Unlike the many dance artists who stumbled in adapting their sounds to the transmogrifying state of popular music in the early 80’s, one of the most iconic stars of New York’s disco scene set the blueprint on how to do it, not only correctly, but with an enormous bang.
The expected four-on-a-floor beats and chicken-scratch guitars of her usual R&B fare, were now married to a brooding monotone, crackling synthesizers and clever digressions into the dub reggae of her native Jamaica, that would come to define Grace Jones' "Warm Leatherette", and almost all of her output after that. It was legendary!
One of the highlights off the bat, is the sprawling, minimal title track (a cover of The Normal's song of the same name). Stripping disco to its most simple yet effective form, it is a dark proto-house thrill ride indebted to Bowie and CHIC in equal measure. Potential 12" hits (The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game, A Rolling Stone) are contrasted with an unexpected albeit brilliant streak of guitar driven foot-stompers (Love Is The Drug, Bullshit), showing impressive versatility.
Jones wobbles unfortunately when handling balladic material (Private Life, Breakdown, Pars), which fizzle more than the chirpy analog synths. I would have preferred a less-meandering, lush approach, similar to her rendition of "La vie en rose" or "Sorry". These songs aren't dismal by any means, but for an artist with such a creative punch, they're mere inessential forks in the road.
Some of the most successful records of the nu-disco wave like Roisin Murphy's "Roisin Machine" and Daft Punk's "Human After All", take arguably more elements from "Warm Leatherette" than "Portfolio" or "Muse". It may not be perfect but , even with the added upholstery, it is a decadent, excessive classic of pop, that has had an undoubted mark on popular culture.
Click the play button below to see yourself: ↓