Boney M are a popular multi-national (Jamaica, Germany and more!)disco group, achieving success in the late seventies with their peculiar brand of offbeat pop which combines reggae, soul, disco, funk and a particularly German style of deadpan humour. This single, Belfast, was their fifth single and topped the charts in Germany and the UK.
Belfast jumps right in with a funky disco beat, a dense sound with some nice distorted guitar work, the machine like intro takes us into a nice groove. The intro/chorus is almost militaristic and reminds me of German drinking songs. Marcia Barrett's got a nice kinda subtle voice which really works well with the groove. It's a very bizarre song, dancing grooves, disco stylings and political lyrics, but it kinda works in this disjointed way. The song kinda just loops itself around until fading out. It feels like it's missing some main parts, an unfinished song.
Plantation Boy is our B side, starting off in a disco/reggae style, just bouncing along in an optimistic fashion. The vocals come across as like it's an old island song, but with definite pop hooks. Lyrics searching for a positive future, to rise up from being a slave labourer, which work well with the lighthearted music to create a nice upbeat track. Musically again it just kinda loops itself away without any real bridges and breaks, but works better with it's bouncing groove. Again it fades to silence.
So yeah, two decent songs here. Whilst not on the same level as Earth, Wind & Fire, or Chic, Boney M can really work some good stuff together. It's also worth pointing out that while often looked back as like some embarrassing joke band due to their offbeat music, Boney M had a different groove and were still able to carry on the Afro-futurist stylings that were at the heart of disco. Good single.
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