Review: 'Nightclubbing' (2014 reissue) by Grace Jones

In 1981, Grace Jones released her fifth studio album Nightclubbing. Along with its predecessor, Warm Leatherette (1980), it represented a new musical direction for Jones: after her first three albums - the disco trilogy of Portfolio (1977), Fame (1978) and Muse (1979) - she reinvented herself as a new wave icon, known for her striking androgynous image and signature flattop hairstyle. The visual transformation was done with her then-boyfriend Jean-Paul Goude who started directing her music videos and designing the artwork for her albums. Music-wise, she teamed up with Sly & Robbie to create music that could be described as reggae-influenced new wave. In a sense, the reinvention can be seen as a return to her Jamaican roots after the disco years that represented the 'New York' side of her life.

Nightclubbing is the second album of her 'Compass Point trilogy', recorded at the Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. Similarly to Warm Leatherette, the album consisted of various cover versions with reggae-influenced arrangements. However, there's more original material on Nightclubbing: three songs out of nine are co-written by Jones ("Pull Up To The Bumper", "Art Groupie", "Feel Up"), one by Marianne Faithfull and Grace Jones collaborator Barry Reynolds ("I've Done It Again"), and while the Sting-penned "Demolition Man" was later cover by his own band The Police, it premiered as a Grace Jones song on this record. Innovative and fresh-sounding, the LP went on to become perhaps the most iconic Grace Jones record to date, achieving a cult status in pop music, not least for its visual aspects.

A lot has happened in music lately

As you might or might have not noticed, I've been absent from the blogosphere for a week or so and phew, there's been all sorts of things going on! Here are some of my picks:

Arguably the biggest scoop is Nirvana's unexpected (or expected, depending on how you see it) onstage comeback. The iconic grunge group was inducted to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility (there has to be at least 25 years from the inductee's debut single; Nirvana's "Love Buzz" came out in 1988). The remaining members of the band then performed a handful of their songs with female singers, with Joan Jett, Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth), St. Vincent and Lorde singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Aneurysm", "Lithium" and "All Apologies", respectively. The group also asked PJ Harvey to join them to sing "Milk It" but unfortunately, she couldn't make it. Check out the performances below:

















Hopefully the performances were also recorded officially so that we wouldn't have to rely on clips recorded with mobile phones.


So that's there. Then to other news:

Previously unreleased Grace Jones material has surfaced!

Grace Jones's iconic 1981 album Nightclubbing is going to be reissued next month via Island Records/Universal, as reported by The Quietus. Nightclubbing, usually regarded as one of the most essential Grace Jones records, is her best-selling studio release to date and yielded classic singles such as "Demolition Man", "Libertango (I've Seen That Face Before)" and most notably, one of her definite signature hits, "Pull Up To The Bumper".

In addition to the remastered edition of the album, there'll be an alternative 2-disc version of it released for the Record Store Day; this version includes previously unreleased rarities such as a cover of "Me! I Disconnect From You" by Tubeway Army, the Gary Numan-fronted new wave group. This previously unheard cover from the Nightclubbing sessions has now surfaced, and the tropical number can be listened to below:

And here's the original version by Tubeway Army as well, should you be interested:





Meanwhile, Jones has been reported to be working on a memoir set to be released next autumn, whilst material for a new album is also in the making. And for slightly newer Grace Jones material, check out Popheaval's review of her 2008 comeback album Hurricane.

Grace Jones has got a memoir in the making

That's right ladies and gentlemen: miss Grace Jones is writing a memoir! The 65-year-old pop icon (who still packs more punch than most of the other artists around) has apparently changed her mind, considering she had previously stated that she'd never write one - her song "Art Groupie" even begins with lines "I'll never write my memoirs / There's nothing in my book". What made her have a change of heart is not clear but the website Hinterland Gazette speculated that she wouldn't want an unauthorised memoir to be released  (which would probably be inevitable with someone with such a great legacy as Grace Jones).

And one could imagine she's got plenty of material to draw from. From a successful international modelling career and her disco years and hanging out at Studio 54 with the likes of Andy Warhol to becoming one of the most iconic pioneers of androgyny in popular culture and even an actress starring opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984's Conan the Destroyer and Roger Moore in 1985's Bond flick A View to a Kill, she's had quite a colourful life, wouldn't you say. And that's not even all, she made a musical comeback after 19 years of radio silence with the magnificent Hurricane in 2008 and, according to producer Ivor Guest's Tumblr page, is currently working on a follow-up album! So expect even more greatness from the legend that has influenced everyone from Annie Lennox and Róisín Murphy to Santigold and Rihanna.

