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Hurricane (Grace Jones album)

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Hurricane
Studio album by
Grace Jones
Released3 November 2008 (original)
5 September 2011 (Hurricane – Dub)
Recorded2004–2007
Genre
Length48:40 (original)
50:26 (Hurricane – Dub)
Label
Producer
Grace Jones chronology
The Ultimate Collection
(2006) 		Hurricane
(2008) 		Disco
(2015)
Singles from Hurricane
  1. "Corporate Cannibal"
    Released: 24 August 2008
  2. "Williams' Blood"
    Released: 8 December 2008
  3. "Well Well Well"
    Released: 2009
  4. "Love You to Life"
    Released: 3 May 2010
Hurricane – Dub cover

Hurricane is the tenth studio album by singer Grace Jones, released in 2008, and her first album of new material in 19 years. The album includes a number of autobiographical songs, and the title track was first recorded as a 1997 collaboration with Tricky under the title "Cradle to the Grave". The album sold over 100,000 copies in Europe. Three years after the original release, Jones released a dub version of it: Hurricane – Dub came out on 5 September 2011.

Background and production

[edit]

Grace Jones' previous album, Bulletproof Heart, was released in 1989, and despite several comeback attempts throughout the 1990s, her next full-length record would be released almost two decades later. The singer had decided "never to do an album again",[5] changing her mind only after meeting the music producer Ivor Guest via mutual friend Philip Treacy. After becoming acquainted, Guest played Jones a track he had been working on and she set her lyrics "Devil in My Life" to it. In 2007 Guest announced that he and Jones had completed recording the album, originally rumoured to be titled Corporate Cannibal.[6]

The album includes a number of autobiographical songs, these include "This Is", "Williams' Blood" and "I'm Crying (Mother's Tears)". "Love You to Life" is another track based on real events and "Corporate Cannibal" refers to the subject of corporate capitalism. The title track was first recorded as a 1997 collaboration with Tricky under the title "Cradle to the Grave". "Well Well Well" is dedicated to the memory of Alex Sadkin, who had died in 1987, having co-produced three of Jones' 1980s albums. "Sunset Sunrise" ponders mankind's relationship with nature, and the final song, "Devil in My Life", was written after a party in Venice while Jones was standing in the corner observing partygoers.[citation needed] Four songs were ultimately removed from the track listing: "The Key to Funky" (co-written by Jones and Diane Pernet in the late '80s), "Body Phenomenon", "Sister Sister" and "Misery". Another track recorded by Jones, "Volunteer", was leaked in 2007 by Leslie Winer, together with "This", an early version of "This Is".[7] Winer also asserted that she had written both songs with Joe Galdo in the early 1990s.[8] Mainly with Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Barry Reynolds, Mikey Chung and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson, aka the Compass Point Allstars as a backbone, the album retained the reggae-influenced sound of her three Compass Point albums even though it was not recorded at the studios in the Bahamas.[citation needed]

Hurricane's sound is a singular blend of multiple different genres. AllMusic's Jon O'Brien deemed it "an appropriately titled whirlwind of dub rock, reggae, industrial electro, and trip-hop"[9] According to Daisy Jones of Vice, the record "weaves together dub, electronica, industrial, reggae and gospel music",[10] while The Washington Post's Allison Stewart categorized it as a "set of dancehall and electro-disco tracks".[11]

The front and back covers of the album features pictures of chocolate heads of Jones, which she revealed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross shortly before Hurricane's release. Photographs included in the booklet picture the singer as a chocolate factory worker, complete with uniform and name tag.[12] Chocolate heads, as well as arms and legs were molded at the Thorntons chocolate factory in Derbyshire, England[13] by lifecasting expert John Schoonraad, his son Tristan and artist Nick Reynolds.[14][citation needed]

Singles

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"Corporate Cannibal" became the album's first single, released in August 2008 and promoted at the Meltdown festival. The song did not chart. The second single, "Williams' Blood", was released in December, and subsequently became a charting success in Belgium. A promotional only single, "Well Well Well", was released in 2009. "Love You to Life" was chosen as the third commercial single in 2009, but its release would be postponed for over a year.

Release and promotion

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Prior to the release, Jones performed a two-hour concert at Massive Attack's Meltdown festival in London on 19 June 2008, during which she performed four new songs from the album and premiered the music video for the first single, "Corporate Cannibal".[15][16] For further album promotion, Jones appeared on British television talk show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, several awards galas, and embarked on The Hurricane Tour in January 2009, which garnered positive reviews.

The album was released on Wall of Sound on 3 November 2008, in the United Kingdom. PIAS, the parent company of Wall of Sound, distributed Hurricane worldwide, excluding North America.[17]

Jones dedicated the album to the memory of her father, Bishop Robert W. Jones".[18] [check quotation syntax]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
BBC MusicFavourable[2]
The Guardian[1]
Los Angeles Times[21]
NME[3]
The Observer[22]
Pitchfork7.5/10[23]
Record Collector[4]
Slant Magazine[24]
SpinFavourable[25]
The Village VoiceFavourable[26]

Upon release, Hurricane was met with positive reception, obtaining a score of 72 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic.[19]

Phil Freeman from AllMusic website gave the album three and a half stars out of five and wrote that "Hurricane is possibly Grace Jones' most focused artistic statement and a worthy sequel to her classic early-'80s albums".[20]

Susie Goldring from BBC Music gave the album a favorable review and wrote that "the album is beautifully produced - with textures that just make you want to savor and unwrap each track, accompanied by the occasional oddity".[2]

Alexis Petridis from The Guardian gave the album a mixed review in which he wrote that even though Jones persona in the 80s seemed she was "trying to convince the world she was from another planet" in the record "you learn a surprising amount about her upbringing" and that after the "thrilling first half" of the album it "suddenly seems to run out of puff, as if exhausted by the effort of trying to keep up with its star".[1]

Evelyn McDonnell from Los Angeles Times gave the album four out of four star and wrote that Jones is still "cool" in her fifth decade in the show business and praised Jones collaboration with co-producer Ivor Guest, who "delivers this unquiet storm of a comeback".[21]

Anthony Thornton from NME gave the album three and a half stars out of five and wrote that in "revisiting the production of her ’80s records she paradoxically produces something that sounds timeless" even though "it's difficult to suppress the notion that by miring herself in the ’90s, inadvertently she occasionally sounds as dated".[3]

The Observer gave the album three out of five stars and said that the "contradictions that made her so compelling are now not so much within the songs as between them, leaving less room to maneuvre" and also that "Hurricane shatters the illusion, and flattens the force of nature known as Grace Jones into something quite humdrum".[22]

Eric Henderson from Slant Magazine gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that it become Jones's "autobiographical talking book".

In his review for The Village Voice Barry Walters defined the album as "a multitude of instruments dance in orgiastic precision, paying tribute to an icon of pleasurable excesses, for which we now lovingly long".[26]

Commercial performance

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In 2009. It was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe.[27]

Re-release

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Three years after the original Hurricane release, Jones released a dub version of the album. Hurricane – Dub came out on 5 September 2011. The dub versions were made by Ivor Guest, with contributions from Adam Green, Frank Byng, Robert Logan and Ben Cowan.

The dub re-release of Hurricane features new artwork by Jean-Paul Goude of Jones smoking a cigarette whilst wearing a sparkling hat.

Track listing

[edit]

Original release

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."This Is"
  • Grace Jones
  • Mark van Eyck
5:35
2."Williams' Blood"
5:57
3."Corporate Cannibal"
5:54
4."I'm Crying (Mother's Tears)"
  • Jones
  • Guest
4:31
5."Well Well Well"
3:51
6."Hurricane"
6:33
7."Love You to Life"
5:20
8."Sunset Sunrise"
  • Jones
  • Woolley
  • Paulo Goude
5:11
9."Devil in My Life"
5:48

