Customer Reviews

Boney M - The Greatest Hits

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, I was one of those late 1970s adolescents who, upon discovering cool artists like Elvis Costello and Tom Waits, thought himself just way too hep for music that made the rounds in discos. And every now and then, I come across an artist or band that fit that discotech mode, and I learn that I missed out on some great music because my pride got in the way.

Boney M is one of those groups. After hearing "Rasputin" blaring on somebody else's stereo, I hit the nearest music store and took a chance on this greatest hits CD. After spinning the entire CD, I found that a greatest hits compilation is not enough Boney M for my collection. Boney M explodes style, music and kinetic energy all it's own!

Seriously, this music perked me up from track #1 and did not let up. As this group was a creation by a man named Frank Farian,I have read several groups comparing Boney M to Milli Vanilli. NOT EVEN CLOSE! There is no guise of down-to-earthiness here, this music just makes you want to move. When I find photos of Boney M on the web, when I listen to their music, I drink in a creation meant to be loud, over-the-top, bright and as kitschy as neon! The singers' voices are passionate, and even the lyrics voicing concern (Belfast) are empowering. This is pure unapologetic dance music!

Boney M, and Boney M specifically, makes me confess what I have resisted confessing for over twenty years: I want to dance to "Rasputin" and "Daddy Cool" in the loudest and gaudiest disco I can find!

Best wake-up song: Daddy Cool... Best Workout Song: Rasputin... Best "In the Present Moment" Song: Sunny

This is a great album and should have been given a 5 star grading. However, the only flaw, and the greatest unforgivable flaw to me, is that 'Rasputin' faded out long before it really should have ended. (in other words, you will not hear the sarcastic moaning of "OH, those Russians" at the end of the song)I just could'nt figure out why this song, which is probably the best of the best of boney m's masterpieces, received such cruel treatment and nobody cares to point it out. Maybe many will think the version now existed on this album is long enough and the deleted part is just repetition. Well, God bless these so-called boney m 'fans'...

Years later, Frank Farian is still cashing in on Boney M collections. This is not the best one. "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" is a Disco classic, and is absolutely necessary in any Boney M collection.

Do yourself a favor and check out the other collection instead.

Regarding the music...what could I possibly say that hasn't already been said by others? The 1970's would not have been the same without this band. I'm delighted that this music continues to endure and that it remains as influential as it is.

This is what Milli Vanilli could have become, Mr. Farian.

wow. This CD is great. I've never really been a fan of "disco-ish" music since I am a child of the 80's, but this is just some really good music. I'm not going to go into major description about each song, but I have to say "Rasputin" is one of my favorites. :D Buy this CD, Boney M is awesome.

This collection contains the pop-disco group Boney M's greatest hits from their heyday in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The styles include hardcore disco (Daddy Cool, Sunny) and bouncy reggae like Rivers of Babylon (a remake of a Melodians hit) and Brown Girl In The Ring. As a 2-sided seven single, this was one of the biggest hits in the UK in 1978 and stayed on the charts for ages. More buoyant reggae can be found on Hooray Hooray, No Woman No Cry and their lovely Christmas song Mary's Boy Child. There's also pure pop like Rasputin, Painter Man and El Lute. Besides the aforementioned songs, other great numbers include of course the brilliant Ma Baker (which tells the story of Chicago gangster Ma Barker) and the deceptively airy Belfast which commented upon the troubles in Ulster. (Disco music wasn't meant to be serious). The Daddy Cool Remix 2001 updates the beat to the new century and the Mega Mix is ideal to get a party going. This is really superb pop music, all the songs have aged well and it's good to hear dance music with personality again. A great collection, well worth the price.

I first heard of a song on this cd while watching a movie, "Into the Void". I had to hunt down the song and found it on this cd. I was reluctant at first to buy the whole cd, but was very pleasently surprised. I love every song the album. I would recomend it to anyone who loves dance music from the 70's.

I don't usually have any time or regard for 1970's Disco Music but this album is an exception.This album contains the single "Rasputin" which STILL make me want to get up and boogie and the track "Nightflight To Venus" is almost hypnotic in it's rythmn.There is even some good rocking guitar work on the single "Painter Man".As an added bonus this band uses a REAL DRUMMER instead of an electronic Drum Machine. This band was and is great!!!

Boney M's first nine hit singles all made the UK top ten with one of them going to number one. Daddy cool entered the UK charts at the end of 1976, so becoming the first of four UK top ten hits in 1977, the others being Sunny (a cover of the Bobby Hebb sixties classic), Ma Baker (about a Chicago gangster) and Belfast (about the people of Northern Ireland). It might be interesting to hear Ma Baker and Belfast stripped down and performed in a simpler setting - this would highlight what the songs are about. As the records are with the rhythmic disco beat, it's hard to take the lyrics seriously.

1978 proved to be even better. They released an album, Night flight to Venus, which was popular all over Europe and which remains distinctive covers one of the finest disco albums ever recorded. It included four tracks that, released as singles, became huge UK hits for them - and the other tracks were also of a high quality. The title track (included here) was not released as a UK single but must surely have been considered for such a release.

The first single off Night flight to Venus was Rivers of Babylon, a cover of a reggae song from the sixties that was originally recorded by the Melodians. It spent five weeks at number one in the UK before beginning a slow decline. Just when it looked as if it was near to dropping out of the charts (over three months after its original release), the record was flipped and its B-side, Brown girl in the ring, was heavily promoted. The record climbed the charts again and eventually re-entered the top five. By the time the record finally dropped out of the UK chart, it had been there for forty weeks.

While the above double-sided single was still in the charts, Boney M released Rasputin, which made number two in the UK, followed by a Christmas single (not taken from the album), which made number one in the UK. An adaptation of the Harry Belafonte classic (Mary's boy child), their version (Mary's boy child - Oh my Lord) completed a very successful year for Boney M.

For their next single, Boney M returned to Night flight to Venus, this time selecting Painter man. It only just made the top ten but, being released more than a year after the album from which it came, I suspect that a lot of people already had the album by then.

One more big hit (Hooray hooray it's a holi-holiday, a top three UK hit) preceded a steady decline as the quality of their songs diminished. Most of them were OK but My friend Jack is, frankly, an embarrassment. Still, you can always skip that track.

Despite My friend Jack, this is a brilliant compilation of an excellent Euro-disco group.

I spent a lot of time in Europe in the late 70's. I saw Boney M once and I was impressed they were real good. I am a metal-head by choice, but I think for the time it was "Cool". My girlfriend almost spazzed she liked them so much. We are still married and this is one of the only bands we can agree on!

If you are not familiar with Boney M, this is your time. I spent almost 3 years looking for this cd. It has Rivers of Babilon, Belfast... Well you must lisent to it, once you do it, you will have a copy it in your car, next to your bed and in your head all day.