Living My Life (album)

Living My Life is the sixth studio album by Grace Jones, released in 1982. It was the last of three albums she recorded at the Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. Of all the Grace Jones albums, Living My Life is the rarest; physical CD copies are highly sought after and often sell for high prices on the secondhand music market.

Living My Life
Studio album by
Grace Jones
Released7 November 1982
Recorded1982
Genre
Length37:32
LabelIsland
ProducerChris Blackwell, Alex Sadkin
Grace Jones chronology
Nightclubbing
(1981)		 Living My Life
(1982)		 Slave to the Rhythm
(1985)
Singles from Living My Life
  1. "Nipple to the Bottle"
    Released: October 1982
  2. "The Apple Stretching"
    Released: October 1982
  3. "My Jamaican Guy"
    Released: January 1983
  4. "Cry Now, Laugh Later"
    Released: January 1983
  5. "Unlimited Capacity for Love"
    Released: January 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB+[2]
The Boston PhoenixFavorable[3]

Background

Jones had already recorded two reggae-oriented albums with the Compass Point All Stars at the Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, with the most recent, Nightclubbing, becoming her most successful record to date. She went back into the studio in 1982 to record an album which would be her final offering in the unofficial Compass Point trilogy. This time around, Jones recorded only one cover, "The Apple Stretching", which was originally written by Melvin Van Peebles and used in the Broadway show Waltz of the Stork.[4] "Nipple to the Bottle" was co-written with Sly Dunbar, while, apart from "My Jamaican Guy", the other tracks were collaborations with Barry Reynolds.

The title track "Living My Life", despite receiving a limited single release, was ultimately left off the album. Further outtakes included the track "Man Around the House" (written by Jones and Barry Reynolds), and a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire". Both tracks were released on the 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions.

The album was a commercial success, reaching the top 20 in five countries. In March 1983 Billboard magazine reported that the sales of the album had surpassed 400,000 copies in United States.[5]

Artwork

The Living My Life cover picture has been described as famous as the music featured on the record itself.[6] Like the majority of Jones' artworks at that time, this one was created by her then-partner Jean-Paul Goude, this time with an additional contribution from Rob O'Connor. It features the singer's disembodied head cut out from the original photograph and pasted onto a blank white background in a way that gives her head and face an angular shape.[7] A piece of tape, or a plaster, has been pasted over her left eyebrow, and her forehead is covered with drops of water, or sweat. This cover, as many other Goude's designs for Jones, has won critical acclaim and has been an inspiration for other artists ever since.[8]

The picture was re-used for the cover of the 2006 compilation Colour Collection, a re-release of The Universal Masters Collection.[9]

Singles

The urban-flavoured "Nipple to the Bottle" and reggae-oriented "The Apple Stretching" were released simultaneously as lead singles. "Nipple to the Bottle" received a worldwide release, becoming a highly popular dance track in the US, as well as a top three hit in New Zealand. The latter was not released in the North America and achieved only moderate success in Europe.

Three more singles were then simultaneously released in January 1983, of which "My Jamaican Guy" turned out the most successful. "Cry Now, Laugh Later", released only in the US and Canada, and "Unlimited Capacity for Love" did not chart.

In 2010 "Inspiration" was remixed to a 7:14 "Leroc Sportif Edit" and released as a one-track digital only single in February.[10][11]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Jamaican Guy"Grace Jones6:00
2."Nipple to the Bottle"
5:55
3."The Apple Stretching"Melvin Van Peebles7:08
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Everybody Hold Still"
3:10
5."Cry Now, Laugh Later"
  • Jones
  • Reynolds
5:00
6."Inspiration"
  • Jones
  • Reynolds
4:35
7."Unlimited Capacity for Love"
  • Jones
  • Reynolds
5:45

Personnel
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