My dad had this on vinyl in the '70s, and it was this album we used to sing-along to as he played it on our Philips radiogram. I still have the album. Great memories, and hearing it now over 50 years later certainly hasn't changed the love we have for this album. I still love it, and I can assure you that many of my age are still listening and grooving to the funky beats of Boney M’s third studio album released in 1978. There are many favorites out here, songs we’d listen to on the radio back then, many that are actually straight off covers from other artists.

As you place the needle on the record, you cannot miss the riff and drum beat of Nightflight To Venus seamlessly moving into Rasputin into an extremely fun way. The song Rasputin tells a highly dramatized story about the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, a friend and advisor of Tsar Nicholas II and his family during the early 20th century. The song describes Rasputin as a playboy, mystical healer, and political manipulator. It is surely the band's signature song for sure.

On both tracks, the heavy percussion many would not know is actually a track by drummer Cozy Powell called Dance With The Devil. You can notice how the two tracks drifts into sci fi, evoking an otherworldly journey. This is a great piece of work and it’s amazing to see how artists can diversify into bringing other sounds and fuse it with their own. Definitely a classic two song by the Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. Both pieces are catchy, a bit wild, a bit outrageous, and just extremely fun to listen to. As for the lyrics, they go, 'he was a cat that really was gone,' and 'he was such a lovely dear' - all descriptions of Rasputin, you gotta laugh at it, but everything is so beautifully produced by Frank Farian - a genius in the recording industry. That aside, the whole outer space and ethereal sound of this song and part of the album is what made it so special for me.

Other masterpieces are the arrangement of The Melodians’ 1970 version of Rivers of Babylon which probably only Boney M could make more famous with its vocal range and background score. It works well for the group to bring out such a heartwarming track. Other tracks include, Painter Man a song originally by British group The Creation, and Brown Girl In the Ring, once againan arrangement of a traditional Jamaican children’s song in the islands in the West Indies. All these songs had a specific kind of “old pop” despite a few of them being cover songs. Roger Miller’s interesting cover of King of the Road has been reworked with a charming melody and hits you with its lovely lyrics. The same also goes for Neil Young's Heart of Gold. 

Other songs like He Was a Steppenwolf is static with its repetitious lyrics and could be one of the highlights although not on your playlist for a replay. Voodoonight is a funky disco track with a spooky vibe, and Never Change You Lover In the Middle of the Night is pure solid love drama.

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 #1 album.

A brilliant album and an absolute bargain if you haven’t yet got a copy. This is Boney M at their very best and despite all their other hits plus other albums, this album, despite the cover versions, is a chart topper.

Released: June 1978

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira