Retro Spins: Milli Vanilli - All Or Nothing

I have to step away from the Eurythmics a moment for a necessary detour.

Having recently watched the biopic, Girl You Know It's True, I once again turned my sights to an album I had been looking at here and there, but never pulled the trigger on. If it wasn't obvious, that would be a Milli Vanilli album. Specifically, their 1988 debut, All Or Nothing.

At this point, I'd like to think we all know the story of Fab Morvan, and Rob Pilatus. Their rise to fame in 1989 came out of nowhere, skyrocketing the duo into popularity and wealth, only for it to all come crashing down in a scandalous fabrication. However, as I essentially said in my Retro Spin on their 1989 released, Girl You Know It's True, I'm not mad about it.

Quite the opposite.

To me, it's all about the music, and it's music he world most likely wouldn't have gotten if not for the hiring of the two to play as the models. In fact, I'll go a step further, and say that I'm going to go ahead and live in fantasy land on this one, and not even acknowledge in my own world that the lip syncing even occurred.

In fact, while the world would have you thinking that the lives of Rob and Fab came crashing down, with the two being swept into obscurity, and perhaps even poverty, this too isn't the full truth. While it is true that they never saw the fame or money in volumes that their 1989 album produced, Rob & Fab would go on to form the duo of the same name, and release their self titled album in 1993. The shocking part of this is that the two can definitely hold their own behind a microphone, so it makes it all the more odd that they weren't simply given the chance to sing the tracks that ultimately catapulted them to success. In 1998, the two even had a follow-up album in the works which was shelved prior to its release only because of the untimely death of Pilatus.

The real singers behind Milli Vanilli would go on to release the album, The Moment Of Truth, in 1991. Meanwhile, Fab Morvan has continued a somewhat successful solo career, releasing Love Revolution in 2003, See The Light with Fabulous Addiction in 2012, and One Of Those Nights with NightAir in 2014.

While the aforementioned biopic doesn't fill in a lot of these gaps, and instead would have you believing that the scandal that saw them returning their Grammy Awards was the last the two ever performed, and followed shortly thereafter Rob's death, it's still a decent flick. One I definitely recommend checking out.

But, I digress. This post hasn't even gotten to the point yet. Today's Retro Spin is all about the 1988 debut. So, let's get into that.

Things start off awesome. You get a great beat, solid dance music, and then those familiar voices from Rob and Fab (I told you above, I'm living in my own truth). With it comes a great reunion with familiarity, a welcome friend stopping by for the first time in decades. It was a great reunion, and sadly only left me longing for more time.

There's a lot of hidden gems among the thirteen tracks, consisting of twelve originally from the album, and one CD bonus track. Though I didn't hear anything I didn't like, standouts for me were Can't You Feel My Love, Too Much Monkey Business, Money, the title track All Or Nothing, the original versions of I'm Gonna Miss You, and Don't Forget My Number, and the super club mix of Girl You Know It's True.

This is one definitely worth checking out, and I'm so glad to have finally added it to my collection. In fact, in a rarity from me, I'd also encourage you to check out their 1993 follow-up album. It's great to hear their real voices, and it includes some great tracks. Unfortunately, it's not necessarily readily available, and can be pricy. Top pick would be, Do I...you know what, just click below, and check out the song.

If that tune doesn't make you happy, there's something wrong with you.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
November 2, 1985

Retro Spins: Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True

Milli Vanilli
Girl You Know It's True
1989

It's funny to see lip syncing is so common these days in music. Especially considering the events which unfolded on November 19, 1990. It was on this day, duo Milli Vanilli, were stripped of their Grammy for having been discovered they were nothing more than models lip syncing to another duo's vocals.

It all began in early 1988 when German producer and songwriter, Frank Farian, recorded a group album. During this phase, Farian found the artists to be unmarketable. It was because of this he turned his sights to Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, a pair of models who he hired to be the face of Milli Vanilli.

The end result was the debut album, "All or Nothing". While the album featured a shorter / alternate (or better stated, original) version of Baby Don't Forget My Number, it wouldn't be until the 1989 follow up album, Girl You Know It's True that the "band" would see its most lucrative year.

Milli Vanilli would go on to have five top ten hits in 1989, three of which went to number one; Girl You Know It's True (number 2), Baby Don't Forget My Number (number 1), Girl I'm Gonna Miss You (number 1), Blame It On the Rain (number 1) and All or Nothing (number 4). Of course with this came a lot of fame, fortune and attention on Pilatus and Morvan. Interviews, concerts and special appearances were a constant. 

This all came to a head at a Club MTV live performance in Bristol, Connecticut where midway through "their" hit, Girl You Know It's True, the backing track began to skip repeatedly on the chorus. As the incident became a mass publicized event, the duo eventually fessed up to not being the true singers on any of the songs.

In the wake of the backlash, the original singers for the albums under the name The Real Milli Vanilli would step out of the shadows for their own attempt at success with the 1990 released The Moment of Truth. Unfortunately, due to the debacle that was the lip syncing scandal, the album wasn't released in the USA. Perhaps there was a genuine fear Americans wouldn't be forgiving for being scammed. I don't honestly know. Despite this, the album is notable for having three singles.

It's always fascinating how fate has a way of stepping in to bring lies to light. Just think. If it weren't for that backing track having one little hiccup we may have never known the truth about Milli Vanilli. Or maybe we would have. Maybe the duo would have eventually grown tired of the lie and come forward. Still, how many albums do you think they would have pulled off in the interim?

While it was a hot topic back in 1989 / 1990, these days I can honestly say I don't worry about it. I take the album for what it is. A group of great songs which have withstood the test of time. They're still as good today as they were in 1989. So with that perspective I kind of have to ask, who cares who the true singers were? Michael J. Fox isn't really Marty McFly, but I'd like to think he is. Mark Hamil isn't really Luke Skywalker, but I'd like to think he is. See where I'm going? Even though Pilatus and Fabrice weren't providing the vocals, they still became the characters of Milli Vanilli and with it we got a great album which otherwise would have been shelved as unmarketable.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.