MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (9-29)/BUCKINGHAM NICKS

1.  Panic Of Girls - BLONDIE  **3 weeks #1**

     (EMI/Eleven Seven - 2011) UK

2.  Nightflight To Venus - BONEY M.
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Expanded edition of 1978 album

3.  The Complete BUCKINGHAM NICKS
     (Peacock/Polydor - 2008) Expanded edition of self-titled 1973 album
     * NEW *

4.  Winter Light - LINDA RONSTADT
     (Elektra - 1993)

5.  Totally Hot - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
     (Festival - 1998) Australia; Recorded in 1978

6.  THE GROOP
     (Sundazed - 2007) Expanded edition of 1969 album

7.  The Hits Vol. 2 - ABBA
     (Pickwick - 1991) UK

8.  The RCA Years - MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
     (7T's - 2010) UK

9.  I Am Woman: The Essential HELEN REDDY Collection
     (Razor & Tie - 1998)

10.  Voyeur - BERLIN
       (iMusic/BMG - 2002)




















I received the CD "The Complete Buckingham Nicks" in the mail today.  This is a bootleg expanded edition of an original 1973 album recorded by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.  Though a commercial failure, it did lead to their addition to Fleetwood Mac in 1975.  Mick Fleetwood was looking for a producer for the band.  Candidate Keith Olsen played the song "Frozen Love" (the closing track on the original album) for Mick who was so impressed with the guitar work that he invited Lindsey to replace Bob Welch in the group.  Being that Buckingham considered he and Nicks to be a packaged deal, he wouldn't accept without her.  Needless to say, the two were embraced by Fleetwood Mac and rock music history would later be made.

Several songs on the album later found their way to new recordings by Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks.  They include the Nicks-penned "Crystal" which would later be reworked for inclusion on the "Fleetwood Mac" album in 1975.  Lindsey's song, "Don't Let Me Down Again," also received the group's treatment in 1980 on "Fleetwood Mac Live."  "Long Distance Winner" has become the only original recording to be commercially released so far, having been included on the box set "The Enchanted Works Of Stevie Nicks" in 1998.

As the original album finds Lindsey mostly at the helm, this disc includes bonus demos by Stevie which compensate for her minimal contributions.  "That's Alright" is one that was later recorded for Fleetwood Mac's "Mirage" in 1982.  Another entitled "Garbo" first saw a commercial release as the B-side of the single, "Stand Back."  It was included on the forementioned box set thereafter.  There's also a demo for "Sorcerer" which was later redone for "Trouble In Shangri-La" by Nicks in 2001.  This is probably my favorite of the demos.  Between the "unplugged" feel and Buckingham's harmony, the song has a more intimate approach than the later version with Sheryl Crow.

The final five tracks were recorded live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1973.  The noteworthy highlight in the set is the introduction of Stevie's signature hit "Rhiannon."  I do like that this live version isn't as epic as later recordings.

For a bootleg, the sound quality is very good.  My only complaint is the final track, a live version of "Sorcerer."  It's missing part of a chorus on the source tape and has a chopped ending.  For the most part, I can't complain.  I think this collection is a great precursor to the magic that would propel Fleetwood Mac to superstardom and a must for fans.

MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (9-22)

All titles issues in the US unless otherwise noted.

1.  Nightflight To Venus - BONEY M. **2 weeks #1**
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Expanded edition of 1978 album

2.  Love For Sale - BONEY M.
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Expanded edition of 1977 album

3.  Panic Of Girls - BLONDIE
     (EMI/Five Seven Music - 2011) UK

4.  The Best Of FREE DESIGN
     (Cherry Red - 2001) UK

5.  Reality Effect (US issue) - THE TOURISTS
     (American Beat - 1997) Recorded in 1979

6.  Take The Heat Off Me - BONEY M.
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Expanded edition of 1976 album

7.  Ultimate - THE 5TH DIMENSION
     (Arista/BMG Heritage - 2004)

8.  Anthology - CARLY SIMON
     (Elektra/WEA - 2002)

9.  THE NEW SEEKERS featuring Eve Graham
     (Home compilation)

10.  THE GROOP
       (Sundazed - 2007) Expanded edition of 1969 album


Notes:  I've been doing a weekly list of my top music online for five years.  My top two selections since its inception are included this week:  "The Groop" (21 weeks #1) and "Reality Effect" by The Tourists (10 weeks #1).  The US issue of the latter has an alternate track listing from the original released in Europe which I have on LP.

MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (9-15)

All titles issued in the US unless otherwise noted.

1.  Nightflight To Venus - BONEY M. **1 week #1**
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Expanded edition of 1978 album
     * NEW *

2.  Panic Of Girls - BLONDIE
     (Noble ID - 2011) UK

3.  Love For Sale - BONEY M.
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Expanded edition of 1977 album
     * NEW *

4.  Good Stuff - THE B-52'S
     (Reprise - 1992)

5.  Scrapbook - CAPTAIN & TENNILLE
     (Spectrum) Germany

6.  Say You Will - FLEETWOOD MAC
     (Reprise - 2003)

7.  Reminiscing - CARPENTERS
     (PolyTel - 1987) Canada

8.  Boxed (Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)) - EURYTHMICS
     (RCA - 2005) Europe; Expanded edition of 1983 album in a box set

9.  Take The Heat Off Me - BONEY M.
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Expanded edition of 1976 album

10.  On An Island Of Dreams - THE SPRINGFIELDS
       (RPM Retrodisc - 2007) Holland


Notes:  #5 by Captain & Tennille is a career-spanning collection of hits and album tracks.  At under an hour, it's the perfect compact retrospective except for the omission of "Muskrat Love."  The year of release wasn't included on the disc.

#7 by the Carpenters is another ideal single-disc retrospective.  My only complaint is the omission of "Ticket To Ride" and "Make Believe It's Your First Time," otherwise it's chronologically well-rounded.

BONEY M. (1977)

I received the CD "Love For Sale" by Boney M. in the mail today.  This is a 2007 reissue of the group's original 1977 album.

Two singles were released from the album:  "Ma Baker" (#95 Pop, US, 1977, Billboard), which was the second song I ever heard by Boney M. after "Rivers Of Babylon" thanks to a medley by Stars On 45, and "Belfast."

Two classic songs are covered on "Love For Sale":  Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" and the title track which was written by Cole Porter.  I have another version by The Mahattan Transfer.

Two bonus tracks round out the disc:  A remix medley of "Ma Baker/Somebody Scream." though the second song doesn't make itself evident unless it's a sample I'm not familiar with, and "Stories" which was a 1990 single for the group and based on recordings by Chakachas and Izit.

Another song I'm familiar with on the disc is "Motherless Child."  It's a traditional compostion I also have by Sweetwater.  Boney M.'s version includes an alternate verse.

I mentioned in my last Boney M. review that I doubted this would be better than "Nightflight To Venus" and I hold myself to that.  However, "Love For Sale" is another fun disco album in the group's tradition.

BONEY M. (1978)

I received the CD, "Nightflight To Venus," by Boney M. in the mail today.  This is a 2007 reissue of an original 1978 album and my fourth by the group since I started collecting their music last year.  Up to that point I had only known them for their stateside one-hit wonder, "Rivers Of Babylon" (#30 Pop and #35 AC, US, 1978, Billboard).  I started experimenting with international oldies stations a while back and Boney M.'s music was played on several.  I was so enthralled with their blend of disco and reggae that I immediately started my purchases.

"Nighflight To Venus" has the distinction of being Boney M.'s only chart album in the US (#134, 1978, Billboard).  Several songs on it are included on my very first purchase, "Gold: 20 Super Hits," and I'm pleased to now have album versions of three of them:  "Rasputin," "Rivers Of Babylon," and the title track.

The use of electric guitars on this album gives the sound a rock edge that reminds me of another classic disco album, "Bad Girls," by Donna Summer, the only artist I'd been enthusiastic about in the genre before now.

Two classic songs receive the Boney M. treatment on "Nightflight To Venus," the Roger Miller song "King Of The Road" and "Heart Of Gold" by Neil Young.

The 2007 reissure includes two bonus tracks.  First is "Dancing In The Streets" which I'd assumed was the Martha and The Vendellas classic but turns out to be a Boney M. original.  In hindsight I realized that the sixties hit had no s in "Street."  This song became the group's only US R&B chart entry (#75, Billboard, 1979).  It was the B-side of the single which is the other bonus track on the disc, the Christmas medley, "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" (#85 Pop).  Though forementioned as a non-album track, it started appearing on Christmas compilations by the group in the nineties.

