Finally, after it's original cd release in the early 90's here is a new remaster of the 4th boney m cd.
The cd (tracks-runningtime) is the same as the the first release except for 2 bonus tracks, that were recorded/ released after this album, but before the boonoonoonoos album. When this album was originally released on vinyl in 1979 it saw no less then 9 different pressings with different timings of the tracks. For me, as fan/ collector I am mostly intrested in the longest versions and that's not what this cd brings. No rare releases, just the tracks as given already so many times.
Even though some tracks appear to be ust a few seconds longer, they somethimes are completely different.
AS an example, here is the original cd tracklisting (which was the 6th vinyl lp pressing) with times and the second time is that of another version of that same song, but then from a different vinyl recording.
Let It All Be Music 4:55 (5:28)
Gotta Go Home 3:45 (4:24 and even a 2:58 version)
Bye Bye Bluebird 4:50 (5:15)
Bahama Mama 3:17 (3:30)
Hold On! I'm Comin' 3:37 (4:07)
Two of Us 3:16 (3:14)
Ribbons of Blue 2:00 (3:54 > as released on a Italian 7inch single)
Oceans of Fantasy 5:07 (5:27)
El Lute 5:57 (that is the longest version, though the 12inch ran 5:07)
No More Chain Gang 5:25 (5:50)
I'm Born Again 4:09
No Time to Lose 2:56 (3:23)
Calendar Song (January, February, March...) 2:43 (3:20)
I See A Boat On The River (Bonus track)
My Friend Jack (Bonus track)
As you can see, most songs appears in longer different versions as well, and then I did not even mention the 12inch versions for hold on I'm coming 5:46 / gotta go home 5:04 / bahama mama 5:12 / i'm born again 4:17
And what happened to the single (3:50) hooray hooray it's a holi-holiday that was released that same year but was never included on any album. Or the very short 1:02 version of ribbons of blue, that one was actually on the 6th pressing (the later cd version), but was removed and the 2 minute version was used instead, but why not the full 3:54 version???
I guess we will never know.
Hopefully, one day, they release this cd as limited edition 2 disc, with the original album and the longer/shorter versions from the other vinyl releases.
And, when can we finally expect a cd with all those great original 12inch version?
One thing, when buying older music that I am already familiar with the thing that I am looking for most is has the audio quality improved on the remastered or re issued versions of my old favorites. The vocals are very clear and distinct on this album they are just right not too loud and not too quiet. In my opinion I would have liked the vocals to be just a bit louder and more pronounced. Bass is pretty good for the age of the music I do find myself turning the bass up slightly here and there and fiddling with it. The audio quality of this CD is pretty good for music from the 70's and it does not disappoint. The audio is not going to blow you away but it is better than most of their stuff I have heard in the past. The music here is really beautiful and if you are looking at this disk and reading this review and are familiar with Boney M then you already know this. I have bought another 3 Cd's from Boney M all remastered and reissued and all of them sound identical musically and sound as if they are all on the same disk if they are played in succession. I went with 4 different Cd's from Boney M and not with one of the greatest hit's albums because I didn't want to be missing any of my favorites from them. I have the same review on the other disks I bought from them since all the disks sound Identical. One thing that I was really pleased with is that the disks don't have loud hiss in the back ground like many of the older Cd's I have recently bought. I give the audio quality of this CD 4 stars and the CD it self 5 stars.
Good music. Stunning vocals. Melodious. Boney M to a T! Cannot be missed
This is a great African Group Boney M. THe best music, Lyrics, Voice and composition. You love it. I like rythemic music and Boney M all tracks are fantastic.........
