Customer Reviews

Inside Story

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my all-time favorite albums. I believe it is very probably Ms. Jones greatest work. A totally mature offering without pretension, shock value, gimmickry or gratuitous sensuality.

Here, the great Ms. Jones tackles a variety of social, personal, spiritual topics.

From social justice ["White Collar Crime"] to thwarted personal ambitions ["Inside Story"], to marching to one's own drummer ["Barefoot in Beverly Hills"], to reincarnation ["Victor Should Have Been A Jazz Musician"], to thrill-seeking and perseverance ["Party Girl," "Scary But Fun"].

Great production, texture, songcraft, melody and singing. Great sense of energy and fun throughout the set. Cohesive and unified. A delight from start to finish. Yes, as a few other reviewers mentioned, a departure from her normal style of mostly dance music. [Ironically, every tune here is danceable.] I am a big believer in allowing artists to grow. Ms. Jones co-wrote and co-produced every song. Nile Rodgers, the great writer/producer of Chic, supervised. [Just in case you were wondering, this sounds more like a David Bowie album than a Chic album. In fact, if you like the sound of Bowie's "Let's Dance" (which was also produced by Nile Rodgers), you will LOVE the sound of INSIDE STORY] But, Ms. Jones' unique stamp is all over this album. Every tune is a stand-out. A bold step with dazzling results. In my opinion, absolutely ESSENTIAL Grace Jones.

From its striking cover to the content this really is a great album. with songs such as "victor was a jazz musician", which evokes a feeling of a smokey jazz club, with grace dimly lit on stage to "still walking barefoot" where one can almost see grace doing whats shes singing about. Nile Rodgers has really given the listener a multifaceted album with grace going all directions. this album gives us another view into the enigma that is grace jones, its just a shame that shes not singing anymore

Although I consider that the albums made is her island period (more precisely with Sly and Robbie) is the best of Grace Jones, her two last albums were something really different and something quite good too. On this album it's made quite clear from he start that Grace is no more mumbling. The sounds is a lot more 80`s than her others album and a lot more personal which make it quite appealing. The production is top notch... It's different all right but not a total departure from her island period; her extravagant personality is still around, it's pop and dance all the way... So it should please every fans of her and even attrack some new listeners.

I`M NOT PERFECT: One of the very best tracks on the album... It's a perfect pop number and Grace Vocals are amazing! You need to dance, sing or shout along Jones for sure.

HOLLYWOOD LIAR: Great track, get stuck in my mind for sure each time I listen to it... The tune is ordinary at the start but she the French lyrics make their entrance it became something else. And it's quite good, one of my favorite.

CHAN HITCHHIKES TO SHANGHAI: Sounds 80`s but has a upright beat which make it a nice piece of pop but somehow gets repetitive.

VICTOR: Great, simply stunning... You get stuck in some kind of trance when you listen to victor; it's actually one of the best tracks she ever recorded in her entire career. The vocals of Grace are once again amazing, a more jazzy, late night style which work quite well.

PARTY GIRL: Danceable track, quite personal for Jones. But really nothing shine in the song. I can't understand why this track was chosen for a single.

CRUSH: Imaginative and daring. It has a special feel that Grace never tried before. It's a great song in a more rock style.

BAREFOOT IN BEVERLY HILLS: Unoriginal, stands out as the only bad track of the album. Really nothing interesting in the track; the vocals are flat, the musical unimaginative and the sound is 80.

SCARY BUT FUN: Great, great... So original and it delivers a beautiful message thru this song; taking chances on the life you've won.

WHITE COLLAR CRIME: Wow, the stand out of this album must be the last two tracks... This one is absolutely amazingly gorgeous... Grace sings like she never sings before. Seriously she get that note at the end of the song, it's incredible.

INSIDE STORY: This one is a gem. Although it's not the style that Grace is used to it became one of the great tracks on Inside Story. I love the lyrics...

Altought I considered it not her best album, inside story is still above today's music and by far. Grace is emotional, direct, sure and strange... That what's makes this album work so well... Have a try if you find it somewhere, you won`t regret it!!!

I purchased this album when it was first released back in the 80's on cassette. This is a unique demonstration of what Grace Jones is capable of doing with her funky mix of rhythms,sounds melodies and lyrics. "I'm not perfect, but I'm perfect for you", what a great line. I have been a big fan of hers ever since she started in music and have been listening since.

Strange mix of tracks, but isn't that what Grace is afterall... delightfully strange. For me the best tracks are "I'm Not Perfect", "Victor", "Hollywood Liar" (especially the part with the frenetic french lyrics)...the other tracks are ok, a bit on the 80's pop-ish side, yeah somewhat cheesy. The gospely track "Inside Story" just isn't befitting for this put-some-grace-in-your-face dominatrixxx. Grace redeemed? HA! I'm not that gullible. Don't get me wrong, it is a fine track. Just that it is easier for me to picture Ms. Jones with horns and a snarl on her face. I also liked "Scary But Fun" here Grace pokes some fun when she sings towards the end of the track "I'm a little scary...but so much fun". That song, by the way, is about taking chances in life so you don't miss out on the good stuff. Heck every Grace Jones fan should get their fangs on this album.

