Record Mirror, 15th July 1978:  "Boney M. Get The Vote"

Boney M. : "Night Flight To Venus" (Atlantic K. 50498)

WELCOME shareholders to this, the third and biggest annual convention of the Boney M. corporation.

The curtains roll back to reveal a glittering black cabinet bathed in dazzling laser light.

Computerised percussion begins to blast forth from hidden speakers, the hypnotic noise soon augmented by ethereal voices that float around the room. Dissenters, if indeed there were any, are soon converted, the rapt audiences responding to the aural assault by clapping and tapping and shaking their heads. The strains of the song can be clearly heard at a distance ....

"Your music floods the homeland. Boney M! Boney M!. Your fame has spread abroad. Boney M! Boney M!. You're Europe's greatest show band Boney M! Boney M!. Mightier than the sword!"

As the roars and thunderous applause greet the last rousing chorus the product itself appears. "Night Flight To Venus", a gatefold album featuring the photogenic leaders of the corporation: Bobby, Marcia, Maizie and Liz.

Credit, too, is rightly accorded other members of the multinational conglomerate, such as producer Frank Farian, a quartet of engineers and the essential endeavours of The Rhythm Machine.

It can be clearly seen, the shareholders note with satisfaction, that Boney M's million - selling hit -"Rivers Of Babylon" - is included in the new package with a different mix, as is the appealingly trilling "Brown Girl In The Ring" (the B-side of the hit).

Also that they have recorded splendid versions of "King Of The Road" and "Heart Of Gold" in that special way that never fails to get Teutonic toes tapping. And that there are several tracks of undisputed German discosoul brilliance, such as phased and futuristic title track and a languorous "Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night".

Yet the masterstroke, the seal of true genius, comes with "Rasputin", a racy, bouncing and totally addictive ode celebrating the Mad Monk's talents as "Russia's greatest love machine".

The shareholders were spellbound, unable to intake of more breath. At last they believed the promise. 1978 was going to be Boney M.'s year! Forward with the corporation!

The gall, the polish, the perfection. Say it any language. Say it Boney M. You know they're the best. The greatest album since "Love For Sale" (And yes. I do really mean it). +++++
 

JOHN SHEARLAW

 

SuperPop, 17th February 1979: Formula For Success From Our Boney M.

Boney M.: ”Painter Man”: Atlantic (Kl 1255)

Boney M. back with a bang. Not a trace of the Boney drone that constituted that last Christmas festive
monster.

Superior sound with a big bouncy beat and a superbly strong chorus. A real Tin Pan Alley tester. After only playing it twice everyone in the office was humming, singing or whistling the refrain.

The formula just can't fall. Watch out for it in the Discos, hear it at parties and over the airwaves. In short, watch out for It everywhere. Other contenders for number one slot, beware. Boney M. at their best are pretty
hard to beat.

 

SuperPop, 11th August 1979: "Hooray It’s Another Hit"

Boney M.:  "Gotta Go Home" (Atlantic)

Back in the world of seven-inchers after a couple of weeks indulging in album reviews, I was pleasantly surprised at the excellent standard of 45 releases this week

Boney M.'s follow-up to ”Hooray! Hooray! It's A Holi Holiday” is no exception. Taken from their new album, ”Oceans Of Fantasy” it's got the lot. Typical BM lead vocals with a predominant tropical base, not unlike the ad for ’Lilt’ on't box.

Stereo production can't be faulted and the pace is the usual ferocious quality. Bound to be a biggie for the Hansa faves. . .

 

Record Mirror – 6th October 1979:

Boney M.: "Oceans of Fantasy" (Atlantic K50610)

PAVLOV WOULD have been proud of the response that Boney M managed to solicit from 'Besenile audiences of Seaside Special'. The fact hat Boney M. have achieved the kind of across-the-ages commercial appeal that really only Abba have mastered before is even more remarkable when you stop and consider the COMPLETE lack of personality involved. It may be an ancient method but how many members of Boney M. can you name?

"Oceans Of Fantasy" is a disgracefully shabby album that, in its obvious lust for worldwide gold, lacks any dignity or grace.

