer , Dino Solera
Trombone - Georg Delagaye*
Trumpet - Etienne Cap , Karl Bartelmes , Walter Raab*
Written-By - Zill* , Kawohl* , Jay*

B2 El Lute (5:09)
Backing Vocals - Marcia Barrett
Lead Vocals - Frank Farian
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Liz Mitchell
Panpipes - Dino Solera
Written-By - Farian* , Jay* , Blum*

B3 No More Chain Gang (5:51)
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Liz Mitchell , Marcia Barrett
Written-By - Farian* , Jay* , Ehrhardt*

B4 I’m Born Again (4:08)
Backing Vocals - Frank Farian
Lead Vocals - Liz Mitchell
Written By - Rulof
Written-By - Jay*

B5 No Time To Lose (3:26)
Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Liz Mitchell
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - Marcia Barrett
Written-By - Farian* , Jay* , Klinkhammer*

B6 Calendar Song (January, February, March...) (2:47)
Backing Vocals - Frank Farian , Marcia Barrett
Lead Vocals - Liz Mitchell
Written-By - Farian*

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

After the enormeous success of Boney M.'s third album 'Nightflight To Venus' that spent 65 weeks on the UK charts, expectations were sky high to Boney M.'s fourth LP, and the release would also be postponed several times until finally seeing the light of day in September 1979. The album opens with 'Let It All Be Music', a disco-rock stomper with solo parts by Farian, Boney M. singers Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett, and Special Guest Star, Precious Wilson, who also delivered goosebumping finale, crying out on top of her lungs. Precious Wilson had just left Eruption for a solo career, and Farian thought that a showcase on a Boney M. LP provided the perfect showcase. 'Gotta Go Home' which was the flagship single with 'El Lute' as a double A-side, another frenetic disco track with oil drums as a hint to Boney M.'s Caribbean roots. Although both songs became hits, it was the first single in the UK (save 'Baby Do You Wanna Bump') that failed to reach the Top 10, peaking on #12. Mastermind Frank Farian had had severe problems with dancer Bobby Farrell who wanted to sing for real on the albums, and he would show off on this L.P. that the vocals of Boney M. were only done by himself, Liz Mitchell, and Marcia Barrett (the original L.P. even features track-by-track vocal credits), thus he even would duet with himself on 'Bye Bye Bluebird', a tight, funky disco track with flute and sax solos, singing with his falsetto harmonies versus his deep male voice. 'Bahama Mama' is a catchy, yet somewhat average disco track about Bahama Mama who has six daughters whom she can't get married, it was released as the second single back-to-back with 'I'm Born Again' and also released in an extended version on the 12" single. Next is Precious Wilson's first solo single, an excellent funky cover of 'Hold On I'm Coming' with Farian on the backing vocals. Farian was hoping that the inclusion on the album would support the single but it did disappointingly. 'Two Of Us' is a surprising reggae-ish version of one of the lesser known songs in The Beatles' catalogue before side 1 closes with one of Boney M.'s most romantic songs, the country-flavoured 'Ribbons Of Blue', penned by their drummer Keith Forsey. It had been issued earlier that year as the B-side of the non-album single 'Hooray Hooray It's A Holi-Holiday', but due to space limitations on the album, it is only a 2-min. edit version, sadly BMG missed to include the full 4-min. version on the CD.Whereas side 1 of the album is much dominated by a disco beat, side 2 is more diverse, opening with the magnificent title track, a funky, almost Earth Wind & Fire-esque opus. But there is a touch of bitterness asFrank Farian sings once more (like in Bye, Bye Bluebird) all the vocals himself! The ladies could have brought in these two songs for sure more a more drarmatic, vivid appeal into it. After the title track follows 'El Lute' (the first single), a beautiful mid-tempo song, somewhat reminiscent of ABBA's 'Fernando'. Strangely, this song was left off the album in favour of 'Hooray! Hooray!' on the South-American albums. The mood shifts on 'No More Chain Gang' with its heavy, monotonous drum beat and fat guitar riffs, after which the accordion intro of the next song 'I'm Born Again' is effectively surprising. This soft song with Liz Mitchell on the lead vocal was released in the fall of 1979 as the second single and was apparently thought as the ideal single for the Holiday season but in the UK, it reached only a disappointing #35. Marcia Barrett sings vibrantly the funky 'No Time To Lose' about her man being free again and coming home to her before the album closes with a Calypso flavoured version of a South African traditional, 'The Calendar Song', a song which is still popular today. Although 'Oceans Of Fantasy' isn't quite as magical as the previous 'Nightflight To Venus'-LP, it is still a bonafide album with an outstanding production and sound. It's a shame, though, that BMG hasn't made an effort to reproduce the stunning LP poster cover in the CD booklet. The album was also released on Picture Disc in Germany - fans should furthermore be aware that there exists three different Hansa pressings, the first one containing somewhat longer versions of nearly all the tracks.

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.

