Grace Jones "Hurricane Dub"

(PIAS) (Guest Review by Edgar EaViL) You have to face your fears we are told. I was scared of Grace Jones as a child. Who/What/How is she?  “This is my voice… my weapon of choice” – this is the first line uttered by Grace on Hurricane Dub in “This is Life.” She goes on to say “This is what I’m focused on… this is my head on straight.” Grace REWERKED 2008’s Hurricane and it is finally available in the USA. This album has only gotten greater since thawing and sprouting a second disc. Arms and legs. “William’s Blood” is so far the closest to autobiography and openness Grace has become. She seems to be turning the camera inward that was always snapping her. The song is a wonderful collaboration with Wendy & Lisa (Viva La Revolution!).  There is almost a gospel energy which touches on her religious upbringing. This is further enforced by the songs ending with “Amazing Grace” backed by her mother. “Corporate Cannibal” is extremely relevant now in an age of “digital criminals.”We see them on the trains multiplying, outnumbering and plaguing the downtown area. There is also a reference to one of her past songs “Slave to The Rhythm” and some nice distorted guitar. In “I’m Crying (Mother’s Tears)” there is a lyric that chokes me up: “I was there by her side when my grandmother died.” It’s so potent how she describes the loss they shared.  The song “Hurricane” unleashes the mass destruction of “Hurricane Grace” with the help of Tricky. In “The Devil in My Life,” Grace addresses relationships that no longer serve a positive purpose.  Some people need to be excised/extracted/exorcised from our lives. This past summer my wisdom teeth were in fact the DEVIL IN MY LIFE! Then there is the DUB disc: There is lots of Grace fading in /out, serenading, searing and scaring. You should bring Grace to your next bashment and drop legs (Jamaican decode)!  In the “Hell Dub” Grace gets down in sparkling hat and smoke.  Hopefully it won’t be much longer before she appears again!