| Warm Leatherette | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Original artwork | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 9, 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979–1980 | |||
| Studio | Compass Point (Nassau, Bahamas) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:04 (LP version) 46:40 (CD and cassette version) | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Grace Jones chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 1984 re-release artwork | ||||
 | ||||
| Singles from Warm Leatherette | ||||
| ||||
Warm Leatherette is the fourth studio album by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones, released on 9 May 1980 by Island Records. The album features contributions from the reggae production duo Sly and Robbie and is a departure from Jones's earlier disco sound, moving towards a new wave-reggae direction.
Background and production
Although having established herself as a performer with a string of club hits in the US and a large gay following, Jones had only achieved very modest commercial success with her first three disco albums. For Warm Leatherette, Jones went through a musical and visual reinvention. The singer teamed up with producers Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin, and Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Barry Reynolds, Mikey Chung and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson, aka the Compass Point Allstars, for a record that would be a total departure from disco and an exploration of new wave music, blending reggae and rock.
In her 2015 memoir, Grace looked back at this time period as one of reinvention. She commented "Disco was squeezing me into a room that was looking tackier and tackier, and I was worried I was going to be trapped. Meeting Jean-Paul and Chris Blackwell helped me follow my own route".[3] Grace felt that her first three albums produced by Tom Moulton – Portfolio (1977), Fame (1978) and Muse (1979) – were "becoming his vision more than mine" and "all followed the same formula".[3] She described the songs from her previous albums as "souvenirs of the Studio 54 era".[3]
Warm Leatherette was the first of three albums recorded at the Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. According to John Doran of BBC Music, Warm Leatherette is a "post-punk pop" album that, "delved into the worlds of disco, reggae and funk much more successfully than most of her 'alternative' contemporaries, while still retaining a blank-eyed alienation that was more reminiscent of David Bowie or Ian Curtis than most of her peers."[1] David Bowie influences were also noted by Joe Muggs of Fact.[4]
The album includes covers of songs by The Normal, The Pretenders, Roxy Music, Smokey Robinson, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Jacques Higelin. Blackwell intended to make a record with "a harsh sound that was heavy with Jamaican rhythm".[5] For Jones's version of "Breakdown", Tom Petty specially wrote a third verse for the song.[6] The album also includes one song co-written by Jones, "A Rolling Stone", and one French track, "Pars" (French for "Leave"), a reggae re-imagining of Jacques Higelin's song. "Bullshit" is an original by Barry Reynolds. Reynolds would later write or co-write several tracks for Jones: "Art Groupie", "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)", the entire B-side of the Living My Life album, and "Well Well Well". "Pull Up to the Bumper" was also recorded during the sessions for Warm Leatherette, but its R&B sound was found not fitting in the rest of the material and so it appeared on Jones's next album, Nightclubbing in 1981.
The vinyl LP release of the album included shorter versions of some of the songs, due to limited capacity of the vinyl format. Most compact disc editions included extended 12" mixes of selected tracks that had originally appeared on the single-sided chrome audio cassette.
Artwork
Warm Leatherette was the first Jones album with cover art designed by her then-boyfriend, Jean-Paul Goude, which presented the singer's androgynous look for the first time. It featured a black and white photograph of Jones pregnant, with her signature flattop haircut, sitting with her arms crossed. Chris Blackwell praised it as "a very powerful image".[5]
After the commercial success of Nightclubbing, Island Records re-released the Warm Leatherette album with new artwork, replacing Jean-Paul Goude's original cover with a picture of Jones performing "Walking in the Rain", taken from her 1982 concert video A One Man Show. The image featured on the back cover was a snapshot of Jones singing "Warm Leatherette", also from A One Man Show. Some subsequent CD releases would adopt the new artwork with the original studio portrait included in the inner sleeve.
Singles
Three singles received a wider, international release: "Love Is the Drug", "Private Life" and "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game". Notable is that the first two were not released in North America, although they are considered two of Jones's signature songs.
"A Rolling Stone" was released as the lead single in the UK, but did not garner much attention. "Love Is the Drug" quickly followed, but did not make any chart impact - until six years later, when a remixed version became a minor hit in the UK, peaking at No. 35. The most successful single off the album, and Grace Jones's breakthrough song, was "Private Life", which entered the top 20 of singles chart in the UK, becoming her first chart entry in that country, and has since become one of her signature songs. "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" was released as the fourth single.