Boney M - 1977 - Love For Sale





Boney M - 1977 - Love For Sale

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 28 888 OT
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Germany
Released: 1977
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
Credits: Producer - Frank Farian
Notes: GEMA
LC 0835

Tracklisting:

A1 Ma Baker (4:10) Written By - Farian / Reyam / F. Jay
A2 Love For Sale (5:10) Written By - C. Porter
A3 Belfast (3:40) Written By - D. Deutscher / J. Ménke / J. Billsbury
A4 Have You Ever Seen The Rain (3:35) Written By - J. C. Fogerty
A5 Gloria, Can You Waddle (4:00) Written By - F. Farian / Reyam
B1 Plantation Boy (4:58) Written By - T. king / F. Jay
B2 Motherless Child (5:00) Written By - F. Farian / Mitchell
B3 Silent Lover (4:30) Written By - K. Forsey / F. Farian / F. Jay / Bjorklund
B4 A Woman Can Change A Man (3:34) Written By - F. Farian / F. Jay
B5 Still I'm Sad (3:42) Written By - S. Smith / McCarthy

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Opening with a snarling 'Freeze, I'm Ma Baker, put your hands in the air and gimme all your money', the album takes off with the story of gangster Ma Barker, whose name has had the 'R' erased for phonetic reasons, a rousing bass line along with the same gimmick percussion that was used in 'Daddy Cool' (the producer Frank Farian playing on his teeth with a pen and 'tick-tocking' orally), and a pounding, military disco beat, with hard-edged vocals by Marcia Barrett and Liz Mitchell answering back to the deep male voice (sung by Farian). The single topped the charts all over Europe, in the UK it was hold back from the top spot only by Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love'! Following 'Ma Baker' is the album title track, a sophisticated disco re-make of Cole Porter's classic, brilliantly and intriguingly arranged by Stefan Klinkhammer, who seems to grew over himself by re-arranging Jazz standarts. The song was also intended as the second single off the album; it was, however, decided to release 'Belfast' instead which was the first Boney M. single to feature lead vocals by Marcia Barrett. Farian at first wasn't too sure that this song suited a Boney M. album as the song thematising the Civil War in Northern Ireland, so the song had first been released in German by his other act Gilla. It was however a song that had been originally written for Marcia when she was a solo artist in the early 70s, so Farian added her version to the album in the last minute (There are test pressings of the album without it!) It became another Top 10-hit across Europe, including in the UK where it caused some controversy because of the lyrics. Liz Mitchell leads the next song, a cover version of Cleerance Clearwater Revival's 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain', with a charming Jamaican flavor to her vocals. Frank Farian takes the lead on the closing track of side 1, the disco stomping 'Gloria Can You Waddle' with backing vocals by Black Beauty Circus, the band who'd accompany Boney M. on their subsequent tour. Side 2 opens with a lovely mid-tempo-with-a-reggae-feel track 'Plantation Boy', then leading on to another surprising cover version, this time the gospel standard 'Motherless Child' turned into a 4/4 stomping disco hymn, and another highlight of the album with its complex musical arrangement, the unique sound of Liz Mitchell's lead vocal, and the chanting chorus. 'Silent Lover' is a wonderful, much underrated, funky gem with excellent, sexy and jazzy vocals by Marcia Barrett who sighs and pleads for her silent, secret lover to be there when she wants him ... Farian re-wrote his own 'Laß mir Zeit, dich zu lieben' into A Woman Can Change A Man', returning to the disco beat before a surprisingly eery, melancholic 'Still I'm Sad' featuring one of the most mesmerizing vocal performances by Liz Mitchell, closes the album.

Boney M - 1976 - Take The Heat Off Me


Boney M - 1976 - Take The Heat Off Me

Label: Hansa
Catalog#: 27 573 OT
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 1976
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
Credits: Arranged By, Conductor - Stefan Klinkhammer
Producer - Frank Farian

Tracklisting:

A1 Daddy Cool (3:26) Written By - Farian / Reyam
A2 Take The Heat Off Me (4:46) Written By - Bigazzi
A3 Sunny (4:00) Written By - Hebb
A4 Baby Do You Wanna Bump (6:53) Written By - Zambi
B1 No Woman No Cry (4:59) Written By - Marley
B2 Fever (4:00) Written By - Davenport / Cooley
B3 Got A Man On My Mind (3:25) Written By - Farian / Jay
B4 Lovin' Or Leavin' (4:29) Written By - Farian / Jay

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

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Review by Søren Jensen http://rateyourmusic.com

Boney M.'s 1976 debut LP is a very well-crafted album. It opens with the sensational "Daddy Cool" which was the first 'real' Boney M. single, full of gimmicks, opening with Farian playing his teeth with a pen, as well as 'tick-tocking' orally. Producer Frank Farian's deep-voiced male part is answered back with fresh female vocals by Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett, and the driving beat, the simple and memorable lyrics and the catchy chorus proved the perfect combination for a hit! The second single off the album was a beautiful up-tempo cover version of "Sunny" in the typical Boney M sound with the two voices of Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett perfectly blending together and Liz Mitchell singing in a charming way the solo partitures of the song. Marcia Barrett takes her share of the lead vocals on two tracks that were in fact remixes of two songs that Farian had recorded the previous year in German with Gilla. Marcia, however, oozes with cool elegance on "Take the Heat off Me", whereas she really blasts off the roof on the closing track "Lovin' Or Leavin'", which is a storm of a song, a real funky powerhouse. An over-long version of the 1975 debut single "Baby Do You Wanna Bump? (Part I & II)" (with choir vocal overdubs by Liz & Marcia) closes side 1 but falls below the standard of the remaining titles. Farian had to remove this track off the albums distributed by Warner Bros. (the UK, the USA/Canada, Japan) since the single had been released by different labels, Creole Records in the UK and MAI Records in the US. Instead he included "Help Help", an extended remix of Gilla's hit single of the same name, including only Farian's falsetto and deep vocals. A re-make of one of Farian's own songs "Am Samstagabend" was turned into the incredibly charming reggae title "Got a Man on My Mind", lovingly sung by Liz Mitchell, who also takes the lead vocal on the two remaining cover versions: the sultry "Fever" and Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" which remains one of the most popular Boney M. tunes to this day.

