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Nightflight to Venus

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Nightflight to Venus
Studio album by
Boney M.
Released23 June 1978[1]
Recorded1977–1978
Genre
Length44:37
Label
ProducerFrank Farian
Boney M. chronology
Love for Sale
(1977) 		Nightflight to Venus
(1978) 		Oceans of Fantasy
(1979)
Singles from Nightflight to Venus
  1. "Rivers of Babylon"
    Released: April 1978[2]
  2. "Rasputin"
    Released: August 1978
  3. "Painter Man"
    Released: February 1979[3]
  4. "Voodoonight"
    Released: 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[5]

Nightflight to Venus is the third studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., and was released in June 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 a nomination for a 1980 Juno Award in a category 'International Album of the Year'.[6]

Nightflight to Venus includes the 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.[7] 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.

Album information

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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 the 2007 CD release of the album.

For the first time, there were four different pressings of the original Hansa Records LPs, 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.

On the first pressing, "Rasputin" has a unique instrumental part within the last verse; also, the instrumental parts between verses are slightly longer than the other ones, which can also be heard on the 1988 remix. After the first (6:28) and second (6:04) pressing of the LP, the song's album version was shortened to 5:51.

A different mix for "He Was a Steppenwolf" and a slightly different version of "Voodoonight" was used on the first pressing compared to later ones.

The CD version from 1994 is the same as the fourth pressing of the album. On the 2007 reissue, two bonus tracks were added to the album.

On 10 November 2023, the group's YouTube channel released a video celebrating the 45th anniversary of the album.[8] This was followed by a "visual album" series of music videos for every track from Nightlight to Venus; however, some songs are different versions (for example, "Rasputin" is the edited version from The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits).

Track listing

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Side A

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  1. "Nightflight to Venus" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, Dietmar Kawohl) – 4:46
  2. "Rasputin" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, George Reyam (Hans-Jörg Mayer)) – 5:51
  3. "Painter Man" (Eddie Phillips, Kenny Pickett) – 3:10
  4. "He Was a Steppenwolf" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, Stefan Klinkhammer) – 6:51
  5. "King of the Road" (Roger Miller) – 2:35

Side B

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  1. "Rivers of Babylon" (Brent Dowe, Trevor McNaughton, Frank Farian, George Reyam) – 4:21
  2. "Voodoonight" (Giorgio Sgarbi) – 3:31
  3. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Traditional; arranged by Frank Farian) – 4:02
  4. "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night" (Mats Björklund, Keith Forsey, Fred Jay) – 5:32
  5. "Heart of Gold" (Neil Young) – 4:00

Personnel

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  • Liz Mitchell – lead vocals (A3, B1, B3, B5), backing vocals
  • Marcia Barrett – lead vocals (A1, A5, B4), backing vocals
  • Frank Farian – lead vocals (A2, B2), backing vocals
  • Bill Swisher – robot voice on A1, narrator on A2
  • The Rhythm Machine – musicians
  • Keith Forsey – drums
  • Nick Woodland – guitar
  • Mats Björklund – guitar
  • Gary Unwin – bass guitar
  • "Chico" de los Reyes – keyboards
  • Bernd Kohn – marimba, percussion

Production

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  • Frank Farian – producer
  • Christian Kolonovits – arranger
  • Johan Daansen – arranger
  • Mats Björklund – arranger
  • Michael Cretu – arranger
  • Stefan Klinkhammer – arranger
  • Fred Schreier – sound engineer
  • Hartmut Pfannmüller – sound engineer
  • John Lund – sound engineer
  • Tammy Grohé – sound engineer
  • Manfred Vormstein – art direction
  • Didi Zill – photography
  • Dengler/Kohlmeier – design
  • Recorded at Europasound Studios, Offenbach and Union Studios, Munich
  • Mixed at Europasound Studios, Offenbach

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[29] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[31] 5× Platinum 700,000[30]
Denmark — 140,000[32]
Germany (BVMI)[33] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[34] Platinum 100,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[35] Platinum 20,000*
Ireland — 52,000[36]
Netherlands (NVPI)[37] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[38] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland — 125,000[40]
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Platinum 300,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Reissued

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  • 1994: CD, BMG 74321 21269 2
  • 2007: CD, Sony BMG Music Entertainment 88697082622
  • 2011: Boney M. Original Album Classics, 5 CD, Sony Music 88697928702
  • 2017: Boney M. Complete, 9 LP, Sony Music 88985406971

References

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  1. ^ "Boney M albums".
  2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 50.
  3. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 32.
  4. ^ Allmusic review
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 22 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ^ "JUNO Award Nominees".
  7. ^ "Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  8. ^ "45th Anniversary Nightflight to Venus - Visual Album (Teaser)". YouTube.
  9. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Boney M. – Nightflight to Venus" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4733a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Boney M. – Nightflight to Venus" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  13. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Boney M. – Nightflight to Venus" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  15. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US. ISBN 978-1094705002.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Boney M. – Nightflight to Venus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Boney M. – Nightflight to Venus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Boney M. – Nightflight to Venus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Boney M. Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  21. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 430. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1978" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1978" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1978 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  26. ^ "1979 – Top 100 Albums". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  29. ^ "From The Music Capitols Of The World - Vienna" (PDF). Billboard. 12 August 1978. p. 74. Retrieved 29 November 2019 – via American Radio History.
  30. ^ McQuarrie, Fiona (19 November 1980). "Rock Talk". The Vancouver Sun. p. 43. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Boney M – Nightflight to Venus". Music Canada.
  32. ^ Orsted, Knud (9 June 1979). "Black Music - International - Denmark" (PDF). Billboard. p. BM-26. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  33. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Boney M; 'Nightflight to Venus')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  34. ^ John Carr (9 February 1980). "Greeks Grind To Foreign Product" (PDF). Billboard. p. 32. Retrieved 19 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
  35. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1979". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  36. ^ "Boney M's" (PDF). Music Week. 9 December 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  37. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Boney M – Nightflight to Venus" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 5 August 2018. Enter Nightflight to Venus in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1979 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  38. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Boney M – Nightflight to Venus". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  39. ^ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  40. ^ Haesler, Pierre (20 January 1979). "Ventriloquist LP Topping Swiss Charts" (PDF). Billboard. p. 104. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  41. ^ "British album certifications – Boney M – Nightflight to Venus". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
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