Milli Vanilli might just be the weirdest pop group that ever made it big in the United States. A project built by superstar producer Frank Farian off the success of his previous international hit group Boney M, their almost instantaneous celebrity was shattered just as instantly once it was revealed that visual frontmen Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus didn't sing a word of their music. While this was also true of many of Boney M's members, they came and went before visuals became more important in pop music, and Farian was also more open about it at the time. In the MTV era, though, Rob and Fab were instantly crucified and witch-hunted by the media for this treachery, even having their one Grammy win revoked in the process. However, if you'd ever listened to any of the Milli Vanilli material other than their big hits, this revelation wouldn't have been quite as shocking.
For the purposes of this review, remix albums and other such miscellaneous issues will not be covered on their own, although they may be mentioned.
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ALL OR NOTHING (1988)
Territories released in: Mainland western Europe, UK, Eastern Europe, Japan, USSR
It would be a safe bet to say most Stateside fans never listened to this version of their first album, especially back when they were still relevant, but had they, I would think they would've figured out the truth immediately. More than half of this album's material was cut when Arista was preparing the US version, and when you listen to the stuff they left out, you'll find what turns out to be some robotic, barebones, and actually pretty awful discotheque fillers, particularly the surprisingly profane "Money", the horrid remake of Boney M's "Ma Baker", and "Boy In The Tree", a song whose chorus has some fucking creepy imagery to say the least.
Most of the material that did survive the cut is smack-dab in the middle of the album, and even if they were never separated from the rest of the material, the increase in quality songcrafting would still be readily apparent. They still feel like they had far more care put into them than the rest of the album, and they aren't much different than they would be on the second version of this album. "Girl You Know It's True", which is one of the last cuts here, is actually much longer than the US version, and although it samples a bit of the awful "Ma Baker" remake, it stands pretty strong regardless.
Verdict: 6.5/10
Most recommended exclusive songs: "Can You Feel My Love", "Dance With A Devil", "Is It Love", "Hush" (this one for the novelty alone, really)
GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE (1989)
Territories released in: US, Canada, Japan
A strong presentation goes a long way, as this album proves. The filler songs that encircled the stronger material on All Or Nothing are gone here, with some new songs in the style of those stronger tunes to fill the space left by the cuts. "Blame It On The Rain" and "Take It As It Comes" stand as the strongest of the new material, with the former become one of their biggest hits for good reason. This version of their debut album only has two real flubs-- the flaccid cover of The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing", and its short length, which is exacerbated by the presence of a long remix of the title track. If it had one or two more strong pop tunes on it, I'd probably give it a 9 or a 9.5, but my final score is still higher than most people would give it.
Verdict: 8/10
Most recommended songs: "Girl You Know It's True", "Baby Don't Forget My Number", "Blame It On The Rain", "Take It As It Comes", "Dreams To Remember"
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH (KEEP ON RUNNING) (1991)
Territories released in: Mainland western Europe, UK, Eastern Europe, South America, South Africa, Japan, Indonesia
I need to give a little backstory about this album first. This album was originally intended for release in January of 1991 as Keep On Running, and its title track was sent out as a single no more than two weeks before Frank Farian revealed Rob and Fab as only visual performers. Immediately after that revelation, the original version of the album was cancelled, with this new version of the album, showing off "the real Milli Vanilli" (only two of the people photographed were at all involved with the debut album's material, and only three of them with this album), appearing just over a month after its original release date-- so quickly that many first-run German copies were printed with the original title still on the CD case's spines.
It's the combination of these factors that makes this album one of the most bizarre pop albums I've ever owned, mainly due to its schizophrenic, incohesive nature. Occasionally seguing into the pop cuts here are hardcore hip-hop cuts from rappers Icy Bro and B-Sho' Rockin', obvious leftovers from other Farian projects that didn't pan out, and whose only connection to the rest of the material is that a couple of them have chorus work from the Milli Vanilli singers. With how quickly this release was prepared, it's reasonable to presume that these may have been intended for the original version of the album, and I have to wonder if Farian would have given them any significant credit had nothing changed. In any case, while their flows are decent, their lyricism is mediocre, and they don't really do anything to stand out as rappers beyond being placed on an album where they just doesn't fit.
Even if this was released as originally intended, it would have shown a sophomore slump for Milli Vanilli. While "Keep On Running" is still really solid, a lot of the other pop songs here sound really samey, trying to pick up the glory that their predecessors achieved with half the songcrafting effort put in. Whether or not there would have been an alternate US version prepared probably wouldn't have made much difference, as the music is already in the kind of songwriting format that Arista culled from their first album, it's just not nearly as strong.
Verdict: 5/10
Most recommended songs: "Keep On Running", "When I Die", "Nice 'N' Easy", "In My Life", "Hard As Hell" (for novelty reasons), "The End Of Good Times"
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Do you have any feelings one way or the other about Milli Vanilli, "real" or otherwise? If so, leave some comments about how you feel about these albums.
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