The typically tacky gate-fold sleeve (predominantly blue and awash with enough aquatic references to keep Dennis Wilson happy for life) opens out to reveal a garish poster of the un-fab four that absurdly aspires to show them off in all their regal glory.

When you finally get through the tinsel trappings to actually playing the record, a few unsurprising surprises detonate in your face.

As far as I can see producer Frank Farian (who affords the world a smug smile on the inner-sleeve
photo) has been credited with all male vocals. Why then is this other bloke in Boney M.?

"Bahama Mama" and "El Lute" harbour the expected Boney M. assault on the ears and are direct descendants of true horrors like "'Ma Baker" and 'Belfast'. If you listen to "Oceans Of Fantasy" — not really advised — you'll find that insult has been piled upon insult. The "Calendar Song", for instance, is a banal nursery rhyme involving the months of the year. Only Sam and Dave's much covered soul classic "Hold On I'm Coming" survives Boney M.'s horrendous treatment, essentially because it's such a great song

Frank Farian's Boney M. have been responsible for many crimes against music in the past, but
"Oceans Of Fantasy" surpasses them all. For commercial potential and downright cheek.

++ + + + PETER COYNE.

 

SuperPop, 29th September 1979: "Oceans of fun from Boney M."

New Musical Express (NME), 22nd September 1979

"Swimmers In The Seamless Sea (Boney M. fake waves)"

Boney M.: "Oceans Of Fantasy" (Atlantic/Hansa)

VANITY, I fear, finally gets the better of all of us.

Even Frank Farian, as shy and retiring a talented Teut as anyone could want as an assoicate, has succumbed to the need to be recognised for each and everyone of his multifarious contributions to the latest Boney M epic. For the first time, a Boney M album bears track-by-track credits alongside a huge photo of Farian and his musicians and engineers, emblazoned with the legend "The Fifth Member Of Boney M."!

Well now. Judging from the vocal credits, Farian is also the third and fourth member of Boney M., since only Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett actually appear on the records alongside Farian himself (come on, you didn't think the dancing chap with the funny haircut actually sang, did you?) doing the deep vocals and special guest star Precious Wilson weighing in on the lead and backings. It is no kind of surprise that Farian chooses this method of record-making (after all, it's as time-honoured a pop technique as the threatening phone call). What is surprising is that he's chosen to admit it, to scream "It was all me, do you hear me? ME! ME!. The schvartzes are mere puppet to my will! MY WILL!" instead of chuckling quietly and going on day trips to visit his mom. Maybe he resents the fact that the public would rather buy four attractive blacks than one nondescript German. Anyway, let's all give Frank big cheer for being so talented and move on to the record, which follows the formula of heavy-metal riffs played on variety of instruments over disco beats around carolling vocals on a combination of new constructs and oldies.


This time, Farian and his crew revisit Sam and Dave's "Hold On I’m Coming" (Precious Wilson takes a lead vocal or this one that demonstrates that she needs to do little more than exhale gently to blow Barrett and Mitchell clear into the next county) and The Beatles "Two Of Us".

For the rest, there's the Cosmic Mundanity of the title track, (all vocals by Farian), inane tributes to imaginary folk heroes ('El Lute" is about Guevaroid politicobandit and "No More Chain Gang" is a European fantasy about black convicts) and romantic guff for Seaside Special.

Farian's gotten a few good tracks out of the Boney M. operation as well as a few awful ones, and "Oceans Of Fantasy" is more of the same. As seamless as tapioca, "Oceans Of Fantasy" is as harmlessy boring an album as anyone could possibly desire.

Charles Shaar Murray.

 

Record Mirror, April 1980

Boney M.: "20 Golden Hits" (Atlantic BMTV1)

AKA 'The Magic Of Boney M, it's the album with two titles, so you can take your choice. Frankly, the mornings have been a little dull the past few months, without the sound of a Boney M. perfect pop song to push me into automatic pilot and out of the flat.

With nothing new from the nubiles, we are given this flash package – a mammoth 21 track job – of hits that must have made them and Giorgio Moroder so rich it makes me want to spit. However, as I like their songs, I won't.

