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Warm Leatherette [Musikkassette]

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Warm Leatherette caused a stir when released in 1980 as Grace Jones had been a disco singer since her 1977 debut Portfolio through the albums Fame and Muse. The change was drastic as the Jamaican musicians Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare gave her an innovative blend of rock, dub & reggae on songs by inter alia Chrissie Hynde, Bryan Ferry, Tom Petty, Daniel Miller and Barry Reynolds. It worked; Jones earned the respect of the rock critics whilst retaining her disco devotees.

The disturbing title track, a cover of an obscure single by The Normal, climaxes with the phrase "let's make LUURVE/before we die." Unlike the synth-pop original, Grace's vocal is filled with drama and accentuated by crashing cymbals. This contrasts markedly with her controlled version of The Pretenders' Private Life which bobs by on a bouncy reggae beat over which Ms Jones sings or talks in a scornful tone. The tempo picks up for Roxy Music's Love Is The Drug that gets an almost throwaway treatment with a lengthy, meandering exit.

No Grace Jones album is complete without the ballads. Smokey Robinson's The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game occasionally encounters twittering birdsong as it languidly lilts along. Then the mood changes first to anger on BullXcrement, a forceful protest song shot through with cynicism and dissonant guitars, and then to icy aloofness on the Tom Petty composition Breakdown. The album ends on a tuneful & romantic note with Pars, in keeping with the Jones tradition of a French chanson on every album.

The songs on Warm Leatherette fit her menacing, aloof or romantic delivery like boxing gloves. Grace deserved the acclaim for transcending the club scene and creating this appealing hybrid of New Wave & Jamaican sounds. She would work with Sly & Robbie on two more albums, Nightclubbing & Living My Life, before pursuing the soulful pop found on 1986's Inside Story and Bulletproof Heart of 1989. After a hiatus of nineteen years, Hurricane was released last year on which the dynamic duo once again added magic to the music of Grace.

Warm Leatherette caused a stir on its release in 1980 as Grace Jones had been known as a disco singer through her albums Portfolio, Fame and Muse. She couldn't have changed direction more radically, covering songs by amongst others Daniel Miller, Chrissie Hynde, Bryan Ferry, Tom Petty and Barry Reynolds, the guitarist and co-writer of various Marianne Faithfull compositions. The Jamaican musicians Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare gave her a brand new sound, a brilliant blend of rock, dub & reggae. It paid off; she gained critical respectability amongst the rock crowd while retaining most of her dance-music fan base.

The ominous title track is a cover of an obscure single by The Normal on Mute Records, with a climax of "let's make LUURVE/before we die." Unlike the synth-pop original, Grace's voice, supported by crashing cymbals, renders the lyrics dramatically & emphatically. Chrissie Hynde's Private Life rolls along nicely on a light reggae beat over which Ms Jones sings and talks in bursts of authoritative declamation and is followed by the mid-tempo number Rolling Stone whilst the interpretation of Roxy Music's Love Is The Drug gets a fast-paced, almost throwaway treatment with a long, meandering exit.

No Grace Jones album is complete without the ballads. The first one here, The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game, lilts along languidly through occasional mists of tweeting & twittering birdsong. Written by Barry Reynolds, the melodious BullXcrement is a powerful statement with cynical lyrics and dissonant guitars and Grace is at her icy & aloof best on the Tom Petty composition Breakdown. The romantic & tuneful Pars that concludes Warm Leatherette continues a Jones tradition of having one French song on every album.

Each track is different and memorable; they fit like boxing gloves in her menacing and/or cold-as-ice delivery. Ms Jones deserved the accolades for transcending the dancefloor and successfully mastering this new style. Grace would work with Sly & Robbie on two more albums, Nightclubbing & Living My Life, before pursuing a type of soulful pop on Inside Story (1986) and Bulletproof Heart (1989). Nineteen years of silence was finally broken in 2008 by the challenging & rewarding Hurricane on which Sly & Robbie once more played a part, along with Tricky and Brian Eno.