Well, I’ve just caught wind of a sultry breeze wafting up from the Carribbean. It looks like Island/UMG is getting ready to flex that Grace Jones catalog muscle. Her lapel-grabbing 1981 waxing is finally getting some DLX RM love from the owners of the tapes. Yes, it’s time for the ultimate version of “Nightclubbing” to be unleashed come April 28, 2014. But what does that entail?

Island/UMG | UK | 2xCD | 2014

Grace Jones: Nightclubbing UK DLX RM 2xCD [2014]

Disc 1

1. Walking In The Rain
2. 
Pull Up To The Bumper
3. 
Use Me
4. 
Nightclubbing
5. 
Art Groupie
6. 
I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango]
7. 
Feel Up
8. 
Demolition Man
9. 
I’ve Done It Again

Disc 2

1. Demolition Man [12” Version] 4.58
2. Pull Up To The Bumper [Long Version] 5.45
3. Feel Up [Long Version] 6.14
4. I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango] [12” Version] 5.32
5. Walking In The Rain [12” Version] 7.25
6. Pull Up To The Bumper [Remixed Version] 7.15
7. Use Me [Long Version] 6.10
8. Pull Up To The Bumper [US Party Version] 5.00
9. Feel Up [Extended Version] 6.15
10. Pull Up To The Bumper [1985 Remix] 6.24
11. Peanut Butter [Pull Up To The Bumper Instrumental] 5.10
12. If You Wanna Be My Lover [previously unreleased] 8.00
13. Me! I Disconnect From You [previously unreleased] 5.30
14. Esta Cara Me Es Conocida [I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango] 4.32

Niiiiice! If you’re a fan with the mandatory “Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions” 2xCD from 1998, you will be happy to know that only two of these cuts have previously appeared on that incredible compilation. Just the 12″ version of “Demolition Man” and the long version of “Use Me” make a repeated appearance here. Better still five remixes of “Pull Up To The Bumper” are accounted for here. Including, be still my beating heart, the version called “Peanut Butter” [which was the original name for the instrumental jam before lyrics were applied] which appeared as a B-side to “Walking In The Rain” in a short version, but on a bonus 12″ included with the Island compilation “Genius Of Rap” in the length given here.

Better still, two cuts from the sessions that have not previously been released are in the mix, and… ¡mamacita! …one of them is a cover of Tubeway Army’s “Me! I Disconnect From You!!!” Can anyone not hear that in their skull now that it’s out there? Me neither! But I never would have guessed before hand, and if you can’t wait until the April 24 release date, word has it that this will be one side of a 12″ single issued on Record Store Day [April 19] with “Feel Up [long version]” as the B-side. So Island has earned the love for this well-curated DLX RM, but if you don’t roll with CDs like I do, they’ve still got you covered.

Other Formats

Island/UMG | UK | 2xLP | 2014

Grace Jones: Nightclubbing UK DLX RM 2xLP [2014]

Disc 1

1. Walking In The Rain
2. 
Pull Up To The Bumper
3. 
Use Me
4. 
Nightclubbing
5. 
Art Groupie
6. 
I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango]
7. 
Feel Up
8. 
Demolition Man
9. 
I’ve Done It Again

Disc 2

1. Demolition Man [12” Version] 4.58
2. I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango] [12” Version] 5.32
3. Walking In The Rain [12” Version] 7.25
4. Use Me [Long Version] 6.10
5. Pull Up To The Bumper [US Party Version] 5.00
6. Feel Up [Extended Version] 6.15
7. If You Wanna Be My Lover [previously unreleased] 8.00
8. Me! I Disconnect From You [previously unreleased] 5.30

Ouch! Losing four versions of “Pull up To The Bumper” [among other delights] doesn’t work for me, personally, no matter what that 180g vinyl sounds on a $5K tube amplifier. Personally, I would have opted for a 3xLP version missing nothing. It’s not as though the vinyl won’t already cost a king’s ransom anyway.

Island/UMG | UK | Blu-Ray | 2014

Grace Jones: Nightclubbing UK DLX RM Blu-Ray [2014]

1. Walking In The Rain
2. 
Pull Up To The Bumper
3. 
Use Me
4. 
Nightclubbing
5. 
Art Groupie
6. 
I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango]
7. 
Feel Up
8. 
Demolition Man
9. 
I’ve Done It Again
10. Demolition Man [12” Version] 4.58
11. Pull Up To The Bumper [Long Version] 5.45
12. Feel Up [Long Version] 6.14
13. I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango] [12” Version] 5.32
14. Walking In The Rain [12” Version] 7.25
15. Pull Up To The Bumper [Remixed Version] 7.15
16. Use Me [Long Version] 6.10
17. Pull Up To The Bumper [US Party Version] 5.00
18. Feel Up [Extended Version] 6.15
19. Pull Up To The Bumper [1985 Remix] 6.24
20. Peanut Butter [Pull Up To The Bumper Instrumental] 5.10
21. If You Wanna Be My Lover [previously unreleased] 8.00
22. Me! I Disconnect From You [previously unreleased] 5.30
23. Esta Cara Me Es Conocida [I’ve Seen That Face Before [Libertango] 4.32

Now this is interesting. They are moving into the high-res digital audio realm with this Blu-Ray Pure Audio version that replicates the contents of the 2xCD version, albeit at 24/96. I know at least one Grace Jones exotic disc format fan [Ron ‘The Man’ Kane] who probably already has this in his sights, though the music is strictly 2.0. Can you imagine the Compass Point All Stars in 5.1 surround sound? Just think of the damage that the subwoofer could do unleashed in that sort of mix! Memo to self: has there ever been any surround formats released of dub reggae at its finest, as practiced by the Compass Point All Stars? If not, I must ask… why?

– 30 –