Boney M - English




Boney M
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boney M. was a pop and disco group, comprised of four West Indian singers and dancers and masterminded by West German record producer Frank Farian, and who were successful during the 1970s. They sold nearly 150 million albums worldwide.

Boney M., with their bubble-gum infectious tunes, became one of the few Western groups at that time to become well-known outside of the West, including Africa, Arab countries, Iran, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the USSR. To this day, along with Swedish pop group ABBA, they are among the most widely known 1970s Western music acts in these regions.

History

Frank Farian recorded the single "Baby Do You Wanna Bump?" in 1975, performing the sparse vocals of the song himself. Released under the name Boney M., it became a hit in the Netherlands and Belgium. It was then that Farian decided to hire a team of dancers and vocalists to 'front' the group, so it was created thereafter, and made up of four West Indian artists working in London, Germany and the Netherlands: singers Marcia Barrett and Liz Mitchell, model Maizie Williams, and DJ Bobby Farrell.

The line-up of the group went through numerous changes, Maizie Williams being the only original member that remained. Not satisfied with merely miming to Farian's songs, one of the members, Claudja Barry, left on short notice in February 1976 – days before the group was scheduled to appear on a local television gig in Saarbrücken. Liz Mitchell, then an unemployed singer and formerly a member of the Les Humphries Singers, was brought in as a temporary replacement for the gig, under the recommendation of Marcia Barrett. Farian was impressed with her performance, and she went on to record Boney M.'s first LP, Take The Heat Off Me, along with Marcia Barrett, who had already recorded some songs with Farian for the album; these were the title track, and "Lovin' Or Leavin'".

The commercial response to the album was lukewarm. However, the group rigorously toured discos, clubs and even country fairs, to earn a reputation for themselves. The group's big break came when, at the end of that summer, music-TV-producer Michael 'Mike' Leckebusch of Radio Bremen, requested the group for his show Musikladen. Boney M. appeared on the live music show on September 18, 1976, after 10pm, in their now trademark daring costumes; by the end of the following week, "Daddy Cool" became Germany's #1 single in the charts. The album was to follow the success of the single.

In 1977, Boney M. released their second album Love for Sale, and this contained further hits "Ma Baker" and "Belfast". Neither Love for Sale nor Take The Heat Off Me did very well in the UK Album chart, due to their rather risqué covers. In 1978, Boney M. had their biggest year: they released a new single, "Rivers of Babylon", which became a massive-selling single all over Europe and #1 in the UK Singles Chart. It also became their most successful single in the United States of their five singles to make the Billboard Hot 100. "Rivers of Babylon" peaked at number 30 on the U.S. pop singles chart. Next came their biggest-selling album, Nightflight to Venus, which spawned a further single "Rasputin". Continuing with their success, they released "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord", which was the 1978 Christmas number one single in the UK. Also during 1978, Boney M. toured the Soviet Union.

The year 1979 saw Boney M. release their fourth album, Oceans Of Fantasy, containing two hit singles – "El Lute"/"Gotta Go Home" and "I'm Born Again"/"Bahama Mama". The track "No More Chain Gang", one of a number of black freedom songs the group recorded, exemplified Boney M.'s mix of white and black music – the producer Farian is white, and the singers are black. They also released another hit single, "Hooray! Hooray! It's A Holi-Holiday". In 1980, Boney M. released a greatest hits album, The Magic Of Boney M., which also contained two new songs, "My Friend Jack" and "I See A Boat On The River". This album made the #1 spot in the UK, and was their last big UK-seller until "Boney M. Megamix" in 1992. American-born singer Madeleine Davis, who was one of the group's recording backing vocalists, replaced Liz Mitchell for live concerts, because Liz wished to promote her solo career, rather than join Maizie, Marcia and Bobby on stage. She appeared in the video, "The Summer Mega Mix" and became a member of Marcia / Maizie and Bobby's Boney M. for the single release "Everybody Wants To Dance Like Josephine Baker".

Despite his success with Boney M., controversy followed the group's founder, Frank Farian, in what was to foreshadow his fakery involvement with Milli Vanilli. Bobby Farrell – the male face of the group – and Maizie Williams contributed to studio recordings, but, for reasons only known to Farian, were apparently left off the final mixes, while their numerous and highly competent live performances from 1977 onwards were never in any doubt. Almost all of the male vocals, along with some of the choir sections in songs such as "Dancing In The Streets" and "Bye Bye Bluebird", were performed by Farian himself. Farrell, as Farian had finally admitted on German television in 2003, had been chosen for his personality and innovative dancing. However, in Germany, it was considered acceptable that 'producer music' just works this way.