Hurricane – Dub

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."This Is Dub"
  • Grace Jones
  • Mark van Eyck
4:35
2."Williams Dub"
  • Jones
  • Lisa Coleman
  • Wendy Melvoin
5:40
3."Cannibal Dub"
  • Jones
  • van Eyck
  • Adam Green
  • Ivor Guest
5:16
4."Well Well Well Dub"
  • Jones
  • Barry Reynolds
4:10
5."Crying Dub"
  • Jones
  • Guest
4:58
6."Hurricane Dub"
  • Jones
  • Tricky
5:20
7."Love You to Life Dub"
  • Jones
  • van Eyck
  • Bruce Woolley
5:20
8."Sunset Dub"
  • Jones
  • Woolley
  • Paulo Goude
4:45
9."Devil Dub"
  • Jones
  • Guest
  • van Eyck
  • Leopold Ross
5:17
10."Hell Dub"
  • Jones
  • Guest
5:04

Personnel

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Charts

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2008 chart performance for Hurricane
Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 123
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[31] 54
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[32] 63
French Albums (SNEP)[33] 36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34] 19
Greek Albums (IFPI)[35] 24
Italian Albums (FIMI)[36] 40
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[37] 37
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 60
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 34
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 28
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 42
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[42] 2
2011 chart performance for Hurricane
Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[43] 20

Release history

[edit]
Region Year Format(s) Label
Europe 3 November 2008 CD, digital download Wall of Sound, PIAS
Argentina 14 April 2009 CD
United Kingdom 2010 LP The Vinyl Factory
United States 6 September 2011 CD, digital download Wall of Sound, PIAS

The Hurricane Tour

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The Hurricane Tour
Tour by Grace Jones
LocationNorth America • Europe
Associated albumHurricane
Start date19 January 2009
End date21 November 2009
Legs5
No. of shows31

The Hurricane Tour was a concert tour by singer Grace Jones to promote her album Hurricane. The tour sold well and received public and critical acclaim.[44][45][46][47][48]

Setlist

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The setlist varied from show to show:

Average setlist[49]
  1. "Nightclubbing"
  2. "This Is"
  3. "My Jamaican Guy"
  4. "Demolition Man"
  5. "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)"
  6. "La Vie en Rose"
  7. "Love You to Life"
  8. "Williams' Blood"
  9. "Well Well Well"
  10. "Love Is the Drug"
  11. "Pull Up to the Bumper"
  12. "Slave to the Rhythm"

Encore

  2. "Hurricane"

Other songs from Hurricane were performed in different dates, including "Sunset Sunrise", "Devil in My Life", "Corporate Cannibal", and "I'm Crying (Mother's Tears)" .

Tour dates

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Europe
Date City Country Venue
19 January 2009 Birmingham England Symphony Hall
21 January 2009 Gateshead England Sage Gateshead
23 January 2009 Glasgow Scotland Clyde Auditorium
24 January 2009 Manchester England Manchester Apollo
25 January 2009 Bristol England Colston Hall
27 January 2009 London England The Roundhouse
28 January 2009 London England The Roundhouse
17 March 2009 Berlin Germany Tempodrom
19 March 2009 Amsterdam Netherlands Paradiso
22 March 2009 Paris France Le Grand Rex
25 March 2009 Frankfurt Germany Jahrhunderthalle
26 March 2009 Düsseldorf Germany Philipshalle
29 March 2009 Stockholm Sweden The Circus
31 March 2009 Copenhagen Denmark Falconer Theatre
Europe (2)
19 June 2009 Barcelona Spain Sónar
3 July 2009 Roskilde Denmark Roskilde Festival
4 July 2009 Werchter Belgium Rock Werchter
9 July 2009 London UK Somerset House
11 July 2009 Montreux Switzerland Montreux Jazz Festival
16 July 2009 Stuttgart Germany Jazz Open Festival
18 July 2009 Southwold England Latitude Festival
North America
26 July 2009 Hollywood United States KCRW's World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl
29 July 2009 New York United States Hammerstein Ballroom
30 July 2009 New York United States Hammerstein Ballroom
Europe (3)
7 August 2009 Monte Carlo Monaco Summer Sporting Festival
9 August 2009 Playa d'en Bossa, Ibiza Spain Space
15 August 2009 Helsinki Finland Flow Festival
21 August 2009 St. Poelten Austria FM4 Frequency Festival
23 August 2009 Biddinghuizen Netherlands Lowlands
30 August 2009 London England Beachdown Festival
North America
21 November 2009 Guadalajara Mexico Sonofilla Festival

