Boney M. "The Essential Boney M."

The Essential Boney M. is a compilation album released in 2012.

Issue in super jewel box.

Tracks are original studio album versions, except:
1-1: original single/7" version (7" A-side, "Part I")
1-4, 1-9, 1-13, 1-14: overdubbed edit from 'Gold - 20 Super Hits' (1992)
1-7, 1-15, 2-7, 2-11: original single/7" version
1-10: non-album track, overdubbed edit from 'Gold - 20 Super Hits' (1992)
1-12, 1-17, 1-19, 2-1, 2-5, 2-6, 2-8, 2-12: non-album track, original single/7" version
1-18: non-album track, edit from 'The Magic Of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits' (1980)
2-2: non-album track, original Japan single/7" version
2-9: non-album track, edit first released on 'Golden Stars' (1991)
2-13: 12" version (1988), single/7" version included on 'Greatest Hits Of All Times - Remix '89 • Volume II' (1989)
2-14: 1993 remix, included on later versions of 'Gold - 20 Super Hits' (1993)
2-15: single version, another Sash! 1998 remix included on '20th Century Hits' (1999)
2-16: single version, included on '20th Century Hits'
2-17: included on 'Boney M. Goes Club By DJ Doug Laurent* - Barbra Streisand' (2010)
2-9: credited to 'Boney M.'.
2-12, 2-16, 2-17: no mix titles listed.

Boney M. "Nightflight To Venus"

Nightflight to Venus is the third studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., and was released in July 1978. The album became a major success in continental Europe, Scandinavia, and Canada, topping most of the album charts during the second half of 1978 and also became their first UK number one album. In Canada, it received nomination for 1980 Juno Award in a category 'International Album of the Year' . Nightflight to Venus includes their worldwide hits "Rivers of Babylon" and "Brown Girl in the Ring", a double A-sided single that topped the UK singles chart and has sold over 2 million copies there. The follow-up was another Boney M. classic, "Rasputin", in most countries also a double A-side coupled with "Painter Man", a cover of a 1966 hit by the band The Creation. In the UK, "Rasputin" and "Painter Man" were released separately as A-sides by Atlantic Records, both reaching the Top 10. "Rivers of Babylon", which peaked at No. 30 on The Billboard Hot 100, became their biggest US hit.

In Europe and most other parts of the world the album was followed in November 1978 by the Christmas single, "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" backed with "Dancing in the Streets", another chart topper – selling over 1.86 million copies in the UK alone. Upon its original 1978 release, these two tracks did not appear on Nightflight to Venus, but they were included on later CD releases of the album.


There were four different pressings of the original Hansa Records vinyl LP, all with slightly different versions of some tracks. The most significant difference was the length of the title track, "Nightflight to Venus". On the very first German pressing it was 7:09 minutes, making the segued medley with the also extended "Rasputin" 13:48 in total, the second pressing 5:55, the third 4:58 and the final 4:46 – this version being the one appearing on the UK and US editions. The timings given here are those of the 1994 and 2007 CD re-issues.

Boney M. "Love For Sale"

Love for Sale is the second studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. The album includes the hits "Ma Baker" and "Belfast". It also includes covers: "Love for Sale" (by Cole Porter), "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (by Creedence Clearwater Revival), and "Still I'm Sad" (by The Yardbirds). It has been released on vinyl, cassette and later on CD.

The standard cover art features the male member Bobby Farrell "naked [with] a futuristic golden thong" chaining female members, resembling African sexual slaves. American label Atlantic Records found the cover "raunchy", so they used the standard back cover of a vinyl sleeve featuring the band wearing clothes as the alternative front cover of American and Canadian edition. One of the female group members, Liz Mitchell, told The Sydney Morning Herald:

They wanted to photograph us all totally naked in chains with [band member Bobby Farrell] standing over us like it was bondage[...] I wept—trust me. When they showed us the costumes, it was just heavy gold chains.


The front cover of the South Korean vinyl edition features the band in one live performance, and the back cover of the edition features the band in another live performance.

Boney M. "Take The Heat Off Me"

Take the Heat Off Me is the debut album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M.. The album became a major seller outside of the United States, where the album just missed making the chart. Includes the hits "Daddy Cool" (#65 on the Billboard Hot 100, #11 on the Club Play Singles chart), "Sunny" and "Baby Do You Wanna Bump". The title – track is the cover of the 1974 Italian hit Nessuno mai (No one ever), sung by the Sicilian artist Marcella Bella and written by her brother Gianni Bella with Giancarlo Bigazzi.

"Take the Heat off Me" and "Lovin' or Leavin'" had previously been recorded by another Farian-produced artist Gilla on her 1975 album Willst du mit mir schlafen gehn?. Gilla would furthermore record German versions of "Sunny" and "No Woman No Cry" on her Zieh mich aus album later that year, using the same backing tracks. "Got a Man on My Mind" was rewritten from Farian's "Am Samstagabend" which was the B-side of his 1976 hit single "Rocky".