The True Groove All-Stars Cover Grace Jones – ‘Fully Recovered Vol.2′ Out This Friday, December 18th
Fully Recovered vol.2
In 1982, Grace Jones released her sixth album ‘Living My Life,’ a kaleidoscopic global sound record with a reggae inspiration and a song like ‘My Jamaican Guy.’ The title track, recorded for the album, was almost inexplicably left off the album – but surfaced as a B-side a few years later – maybe because its sounds didn’t fit the overall reggae sound of the album.
The True Groove All-Stars have covered Grace Jones’ ‘Living My Life,’ for their upcoming covers compilation album ‘Fully Recovered vol.2,’ and they have put the reggae beats back into the tune, while preserving its punk aggression fully intact.
Marla Mase, Josh David Barrett, 1/2 Pint, Sam Huber, Kismet Lyles, Jahwell, Regina Bonelli, Kevin Jenkins, James Dellatacoma, Son of Bazerk, Dylan Mars Greenberg, Leroy ‘Lefty’ Thompson, Michael ‘Kidd Funkadelic’ Hampton, Mark Henry, Touchy Feely, Nick Rolfe, and Tomas Doncker reinterpret it with the bravery of a Clash tune and an all-star cast. Never lyrics like ‘Choke me, choke me/Choke me for living/Choke me for living my life’ delivered by Tomas Doncker or ‘Hard as I can/As long as I can/As much as I can/As black as I am’ sung by Kismet Lyles have resonated with more strength and relevancy in the light of the recent Black Lives Matter events
Gone the Rubik’s cube-colored polka dots of the original Goude-Jones video, the True Groove All-Stars’s new video directed by Dylan Mars Greenberg, brings a new aesthetic, a multicolor and eclectic cast and a multi-voice message over some powerful funkadelic riffs.
‘Living My Life’ is the second single of the upcoming cover album and it follows Tomás Donker’s soulful and bluesified cover of The Specials ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright,’just released last Friday.
The album also features six other covers: a beautiful and mystical version of Lou Reed’s classic ‘Satellite Of Love’ reinvented by Marla Mase’s sultry voice, a punchy and high-energy rendition of the Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’ revamped by powerhouse Regina Bonelli, a badass and ferocious version of ‘Badlands’ (from Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’) by Touchy Feely, a groovy-jazzy-wobbling slow-down cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Could You Be Loved’ by Sam Huber/Garrison Hawk, a glittery and buoyant version of Mos Def’s ‘Umi Says’ featuring Kismet Lyles, and a soul-searching cover of The Blue Nile’s ‘Let’s Go Out Tonight’ with harmonica by Kevin Jenkins.
‘Fully Recovered vol.2,’ the compilation album by The True Groove All-Stars, will be released this Friday, December 18th.
Watch their cover of Grace Jones’ ‘Living My Life,’ below:
