Take the Heat Off Me in Bloomington, MN

Take the Heat Off Me
marked the album debut of one of the world's most successful
disco
groups,
Boney M.
Although they never found much success in the United States, they were a phenomenon overseas during the late '70s and this album makes it easy to understand why. They were the right group at the right time -- their unique combination of rocksteady
rhythms and infectious
bubblegum
pop
hooks created a sound that anyone in any country could easily grasp and find appealing. Some may find the
sound to be too sweet, but the group's soulful vocals subtly add a little grit into the mix to keep the music from drifting off into the ether. The big hits from this album were
"Sunny,"
a pulsating, string-drenched update of
Bobby Hebb
's
pop-soul
classic, and
"Daddy Cool,"
a relentless groove that combines staccato violin stabs,
mariachi
horns, and an aggressive drum attack to create an irresistibly catchy
dance-pop
ditty. The other tracks offer a similar mix of poppy originals and odd covers:
"Got a Man on My Mind"
combines
reggae
rhythms and choral vocals to great effect and
's cover of
Bob Marley
"No Woman, No Cry"
may seem preposterous in concept but works thanks to its effective combination of soulful vocals and slick instrumentation.
"Baby Do You Wanna Bump,"
the only song that strays from the
song format, drags noticeably, but the high quality of the surrounding tunes makes up for this flaw.
won't win any new fans to the
cause, but it remains an effective and likable slice of Euro-
at its most effervescent. ~ Donald A. Guarisco