Nightclubbing by Grace Jones

Track Overview

BEST SONG: "Pull Up to the Bumper"

Walking in the Rain A
Pull Up to the Bumper A+
Use Me A
Nightclubbing B
Art Groupie C+
I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) A-
Feel Up D+
Demolition Man A-
I've Done it Again B+

OVERALL SCORE: 4/5

Introductory Narrative

It was not uncommon for Annie Lennox to be called a Euro-Grace Jones when Lennox was starting out, and that's for good reason! If you like the Eurythmics, then picking up these post-disco Grace Jones albums ought to be mandatory.

Album History

This is the fifth Grace Jones album, but only the second post-disco release. In the late 70s, she was fairly established as a disco diva, but when disco hit its peak around 1979, Grace Jones, being the hipster that she was, quickly shifted gears to a new wave/dance direction. Released in 1981, this is a well-regarded follow-up to Warm Leatherette, which is also a well-regarded album! At any rate, anyone looking for some good dance music from the early 80s (that doesn't really sound embarrasingly dated) should at least check out "Pull Up to the Bumper."

Album Overview

The first three songs on here are so excellently good, that I would have thought this album was immortal upon first listen. The first song, "Walking in the Rain," is such a classy song that Grace Jones should be nicknamed Classy Grace "Class" Jones McClass, Graduate of Classy High School Class of 1981 and Voted the Class's Classiest Classmate. The song to follow that is the utterly explosive dance song "Pull Up to the Bumper." Okay, the lyrics are *ahem* questionable, but they're not stupid. Besides the beat gets the best of you! You just want to get up and dance your heart out upon that song. Next is "Use Me," which features a threatening but cool bassline and a great melody. All throughout this, we are treated to Jones' unquestionable talent and great vocal chords.

After that, however, the album gets a bit spotty. The lowest point is undoubtedly "Feel Up," which is an oddly toneless song and the groove really isn't any good. "Art Groupie" is another clumsy song. These songs are so dang out of place when you compare it to any of the other songs, which have some great instrumental production on them. I don't really know what happened on those two songs; they're just awful (relatively speaking). Well, "Feel Up" was written exclusively by Grace Jones, which might explain some of it. (Hey, she sings covers for a reason.)

Anyway, overall, this is a strong album. Again, for a dance mix tape, you've got to have "Pull Up to the Bumper" somewhere on it.

Detailed Track Analysis

The album starts out very cooly with a very modest groove and Grace Jones simply talking lyrics. "Walking in the Rain" is a classy song by design and, as long as you don't mind the fact that Jones doesn't sing at all, you'll probably enjoy this one too. After all, class isn't something that is divinely ordained on a person. It is something that you have to earn and develop! Grace Jones has got to be one of the classiest people in the music business. That reserved groove keeps things going pleasantly, and there's enough strange synths and percussion instruments that keeps this interesting. It's hardly boring! (And, hey, this is very reminiscent of early Roxy Music, which is always a good thing.)

"Pull Up to the Bumper" the groove is much more upbeat and danceable this time! It definitely has a great beat that's up there with a Talking Heads groove (which really is saying something). The groove is fantastic, and it rules without getting cheap or cheesy. The car horns we hear through this prove they really gave a lot of thought into this. All of that, along with Jones' powerful voice makes this a great song. Jones co-wrote this song, too! You should put this on your next dance mix.

"Use Me" utilizes another cool-sounding groove, but it's not calm or modest! It's a very threatening sounding groove, and Jones' who not only looks positively scary in real life but her voice is scary also. All of these elements means that this is another fantastic song. The groove is so good that it almost hurts! The instrumentation is really fantastic through this, too, and it features a pretty good synth solo.

A cover of that Iggy Pop/David Bowie now-classic, "Nightclubbing," is hardly a mindless retread of that song! It's slowed down a bit and the groove is basically minimized to a single bassline (and certain sounds and instruments come in to make things interesting). Of course, Jones is singing! All of that said, this isn't exactly an A-level song. It's not as emotionally taxing or as incredibly enjoyable as the previous three songs. Still, this is pretty good!

"Art Groupie" has a melody (though a clumsy one) and a lot of chord changes (which I do appreciate), but the song seems misfired. Part of it is the instrumentation, which isn't nearly as sophisticated as the previous songs. This just has a bass line and a normal-sounding synth. It's based on a reggae groove, and it's not a great one at that. Anyway, this isn't exactly a bomb, but it could have been MUCH better.

"I've Seen that Face Before (Libertango)" features a much more enjoyable groove this time (and, in the introduction, there's an awesomely strange synth). It has reggae ties too in the groove, except this one's awesome. The melody is also fantastic and the French accordion running through this gives it unique character. I kind of wish there would have been a thudering chorus (because it seems like this song ought to have one), but overall this is a very nice, low-key song.

"Feel Up" is the only song on this album written exclusively by Grace Jones. Songwriting's not her forte, unfortunately. This song features a clumsy riff with absolutely no hooks in it. The melody is even worse. Yeah, dearie, don't write songs anymore. (*Cowers in anticipation of Grace Jones' menacing glare*)

"Demolition Man" has a pretty good, dark groove to it. The song sounds more threatening and menacing than simply danceable. The song has a pretty good driving force and features a creepy melody, steady bassline, and some wicked licks of electric guitar. There's some pretty sweet synth improvising in this, too. Awesome.

"I've Done it Again" is, surprisingly, the most low-profile song on here. It features a very calming and simple groove (that borders on adult contemporary) and Grace Jones gives a fairly sweet vocal performance. It's a modest song and it's not even that memorable. However, despite the subject matter about drugs, it is fairly charming. It's a strong song and an entirely decent way to end the album.