Nightclubbing

Nightclubbing
Studio album by Grace Jones
Released 11 May 1981
Recorded 1981, Compass Point Studio, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre New Wave, Disco, jazz, reggae rock, bossa nova, funk
Length 38:14
Label Island
Producer Chris Blackwell, Alex Sadkin
Grace Jones chronology
Warm Leatherette
1980		 Nightclubbing
1981		 Living My Life
1982
Singles from Nightclubbing
  1. "Demolition Man"
    Released: March 1981
  2. "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)"
    Released: May 1981
  3. "Pull Up to the Bumper"
    Released: June 1981
  4. "Use Me"
    Released: June 1981
  5. "Feel Up"
    Released: July 1981
  6. "Walking in the Rain"
    Released: October 1981
Music sample
"Feel Up"
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau (B-) [2]

Nightclubbing is the fifth studio album by Grace Jones, released in 1981. It is the second of three post-disco albums that Jones made at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and became Jones' commercial breakthrough and also formed the basis of her groundbreaking concept tour A One Man Show. It claimed the number one slot on NME Album of the Year.

The lead-off single for the album was "Demolition Man" written by Sting for Jones and also included on The Police's album Ghost in the Machine later in the year. The second single "Pull Up to the Bumper" was a hit and became one of Jones' best-known songs. It originally made #53 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1981, and a 1985 re-release following the success of the Island Life compilation backed with "La Vie En Rose" reached #12.

The third single from Nightclubbing in 1981 was "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" which melded Ástor Piazzolla's Argentine tango classic with a reggae beat, and lyrics partly sung in French. The title track is a cover of an Iggy Pop song, which was co-written by David Bowie and the fourth single release, "Walking in the Rain", was originally recorded by Australian New Wave band Flash and the Pan and included on their eponymous 1979 debut album. Nightclubbing closes with the ballad "I've Done It Again" written by Barry Reynolds, with whom Jones would go on to compose most of the material for 1982's Living My Life.

The album reached number #35 on the UK Album Chart in May 1981, #9 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and #32 on Pop Albums, and this in combination with an entirely new androgynous image created by Jean-Paul Goude brought Jones from being a former disco diva with a loyal cult following but dropping sales figures to an international star with mainstream chart success, and resulted in Island Records re-releasing her 1980 album Warm Leatherette worldwide.

The liner notes of the 2006 Universal Music compilation The Grace Jones Story state "A double deluxe CD edition of Nightclubbing is being released in May 2006 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her keynote work", the bonus disc most likely including the original 1981 7" and 12" mixes that were left off the 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions, namely "Walking In The Rain" (2 different 12" mixes + one 7" edit), "Pull Up To The Bumper" (3 different 12" mixes and also a 7" dub version performed by the Compass Point Allstars called "Peanut Butter"), "Feel Up" (2 different 12" mixes), "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" (12" Mix) plus the Spanish language 7" version of the latter entitled "Esta Cara Me Es Conocida".

The double deluxe edition CD edition of "Nightclubbing" was not released in 2006, and was later set to be released in 2009 to coincide with Island Records 50th Anniversary. Release is now delayed indefinitely, but 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the album's original release; meanwhile Universal Music Group re-released the album on vinyl in January 2010.

The strong rhythm section which features on many of the tracks was provided by Robbie Shakespeare on bass and Sly Dunbar on drums. The two were later successful as a duo in their own right.

Contents

Trivia

On the American television show WKRP in Cincinnati, Johnny Fever destroys the poster from this album in the radio station hallway as a favour to Venus Flytrap.

Track listing

Side A

  1. "Walking in the Rain" (Harry Vanda, George Young) – 4:18
  2. "Pull Up to the Bumper" (Koo Koo Baya, Grace Jones, Dana Mano) – 4:41
  3. "Use Me" (Bill Withers) – 5:04
  4. "Nightclubbing" (David Bowie, James Osterberg) – 5:06

Side B

  1. "Art Groupie" (Barry Reynolds, Grace Jones) – 2:39
  2. "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" (Ástor Piazzolla, Barry Reynolds, Dennis Wilkey, Nathalie Delon) – 4:30
  3. "Feel Up" (Grace Jones) – 4:03
  4. "Demolition Man" (Sting) – 4:03
  5. "I've Done It Again" (Barry Reynolds) – 3:51

Personnel

Singles

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1981 Billboard Black Albums 9
1981 Billboard Pop Albums 32
1981 Sweden 4
1981 Netherlands 2

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1981 "Pull Up to the Bumper" Billboard Black Singles 5
1981 "Pull Up to the Bumper" Billboard Club Play Singles 2
1981 "Pull Up to the Bumper" Dutch top 40 20
1981 "Pull Up to the Bumper" Germany 26
1981 "I've seen that face Before (libertango)" Germany 16
1981 "I've seen that face Before (libertango)"" Dutch top 40 2

References

  1. ^ Nightclubbing at Allmusic
  2. ^ Robert Christgau Review
Grace Jones
Studio albums
Portfolio (1977)  · Fame (1978)  · Muse (1979)  · Warm Leatherette (1980)  · Nightclubbing (1981)  · Living My Life (1982)  · Slave to the Rhythm (1985)  · Inside Story (1986)  · Bulletproof Heart (1989)  · Hurricane (2008)
Compilations
Island Life (1985)  · The Ultimate (1993)  · Island Life 2 (1996)  · Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions (1998)  · 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Grace Jones (2003)  · The Universal Masters Collection (2003)  · The Collection (2004)  · The Grace Jones Story (2006)  · Colour Collection (2006)  · The Ultimate Collection (2006)
Singles
"I Need a Man"  · "Sorry"  · "La Vie en rose"  · "Do or Die"  · "On Your Knees"  · "A Rolling Stone"  · "Love Is the Drug"  · "Private Life"  · "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"  · "Breakdown"  · "Demolition Man"  · "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)"  · "Pull Up to the Bumper"  · "Feel Up"  · "Walking in the Rain"  · "Nipple to the Bottle"  · "The Apple Stretching"  · "My Jamaican Guy"  · "Living My Life"  · "Cry Now, Laugh Later"  · "Slave to the Rhythm"  · "Jones the Rhythm"  · "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)"  · "Party Girl"  · "Victor Should Have Been a Jazz Musician"  · "Crush"  · "Love on Top of Love"  · "Amado Mio"  · "7 Day Weekend"  · "Evilmainya"  · "Sexdrive"  · "Love Bites"  · "Hurricane (Cradle to the Grave)"  · "Corporate Cannibal"  · "Williams' Blood"  · "Love You to Life"
Filmography
Related
Grace Jones discography  · albums  · songs