And while you're waiting for the book (it's scheduled to come out next autumn), you can get a sneak peek (kind of) in the form of "Williams' Blood", the gorgeous gospel pop single from her comeback album with autobiographical lyrics.






You might also want to check out the Aeroplane remix of the song, it's quite nice as well!

Remixin' : Grace Jones vs Funkstar DeLuxe - Pull Up To The Bumper

In general, I mainly cringe when I see people hyping up remixes since I always tend to prefer the original versions, especially as most remixes seem to be nothing but 7-minute remakes with a repetitive loop and a 'danceable' beat but every now and then there is a remix that succeeds in igniting my enthusiasm. Here's one of those: it's Funkstar DeLuxe's updated make over of "Pull Up To The Bumper", the raunchy 1981 hit song by Grace Jones, already an '80s club classic itself. And I kind of like it.





May it bring joy and delight to your beginning of the week. Here's also the original version if you feel like comparing:

Review: 'Hurricane' by Grace Jones

Grace Jones is quite the character. Many people know her merely as a bizarre gay icon with an eccentric taste, or as a former Bond girl and occasional actress, or as a model who hung out at studio 54, partying wildly and serving as a muse for Andy Warhol. There's more to her, however, as she also has an extensive career in music that has gone somewhat unnoticed by many, or maybe it's just been overshadowed by her controversial public image.

Her 2008 album Hurricane is stellar in three ways: not only is it single-handedly one of the most spectacular releases of its year, it's also an actually good comeback album which is always a feat. She had been absent from the music scene for 19 years (!!) and expectations tend to build up in such amount of time. Thankfully, the album lives up to them. Thirdly, she was at the age of 60 when the record was released, and many artists have the sad habit of repeating themselves as their careers develop, but not Grace: Hurricane is an innovative sonic adventure, sounds perfectly fresh and - in my opinion - is her best LP to date. This is Grace Jones like you've never heard before. Even though the album features several trademark elements of Grace's (reggae beats, Jamaican vibe, spoken word lyrics) there are also many new things like the electronic sounds as evidenced in the nearly industrial sounding "Corporate Cannibal".

The album kicks off with the bouncy opener "This Is", which features the much-cited opening lines "This is my voice / My weapon of choice". A bit later she states what the album is all about: "This is a voice, these are the hands / This is technology, mixed with a band". Next song, the magnificent "Williams' Blood" is a soaring fusion of pop and gospel that explodes in the chorus filled with distorted guitars and backing vocals. One of the highlights of the album and also released as a single, this song certainly doesn't pale in comparison with older Grace Jones classics such as "Pull Up To The Bumper" and "Slave To The Rhythm". The song also includes excerpts from the hymn "Amazing Grace", which sounds like it could be a wee bit tacky (you know, with her name and all), but it isn't - it all sounds very sincere and well, graceful.

Lyrically the album showcases Grace as a storyteller, especially on autobiographical tracks like "Williams' Blood" and "I'm Crying (Mother's Tears)", an ode to her mother. "Corporate Cannibal" is an assault against modern-day capitalism and the corporate world with powerful lyrics such as "I deal in the market / Every man, a woman, a child is a target" and "I'll consume my consumers / with no sense of humour". You can tell she's not playing around. Then there's "Sunset Sunrise", penned by her son Paulo, which deals with humans' relationship to nature ("Is it yours? / Is it mine? / Is it ours to divide?"). The album also shows how talented she is as a singer and it isn't the production or over-using of auto-tune that makes you think so - trust me, I've seen her live.

With TV characters such as Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother overusing the word "epic" in every possible instant, it has suffered quite an inflation, but there are two songs on the album that virtually cannot be described without it: Hurricane and Devil In My Life. The latter, despite being the album closer, is actually the first song to be written for the album, and features stunning string arrangements. Ending the album on a strong note, it leaves the listener transfixed. Hurricane, the Tricky-featuring title track, is a majestic six and half minute trip-hop number that shows how fierce she can really be. It serves as a stand-out centerpiece for the album and unfurls into a genuine powerhouse and when she declares "And I'll be a hurricane! / Ripping up trees" the listener is convinced that she's not exaggerating the tiniest bit. "See me / Here I come!" she chants as she shows the rest of the world how a comeback is properly made.


4½ / 5




Try at least: "Williams' Blood", "Hurricane", "Devil In My Life"