Stunning debut!
Søren Jensen | Copenhagen, Denmark | 03/17/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The phenomenon Boney M. started in 1975 when German producer Frank Farian wanted to record the music he really loved, black soul music, instead of the German schlagers the record company wanted him to sing. He cut a simple monotome but infectuous disco record, much in the style of Silver Convention, he distorted his own voice for the lead vocal, and did all the backing vocals in an impressively high falsetto voice. The single "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" was released under the pseudonym Boney M. To his amazement, the single took off in Belgium and Holland, and there was soon a demand for this Boney M. to perform the song on TV. Farian didn't want to do it himself, and gathered some black girls and a boy to lip-sync the song. The line-up varied from month to month but in early 1976, Farian had a line-up he really liked: dancer and former beauty queen Maizie Williams who had stuck with him from the very first line-up, the exotic dancer Bobby Farrell, and two female singers: Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett with whom Farian wanted to record the second Boney M. single and an album. "Daddy Cool" was the first "real" Boney M. single, full of gimmicks, opening with Farian playing on his teeth with a pen, as well as "tick-tocking" orally. Farian did the deep-voiced male part of "Daddy Cool" about whom the girls are "crazy like a fool", and when the foursome line-up did an a spectacular performance in German TV-programme "Musikladen" September 1976, the single shot to the top of the German charts immediately, and the rest of Europe followed! The album was also a huge seller everywhere on the continent although it only reached a disappointing #40 in the UK, despite containing two Top 10-singles, probably because of the suggestive cover which has Bobby Farrell looking at the girls, lying in lace on the floor. Besides "Daddy Cool", it also contained the next single, a beautiful cover version of "Sunny" with an absolutely charming lead vocal by Liz Mitchell. The other singer, dark-voiced Marcia Barrett, takes her share on two tracks that were in fact remixes of two songs that Farian had recorded the previous year in German with singer Gilla. Marcia, however, oozes with cool elegance on "Take The Heat Off Me", whereas she really blasts the roof of on the closing track "Lovin' Or Leavin'" which, as another reviewer notes, is a storm of a song, a real gem! (Check out her new 1999 album "Survival" for more! Also available on Amazon) A full-length mix of the debut single "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" is included, as well as a re-make of one of Farian's own songs "Am Samstag Abend" (Saturday Night) which is turned into the incredibly charming reggae title "Got A Man On My Mind", lovingly sung by Liz Mitchell. She also takes the lead on the remaining two cover versions: "Fever", and Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry", and although it's not one of the highlights of the album, it is still a much-loved song to this day. All in all, Boney M.'s debut album is absolutely worth purchasing, as the music still stands the test of time."
Two classics of eurodisco
Søren Jensen | 10/12/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"boney m's debut album opens with 'daddy cool', an irresistible disco classic; what are the lyrics about? could one read paedophile references here or is that taking it to the limit? anyway, here is also the blazing 'sunny', in my opinion the best version of the jimmy webb classic; the cover of 'no woman no cry' is fine, that of 'fever' less so; the original 'man on my mind' is also nice, but 'lovin' or leavin'' is AWESOME, with marcia barrett on lead, it's an absolute storm of a song, unjustly relegated to the album's end, the rhythm track on this song is an earthquake, with those thundering drum rolls and bedrock bass; 'baby do you wanna bump' is definitely embarassing, and boring; well, the album cover is nice, with lesbian tendencies or what - bobby farell looking on almost shocked by the girls' fun - oh well, its an interpretation"
