Grace Jones is Grace Jones, and there´s honestly not even someone to compare her with. Grace Jones is the only Grace Jones ever and there will never be another Grace Jones. There´s no nightclub, no scene, where she´s not The Queen. Sex, music, clothes, borders – the weird rules that enslaves the rest of us means nothing to Grace Jones. She is her own set of rules. And above all, she´s Grace Jones.
Grace Jones was a central hub in the New York party scene that spun out of Studio 54 back in the early 80´s as well as an icon for the gay and queer-movement. Her breaktrough album, outside the world of disco, ”Nightclubbing” was voted album of the year by NME and contained the hit singles ”Demolition man”, ”Libertango” and ”Pull up to the bumper.” She combined further hit albums like ”Living my life” and "Slave to the rythm” with her work as an actress and model. Her fascinating persona and eclectic mix of electronica, funk, jazz, r´n´b and reggae has influenced generations of new artists. Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lorde, Grimes and Santigold being among those naming her as a hero.
Little over a week ago did this Queen stand on the Flamingo stage at Way Out West, did she rule, oh yeah! With her band she just took over the raining forest of peoples in "Slottsskogen", every single foot, body was shaken to the rhythms of her classic disco music.
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| Here is a picture from Way Out West, sorry for the poor quality. |
Today's tune "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" is a single by Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released in 1981.
The song juxtaposes "Libertango", an Argentine tango classic, written by bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla and first recorded by the composer himself in 1974, against a reggae arrangement and new lyrics penned by Jones herself and Barry Reynolds. Lyrically, it describes the darker side of Parisian nightlife. The song includes spoken parts in French: "Tu cherches quoi ? À rencontrer la mort ? Tu te prends pour qui ? Toi aussi tu détestes la vie..." which translates "What are you looking for? For death? Who do you think you are? You hate life, you too..." Jones also recorded a Spanish language version of the track entitled "Esta cara me es conocida", and an English version with the French passage recited in Portuguese.
Recorded in Nassau, Bahamas, with Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Barry Reynolds, Mikey Chung and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson, aka the Compass Point Allstars under Chris Blackwell's and Alex Sadkin's direction, "I've Seen That Face Before" was released as the second single from Jones' album Nightclubbing, after "Demolition Man" made no chart impact.
The song was featured in key moments of the 1988 thriller movie Frantic, set in Paris, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Harrison Ford. The track however did not make it onto the film's accompanying soundtrack album. It also features in Raw Deal.
"I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" has been described as "one of the highlights of Nightclubbing" and "one of the highlights of Jones' musical career".
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