Island Life 2 [Import]

Island Life 2 [Import]

Track Listings

1. Vie en Rose

2. I Need a Man

3. Do or Die

4. Private Life

5. Love Is the Drug

6. I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)

7. Pull Up to the Bumper

8. Walking in the Rain

9. My Jamaican Guy

10. Slave to the Rhythm

11. Pars

12. Feel Up

13. Sex Drive [Sex Pitch Mix]

14. Sex Drive [Hard Drive Mix]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
French compilation for the legendary disco diva. 14 tracks, 'La Vie En Rose', 'I Need A Man', 'Do Or Die', 'Private Life', 'Love Is A Drug', 'I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)', 'Pull Up The Bumper', 'Walking In The Rain', 'My Jamaican Guy', 'Slave To The Rhythm', 'Pars', 'Feel Up', 'Sex Drive' (Sex Pitch Mix) & 'Sex Drive' (Hard Drive Mix). 2002.

Tracks:

Vie en Rose
I Need a Man
Do or Die
Private Life
Love Is the Drug
I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
Pull Up to the Bumper
Walking in the Rain
My Jamaican Guy
Slave to the Rhythm
Pars
Feel Up
Sex Drive [Sex Pitch Mix]
Sex Drive [Hard Drive Mix]

Album Description

French compilation for the legendary disco diva. 14 tracks, 'La Vie En Rose', 'I Need A Man', 'Do Or Die', 'Private Life', 'Love Is A Drug', 'I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)', 'Pull Up The Bumper', 'Walking In The Rain', 'My Jamaican Guy', 'Slave To The Rhythm', 'Pars', 'Feel Up', 'Sex Drive' (Sex Pitch Mix) & 'Sex Drive' (Hard Drive Mix). 2002.

Customer Reviews:

The most extensive compilation.......2005-05-17

Grace Jones' music career has had it's shares of ups and downs; not always successful or recognized, despite of being way ahead of it's time. Disco pioneer Tom Moulton saw an opportunity to make some money on Grace's outrageous stage persona, her debut album Portfolio came in 1977. The album was a moderate success; achieving a #1 Club hit with "I Need a Man" and a gold selling rendition of "La Vie En Rose". Her next album Fame came in 1978 and sold even more than its predecessor and achieved yet another Club hit with "Do or Die". Her last disco release came in 1979 titled Muse despite of its commercial failure it still had one hit single "On Your Knees".
In 1980 Grace changed her style with the help of her then husband Jean Paul Goude and with the help of the legendary reggae duo Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare three albums were released Warm Leatherette (1980), Nightclubbing (1981) and Living My Life (1982). Her new sound was cool reggae fused with new wave hints, her physical appearance also changed from the S&M disco diva to the hard rocking androgynous Grace.
Between the period of 1980-1982 Grace achieved some hits with songs such as the jungle fever of "Pull Up to the Bumper" odd couple drama of "Private Life" a beautiful Parisian ballad "Pars" a wonderful re-working of Bryan Ferry's "Love Is the Drug" (which is represented as a Thorngren Remix on this compilation) and a least a gorgeous, lush sound scape of "Slave to the Rhythm" produced by Steven Lipson. Not always successful or recognized Grace Jones still remains a legend; Island Life Vol.2 is the most extensive Grace Jones compilation to date.

Sex Drive.......2004-07-31

ISLAND LIFE-2 is a re-release of a "best-of" compilation which came out in 1986.
It contained 10 of Grace Jones' most successfull singles up until that time. This new version adds 4 EXTRA tracks:
2 obscure album tracks, "Pars" & "Feel Up" and two tracks from her 1992 EP "Sex Drive."

I was working as a DJ at a college radio station in North Carolina when we received some promo copies of "Sex Drive."
It contained 3 versions of the title song, plus powerful track called "Typical Male".
(NOT to be confused with the Tina Turner song of the same name)
It was an excellently produced, industrial-techno-rave single which I was certain would be a big hit.
I also assumed that a full-length album would soon follow.

Unfortunatley, I was the only DJ at the station who bothered to play "Sex Drive",
and none of my friends outside the station were even aware that she had a new song out.
Even my gay friends--big time Grace Jones fans--were surprised when I told them about the "Sex Drive" single.
None of them had even heard of it.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine in Atlanta told me on the phone that "Sex Drive"
was getting constant airplay on some of the radio stations where she lived.

"Sex Drive" came and went without a trace, and no full-length techno album ever appeared.
Luckily, 2 mixes of it are now available on ISLAND LIFE-2, but unfortunatly "Typical Male" was not included.
Why "Typical Male" was left off in favor of "Pars" or "Feel Up" I have no idea. (unless it was because of it's racy lyrics)
The inclusion of "Sex Drive" is the only thing which makes this compilation stand out from all of her other "best-of" CDs.
I would recommend hunting down a used copy of the original "Sex Drive" EP. They're still out there...

NOTE: This is NOT to be confused with ISLAND LIFE-1, which is still available, but does NOT contain the EXTRA 4 TRACKs.

The Very Best Of Grace Jones.......2002-11-01

Island Life Volume 2 offers virtually nothing different to the first compilation that was origanally released in 1986, apart from the odd inclusion of some album cuts and also Sex Drive, a track she recorded in the early 1990's which literally sank without trace. Yet its a far more ideal compilation to have if you don't already have the first volume as this offers a more extensive range of Grace jones range. The romantic La Vie En Rose features Grace giving an actually effective vocal performance before the album dissolves into creaking disco tunes with I Need A man and Do or Die that both undeniably have a catchy hook to them despite distinctley being dated to the late 1970's. More adventurous and progressive was her cover version of The Pretenders, Private Life. Its trance-like, almost hypnotic arrangements set the tone for one of her greatest albums on which this track was origanally featured with Warm Leatherette (1980) that combined a cool blend of New Wave, Rock, Reggae, Funk and an even an injection of Soul. Her re-working of Bryan Ferry's Love Is The Drug is both effective and strong whilst the jamming Pull up To The Bumper again combines a neat mixture of Funk-Rock-Reggae and is one of her most infectious recordings. Other hits include the fabulous Trevor Horn produced Slave To The Rhythm, the exotic My Jamacian Guy as well as some notable album cuts including the hypnotic Walking In The Rain (NightClubbing 1981), the beautifully mellow Pars (Warm Leatherette 1980) and the blatantly weird but equally compelling I've Seen That Face Before (NightClubbing 1981). After she decamped the label for a deal with Manhatten Records her music career slid off the rails in commercial terms with neither Inside Story (1986) and Bullet Proof Heart (1989) cracking the U.K or U.S Top 50 Charts (Bullet Proof Heart actually failed to chart altogether) and has never had a hit since. However this compilation serves as a reminder of what a diverse albeit weird talent Grace Jones was and these tracks glide you through her glory days. Recommended.

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