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Love is the Drug: Grace Jones' "Warm Leatherette" Gets Expanded

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Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette"See the breaking glass in the underpass..." Universal will expand Grace Jones' influential fourth album Warm Leatherette this summer with a variety of formats.

Jones' tenure on Island Records has been the subject of some fascinating reissues in recent years. Her 1981 masterpiece Nightclubbing was expanded in 2014, and the following year saw the release of Disco, a box set compiling her first three albums with producer Tom Moulton, released between 1977 and 1979.

Warm Leatherette is the latest link in that chain--her fourth record and her first of three recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, The Bahamas. Working with a sensational team that included producers/engineers/mixers Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin, keyboardist Wally Badarou and the immortal rhythm section of Sly and Robbie, Jones fused R&B, New Wave, disco and reggae into a formula that would influence the general sound of pop music for generations. With unorthodox covers of The Pretenders ("Private Life"), Tom Petty ("Breakdown"), Smokey Robinson ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game") and Roxy Music ("Love is the Drug"), Warm Leatherette became the first act in Jones' incredible '80s career, as a singer, actress, muse and all-around icon.

Universal's pulling out all the stops for this reissue, offering 2CD and 4LP sets as well as a high-definition Blu-ray Pure Audio release. Longtime fans will note that the original album has never truly been released on CD, its truncated running time expanded on CD and cassette by replacing five of the eight original tracks with extended remixes. Now, this expansive set includes the original LP running time alongside the five extended mixes plus a further 14 long versions, remixes and edits, including rare dubs from the Private Life: The Compass Point Years compilation, two remixes by Paul "Groucho" Smykle commissioned for the Island Life compilation in 1985-1986 and three unreleased tracks!

Packaged handsomely in a custom box with bespoke leatherette packaging, Warm Leatherette looks to be a killer purchase for fans of '80s pop. It will also be prefaced by a special 12" reissue of "Private Life," backed with its original B-side, a non-LP cover of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control," on Record Store Day, Saturday, April 16.

The full set is out June 17, and you can find the track list below (along with Amazon links when available--the set is currently orderable through Universal's uDiscover store on CD as well as on Blu-ray Pure Audio.

Grace Jones, Warm Leatherette: Deluxe Edition (Island/UMC (U.K.), 2016)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Blu-ray Pure Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Original LP (Island Records ILPS 9592, 1980)

  1. Warm Leatherette
  2. Private Life
  3. A Rolling Stone
  4. Love is the Drug
  5. The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game
  6. Bullshit
  7. Breakdown
  8. Pars

Long versions

  1. Warm Leatherette (12" B-side - Island 12WIP 6645, 1980)
  2. Private Life (12" A-side - Island 12WIP 6629, 1980)
  3. A Rolling Stone (12" A-side - Island 12WIP 6591, 1980)
  4. Love is the Drug (12" A-side - Island 600.198 (DE), 1980)
  5. The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game (12" A-side - Island 12WIP 6645, 1980)
  6. Pars (from Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions - Island 314 524 501-2, 1998)

Tracks 9-10 and 12-13 first issued on cassette edition of album (Island Records ICT 9592, 1980)

Long versions, single versions and remixes

  1. Private Life (Long Version #2) *
  2. Private Life (Dub Version) (from Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions - Island 314 524 501-2, 1998)
  3. She's Lost Control (Long Version) (12" B-side - Island 12WIP 6629, 1980)
  4. She's Lost Control (Dub Version) (from Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions - Island 314 524 501-2, 1998)
  5. Love is the Drug (Single Version) (7" A-side - Island 101.819 (DE), 1980)
  6. Private Life (Single Version) (7" A-side - Island WIP 6629, 1980)
  7. She's Lost Control (Single Version) (7" B-side - Island WIP 6629, 1980)
  8. The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game (Special Single Version) (7" B-side - Island WIP 6645, 1980)
  9. Breakdown (Single Edit) (7" A-side - Island IS-49603 (U.S.), 1980)
  10. Pars (4:22 Single Version) *
  11. Pars (Dub Version) *
  12. Love is the Drug (12" Single Remix) (12" A-side - Island 12IS 266, 1986)
  13. Private Life (12" Single Remix) (12" A-side - Island 12IS 273, 1986)

(*) denotes previously unreleased track

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.

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Comments

  1. I am interested in getting the Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette vinyl but can't seem to find it to pre-order, do you know where or how? Thanks -Manny

    Reply

    • Hi Manny, we will add pre-order links for the vinyl edition as soon as they become available! Watch this space. Thanks!

      Reply

  5. I actually gave Grace Jones another listen in 1998 when "The Compass Point Sessions" - a 2 cd comp - was issued. Great stuff that sounds better now than it did in the '80s.

    Reply

    • Amazon seems to be terribly confused about this title, describing the 2-CD version as Blu-ray Audio. The actual Blu-ray Audio link seems to be at the Amazon U.S. link above, with the image of the album in a typical Blu-ray Audio case. The link with the two CDs pictured should be for the 2-CD set though Amazon labels it as Blu-ray Audio. Confused? So are we! Hopefully Amazon will straighten this up now that the release is available...

      Reply

      • I've just brought the album from Amazon, it's not Blue-Ray it's the 2 CD version. This is third time I've brought CD's from Amazon and they haven't posted what was advertised. Who can we complain to about this?

        I was thinking of contacting Universal Music.

        Reply

        • How frustrating, George. I can say from experience that Amazon mislabeling items is nothing new. The labels (such as Universal) are frequently as frustrated as the consumers are and have little control over it. I would definitely notify Amazon when making the return as to the problem, and I will see what I can do to make others aware of the problem, as well. Thanks for letting us know!

          Reply

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