Oceans of Fantasy

1979 studio album by Boney M.

Oceans of Fantasy

Studio album by

Boney M.

Released| September 21, 1979
Recorded| February 1979 – August 1979
Genre|

* Eurodisco
* reggae

Length|

* 54:17 (LP)
* 51:49 (CD)

Label|

* Atlantic
* Sire
* Hansa

Producer| Frank Farian
Boney M. chronology
| Nightflight to Venus
(1978)  | Oceans of Fantasy
(1979)  | The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits
(1980)

|
|

Singles from  Oceans of Fantasy

1. "Hold On, I'm Coming"
Released: June 1979
2. "El Lute / Gotta Go Home"
Released: August 1979
3. "I'm Born Again / Bahama Mama"
Released: November 1979

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic| [1]
Smash Hits| unfavourable[2]

Oceans of Fantasy is the fourth studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. Released in September 1979, Oceans of Fantasy became the second Boney M. album to top the UK charts and features the hits "El Lute / Gotta Go Home" and "I'm Born Again / Bahama Mama".

## Background

[edit]

The album had been preceded in the spring of 1979 by the single "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (based on the American folksong "Polly Wolly Doodle"), one of the band's biggest hits. This was not included on Oceans of Fantasy but the B-side, "Ribbons of Blue" was, albeit in a heavily edited form. The original length of the track is 4:02, and songs like "Gotta Go Home" and "Bahama Mama" were also longer on 7" than on the actual album.

As with the group's previous album, Nightflight to Venus, the original Hansa Records pressings of the album also included a range of different edits of certain tracks.

The 1994 CD version used same master with East German version of the album. (Same with fourth pressing, but "Ribbons of Blue" is longer like the other pressings, 2:01 min.) unlike the common West German pressings with different edits of certain songs. On 2007 reissue, two bonus tracks added to the album.

Several pressings also contained the wrong running order on cover and labels, incorrectly listing "El Lute" as the opening track on side two, followed by "No More Chain Gang" and "Oceans of Fantasy" like only the first pressing.

The first pressing also features "Let It All Be Music" and "Gotta Go Home" segued together. So the later pressings feature the songs separately.

Oceans of Fantasy also features a guest appearance by Eruption's lead singer Precious Wilson on "Let It All Be Music" and the cover of Sam & Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming", which was also issued as Wilson's first solo single. The Argentinian pressing omitted "El Lute" in favour of "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday".

The album was the only Boney M. album to feature a full track-by-track vocal credits list which confirmed that only two of the four band members, Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, actually sang on the Boney M. records, and that producer Frank Farian sang the characteristic deep male vocal as well as high falsetto vocals (he even duetted with himself on the track "Bye Bye Bluebird"). Maizie Williams and Bobby Farrell did not take any part in the studio sessions, though performed vocals at Boney M.'s live concerts.

"No More Chain Gang" was covered by Turkish singer Tarkan as "Çok Ararsın Beni" ("You Call Me Too Much") on his debut album "Yine Sensiz" ("Without You Again") in 1992.

## Track listing

[edit]

Side A:

1. "Let It All Be Music" (W. S. van Vugt) - 4:46
2. "Gotta Go Home" (music: Frank Farian, Heinz Huth, Jürgen Huth; lyrics: Fred Jay) - 3:46
3. "Bye Bye Bluebird" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, George Reyam) - 4:42
4. "Bahama Mama" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay) - 3:17
5. "Hold On I'm Coming" (Isaac Hayes, David Porter) - 4:05
6. "Two of Us" (Lennon–McCartney) - 3:29
7. "Ribbons of Blue" (Keith Forsey, L. Andrew) - 2:01

Side B:

1. "Oceans of Fantasy" (Dietmar Kawohl, Didi Zill, Fred Jay) - 5:26
2. "El Lute" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, Hans Blum) - 5:09
3. "No More Chain Gang" (Rainer Ehrhardt, Frank Farian, Fred Jay) - 5:12
4. "I'm Born Again" (Traditional, Helmut Rulofs, Fred Jay) - 4:08
5. "No Time to Lose" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, Stefan Klinkhammer) - 3:26
6. "Calendar Song (January, February, March...)" (Traditional, Frank Farian) - 2:44

## Personnel

[edit]