As of 2006, Liz Mitchell is currently touring the world with her line-up of Boney M., which is the only official line-up supported by Farian (the court ruling of 1990 stated that all four members are entitled to perform their own Boney M. shows), as well as releasing solo albums. Marcia Barrett has released two solo albums, and Maizie and Bobby are touring with their own Boney M. groups which is not what Farian wants as he only allowed Liz Mitchell to use the name Boney M. Bobby Farrell recorded his own Boney M. tribute album in 2005, and Maizie Williams released her first solo album Christmas 2006. Maizie Williams releases her version of "Sunny" as a single February 2007, while Madeleine Davis is currently working on a solo jazz CD to be released in 2007.

A musical based on the music of Boney M., Daddy Cool, is now open in London, with a second show opening in Berlin in April 2007.

In October 2006, pop singer Peter Wilson, who during the mid-90's scored a couple of Top 40 hits in his native Australia, recorded a brand new song, co-written by Frank Farian, which is to be included on his forthcoming album, "Follow Me" – due for release in mid-2007. The song entitled "Doin' Fine" is described as paying tribute to the 'sound' of Boney M. and features the infamous string arrangement from their number 1 hit, "Daddy Cool".

In a sign of their continued popularity in South Asia, a concert by Boney M. (featuring Marcia Barrett) was a featured attraction at the 37th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which took place on 23 November 2006 in Panaji, the state capital of Goa, India. The group is also popular in the Vietnamese Diaspora, and was recently featured in Thuy Nga music productions.

In the UK, a new album of their greatest hits, entitled "The Magic Of Boney M." was released via BMG on 27 November 2006. Special additions to this release were a Mousse T remix of "Sunny" and a brand new song from 2006, featuring Liz Mitchell, entitled "A Moment Of Love".

On 3 April 2007, Boney M.'s first four albums were re-released to compact disc for the very first time in the US music market since their original releases.

Bobby Farrel's Boney M. will be doing a big concert in Ra'anana, Israel in May 2007. Boney M. featuring Liz Mitchell will be doing a big concert tour in Germany in November 2007, playing live with band.

Line-Ups
The Official Line-Up:


Liz Mitchell, Lead and backing vocals (frontwoman of the group) (1976–)
Marcia Barrett, Lead and backing vocals (1976–)
Maizie Williams, Dancer, vocals (1975–)
Bobby Farrell, Dancer, rap, vocals (1976–82, 1984–)
Reggie Tsiboe, Lead and backing vocals (1982–86, 1989-90)
Other members before and after the classic period of the group:

Claudja Barry, Backing vocals (1975)
Sheila Bonnick, Backing vocals (1975 and 1994-2003 as a member of Maizie Williams' line-up)
Madeleine Davis, Backing vocals (1982–86 and 1989-90)
Patricia 'Lorna' Foster, Backing vocals (1992- as a member of Liz Mitchell's official line-up)
Carol Grey, Backing vocals (1992- as a member of Liz Mitchell's official line-up)
Tony 'Tony Tony' Ashcroft, Dancer, rap (1994- as a member of Liz Mitchell's official line-up)

All Albums

Take The Heat Off Me (1976)
Love for Sale (1977)
Nightflight to Venus (1978)
Oceans Of Fantasy (1979)
The Magic Of Boney M. (1980)
Boonoonoonoos (1981)
Christmas Album (1981)
Ten Thousand Lightyears (1984)
Fantastic (1984)
Kalimba De Luna (1984)
Eye Dance (1985) — Boney M. featuring Bobby Farrell
The Best Of 10 Years (1986)
The 20 Greatest Christmas Songs (1986)
Greatest Hits Of All Times - Remix (1988)
Greatest Hits Of All Time - Remix Vol 2 (1989)
Gold - 20 Super Hits (1992)
The Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Of The World (1992)
More Gold (1993) — incl. 4 brand new songs
20th Century Hits (1999) — released with "Boney M. 2000" as group name
Their Most Beautiful Ballads (2000)
25 Jaar Na Daddy Cool (2000)
Greatest Hits (2001)
The Magic Of Boney M., (2006) — incl. a new track "A Moment Of Love", and a remix of "Sunny" by Mousse T. This album is not the same as the 1980 release with the same name.

Boney M - Russian




Boney M
Материал из Википедии — свободной энциклопедии

Годы 1975-1994
Страна Германия
Жанр диско
Лейбл HANSA Record

Состав

Лиз Митчелл
Марси Барретт
Мэйзи Вильямс
Бобби Фаррел

Boney M — легендарная диско-группа, созданная в 1975 музыкальным продюсером из ФРГ Франком Фарианом.

