The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits

The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits is a greatest hits album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. issued in February 1980 which contained all their biggest hits up until that point, including non-album singles "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" and "Hooray! Hooray! It's A Holi-Holiday", key album tracks from Take The Heat Off Me, Love for Sale, Nightflight to Venus and Oceans of Fantasy as well as their most recent double A-side single release "I See A Boat On The River"/ "My Friend Jack" (Germany #5 and Norway#6). The album was packaged in a glittery golden gimmick cover, with the four strokes in the band's characteristic 'M' being cut out so that each showed one of the four members. The innersleeve featured two different photos and could be inserted either way to that effect. The Magic Of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits was another major commercial success for the band, topping most of the European charts and becoming their third consecutive UK number one album. The cover version of The Smoke's 1967 hit "My Friend Jack" however proved to be less successful in the UK, peaking no higher than #57, at the time making it their lowest charting single since debut "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" in 1975.

For the 2006 Sony BMG release, see The Magic of Boney M.
The Magic of Boney M.
- 20 Golden Hits
Greatest hits album by
Boney M.
ReleasedFebruary 1, 1980
Recorded1975–1980
Genre
Length71:49
Label
ProducerFrank Farian
Boney M. chronology
Oceans of Fantasy
(1979)		 The Magic of Boney M.
- 20 Golden Hits
(1980)		 Children of Paradise – The Greatest Hits of Boney M. – Vol. 2
(1981)
Alternative cover
1992 BMG-Ariola CD re-release
Singles from The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits
  1. "I See a Boat on the River / My Friend Jack"
    Released: April 1980
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Since most of the singles released by Boney M. between the years 1976 and 1980 had been double A-sides there was certainly enough material to make the first greatest hits compilation a double album. Nineteen of the twenty tracks on The Magic Of Boney M. had in fact been singles, the only exception being "Oceans of Fantasy". Instead producer Frank Farian went for a one disc release, which subsequently meant that due to the time limitations of the vinyl album format and the number of tracks included, most of the songs appeared in slightly edited form. These abbreviated versions would re-surface on a large number of hits compilations in the future while most of the original 7" mixes twenty five years later remain unreleased on CD.

A German Club Edition LP, entitled Greatest Hits Of Boney M. appeared in the same gimmick cover but featured only 16 songs - the same mixes as used on the commercial LP but in a different running order. The remaining 4 songs would be included on Children of Paradise - The Greatest Hits of Boney M. - Vol. 2 in June '81.

Track listing

Side A:

  1. "Rivers of Babylon" (Dowe, McNaughton) - 3:59
    • Edited version
  2. "Daddy Cool" (Farian, Reyam) - 3:25
    • Original album/single version
  3. "Sunny" (Bobby Hebb) - 3:14
    • Edited version
  4. "Belfast" (Billsbury, Deutscher, Menke) - 2:25
    • Edited version
  5. "El Lute" (Farian, Jay, Blum) - 4:24
    • Edited version
  6. "No Woman, No Cry" (Ford, Bob Marley) - 2:58
    • Edited version
  7. "Rasputin" (Farian, Jay, Reyam) - 3:40
    • Edited version
  8. "Painter Man" (Phillips, Pickett) - 3:10
    • Original album version
  9. "Ma Baker" (Farian, Jay, Reyam) - 3:44
    • Edited version
  10. "Gotta Go Home" (Farian, Jay, Huth, Huth) - 3:45

Side B:

  1. "My Friend Jack" (The Smoke) - 4:31
    • Slightly edited 7" mix
  2. "I See a Boat on the River" (Farian, Jay, Rulofs) - 4:29
  3. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Farian) - 3:06
    • Edited version
  4. "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord" (Jester Hairston, Farian, Jay, Lorin) - 4:31
    • Edited version
  5. "Bahama Mama" (Farian, Jay) - 3:17
  6. "I'm Born Again" (Jay, Rulofs) - 3:57
    • Edited 7" mix
  7. "Oceans of Fantasy" (Kawohl, Jay, Zill) - 3:19
    • Edited version
  8. "Ribbons of Blue" (Keith Forsey) - 3:04
    • Edited version
  9. "Still I'm Sad" (McCarthy, Samwell-Smith) - 3:40
    • Edited version
  10. "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (Farian, Jay) - 3:11
    • Edited version

Alternate editions

'Greatest Hits Of Boney M.' (German Club Edition LP)
Side A:

  1. "Sunny" (Bobby Hebb) - 3:14
  2. "Daddy Cool" (Farian, Reyam) - 3:25
  3. "Belfast" (Billsbury, Deutscher, Menke) - 2:25
  4. "Ma Baker" (Farian, Jay, Reyam) - 3:44
  5. "El Lute" (Farian, Jay, Blum) - 4:24
  6. "Rasputin" (Farian, Jay, Reyam) - 3:40
  7. "I'm Born Again" (Jay, Rulofs) - 3:57
  8. "Bahama Mama" (Farian, Jay) - 3:17

Side B:

  1. "I See a Boat on the River" (Farian, Jay, Rulofs) - 4:29
  2. "My Friend Jack" (The Smoke) - 4:31
  3. "Gotta Go Home" (Farian, Jay, Huth, Huth) - 3:45
  4. "Rivers of Babylon" (Farian, Reyam) - 3:59
  5. "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" (Jester Hairston, Farian, Jay, Lorin) - 4:31
  6. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Farian) - 3:06
  7. "Ribbons of Blue" (Keith Forsey) - 3:04
  8. "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (Farian, Jay) - 3:11

Personnel
  • Liz Mitchell - lead vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6, A8, B2, B3, B4, B6, B8, B9 & B10), backing vocals
  • Marcia Barrett - lead vocals (A4), backing vocals
  • Frank Farian - lead vocals (A2, A5, A7, A9, A10, B6 & B7), backing vocals

(track denotations refer to original Hansa issue)

Production

Release history

CD releases

Single releases


UK
7"

  • "My Friend Jack" (Edited 7" Mix) - 4:40 / "I See A Boat on the River" - 4:29 (Atlantic Records K11463, 1980)


Germany
7"

  • "I See A Boat on the River" - 4:29 / "My Friend Jack" (7" Mix) - 4:56 (Hansa Records 101 750-100, 1980)

12"

  • "My Friend Jack" (12" Mix) - 8:24 / "I See A Boat on the River" (12" Mix) - 6:01 (Hansa Records 600 233-213, 1980)

Charts
Album
Year Chart Position
1980 UK albums chart 1[2]
Norway's album chart 2
Single
Year Single Chart Position
1980 "My Friend Jack" UK single chart 57
Norway's single chart 6

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[3] Gold 25,000[3]
Germany (BVMI)[4] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[5] Platinum 20,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[6] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[7] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[8] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Gold 100,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. "Number 1 Albums – 1980s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  3. "Boney M" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  4. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Boney M; 'The Magic of Boney M')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  5. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1981". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. "Dutch album certifications – Boney M – The Magic of Boney M" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 24 November 2018. Enter The Magic of Boney M in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  7. "New Zealand album certifications – Boney M – The Magic of Boney M". Recorded Music NZ.
  8. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish), Iberautor Promociones Culturales, ISBN 8480486392, retrieved 26 April 2018
  9. "British album certifications – Boney M – The Magic of Boney M". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 November 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Magic of Boney M in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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