* Liz Mitchell \- lead vocals (A1, A6, A7, B2, B4 & B6), backing vocals (A1, A2, A4, A7, B2, B3 & B6)
* Marcia Barrett \- lead vocals (A1 & B5), backing vocals (A1, A2, A4, A6, A7, B2, B3, B5 & B6)
* Frank Farian \- lead vocals (A1, B2, B3), lead and backing vocals (A3 & B1) backing vocals (A1, A2, A4, A5, A6, A7, B3, B4, B5 & B6)
* Precious Wilson \- guest lead vocals on track A1, lead and backing vocals on A5
* Linda Blake - voice of "Bahama Mama" on A4
* Bill Swisher - narrator on B2
* Gary Unwin - bass guitar
* Reinhard Besser - bass guitar
* Keith Forsey \- drums
* Mats Björklund - guitar
* Nick Woodland - guitar
* Michael Cretu \- keyboards
* Lisa Gordanier - alto saxophone
* American Horns in Europe - brass instruments
* Lance Burton - baritone saxophone
* Bobby Stern - tenor saxophone
* Geoff Stradling - trombone
* Jim Polivka - trumpet
* Scot Newton - trumpet
* Etienne Cap - trumpet on "Oceans of Fantasy"
* Walter Raab - trumpet on "Oceans of Fantasy"
* Karl Bartelmes - trumpet on "Oceans of Fantasy"
* Benny Gebauer - saxophone on "Oceans of Fantasy"
* Dino Solera - saxophone on "Oceans of Fantasy", pan flute on "El Lute"
* George Delagaye - trombone on "Oceans of Fantasy"
* Ludwig Rehberg Jr. - sound effects on "Oceans of Fantasy"
* The Original Trinidad Steel and Showband - performers

## Production

[edit]

* Frank Farian - producer
* Rainer M. Ehrhardt - production assistant
* Christian Kolonovits - arranger
* Keith Forsey \- arranger
* Michael Cretu \- arranger
* Stefan Klinkhammer \- arranger
* Fred Schreier - sound engineer
* Michael Bestmann - sound engineer
* Tammy Grohé - sound engineer
* Manfred Vormstein - art direction & design
* Jürgen F. Rogner - illustration
* Didi Zill - photography
* Recorded and mixed at Europasound Studios, Friedrichsdorf and Union Studio, Munich.

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1979–80)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[3] | 21
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] | 1
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[5] | 44
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] | 1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] | 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] | 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9] | 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[10] | 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] | 5
UK Albums (OCC)[12] | 1

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1979)  | Position

|

Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] | 10
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] | 86
Chart (1980)  | Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 29

## Certifications and sales

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada  | —  | 100,000[16]
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[17] | Gold  | 26,117[17]
France  | —  | 250,000[18]
Germany (BVMI)[19] | Platinum  | 500,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[20] | Platinum  | 20,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[21] | Platinum  | 100,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22] | Platinum  | 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] | Platinum  | 300,000^

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

## Reissued

[edit]

* 1994: CD, BMG 74321 21268 2
* 2007: CD, Sony BMG Music Entertainment 88697082632
* 2011: Boney M. Original Album Classics, 5 CD, Sony Music 88697928702
* 2017: Boney M. Complete, 9 LP, Sony Music 88985406971

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Hepworth, David. "Albums". Smash Hits (October 4–17, 1979): 29.
3. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 41\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
4. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Boney M. – Oceans of Fantasy" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
5. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9481a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
6. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
7. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Boney M. – Oceans of Fantasy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
8. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Boney M. – Oceans of Fantasy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
9. ^ "Charts.nz – Boney M. – Oceans of Fantasy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
10. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Boney M. – Oceans of Fantasy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
11. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Boney M. – Oceans of Fantasy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
13. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1979" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
14. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1979" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
15. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
16. ^ McQuarrie, Fiona (19 November 1980). "Rock Talk". The Vancouver Sun. p. 43. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
17. ^ a b "Boney M" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
18. ^ Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Fabrice Ferment (ed.). "TOP – 1978". 40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles (in French). OCLC 469523661. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2023 – via Top-France.fr.
19. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Boney M; 'Oceans of Fantasy')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
20. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1980". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
21. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Boney M – Oceans of Fantasy" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 24 November 2018. Enter Oceans of Fantasy  in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1979 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
22. ^ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish), Iberautor Promociones Culturales, 2005, ISBN 8480486392, retrieved 25 April 2018
23. ^ "British album certifications – Boney M – Oceans of Fantasy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2013-08-28.

## External links

[edit]

* Allmusic, biography, discography etc.
* Rate Your Music, detailed discography
* Discogs.com, detailed discography

* v
* t
* e

Boney M.

* Liz Mitchell
* Marcia Barrett
* Maizie Williams
* Bobby Farrell
* Reggie Tsiboe

Studio albums|

* Take the Heat off Me
* Love for Sale
* Nightflight to Venus
* Oceans of Fantasy
* Boonoonoonoos
* Christmas Album
* Ten Thousand Lightyears
* Eye Dance

Greatest hits album|

* The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits
* Gold – 20 Super Hits
* The Greatest Hits
* More Gold – 20 Super Hits Vol. II
* The Best of Boney M.
* The Greatest Hits
* The Magic of Boney M.

Compilations|

* Kalimba de Luna – 16 Happy Songs
* The Collection
* Daddy Cool – Star Collection
* Norske Hits
* The Complete Collection

Christmas compilations|

* Christmas with Boney M.
* The 20 Greatest Christmas Songs
* Christmas with Boney M.

Remix albums|

* The Best of 10 Years – 32 Superhits
* Greatest Hits of All Times – Remix '88
* 20th Century Hits
* In the Mix

Related articles|

* Discography
* Daddy Cool
* Frank Farian

* Category
* Template

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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