Boney M были в числе официально «разрешённых» в СССР зарубежных исполнителей. До сих пор это одна из самых издаваемых поп-групп в мире. На сегодняшний день выпущено более 200 миллионов звуконосителей с записями этого коллектива (без учёта продаж пиратских копий). Группа вошла в Книгу рекордов Гиннеса, как реализовавшая наибольшее количество синглов в Великобритании (3 сингла группы до сих пор находятся в первой десятке самых продаваемых за всю историю публикации официальных отчётов продаж в этой стране). Западные музыкальные критики часто называли Boney M "чёрной ABBA", так как лишь эта шведская группа могла состязаться в популярности с ними в конце 70-х-начале 80-х годов 20-го века. Хиты Boney M живут до сих пор и постоянно "реинкарнируются" в многочисленных сборниках и ремикс-версиях модных ди-джеев. 21 сентября 2006 года в Лондоне состоялась мировая премьера супер-мюзикла DADDY COOL с бюджетом в 5 миллионов евро, основанного на песнях Boney M. Подобно ABBA-мюзиклу MAMMA MIA! его прокат планируется по всему миру. Не исключено, что это красочное и динамичное шоу будет показано и в России. Некоторые композиции группы, например Sunny (1976), выпускались в СССР (позже в России успешно продавались уже все альбомы и компиляции) на пластинках фирмой «Мелодия», транслировались по радио, а некоторые клипы демонстрировались по телевидению в передаче «Мелодии и ритмы зарубежной эстрады».

http://boneym-info.narod.ru/

Всё началось в конце 1974 года, когда Фрэнк Фариан записал диско-трэк "Baby Do You Wanna Bump?" под псевдонимом Zambie. Эту песню Фариан записал самостоятельно, использовав возможности своего голоса.

В 1975 году западногерманская Hansa Record выпустила сингл "Baby Do You Wanna Bump", где в графе "исполнитель" было указано название BONEY M. Идея названия группы родилась в голове певца и продюсера после просмотра австралийского телесериала, где главным героем был сыщик по имени Boney.

"Бамп" становится довольно знаменитым шлягером в ФРГ, а также в Голландии и Бельгии. Продажи сингла достигают 500 экземпляров в неделю. Вскоре стали поступать заявки на телевизионные и концертные выступления. Однако диско-музыка исполнялась в те годы исключительно чёрными музыкантами, поэтому белый европеец Фариан решил не выходить на сцену. С помощью артистического агента Кати Вольф (Katja Wolf) он сформировал группу, в которую вошли модель и танцовщица Мейзи Уильямс (Maizie Williams, 25.03.1951), певицы Шейла Бонник (Sheila Bonnick), Клаудия Бэрри (Claudja Barry) и танцовщик Майк (Mike). Группа была представлена прессе и стала появляться в телевизионных программах, а также выступать в клубах под студийную фонограмму.

К концу 1975 года Фариан решает заняться проектом всерьез и подписывает новые контракты с Мейзи Уильямс (Maizie Williams), Марсией Барретт (Marcia Barrett, 14.10.1945), певицей уже имеющей в своём активе сольный сингл, Клаудией Бэрри (Claudja Barry) и диск-жокеем и танцовщиком Робертом (Бобби) Фареллом (Bobby Farrell, 6.10.1945). Однако Клаудиа Бэрри не верила в будущее проекта и вскоре покинула Boney M. В дальнейшем эта ямайская певица успешно выступала как сольная исполнительница.
Для срочной замены Бэрри на три выступления во Franks Сlub в Саарбрюкене по рекомендации Марсии Барретт и Кати Вульф была приглашена Лиз Митчелл (Liz Mitchell, 12.7.1952), которая уже принимала участие в постановках мюзикла "Волосы" (Hair) в Берлине и Гамбурге, а также пела в известном ансамбле Les Humphries Singers (1970-73).
Фариан увидел Лиз Митчелл только во время 3-го выступления и назначил ей встречу в студии. На следующий день Лиз записала демо-версии "Fever", "Sunny" и "Got A Man On My Mind". Hansa предложила Лиз Митчелл контракт на год с возможностью продления ещё на два года. Изначально Фариан хотел чтобы все участники группы пели на альбоме. Для Бобби Фаррелла он запланировал "No Woman No Cry". Запись производили в очень дорогой Union Studios, где работали такие звёзды как Donna Summer, однако полученный результат никому не понравился и песню решили отдать Лиз Митчелл.

Правда к тому времени Марсия уже записала демо-версии некоторых песен Boney M., но запись "No Woman No Cry" изменила планы Фариана. Прослушав ленту, он перераспределил песни между Марсией Баррет и Лиз Митчелл. Стоит ли говорить, что это не привело к укреплению дружбы между Лиз и Марсией. Во время первых "чистовых" записей в декабре 1975 года стало ясно, что наилучший результат достигается, когда в студии работают Лиз, Марсия и Фрэнк Фариан, которые поют все ведущие и вспомогательные партии. В 1978 году руководство Hansa предложило Фариану заменить Лиз Митчелл на Прешес Уилсон (Precious Wilson), так как её голос больше подходил для американского рынка, однако от этой идеи отказались - голос Лиз Митчелл уже воспринимался слушателями как голос Boney M. Группу ждал феноменальный успех. В 1976-м Boney M. впервые исполнили в телешоу "Musikladen" композицию "Daddy Cool", после чего продажи этого сингла (07/1976) достигли 100000 экземпляров в неделю. Уже через месяц он возглавил немецкие чарты (в Англии сингл сенсационно попал в первую десятку). "Daddy Cool" получил золотой статус в девяти европейских странах, а первый альбом Boney M. "Take The Heat Off Me" занимал ведущие места в чартах по всей Европе. Затем ремейк песни Бобби Хэбба "Sunny"(12/1976) сделал дубль (1-е место в Германии и 3-е в Великобритании). Весной 1977 года вышел новый сингл "Ma Baker"(05/1977). В основу текста песни легла реальная история гангстерской шайки Мамаши Баркер и её сыновей, найденная командой штатных текстовиков Фариана в книге о преступности в США (Ma Barker изменили на Ma Baker для лучшего звучания). Сингл повторил успех "Sunny", одновременно заняв 1-е место в Германии и 2-е в Великобритании (совсем чуть-чуть не дотянув до вершины британского TOP5). По всему миру было продано 8 миллионов копий! "Ma Baker" стала самым продаваемым диско-трэком всех времён. Второй альбом Boney M. "Love For Sale" вышел летом 1977 года. Кроме "Ma Baker" и "Belfast" (№1 в ФРГ и №8 в Великобритании) он содержит такие знаменитые песни как "Love For Sale", "Plantation Boy", старинный госпел "Motherless Child", отличные кавер-версии хитов Creedence "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" и Yardbirds "Still I''''m Sad", эмоционально исполненных Лиз Митчелл.