Grace Jones' only made a handful of albums after leaving Island Records for a deal with EMI and unfortunatley none of these became commercially succesful. This 1986 album is a very good one at that, steering Jones into a more commercial sound and instead of the usual format she'd established with a lot of her 1980's recordings where she would speak through the songs she actually sings through these demonstrating her impressive vocal abilities. I'M NOT PERFECT (BUT I'M PERFECT FOR YOU) is a very catchy dance number and is possibly the best cut on the album. HOLLYWOOD LIAR is a little too similar to that track but the rest of the album ranges from good to very good with highlights being the title track itself, INSIDE STORY, the atmospheric, CHAN HITCHIKES TO SHANGHAI, the rock sounding, CRUSH, and the disco style, PARTY GIRL. A recommended album to all Grace Jones fans.

IMO This is one if Graces' Best albums. She for once on all her CD's sings every song with no chanting, talking (Except for Beverly Hills) or yelling! It has some great music to go with it and provide many life anthems like Scary but Fun.

Recommended tracks:
I'm not perfect
Hollywood Liar
Scary But Fun
Barefoot in beverly hills
Victor should have been a Jazz musician

Grace tackles a lot of territory here and yes she does sing her heart out. Inside Story is such a wonderful song about a family and how they can inspire you. The whole album plays out like an autobiographical journey. She lives in LA and deals with a bunch of sharks but still walks barefoot in Beverly Hills. Through it all she praises God for his inspiration. A very honest and upbeat recording.

One of the best CD's Grace has produced during her long career.
Hollywood Liar is great, as also White Collar crime.
Overall, a suprisingly nice twist on a great album!

This 1986 studio effort from the outrageous Diva, Grace Jones, marked her debut on the Manhatten label and saw her immediately teamed with hot R&B master, Nile Rodgers, one half of the 1970's disco group, Chic, and who had produced classics for the likes of Soul music legend Diana Ross and the Queen of Pop, Madonna. Allegedly Nile Rodgers and Grace Jones did not get on at all well and the recording sessions for Inside Story were a little intense.

Following on from her Reggae/Funk/Rock/New Wave infused albums such as the excellent Warm Leatherette (1980) and the critically-acclaimed Nightclubbing (1981), Inside Story (1986) divulged Jones into a far more commercial sound. Inside Story was a mixed concoction of Pop/Dance/Funk/R&B with subtle hints of jazz on one particularly awful track, Victor Should Have Been A Jazz Muscian.

I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect For You)was the premiere single. Fairly infectious, the track showcased Jones raw (and rather narrow) vocal style than most of her previous singles had where she seemingly scowled through the lyrics as opposed to actually singing. I'm Not Perfect went onto become one of her biggest hits in the States whilst crawling quietly into the lower reaches of the U.K Top 75.

Hollywood Liar continues the already tried and tested formula of I'm Not Perfect. The limitations of her thin vocals do show up on this particular track but somehow it manages to redeem itself and becomes quite infectious after a couple of listens.

The atmospheric and driving Chan Hitchikes To Shanghai is far better. Jones inserts herself effectivley into the sparse production and this scores as one of the more favourable album tracks.

The painfully dated Victor Should Have Been A Jazz Muscian, contains a rather flat vocal performance that simply lacks the spark to ignite this ponderous effort. Curiously this was another track to be swiped from the album and lifted as a single though unsurprisingly sank without trace.

More upbeat was Party Girl, a song that was undoubtedly written especially for and about Grace Jones. Nile Rodgers thoughts and perceptions of Grace Jones are reflected on recordings such as Party Girl which with its breezy, inventive musical arrangements, emerges as another catchy number. Party Girl was also released as a single though it too rapidly slid into the dumper.

The Pop/Light Rock tone of Crush swerves into more commercial terriotry though more bland and forgetable is the unimaginative Barefoof In Beverley Hills.

Jones delivers a nice, breathy and surprisingly seamless performance on the mellow, late night Pop/R&B track, Scary But Fun, another song that was something of a personal reflection. After all Grace Jones image was all about being scary but through her music she got occasional chances to show off her more fun side albeit in the most weird, off-the-wall manner - you have to view her extraordinary A One Man Show (1982) to know what I mean!

White Collar Crime continues the bubbling formula of commercial flavoured Pop/R&B where Jones delivers a rich and compelling performance. Incidentally White Collar Crime sounds vaguely similar to her 1985 Trevor Horn produced classic, Slave To The Rhythm.

The title track, Inside Story, closes the album on a high. With a spiritual and poignant edge, this track does emerge as another of the projects highlights.

Not one of her best albums, nor was it a great commercial success though this remains one of her most commercially visible albums.


Ian Phillips