References

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  1. ^ a b c Petridis, Alexis (24 October 2008). "Rock & pop review: Grace Jones: Hurricane". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Goldring, Susie (2008). "Review of Grace Jones - Hurricane". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Thornton, Anthony (7 November 2008). "Grace Jones - Hurricane". NME. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b Needs, Kris (13 October 2008). "Hurricane | Grace Jones". Record Collector. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  5. ^ Osborn, Michael (26 November 2008). "An audience with Grace Jones". BBC News Online. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  6. ^ Thompson, Jody (11 April 2008). "Eighties pop legend Grace Jones to headline Secret Garden Party". www.mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Finally, New Grace Material?". stephenrendell.blogspot.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  8. ^ "La Vache Qui Lit: ThisThisRemixVolunteer". lavachequilit.typepad.com. 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  9. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Hurricane/Hurricane Dub - Grace Jones". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  10. ^ Jones, Daisy (2 August 2018). "The Guide to Getting into Grace Jones". Vice. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  11. ^ Stewart, Allison (2 September 2011). "Album review: Grace Jones's 'Hurricane'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  12. ^ "GRACE JONES album cover at lifecast – lifecasting in london – prosthetics for films". lifecast.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  13. ^ "Grace Jones at 60: The ultimate hot chocolate". www.afterellen.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Grace Jones: Hurricane - Art Direction in collaboration with Bansky.| Hingston London". Hingston Studio | Creative Agency, London. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  15. ^ Paterson, Colin (20 June 2008). "Grace Jones performs at Meltdown". BBC News Online. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  16. ^ Jones, Sam (21 April 2008). "Meltdown moves from trip-hop to sci-fi with style". London: www.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  17. ^ Brandle, Lars. "'Hurricane' Jones Blows Through This October". www.billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  18. ^ Discogs - Hurricane (WOS050CD)
  19. ^ a b "Hurricane by Grace Jones Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  20. ^ a b Freeman, Phil. "Hurricane - Grace Jones". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  21. ^ a b McDonnell, Evelyn (5 September 2011). "Album review: Grace Jones' 'Hurricane'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  22. ^ a b Campion, Chris (9 November 2008). "Pop review, Grace Jones, Hurricane". The Observer. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  23. ^ Klein, Joshua (21 November 2008). "Grace Jones: Hurricane Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  24. ^ Henderson, Eric (9 December 2008). "Review: Grace Jones, Hurricane". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  25. ^ Wimmer, Josh (21 December 2008). "Grace Jones, 'Hurricane' (Wall of Sound)". Spin. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  26. ^ a b Walters, Barry (17 December 2008). "Grace Jones's Hurricane Pays Self-Tribute to an Icon". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  27. ^ "IMPALA Press Release". Independent Music Companies Association. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  28. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Retrieved 18 September 2016 – via Imgur.
  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Grace Jones – Hurricane" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Grace Jones – Hurricane" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Grace Jones – Hurricane" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Grace Jones – Hurricane" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  33. ^ "Lescharts.com – Grace Jones – Hurricane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  34. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Grace Jones – Hurricane" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  35. ^ "Top 50 Ελληνικών και Ξένων Αλμπουμ – Εβδομάδα 10/2009" [Top 50 Greek and Foreign Albums – Week 10/2009] (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  36. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Grace Jones – Hurricane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  37. ^ "Charts.nz – Grace Jones – Hurricane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  38. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  39. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Grace Jones – Hurricane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  40. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Grace Jones – Hurricane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  41. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  42. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  43. ^ "Grace Jones Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  44. ^ Grace Jones brings 'Hurricane' tour to UK, NME, 16 October 2008
  45. ^ Grace Jones at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, The Times, 21 January 2009[dead link‍]
  46. ^ Grace Jones is back, and on her best behaviour: Grace under pressure, The Times, 23 January[dead link‍]
  47. ^ "Grace Jones "Hurricane" Blows Into Manchester". Archived from the original on 14 October 2009.
  48. ^ Grace Jones, The Roundhouse, London, The Independent, 29 January 2009
  49. ^ "Grace Jones Average setlist for year: 2009". 15 December 2024.
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