Grace Jones - Private Life

It's almost as if this Chrissie Hynde song was written with Grace Jones in mind. "Private Life" was featured on Pretenders' self-titled debut album in 1979, and the next year it appeared on Grace Jones' Warm Leatherette album, exquisitely produced and arranged in the Compass Point Studios in Bahamas by Sly & Robbie. Chrissie Hynde considers this cover version one of the high points of her career, and it's no wonder. Grace Jones' delivery is absolutely fantastic. The tale about a woman having no time for her married lover's whining suits her perfectly, and it's delivered in a semi-detached, uninterested voice that does wonders for the song. The video is pretty good too, only showing the face of Jones, and for the first time, her famous mask, taking it off and on and off again, staring into the camera and singing the song unobstructed, in one single take.

Watch and listen