Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions

Grace Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 16, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 16, 1998
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000007QQK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,192 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In the wake of Marianne Faithfull's disco-punk fusion on 1979's Broken English, Island label mate and disco diva Grace Jones made a similar left turn with a couple of albums of new-wave classics (the Pretenders' "Private Life," Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing"), new-wave "classics" (the Normal's "Warm Leatherette") and a soul chestnut or two ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game") given her uniquely growling treatment. As the funk grew stronger, she even placed a few hits on the charts, notably the 1982 "Pull Up to the Bumper." Private Life surveys this, the artiest of Jones's periods, including rare 12-inch and dub mixes. --Rickey Wright

Spin

Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions (Island) draws from the three Jones albums produced by [Chris] Blackwell and played by the All-Stars. Jones bore her status as Diaspora artist proudly, putting across white rock songs and cabaret tunes with few of the emotional signifiers of either Rasta or Pop.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pure listening joy, explore the rhythm and sound..., July 29, 2003

By 

D. H. Richards "ninthwavestore" (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions (Audio CD)

This is one of those CDs you can listen to over and over and it still feels fresh each time. Maybe it's just me but these tracks for the most part highlight Sly and Robbie and the whole compass point sound at its finest. It mixes rock, r'n'b, dub, reggae and funk in a perfect mix.

Some may ask if you really need 2 versions of most songs, and I say, yes! For all I know Ms. Jones may have been essential to these recordings, but in the end it is really about exploration of the interaction between music and rhythm. So the mostly instrumental dub versions are perfect. And if you like this set try "Island Life" which has a few songs from Ms. Jones' early period not on here.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the BEST Best of Grace Jones, September 16, 2004

By 

J. Brady (PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions (Audio CD)

There are SO MANY compilations devoted to this woman's music. I think she actually has more compilation albums than she had regular albums. Whatever. This one's a real winner. Especially if you liked her early eighties work. This double cd covers everything from hard-edged dance tunes ( Warm Leatherette ) to ballads ( the gorgeous I've Done It Again ) to dub reggae ( just about everything else ). Appearing on cd for the first time are several extended versions of songs from her albums ( which were actually recorded as extended versions, by the studio band, the Compass Point All-Stars, not just remixed and extended by some studio boffin ). Great liner notes. Great cover versions. I LOVE THIS CD. Very highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Private Life" belongs in YOUR life! Point compass to "BUY"!, October 29, 2001

By 

philphila "philphila" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions (Audio CD)

I should start off by noting that this collection is not a complete overview of Grace Jones's recording career. None of her 1970s disco tracks appear here, nor does any of her sporadic output from the late 1980s and early '90s. That said, it's hard to imagine that the inclusion of any of those tracks could improve the quality of this set. The material presented here is a striking blend of reggae, funk, new wave and disco; and despite the fact that each of those musical genres peaked decades ago, the songs included on this CD have held up extremely well. The production (by Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin) is sharp, clean and exciting; and Jones's band (headed by Sly & Robbie) cooks. While these guys deserve a lot of the credit for the high quality of these songs, a great deal of credit should also go to Jones. She projects a powerful, authoritative presence throughout, and her dark, stylish talk-singing fits this material like a glove. What's more, two of the set's best songs - "My Jamaican Guy" and "Living My Life" - carry a sole songwriting credit for Jones.

The many remakes included here bear witness to the talent, intelligence and impeccable taste of the Compass Point group, too. Granted, it would be difficult for even the most objective listener to call Grace Jones a serious interpretive singer; some would even hesitate to call her a singer, period. But many of the smashing cover versions contained here - specifically Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug," the Normal's "Warm Leatherette" and the Pretenders' "Private Life" - are absolutely definitive and belong completely to Jones. The other originals included here are also first-rate. "Pull Up to the Bumper" is a dance-funk gem and one of Jones's only singles to reach the upper levels of a major Billboard chart (R&B #5). The provocative "Walking in the Rain," the punchy "Nipple to the Bottle" and the haunting, Trevor Horn-produced "Slave to the Rhythm" are all sensational should-have-been hits, as well. There's even a surprisingly good version of Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire": Just imagine what the possibilities might have been for that video! The only track that I find unlistenable, out of the 26 included here, is the grating "She's Lost Control," which finds Jones screaming like a madwoman at the end of the song. (Then again, it's probably just part of the act.)

If the scary videos, harsh costumes and not-ready-for-prime-time performances turned you off the first time, then you've truly missed out on something special. Grace Jones is ripe for rediscovery, and you won't find a better way to do this than the excellent, accessible "Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions." It's a much better buy than the brief "Island Life" compilation, which sacrifices much of the brilliant Sly & Robbie work for some weak disco cuts. Plus, the 24-page booklet contains an excellent essay and some period photos of Jones. I don't know that we'll ever get a Grace Jones box set, but with the magnificent "Compass Point Sessions," we may not need one. It just doesn't get any better than this.