Следующий сингл "Belfast"(10/1977), соло для которого записала Марсия Барретт, стал №1 в ФРГ и №8 в Великобритании. Несмотря на то, что сингл попал в британский Top 10, он был запрещён на радиостанциях в Северной Ирландии. Для того чтобы опровергнуть появившиеся в прессе сообщения о том, что Boney M. используют студийную фонограмму, они исполнили "вживую" "Belfast" в очередной программе Musicladen. Группа сделала концертный тур "Love For Sale", с участием большой группы музыкантов и бэк-вокалистов. Несмотря на то, что некоторые критики отзывались о концертах Boney M. скептически, публика принимала выступления группы очень тепло. По итогам 1977 года Boney M. собрали большой урожай наград: Carl Allen Award как наиболее успешная группа в Великобритании, Golden Otto от журнала BRAVO, The Golden Europe, Golden Antenna, Golden Lion и награды звукозаписывающей индустрии в виде многочисленных платиновых, золотых и серебряных дисков....

1978 - ГОД BONEY M. Коллектив закрепил свой звёздный статус выпуском альбома "Nightflight To Venus" с синглом "Rivers Of Babylon"(05/1978). Он стал хитом №1 по всему миру и в течение 4 недель занимал первое место в Австралии, вытеснив ABBA, 5 недель в Великобритании и 16 (!) недель в ФРГ. По итогам года Boney M. стали третьими с "Реками" и 25 с "Распутиным".

Одной из самых ротируемых на британском радио стала песня "Brown Girl In The Ring". Сингл достиг 1-го места в UK Charts и продержался там 40 недель ! Альбом "Nightflight To Venus" сразу стал номером 1 в большинстве стран. В Великобритании он был на первом месте в течение 4-х недель. Успешными были и следующие синглы с альбома: "Painter Man"(9/1978) - №10 в Англии, "Rasputin"(03/1979) - №1 в ФРГ, №2 в Англии. Группа выступила в сопровождении 15 музыкантов на UK''''s TOP OF THE POPS TV show, и была принята Королевой Елизаветой после выступления в Royal Variety Concert.
В конце декабря 1978 года ежедневно продавалось до 175 000 копий рождественского сингла Boney M. "Mary''''s Boy Child (Oh My Lord)". Всего британцы купили 2,2 миллиона экземпляров сингла! Пластинка стала №5 по продажам синглов в Великобритании, почти повторив успех "Rivers Of Babylon"- №2.

LP "Nightflight To Venus" с "космическим" конвертом и необычными названиями песен стал одной из самых продаваемых пластинок в Европе за всю историю. В Великобритании он продержался в чартах 65 недель ! Кроме синглов на альбоме есть и другие блестящие номера: кавер хита Нейла Янга (Neil Young) "Heart Of Gold" и оригинальная "Never Change A Lover In The Middle Of The Night".

9 декабря 1978 года Boney M. начали сенсационные гастроли в СССР. Они 10 раз выходили на сцену московского концертного зала "Россия", а 11-е шоу дали перед телекамерами в Концертной студии Останкинского телецентра. В программу входили все основные хиты группы за исключением "Rasputin". Группа также отсняла киноматериал на Красной площади (невиданное доселе дело!) для видеоклипа "Mary''''s Boy Child" и станцевала перед камерами на фоне Кремля. К гастролям Boney M. фирма "Мелодия" выпустила диск группы тиражом 100000 экземпляров. Для 250-миллионного СССР это была просто смешная цифра. Когда диск появлялся в продаже, в магазинных очередях нередко возникали драки за право обладания вожделенным альбомом. Приезд Boney M. вызвал в Москве ажиотаж. Но билеты на концерты были распределены заранее и в свободную продажу почти не поступали.

Начало 1979 года Boney M. провели в многочисленных гастрольных поездках. Они были первой западной поп-группой, посетившей Иорданию, Сирию и Израиль. В Иордании члены группы отравились рыбными блюдами во время ужина, и король Хусейн прислал своего личного врача чтобы привести артистов в норму. Нечто подобное произошло и в Бангкоке. В Сингапуре концерт был прерван на 10 минут, так как у музыкантов не было разрешения на работу в этой стране. Оформление бумаг заканчивалось во время шоу. Весной 1979 новая версия Boney M традиционной песни "Polly Wolly Doodle," которую когда-то пела кинозвезда Ширли Темпл (Shirley Temple), становится N4 в ФРГ и N3 в Великобритании. В переработке Фариана трэк назван "Hooray! Hooray! It''''s A Holiday"(04/1979).

