Island Life

by

Grace Jones

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Island Life is a collection of Grace Jones' biggest hits on the Island records label. It draws from albums like Portfolio (1977), Fame (1978), Muse (1979), Warm Leatherette (1980), Nightclubbing (1981), Living My Life (1982) and Slave To The Rhythm (1985). The tracks are arranged chronologically so it maps out her musical development from the robotic disco sounds of La Vie En Rose through her new wave experiments with Private Life, her torch song phase in Libertango up to the funky R&B of My Jamaican Guy.

She wasn't taken seriously as a musician up until the release of Warm Leatherette in 1980, but I have always enjoyed her early disco work, especially the Portfolio album with its great tracks like Tomorrow, Send In The Clowns, I Need A Man and La Vie en Rose. The following two albums, Fame and Muse, were weaker but still contained a sprinkling of memorable disco musings like Autumn Leaves, Do Or Die and others.

Warm Leatherette really put her on the musical map, especially on account of her version of the title track that was an obscure synth-pop single by Daniel Miller's The Normal. She also did interesting versions of Private Life (The Pretenders) and Love Is The Drug (Roxy Music). Tracks 6 to 8 come from Jones' very successful Nightclubbing album. Libertango and Walking In the Rain are witty, accessible pop ballads while the funky Pull Up To The Bumper is controversially sensual. My Jamaican Guy from the innovative Living My Life album is jerky, funky and tribal with stunning vocal arrangements.

Unfortunately Island Life doesn't really succeed in providing the best of Grace Jones. It ought to properly have been a double disc as there are many other classics in her oeuvre that deserve to be on a best of album. Songs like Demolition Man, the title track from Nightclubbing, Rolling Stone, Art Groupie, Nipple To The Bottle and The Apple Stretching are equally worthy of inclusion on a greatest hits compilation. And then there are the great albums that followed her Island period: Bulletproof Heart and Inside Story, but that's another story!

I am a "rock and guitar" man, but there is something appealing about many of Grace Jones' efforts. Her vocals can be very effective such as in her fine cover of La Vie en Rose. Even the idea of someone like her tacklng a song like that is unusual to put it mildly. But she carries it off very well and the strong accordion work (or accordion-synth) gives a distinctly European feel to many of her songs. Also she just has a first rate band of backing musicians with superb bass and marvellously atmospheric keyboards that can be positively intoxicating. My favorites are "La Vie on Rose", "I've seen that Face Before" and "Walking in the Rain". I challenge you not to be swept along by the great rhythms on these. I want the man who composed those basslines in my band (I'm sure it was not Grace)!