Grace Jones : Private Life
On May 9, 1980 the six-foot tall Jamaican fashion model turned disco queen Grace Jones released her breakthrough album, the decidedly reggae-flavored new wave Warm Leatherette, featuring covers of songs by The Pretenders ("Private Life") , The Normal ("Warm Leatherette") , Roxy Music ("Love Is The Drug") , and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ("Breakdown").
Jones told Mary Harmon of Smash Hits:
I think people were waiting for me to do something different. I knew that I liked reggae and I wanted to mix it in, using a more aggressive sound. I like things to be either very aggressive or very hypnotic. I like the intensity that comes from being very controlled.
Like all the other London punks, I wanted to do reggae, and I wrote "Private Life". When I first heard Grace's version I thought 'Now that's how it's supposed to sound!' In fact it was one of the high points of my career - what with Sly and Robbie being the masters, and Grace Jones with her scorching delivery. Someone told me it was Chris Blackwell's idea - thanks Chris!
The B-side: a cover of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control"
The album was recorded at Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
What makes it work? The juxtaposition of Jones' alien look and voice against the deeply felt reggae vibe. She would repeat the formula to greater effect with 1981's Nightclubbing, selected as NME's Album of the Year.
Fun fact: Tom Petty wrote a third stanza for Grace Jones' version of "Breakdown".
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