Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 23 / 8 / 2016

Label: Select Label
Format: N/A

intro

Following reissues of 'Nightclubbing' in 2014 and 2015's 'Disco' Grace Jones has even more to offer with the deluxe editions of her 1980 album 'Warm Leatherette' released on Universal

After the reissues of the excellent 'Nightclubbing' in 2014 and last year’s 'Disco' box set featuring 'Portfolio', 'Fame' and 'Muse' in one uber fantastic package, Grace Jones fans have been treated once more by Universal Music with the deluxe editions of Jones’ 1980 album, 'Warm Leatherette'. This album was the first in her critically acclaimed ‘Compass Point Trilogy’ and had Jones working with an all-star session group including rhythm sections by Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, plus percussionist Uziah Thompson. She also worked with keyboardist Wally Badarou and guitarists Mikey Chung and Barry Reynolds in a bid to change the direction she was going in. I personally will never forget the first time I saw Grace on the TV. She scared the shit out of me. But I found her, like a lot of my friends at that time, both mysterious and god-like. The two-CD digital remastered version has the Pretenders‘ 'Private Life', Roxy Music‘s 'Love is the Drug' and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers‘ 'Breakdown'. It also houses the B-sides and rare re-mixes and instrumental versions of all the hits and some not on the album itself such as a cover of Joy Division's 'She's Lost Control'. This two-CD version has 27 tracks on it, but it is available in other formats as well. A 4LP box set also boasts 27 tracks and if you want the visual aid then look no further than the splendid hi-res blu-ray audio which has five additional bonus remixes including the Francois Kevorkian Remix of the title track. It doesn't matter much content wise with the rest as all editions have nineteen bonus tracks and it's all housed in proper 'Leatherette' packaging as it should be! Highlights on here for me are the originals of 'Love is the Drug' and 'Private Life' along with the full eight-and-a half minutes of the former on the twelve-inch version. There's also a great version of 'She's Lost Control' which was issued as the B-side to 1980's 'Private Life'. If your money can stretch to it though and for those serious Grace Jones fanatics, you will spend anything between £50 and £80 for the wonderful quadruple vinyl version. Marvellous!

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