Grace Jones (1952 - )
Grace Jones in Vamp (1986) - Richard Wenk
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[FR] [DE] [UK]
Biography
Grace Jones (May 19, 1952) born Grace Mendoza, in Spanish Town, Kingston, Jamaica is a model, singer and actress.
Jones is known for her post-modern costuming and performance, at which she dressed in men's clothing and gorilla suits. She gained a reputation for temperament after she physically attacked British chat show host, Russell Harty, because he turned his back on her to speak to another guest.
Musically, she began singing disco, then moved on into quirky pop and reggae, featuring big names in Jamaican music on albums such as Nightclubbing. Later, she recorded hip-hop flavored dance music.
She was a Bond girl in A View to a Kill, a 1985 movie in the James Bond series of films. She later had a role in the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. Earlier in her acting career, she starred alongside future governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain in 1984's Conan the Destroyer.
She appeared in the September 1987 issue of Playboy magazine. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Jones [Feb 2005]
1980-1982
Grace Jones teamed with the great reggae production duo of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare from 1980 to 1982, and made the transition from straight dance and club act into quasi-pop star with reggae and urban contemporary leaning.
Richard Bernstein
Indeed, Ms. Jones said that she and Bernstein served as mutual muses for each other. He did the artwork for her first single, "I Need A Man," and then for every one of her albums up to 1980's Warm Leatherette. Bernstein also worked with artist Antonia López on Ms. Jones' 1986 vampire movie, Vamp. And she said it was Bernstein's idea to dress her as a luminescent chandelier for her dramatic performance of "La Vie en Rose" at a tribute to the artist Erté at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
CDs
- Living My Life (1982) - Grace Jones [CD, Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
1. My Jamaican Guy 2. Nipple to the Bottle 3. Apple Stretching 4. Everybody Hold Still 5. Cry Now, Laugh Later 6. Inspiration 7. Unlimited Capacity for Love
This album came right between a so-so Grace Jones album ("Nightclubbing"), and a genius Grace Jones album ("Slave To The Rhythm"). This was the start of something good. i like this Sly-and-Robbie production with Grace Jones better than the previous 2 ("Warm Leatherette", "Nightclubbing") because it touches more into electronic instruments and synthesizers. The 2 before this was more a simple straight Rock/Reggae band. There are quite a few songs on here that reach classic status for me. One is the Broadway song "The Apple Stretching", a tale of New York City life in the morning. Grace Jones uses her dramatic vocals to make the song come alive. The slower and less intense (and underrated) "Inspiration" is another great one, with a sound that is sneaky and relaxed at the same time. The last track "Unlimited Capacity For Love" is another great one, and is yet another track with a more relaxed but still danceable feel. "Cry Now, Laugh Later" is a precursor to the Techno and Electronic music of today, with an awesomely heavy dance beat and a keyboard riff along with distorted vocals. Honorable mentions are the short and sweet "Everybody Hold Still", and the somewhat repetitive "Nipple To The Bottle". The worst track is the dry and repetitive "My Jamaican Guy". i simply don't see how people can like this song so much, with the phrase "My jamaican guy" being repeated over and over again. An edit of this song cutting 2 or 3 minutes off of it would make it perfect. This definitely belongs in the collection of every Grace Jones fan, especially those who favor her 80's material over her 1970's Disco. --Travis for amazon.com - Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions - Grace Jones [CD, Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
1. Private Life [Long Version] 2. Private Life [Dub Version][#] 3. Love Is the Drug [Long Version] 4. Breakdown 5. Warm Leatherette [Long Version] 6. Hunter Gets Captured by the Game [Long Version] 7. I've Done It Again 8. Pars [Long Version][#] 9. Pull Up to the Bumper 10. Use Me [Long Version][#] 11. She's Lost Control [Long Version] 12. She's Lost Control [Dub Version][#]
Disc: 2 1. Walking in the Rain 2. Cry Now, Laugh Later 3. Nightclubbing 4. Apple Stretching 5. Nipple to the Bottle [12" Version] 6. My Jamiacan Guy [12" Version] 7. Feel Up 8. I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) [Libertango] 9. Demolition Man [Long Version] 10. Unlimited Capacity for Love 11. Ring of Fire [#][Demo Version] 12. Man Around the House [#] 13. Living My Life [7" Version] 14. Slave to the Rhythm [Hot Blooded Version] 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 for Amazon.com
Movies
- Vamp (1986) - Richard Wenk [DVD, Amazon US]
[FR] [DE] [UK]
Campy, trampy and vampy, July 12, 2002
I will admit that this is not the best movie ever made, but it certainly is my favorite. Grace Jones always looks like she would rip your skin off with her teeth, bit by bit.
The first thing you notice is how surreal the background gets after dark. I love the humor in this movie. I think this movie should be rated as the best cult film ever. The lines are delivered with comic expertise. For anyone who loves vampire movies as much as I do, you will love this movie. Not a scary movie for the squeemish, but extremely entertaining. Once it gets dark, beware. Snow and his followers will get you, if the vampires in the club don't.
My favorite line in the movie (it was hard to choose) is the one that A. J. delivers when he says, "formica, go figure". If you see the movie, then you will understand the meaning of that line. Another great line was when the little rich friend asks one of the waitresses what time she gets off. She states in a very husky voice, "3:30". He then says, "can I watch?"
Lots of tongue in cheek, and even a bit of romance towards the end. This is a fun movie for people who don't take vampires seriously. --Mickey Buell for amazon.com
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