WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • Holiday Gift Guide
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Don't Mess with the Messer: Gold Legion Reissues Early Grace Jones Albums

September 29, 2011 By Mike Duquette Leave a Comment

With her striking, even fearsome, physical appearance, distinctive voice and commitment to only the most danceable of music - a commitment that's netted her scores of Top 10 hits on Billboard's dance charts - it's safe to say there is no one quite like Grace Jones. Now, thanks to the efforts of the Gold Legion label, part of Jones' oft-overlooked early history is coming back out on compact disc.

Jones' discography is considered most bountiful during her time on Island Records, working with producers Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin on records like Warm Leatherette (1980), Nightclubbing (1981) and Slave to the Rhythm (1985). But before that, she recorded a trilogy of albums, also on Island, with disco legend Tom Moulton that set the groundwork for the rest of her career.

The albums - 1977's Portfolio, 1978's Fame and 1979's Muse - all follow a very similar pattern. The first side of each album features a lengthy, continuous presentation of songs, sometimes around a similar theme (Portfolio features three showtunes - Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns," "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line and "Tomorrow" from Annie - while Muse's song cycle centers on songs about sin and salvation). Each second side is a non-continuous, non-thematic side, sometimes featuring notable songs in French ("La Vie en Rose" on Portfolio, "Autumn Leaves (Les feuilles mortes)" on Fame, featuring English lyrics by Johnny Mercer). While all were respectable hits in nightclubs, particularly those lengthy side-long medleys, their releases dovetailed with the growing anti-disco backlash, forcing Jones to change her style and thereby leading to the gloriously off-the-wall music that would make her a star in the '80s.

Gold Legion is now bringing the last two of Jones' Moulton-produced albums to CD, one of which makes its debut on the format. (Fame was released on CD in Europe and Australia under PolyGram's Karussell/Spectrum imprints in 1993 - a disc that commands very high prices on the secondary market.) While no bonus material is included - a few international bonus cuts would have been viable additions to Fame - it's certainly a blast to have them on CD for a relatively more affordable price. Both discs are remastered from the original tapes and feature new liner notes by Christian John Wikane, a contributing editor for PopMatters.

Order links and track lists are after the jump. (Thanks to super reader Dean Harris for the tip!)

Grace Jones, Fame (Island ILPS 9525, 1978 - reissued Gold Legion GLDN-56226, 2011)

  1. Do or Die
  2. Pride
  3. Fame
  4. Autum Leaves
  5. All on a Summers Night
  6. Am I Ever Gonna Fall in Love in New York City
  7. Below the Bealt (La Vieille Fille)

Grace Jones, Muse (Island ILPS 9538, 1979 - reissued Gold Legion GLDN-56227, 2011)

  1. Sinning
  2. Suffer
  3. Repentance (Forgive Me)
  4. Saved
  5. Atlantic City Gambler
  6. I'll Find My Way to You
  7. Don't Mess with the Messer
  8. On Your Knees

Categories: News

Avatar photo

Mike Duquette

Michael Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he discovered there was more than one version of John Williams' soundtrack to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, with bylines on catalog at Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Prince and credits on titles including the Grammy-winning 'Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic.' Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with an ever-expanding collection of music.

Connect With Mike:

Comments

  1. Robert Lett says

    September 30, 2011 at 12:20 am

    Very cool..where are the order links?

    Reply
  2. cdmaniac says

    September 30, 2011 at 2:36 am

    While this is not my favorite era of Miss Jones, I will be picking these up!
    I would love to see her entire catalogue remastered in a uniform fashion w/bonus cuts & maybe some extravagant packaging.
    Also a double disc of new (good) remixes wouldnt bother me a bit.

    Grace take note.
    Love, cdmaniac

    Reply
  3. Boyd says

    November 11, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    Thrilled Muse will be finally released on cd. (Bought Fame cd on Spectrum in the early 90s) Disappointed the extended mix of Don't Mess with the Messer (B side of the On Your Knees 12") won't be on it though. Too bad but I guess I should just be satisfied that the "lost" album will at last be coming out on compast disc.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Carole Bayer Sager Sometimes Late at Night
    Sometimes Late at Night: Expanded Edition
    Carole Bayer Sager
    February 03, 2023
  • Carole King Home Again
    Home Again: Live in Central Park
    Carole King
    February 10, 2023
  • Robert Palmer Island Years
    The Island Records Years
    Robert Palmer
    February 17, 2023
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,545 other subscribers

Popular

  • headquarters
    Review: The Monkees, "Headquarters: Super Deluxe Edition" posted on January 24, 2023 | under Reviews
  • Bob Dylan Fragments Bootleg 17 Cover
    Release Round-Up: Week of January 27 posted on January 27, 2023 | under Release Round-Up
  • Marshall Crenshaw 40
    Something's Gonna Happen: Marshall Crenshaw's Expanded Debut Coming Back to CD posted on January 26, 2023 | under News

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2023 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy