Me And Miss Jones

Dipping into my blog archives for a review of the 1998 Grace Jones compilation, Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions, which I reviewed on 14th August 2005 and rejigged and expanded slightly on 18th August 2026.

Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions is a 26-track 2CD collection, covering Jones’ work with Chris Blackwell, Alex Sadkin and Sly & Robbie between 1980 and 1982, with the addition of 1985’s Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson produced Slave To The Rhythm, plus rarities and previously unreleased songs from the Living My Life album sessions in 1982. 

The majority of these tracks and versions are previously unavailable on CD, and provide a fascinating overview of Grace Jones’ incredibly strong body of work. Opening with vocal and dub versions of Private Life, written by Chrissie Hynde, Jones’ ability to reinterpret (and ultimately own) other people’s songs continues with Roxy Music’s Love Is The Drug, Bill Withers’ Use Me and Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control, taking in diverse acts such as The Police, Iggy Pop, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and The Normal along the way, and including an unearthed demo of Ring Of Fire, originally recorded by Anita Carter in 1962, but turned into a global hit the following year by brother-in-law Johnny Cash. 

As good as these cover versions are, Grace's own songs, such as Pull Up To The Bumper, Nipple To The Bottle, My Jamaican Guy and Living My Life more than hold their own. It'll be of little surprise to note that Sly & Robbie’s drum and bass lead an incredibly tight band and it’s hard to imagine how this album could sound better. 

One small gripe about the inclusion of Slave To The Rhythm, though. Although a great song in it’s own right, it’s mid-80s, characteristically Trevor Horn/ZTT sound make it an incongruous, glossy add-on to an otherwise dub-inflected set, even if the version is (ever so slightly) different from the original 12" version and therefore unique to this compilation.

Matching the quality of the music within, the gorgeously illustrated CD booklet includes an engrossing piece by music writer Brian Chin. If you’re a Grace Jones fan, you should already have bought this on release in 1998. For anyone else, get it now, you won’t be disappointed.

And if you want a second opinion, here's a superlative review of the collection from Post Punk Monk in January 2025.

CD1

1) Private Life (Long Version) (Cover of The Pretenders) (1980)

2) Private Life (Dub Version) (Cover of The Pretenders) (1980)

3) Love Is The Drug (Long Version) (Cover of Roxy Music) (1980)

4) Breakdown (Album Version) (Cover of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers) (1980)

5) Warm Leatherette (Long Version) (Cover of The Normal) (1980)

6) The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game (Long Version) (Cover of The Marvelettes) (1980)

7) I've Done It Again (Album Version) (1981)

8) Pars (Long Version) (Cover of Jacques Higelin) (1980)

9) Pull Up To The Bumper (Album Version) (1981)

10) Use Me (Long Version) (Cover of Bill WIthers) (1981)

11) She's Lost Control (Long Version) (Cover of Joy Division) (1980)

12) She's Lost Control (Dub Version) (Cover of Joy Division) (1980)

CD2

1) Walking In The Rain (Cover of Flash & The Pan) (1981)

2) Cry Now, Laugh Later (Album Version) (1982)

3) Nightclubbing (Album Version) (Cover of Iggy Pop) (1981)

4) The Apple Stretching (Album Version) (Cover of Melvin Van Peebles/Waltz Of The Stork (Broadway OST)) (1982)

5) Nipple To The Bottle (Club Cut) (1982)

6) My Jamaican Guy / J.A. Guy (Dub) (12" Version) (1982)

7) Feel Up (Album Version) (1981)

8) I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) (Album Version) (1981)

9) Demolition Man (Long Version) (Cover of The Police) (1981)

10) Unlimited Capacity For Love (Album Version) (1982)

11) Ring Of Fire (Demo) (Cover of 'Love's Ring Of Fire' by Anita Carter) (previously unreleased) (1982)

12) Man Around The House (previously unreleased) (1982)

13) Living My Life (7" Version) (1982)

14) Slave To The Rhythm (Hot Blooded Version) (previously unreleased) (1985)