Grace Jones
After 19 long years Grace Jones, the Queen of live performance, alternative soul, and the effortless melding of music, art and performance is back with her great studio release Hurricane.
When I profiled her last week I had no idea a CD was even in the works, but here it is. It's caller Hurricane and it's a Grace Jones tour de force. Complete with clever lyrics, carribean inspired tracks, top notch production and a healthy dose of the theartical and the sublime it works in ways I forgot music can. She manages to touch the soul, tickle the intelligence and of course make ya wanna hit da floor. Oh yeah, for those of you who engage it's def a 420 affair...feel me?
Check out the two videos below. One is the highly experimental video for the fist single Corporate Cannibal and the first is a live performance of the CD's 2nd single William's Blood, an autobiographical joint about her relationship with her family.
The CD is NOT scheduled to be released in the US and for good reason. It's a really nice piece of work, but well off the American radar of radio ready cloned hits made by the same 3 producers. Fans of Jones earlier work will enjoy the CD immensely as will kids who are looking for something different, but that's likely where the love will end in the U.S.
I for one am happy to see Grace back and doing her singularly inventive thing. I do hope she 'graces' us with a live show or two. I've never had the pleasure of seeing her live show, but I am told it is magical to say the least. hey who knows..maybe I will try to do something personally about getting her here to perform live in NYC.
Welcome back Grace...we missed ya.