CD review

Track list:

01. Private Life
02. Inspiration
03. Warm Leatherette
04. Pull Up to the Bumper
05. Love Is the Drug
06. Nightclubbing
07. Nipple to the Bottle
08. Breakdown
09. Demolition Man
10. La Vie En Rose
11. My Jamaican Guy
12. Walking In the Rain
13. I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)

Androgyn, queen of Sheba the ultimate Amazon warrior. Grace Jones.
The fairly short music career of Grace Jones flourished in the late 70�s and way into the 80�s. Her first cut came in 1977 titled: Portfolio, and the mainstream diso sound helped the album to reach the Top 20, lead by the classic gay disco tune: I Need a Man.
I Need a Man reached the #1 Club chart and her magnificent cover of Edith Piaf�s: La Vie En Rose went gold in Europe.
The only cut from �Portfolio� included on this compilation is: La Vie En Rose.
By the dawn of the eighties disco faded and Grace hooked up with the legendary Reggae team: Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
The result came in 1980: Warm Leatherette. The sound was new, a perfect kind of chill; her fantastic cover of The Normal�s: Warm Leatherette made the original seem pathetic and her rocking rendition of Roxy Music�s: Love Is the Drug surpassed the original as well.
Warm Leatherette seemed like a greatest hits album, each and every song on the album was something extraordinary. Her heartfelt passion is felt on Tom Petty�s: Breakdown and her haunting voice is visible on the classic Motown tune: The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game. At last but not least, Private Life, her amazing cover of Hynde�s bizarre Jamaican-dub rhythm gave Grace one of her absolutely biggest hit songs. Grace sing-speaks throughout the song, sounds like a cop-out but in this case it isn�t.
Songs included on this compilation: Private Life, Breakdown, Warm Leatherette and Love Is the Drug. In 1981 came �Nightclubbing� a compilation of songs that covers everything from: David Bowie to Bill Withers.
The sound was slightly different from the previous omission, Walking in the Rain is an incredible tough Manish song, once again her sing-speak suits the song perfectly.
Pull Up to the Bumper stands to this day as Grace�s most recognizable song, the jungle rhythm of the androgyn sex-in-the-car dub is only surpassed by Grace�s robotic vocal deliverance. Her covers of The Police�s: Demolition Man and Bill Withers: Use Me stood the test of time, and certainly helped Grace to stardom.
I�ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango) is an enigmatic Parisian tune that over time has become a Grace Jones standard and her raving cover of Iggy Pop�s: Nightclubbing makes the original seem totally obsolete.
Songs included on this compilation: Pull Up to the Bumper, Nightclubbing, Demolition Man, Walking in the Rain and I�ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango).
The third omission arrived in early �82 titled: Living My Life. This time around Grace co-wrote and co-produced every song on the album. The sounds was different too, it leaned more towards Reggae, Ska-rock and the songs: My Jamaican Guy and Nipple to the Bottle both reached the top 100 chart.
The Universal Masters Collection is a fair representation of Jones� finest work, Cleary missing songs from her early disco years and post Island period, and even her signature tune: Slave to the Rhythm is missing. Despite of these flaws, the compilation is a good way to start.