ONE OF THE BIGGEST ATTRACTION OF THE DISCO ERA

In the late seventies, one of the most unlikely groups to top the charts were Boney M. I love Boney M. They were a manufactured group that was formed by Frank Farian who was the brain behind it all. They were also one of the disco oriented pop acts which dominated the European Charts throughout the late seventies and early eighties, with a string of hits still remembered to this day. I saw them performed once in a shopping complex but they were way past their sell by date then.

GOLD : 20 SUPER HITS : Looking at the titles, one couldn't help being excited  anticipating more than an hours of enjoyable music. But hold your horses, 'cos this is one time when quantity definitely loses out to quality. Most of the songs here are edited versions. While not all of them are noticeable to the normal ears, it's quite obvious to me. All their big hits can be found here. 'Their first hit 'Daddy Cool', right through 'Sunny" 'Rasputin', 'Brown Girl In The Ring' 'Rivers Of Babylon' and one of the biggest Christmas hit of all time 'Mary's Boy Child ' Oh My Lord'. There's even a mega mix of 'Rivers Of Babylon / Sunny / Daddy Cool / Ma Baker / Rasputin thrown in for good measure. Strictly for casual fans. DOP : 18th March 1994.

MORE GOLD : 20 SUPER HITS. VOL. 2 :  More of the same. The gems here are ' Bahama Mama', 'I See A Boat On The River' and 'Ribbons Of Blue'. One thing I can never forgive the record companies was the way they've butchered one of my favourite Boney M's song 'I'm Born Again'. This was a beautiful song with gospel overture but they've edited it so brutally that even the key and tune are not in the same beat. My favourite song and I can't even bear to listen to it. There are also a new version of 'Ma Baker ( Remix '93 )' and four new songs. DOP : 2nd April 1994. A gift from Miss Rebecca



THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS SONGS IN THE WORLD : This time the title says just exactly what it mean. This really is the most beautiful Christmas songs of all. Beautifully arranged and sung by the current top group of them all, 'Oh Christmas Tree', 'Joy To The World', ' When A Child Is Born' and their smash hit 'Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord'. This is however a slightly altered version from the record version which I have. Their version of 'Feliz Navidad'  here is inferior than the version on the record. Somehow it lacked the bite that's on the record, which sounded more urgent with a pounding beat. Still, this is an enjoyable CD and  a more beautiful Christmas CD you'll be hard pressed to find. DOP : 23rd January 1999.

RIVERS OF BABYLON : PRESENTING...BONEY M : I bought this for the original and unedited version of the songs. Almost all the hits are here. 'Rivers Of Babylon', 'Ma Baker', 'Daddy Cool' and 'Belfast'. The cream of the crop is a more than 7 minutes version of 'Rasputin ( 12" Version )' and a near 9 minutes version of 'Gadda-Da-Vida ( 12" version )'. This is the way disco music should be heard, unedited. DOP : 22nd June 2008.






ULTIMATE BONEY M : LONG VERSIONS & RARITIES : Yet another Boney M CD. This one contains all the extended versions of their hits including 'Help! Help!' by Gilla which I've always suspected to be Boney M in disguise 'cos it sounds suspiciously like them. Most of the songs here are in the other CDs that I've have but in the longer versions. The extended version of 'Help! Help!' however does not improved on the shorter original. Matter of fact, the original is much better. The rest of the tracks 'Rivers Of Babylon', Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord', 'Gotta Go Home', 'Bahama Mama' and 'I See A Boat On The River' never sounded so good. Still after having 5 Boney M's CD, I am still missing one classic song. The simply wonderful 'Plantation Boy'. Sign. I don't understand why they left this song out after so many compilation. I am willing to buy a whole CD just for this song. DOP : 11th September 2008.