It's noteworthy to mention that Boney M. was the brainchild of Frank Farian who brought us Milli Vanilli in the nineties.  Recalling what would later become of the duo, I came to discover that BM member, Bobby Farrell, himself was a lip-syncher and that Frank supplied the male vocals.  The female singers, Maizie Williams, Marcia Barrett, and Liz Mitchell carried the group with their rich vocals.  Quite nicely, I might add.

I ordered "Nightflight To Venus" along with the group's second album "Love For Sale" which hasn't arrived yet.  However, with so many favorites ending up on the former, time will tell if it's as good or better.

MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (9-8)

I've been doing an online list of what I play each week since 2006.
All titles are US releases except where noted.
1.  Gold: 20 Super Hits - BONEY M. **4 weeks #1**
     (BMG International - 1999) Holland

2.  Take The Heat Off Me - BONEY M.
     (Sony/BMG - 2007) Europe; Reissue of 1976 album with 2 bonus tracks

3.  The Love Songs - ABBA
     (Pickwick - 1989) UK

4.  Panic Of Girls - BLONDIE
     (Noble ID - 2011) UK

5.  Gold - CHER
     (Copy of original 2005 Hip-O/Geffen 2-CD set)

6.  Alf/Raindancing - ALISON MOYET
     (Columbia - 2001) 2-disc set comprised of Alison's first two albums from 1985 and 1987

7.  The Reprise Years 1969-1975, Vol 2 - FLEETWOOD MAC
     (Home compilation - 2003)

8.  On An Island Of Dreams - THE SPRINGFIELDS
     (RPM Retrodisc - 2007) 2-CDs; UK
     * NEW *

9.  JANE CHILD
     (Warner Bros. - 1989)

10.  Beauty And The Beat  - GO-GO'S
       (IRS - 1981)


Notes:

The new disc by Blondie isn't set for US release until the 13th of this month.  Not wanting to wait, I purchased an import copy.

The Springfields made a low debut this week due to 5 songs on my new set not playing.  I hope to work on the discs and be able to get a better listen this week.

I originally had #10 by the Go-Go's on LP when it was first released but gave it away for some odd reason.  It was a decision I recently came to regret as certain songs from it kept coming to mind.  I caved and bought a CD copy two weeks ago.

A song by Jane Child recently started popping in my head again entitled "Welcome To The Real World."  This was the follow-up to her one-hit wonder, "Don't Wanna Fall In Love" (#2 Pop, US, 1990).  I pulled out my cassette copy of this album after many years untouched.

THE SPRINGFIELDS

Today I received the compilation "On An Island Of Dreams" by The Springfields in the mail. 

I had discovered this group several years ago after receiving the music CD series, "The Time-Life Treasury Of Folk."  I have since sold it, but it contained the group's only US Top 40 single, "Silver Threads And Golden Needles" (#20 Pop, 1962, Billboard), a song I only knew by Linda Ronstadt at the time.

I was interested in a disc by The Springfields, but only came across a compilation which is apparently a rarity as the copies I found were priced at $25 or higher.  I wasn't sure I wanted to pay that much to try an unfamiliar artist out.  A catalog I recently received from Collectors' Choice Music listed "On An Island Of Dreams" as a new import in their stock.  They wanted nearly $30 for it, but I found a new copy at Amazon for under $12 and snagged it.

The folk trio consisted of famed vocalist Dusty Springfield with her brother Tom as well as two different third members, Tim Field (left in 1961) and Mike Hurst. 

According to Wikipedia, they have the distinction of being the first British act to crack the US Top 20 (fifteen months before The Beatles, incidentally).

"On An Island Of Dreams" is comprised of the trio's first two albums, "Kinda Folksy" (1962) and "Folk Songs From The Hill" (1963).  Both of these were released on the Phillips label in the UK.  The remainder of the set includes non-album singles and songs from various mini-albums.

One other song inlcuded that I was familiar with before buying this set was "Far Away Places."  It's played on a station at Pandora's website I based on another European favorite, The New Seekers.  There is also "Dear Hearts And Gentle People" which became The Springfields' only other US chart single reaching #95 (1962, Billboard).

These singers also display a terrific bilingual side with such Spanish numbers as "Eso Es El Amor" and "Tzena Tzena Tzena."

I've made it through the first disc in the set as of now, but with a bit of a problem.  The last song will not play on either my stereo or laptop.  I hope that I can fix this.  I'm looking forward to the second disc!