DISCO-лихорадка достигла своего пика в Европе и немецкие кинопродюсеры задумали снять фильм в стиле диско, что-то вроде американского Saturday Night Fever с Джоном Траволтой (John Travolta). Немецкий киномагнат Hans Jahnisch начал съёмки фильма DISCO FIEBER (Disco Fever), в котором Boney M., подростковая рок группа The Teens, Eruption и La Bionda, играли, танцевали и пели, оживляя тривиальную историю о том как девочка полюбила мальчика, который любит другую девочку, а в местечковой дискотеке в это время выступают знаменитые группы Eruption и Boney M.. Однако, как только стало известно, что в фильме снимаются Boney M., он был приобретён для показа в 80 странах…
Гастрольный тур Boney M. 1979 года завершился в ЮАР. В августе 1979 года выпускается сингл "El Lute / Gotta Go Home". Одно из первых выступлений Boney M. в странах соцлагеря с новой песней состоялось во время конкурса Интервидения в Сопоте, на который группа была приглашена в качестве почётных гостей. Лишь малая часть этого концерта транслировалась ЦТ СССР в записи. "El Lute" - реальная история судьбы молодого человека во франкистской Испании. Сингл был запрещён в нескольких странах.
К ноябрю 1979 года альбом "Oceans Of Fantasy" уже был распространён по всему миру. В оформлении его конверта использованы сюрреалистические "подводные" темы. Диск сразу занял ведущие позиции в мировых чартах. "Фирменный" саунд Boney M. здесь обогащён новыми красками: добавились соул, фанк и элементы рок-музыки. По-новому зазвучали партии клавишных - их аранжировку делал Микаэл Крету (Michael Cretu). Новый альбом был представлен в телешоу Fantastic BONEY M. В декабре выпущен очередной сингл "I''''m Born Again/Bahama Mama" (ФРГ №7).

В записи "Oceans Of Fantasy" приняла участие солистка Eruption Прешес Уилсон (Precious Wilson). Она записала финальное соло для трэка "Let It All Be Music" и песню "Hold On I''''m Coming". Марсия Баррет солировала в "No Time To Lose" и вместе с Лиз Митчелл в "Ribbons Of Blue", "Two Of Us" и "No More Chain Gang". Позже стало известно, что Прешес Уилсон предлагалось занять место Мэйзи Уильямс в Boney M., но она предпочла сольную карьеру. Постоянные попытки руководства Hansa произвести изменения в составе Boney M. не улучшали отношения между членами группы. Марсия Брретт как-то сказала в одном из интервью: "Временами мы просто ненавидели друг друга, однако успех заставлял нас держаться вместе. Фариан - фантастический продюсер. Что бы значили мы, четыре исполнителя, без его материала ? В конечном счёте все зависло от него, как от автора песен, продюсера, руководителя и основателя группы. Мы должны были играть по его правилам". Успех нового альбома Boney M. был обеспечен массированной рекламной кампанией - группа выступила в 50 (!) телевизионных шоу. После 18 месяцев напряжённой работы Фариан решил сделать перерыв, чтобы дать отдохнуть членам группы от концертных выступлений и работы в студии. Весной 1980 года был подготовлен к выпуску первый сборник хитов группы "The Magic Of BONEY M.", который опять продавался миллионными тиражами. На альбоме представлены главные хиты Boney M., а также новые синглы "I See A Boat On The River / My Friend Jack" (ФРГ №5).

В сентябре 1980-го в продаже появляется новый макси-сингл "Children Of Paradise/Gadda Da Vida", а в ноябре "Felicidad (Margerita)/Strange" (ФРГ №6). Оба сингла выпускались без концертной поддержки группы, члены которой занимались своими делами: Лиз проводила время с семьёй, Бобби и Марсия работали над сольными проектами.

Но все четверо подтверждали что они остаются членами Boney M., даже если они будут выпускать сольные синглы.

Альбом "Boonoonoonoos" появился на прилавках музыкальных магазинов в октябре 1981 года. 2 сингла "Malaika" и "We Kill The World" не поднимались выше 12 места в чартах, а сам альбом продавался заметно хуже предыдущих работ группы. Усложнение стиля (Фариан хотел приблизить саунд к концептуальным работам Pink Floyd) привело к падению коммерческого успеха.

К Рождеству был выпущен "Christmas Album" в ФРГ и "Mary''''s Boy Child - The Christmas Album" в Великобритании. Этот альбом стал основой для нескольких рождественских компиляций группы: "The 20 Greatest Christmas Songs Of The World" 1986, "Happy Christmas" 1991 и "The Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Of The World" 1992. В 1982 году пристрастившегося к спиртному Бобби Фаррелла заменил опытный музыкант и вокалист Реджи Цибо (Reggie Tsiboe, р. в 1950 г.) из Ганы. Ранее он выступал в мизиклах "Hair", "Jesus Christ Superstar", а также проявил себя как талантливый продюсер и автор ставших довольно популярными песен. В 1982-83 годах вышло 3 сингла Boney M.: The Carnival Is Over/Going Back West (07/1982), Zion''''s Daughter/White Christmas (11/1982), Jambo (Hakuna Matata)/African Moon (07/1983).