For the North American market "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" was chosen as the first single. It failed to enter mainstream charts, but made it to the R&B chart in the US. "Warm Leatherette" reached the top 20 on the dance chart, on the strength of being the lead track on a 12" album promo sampler. "Breakdown" was released as a single only in the US. "Pars", sung in French, was a single in Canada and France.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[8] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [9] |
| Pitchfork | 8.5/10[10] |
| Record Collector | [11] |
| Smash Hits | 3/10[12] |
| Uncut | 8/10[2] |
AllMusic critic Ron Wynn wrote that "the overall album had more energy and production gloss than previous LPs that had been aimed completely at the club market."[7] Music critic Robert Christgau thought that "with Smokey Robinson and Chrissie Hynde scripting adventures in dominance and fellow Jamaicans Shakespeare and Dunbar adding cyborgian oomph, the theoretical allure of her persona is finally made flesh."[8]
Warm Leatherette charted only in Australia, the UK and the US. Although it remains one of the least successful Grace Jones albums in terms of sales and chart performance, it holds the credit for being her breakthrough record in the UK. It is also one of the highest-rated of all her studio releases.[13]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Warm Leatherette" | Daniel Miller | 4:25 |
| 2. | "Private Life" | Chrissie Hynde | 5:10 |
| 3. | "A Rolling Stone" |
| 3:30 |
| 4. | "Love Is the Drug" | 7:15 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" | Smokey Robinson | 3:50 |
| 6. | "Bullshit" | Barry Reynolds | 5:20 |
| 7. | "Breakdown" | Tom Petty | 5:30 |
| 8. | "Pars" | Jacques Higelin | 4:05 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Warm Leatherette" | Miller | 5:39 |
| 2. | "Private Life" | Hynde | 6:19 |
| 3. | "A Rolling Stone" |
| 3:30 |
| 4. | "Love Is the Drug" |
| 8:41 |
| 5. | "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" | Robinson | 6:45 |
| 6. | "Bullshit" | Reynolds | 5:20 |
| 7. | "Breakdown" | Petty | 5:30 |
| 8. | "Pars" | Higelin | 4:44 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Warm Leatherette" (Long Version) | Miller | 5:35 |
| 10. | "Private Life" (Long Version) | Hynde | 6:17 |
| 11. | "A Rolling Stone" (Long Version) |
| 5:43 |
| 12. | "Love Is the Drug" (Long Version) |
| 8:38 |
| 13. | "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" (Long Version) | Robinson | 6:44 |
| 14. | "Pars" (Long Version) | Higelin | 5:41 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Private Life" (Long Version 2) | Hynde | 7:55 |
| 2. | "Private Life" (Dub Version) | Hynde | 8:04 |
| 3. | "She's Lost Control" (Long Version) | 8:23 | |
| 4. | "She's Lost Control" (Dub Version) |
| 8:38 |
| 5. | "Love Is the Drug" (Single Version) |
| 4:41 |
| 6. | "Private Life" (Single Version) | Chrissie Hynde | 4:37 |
| 7. | "She's Lost Control" (Single Version) |
| 3:46 |
| 8. | "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" (Special Single Version) | Robinson | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Breakdown" (US Single Edit) | Petty | 3:00 |
| 10. | "Pars" (Single Version) | Higelin | 4:24 |
| 11. | "Pars" (Dub Version) | Higelin | 4:41 |
| 12. | "Love Is the Drug" (12" Single Remix) |
| 7:23 |
| 13. | "Private Life" (12" Single Remix) | Hynde | 7:04 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "She's Lost Control" (Long Version 2) |
| 6:45 |
| 15. | "She's Lost Control" (Long Version 3) |
| 5:45 |
| 16. | "Love Is the Drug" (7" Single Remix) |
| 3:21 |
| 17. | "Private Life" (7" Single Remix) | Hynde | 4:04 |
| 18. | "Warm Leatherette" (François Kevorkian Remix) | Miller | 6:23 |
Personnel
- Grace Jones – vocals, background vocals
- Barry Reynolds – guitar
- Mikey Chung – guitar
- Wally Badarou – keyboards
- Robbie Shakespeare – bass guitar
- Sly Dunbar – drums
- Uziah Thompson – percussion
Technical
- Chris Blackwell – production, engineering, mixing
- Alex Sadkin – production, engineering, mixing
- Ted Jensen – mastering engineer
- Kendal Stubbs – assistant engineering
- Jean-Paul Goude – artwork
Charts
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] | 47 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[15] | 45 |
| US Billboard 200[16] | 132 |
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] | 96 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] | 188 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] | 198 |
Release history
| Region | Year | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 1980 | LP, cassette | Island |
| United States | 1986 | CD | |
| Europe | 1987 | ||
| Australia | 1989 |
References
- 1 2 Doran, John (2010). "Grace Clubbing - Nightclubbing review". BBC. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- 1 2 Martin, Piers (July 2016). "Review: Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette Deluxe Edition". Uncut. London, England. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- 1 2 3 Jones, Grace (2015). I'll Never Write My Memoirs. London: Simon & Schuster. pp. 204–205. ISBN 978-1-4711-3523-1.
- ↑ Muggs, Joe (2 May 2014). "I've Seen That Face Before: looking back on Grace Jones' iconic Nightclubbing with the people who made it happen". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- 1 2 "The World Of Grace Jones". www.theworldofgracejones.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
- ↑ Joey Michaels. "3349. "Breakdown" by Grace Jones". sadclownrep.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
- 1 2 Ron Wynn. "Warm Leatherette – Grace Jones". AllMusic. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- 1 2 Robert Christgau. "Robert Christgau: CG: grace jones". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Grace Jones". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 470. ISBN 978-0857125958.
- ↑ T Cole Rachel. "Warm Leatherette – Grace Jones". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
- ↑ Foist, D (July 2016). "Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette". Record Collector. No. 455. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ↑ Hillier, Bev. "Albums". Smash Hits (June 12–25, 1980): 31.
- ↑ "Grace Jones". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 160. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ↑ "Grace Jones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 December 2021.