There's no doubt that "Rivers Of Babylon" et al were classics of their time, even though "Oceans Of Fantasy"' turned out to be such a disappointment. And there were a few pits — "It's A Holi - Holiday" being one of them. Not to quibble though, for your fiver or so you can also get 'Belfast', 'Painter Man'. 'Rasputin' and all the other fab grooves. ++++


ROSALIND RUSSELL

 

New Musical Express, 2nd January 1982.

Boney M.: "Boonoonoonoos" (Atlantic)

When pop machines take a break and are absent from the charts, beaware – because they’re not only changing strategy, but trying to think and to follow other adult pursuits. If ABBA can have affairs with psychoanalysis, and The Police can read Arthur Koestler, then Boney M. can get serious too.

You must have heard the "We Kill The World" single included on "Boonoonoonoos" (the album title, given the band’s new stream-lined thoughtfulness, is probably some obscure African tribal dialect for "I feel alienated by life in my village"). "I See atomic mushrooms", the 45 begins, as the three female singers and their kinky monkey man slave pet to the first refuge of pop scoundrels – ecology. This eco thing is so easy, people; you can appear to be concerned without really trying and make a lot of pleasantsugary noices along the way: there’s nothing like talk of mother nature, the use of kids’ voices and generally getting as much mileage as possible out of pathos.

Luckily, Boney M.’s exploitation of this and even more politicised areas (remember "Rivers Of Babylon"?) is so slick and slight that it’s laughable. Titter along to "Ride To Agadir", as anti-colonial ode written by Mike ’Womble" Batt and filled out by the London Philharmonica. "Homeland Africa", written by Boney producer and "inventor" Frank Farian with the assistance of Gamle and Huff, is little better.

The title track (sounding suspiciously like M’s "Pop Music") and "Malaika" mean yet more Afro-ethnicity rendered into the international language of pop and yet more flaunting of studio time in GB, the US, Germany and JA. There’s nothing wrong with this kind of transcultura process ("Consuela Biaz" signals a change of continent to South America – very "international"), but does it have to be so bland, limited and banal?

"Silly Confusion", "Jimmy" and "Goodbye My Friend" are closer to older Boney M.: as potential singles, though, they fall way behind the strong vocal and exuberant inanity of "Brown Girl In The Ring". Do the band really want to progress from Tralalas to "Boonoonoonoos"?

Paul Tickell 

Boney M.: ”Oceans Of Fantasy" Atlantic

As the name of Frank Farian becomes well established within the craniums of every Pop pursuer as the fifth member of the incredulous Boney M., a new album from the band of the Seventies' dance floors hits the stores.

Originally Boney M.'s make-up, as admitted by Bobby Farrell in our special interview last week, was obstensibly more Funky with such classics as 'Ma Baker' to emerge from the German-based Hansa Productions.

Now the emphasis is more on what will attract the 45-buying public; what will undoubtedly appeal to toddlers through to Rocking grannies down at the Darby & Joan.

This new album should suitably fill the order very nicely. It's collection of unobtrusive and totally non-offending music with a beat designed to attract listeners from every nook and cranny.

Precious Wilson, who has just left Eruption as lead singer; guests on this platter and as soon as she opens her mouth the small disorders of already established Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett come into perspective.

A vast majority of the tracks sound extremely similar, especially "Bahama Mama" on side one, which sounds like a regurgatated "Rasputin".

"Gotta Go Home", the current hit (which has been hailed as the best ever Boney M. smash) is followed by a beautiful instrumental, "Bye Bye Bluebird".

Frank Farian has, it seems from the inlay cover, become bored with being a man 'behind the scenes'. His name is plastered over the credit notes as Producer, backing and lead vocalist. It comes as a nasty surprise to many Boney M. fans that Bobby Farrell is, in fact, not the singer present on every male- dominated track and is probably one of many reasons for Bobby's adiment attack on Farian in last week's SUPERPOP.

All the same, the happy, contented sound on practically every track,! especially the title cut on side two is indeed welcome.

"Oceans Of Fantasy" a pleasing package culminating with the already familiar ”Calendar Song' brought to fame recently by Osibisa. The cellars of Farian never-ending stock of hits seems set to remain full for many years to come. This full and enterprising collection makes sure of this.

Mike Powell