Новая работа Boney M., альбом "10 000 Lightyears" вышел в мае 1984 года. Похоже что Фариан сделал всё возможное для того, чтобы вернуть Boney M. утерянные позиции, но один из луших альбомов группы остался почти незамеченным. Публику на тот момент увлеклал стиль "новая волна"…

Чтобы как-то изменить сложившуюся ситуацию, Фариан записывает танцевальные синглы "Kalimba De Luna" (08/1984) и "Happy Song" (10/1984) (под именем "Boney M with Bobby Farrell and The School Rebels"), а затем выпускает сборник "Kalimba De Luna"(11/1984), представляющий собой компиляцию синглов и песен из альбомов, вышедших в 80-е годы. 2 упомянутых выше кавер-трэка становятся популярными хитами.

В 1985 году началась запись альбома "Eye Dance". Бобби Фаррелл вернулся в группу Также к работе над альбомом были привлечены участники другого проекта Фариана - группы La Mama. Аранжировки всех композиций были сделаны в стиле Hi Energy с достаточно жёстким компьютерным звучанием. Конечный результат очень отдалённо напоминал Boney M. образца 70-х и даже начала 80-х. Вышедший в конце года альбом большого успеха не имел, несмотря на то что включал в себя добротные синглы "My Cherie Amour"(05/1985) и "Young, Free And Single" (09/1985). В последний раз (до официального распада в 1986) Boney M. появился в чартах со сборником "The Best Of 10 Years", который поднялся до 35 места в UK charts. В 1988 году Фариан вновь собирает группу для записи двух частей сборника ремиксов "Greatest Hits Of All Times". К тому времени отношения в группе обострились настолько, что Лиз Митчелл отказалась участвовать в гастрольном туре и приезжала только для записи на телевидении. Одновременно она готовила первый сольный альбом. Это было равнозначно уходу из группы. Митчелл стали обвинять в использовании имени Boney M. для рекламы её сольного проекта. Марсия, Бобби и Мейзи смогли добиться запрета на выступления Лиз Митчелл с сольным синглом в телевизионных шоу, они также попытались получить юридические права на имя "Boney M.". Фариана возмутило происходящее, и он принял сторону Лиз, которая записала около 80% вокала на альбомах и синглах группы.

В начале 1989 года Фариан записал с Лиз, Реджи Цибо и двумя девушками Патти (Patty Onywenju) и Шарон (Sharon Stevens) сингл "Stories" (03/1989), который был выпущен под маркой Boney M. feat. Liz Mitchell. Остальные участники Boney M., вместе с заменившей Митчелл Мэдэлайн Дэвис (Madeline Davis), которая раньше была бэк-вокалисткой Boney M. и участницей группы La Mama, записали и выпустили сингл "Everybody Wants To Dance Like Josephine Baker/Custer Jammin''''" (11.1989). Это была последняя совместная работа участников оригинального состава группы.

Начиная с 1992 года Фрэнк Фариан регулярно выпускает ремиксы песен Boney M. которые пользуются успехом в разных странах. "Boney M Megamix" (1992) достиг №7 в UK charts, в конце 1992 сингл "Christmas Megamix" и альбом "The Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Of The World" были европейскими бестселлерами.

Два сборника "Gold" (1992) и "More Gold"(1993) были хророшо приняты в Германии и Европе. На "More Gold" опубликованы 4 новых песни - "Papa Chico", "Time To Remember", "Da La De La", "Lady Godiva", записанные Лиз Митчелл, и ремикс "Ma Baker - Remix ''''93". После успеха сборников "Gold" BMG переиздала в 1994 году на CD все альбомы Boney M. В 1999 DJ Sash получил разрешение Фрэнка Фариана на ремикс "Ma Baker", который стал прологом к выпуску нового альбома ремиксов "20th Century Hits", выпущенному командой Фариана под маркой Boney M 2000 в ноябре 1999. В 2000 году на BMG Nederland вышел сборник "25 Jaar Na Daddy Cool", в том же году Фариан подготовил сборник Boney M. - "Their Most Beautiful Ballads". В конце 2006 года 30-летие группы сопровождалось выпуском рекомпиляции "The Magic Of Boney M" на CD и DVD (SonyBMG), которая вновь стала международным бестселлером. В том же году в Лондоне стартовал BONEY M - мюзикл Фрэнка Фариана "Daddy Cool". Начиная с 1990 года под названием Boney M. выступают три состава: Лиз Митчелл, которая имеет разрешение от Фрэнка Фариана на использование марки Boney M., а также группы Бобби Фаррелла и Мейзи Уильямс. Марсия Барретт выступает как сольная исполнительница.

Дискография

Take The Heat Off Me (1976)
Love For Sale (1977)
Nightflight To Venus (1978)
Oceans Of Fantasy (1979)
The Magic of Boney M — 20 Golden Hits (1980)
Boonoonoonoos (1981)
Christmas Album (1981)
Ten Thousand Lightyears (1984)
Kalimba De Luna (1984)
10.000 Light Years (1984)
Eye Dance (1985)
The Best of 10 Years — 32 Superhits (1986)
Gold (1993)
More Gold (1993)
20th Century Hits (Boney M 2000) (2000)
The Magic Of Boney M. (2006)