Bulletproof Heart

Bulletproof Heart is the ninth studio album by Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released on October 13, 1989. The album, co-produced by Chris Stanley, would be Jones' last studio album for 19 years, until the release of Hurricane in 2008.

Bulletproof Heart
Studio album by Grace Jones
Released	October 13, 1989
Recorded	Soundtrack Studios Quad Studios Vision Sound Studios (New York City) Music Mountain Studios (Jamaica)
Genre	Dance-pop jazz R&B
Length	72:07 (remastered CD reissue)
Label	Capitol
Producer	Grace Jones Chris Stanley C+C Music Factory Jonathan Elias
Grace Jones chronology
Inside Story (1986) Bulletproof Heart (1989) The Ultimate (1993)
Singles from Bulletproof Heart
"Love on Top of Love" Released: October 6, 1989 "Amado Mio" Released: April 13, 1990

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C[2]

Background

The album came after Jones' short break from recording music, during which she would again focus on acting, appearing in the all-star Straight to Hell and Mary Lambert's Siesta. On Bulletproof Heart Jones would work with producer Chris Stanley, who at that time had become her first husband. Stanley co-produced the album with her, co-wrote the majority of songs and delivered guest vocals on "Don't Cry Freedom". Three tracks were produced/co-produced by Robert Clivillés and David Cole of C+C Music Factory, who would achieve a global success with the dance track "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" in 1990, and Jonathan Elias. Musically, Bulletproof Heart continued the commercial pop sound of the previous record, Inside Story, showcasing material heavily influenced by synthesizers, drums and electronic percussion. The CD version of the album included two additional songs, which were absent on the vinyl pressing. A remastered, copy protected edition of the album was released in 2004 on EMI Records, and came with two more bonus tracks.

Bulletproof Heart met with unflattering reception, with critic Robert Christgau calling it "incongruous".[2] Commercial performance of the album was also poor: it peaked at number 55 in Germany, failing to enter charts elsewhere, thus becoming the lowest-charting of all her studio albums and one of her least successful offerings. Although Jones has always stayed musically active, Bulletproof Heart would be her last studio album for almost two decades. None of her 1990s comeback attempts materialised and her next album, Hurricane, was eventually released in 2008.

Singles

Only two singles were released from Bulletproof Heart. "Love on Top of Love" was chosen as the lead single and received numerous remixes. It met with limited success and only reached modest positions in Italy and the Netherlands. However, the 12" remix of the song, subtitled "Killer Kiss", was a significant club hit in the US.

Jones' cover of "Amado Mio", a song from the classic 1946 film Gilda, was released as the final single in 1990. It also made little impact, still reaching the top 40 in Italy, but placing at the bottom of the German and UK charts.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Grace Jones and Chris Stanley, except where noted.

LP version - Front Seat (Side A)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Driving Satisfaction"		5:50
2.	"Kicked Around"		5:37
3.	"Love on Top of Love"	David Cole Jones	6:10
4.	"Paper Plan"		3:55
5.	"Crack Attack" (featuring Freedom)		5:20

LP version - Back Seat (Side B)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Bulletproof Heart"		4:19
7.	"On My Way"		4:24
8.	"Seduction Surrender"	Jonathan Elias Alex Lasarenko Jones Stanley	4:57
9.	"Someone to Love"		4:47
10.	"Amado Mio"	Doris Fisher Allen Roberts	5:20

CD version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"Dream"		3:26
9.	"Seduction Surrender"	Elias Lasarenko Jones Stanley	4:59
10.	"Someone to Love"		4:50
11.	"Don't Cry Freedom" (with Chris Stanley)	Stanley	4:16
12.	"Amado Mio"	Fisher Roberts	5:20

2004 remastered CD reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Love on Top of Love - Killer Kiss (Garage House Mix)"	Cole Jones	7:10
14.	"Amado Mio (The Brazilian Mix)"	Fisher Roberts	6:25

Notes

• The remastered 2004 CD reissue of Bulletproof Heart has the same track order as the original 1989 LP release of the album, with "Dream" and "Don't Cry Freedom" appearing as tracks 13 and 14 respectively.
• Freedom is not credited as a feature on the album's tracklist.

Personnel

Josh Abbey – sound mixing Alan – horns, keyboards, percussion Jerry Bennett – drum programming Jay Berliner – flamenco guitar Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals Danny Browny – guitar Francesco Centeno – bass Robert Clivillés – production, drum programming, percussion, sound mixing, sound editing David Cole – production, arrangements, keyboards, synthesizers, sound mixing, sound editing Dominic Cortese – accordion Ricky Crespo – sound editing Craig Derry – backing vocals Tyrone Downie – keyboards Jonathan Elias – production, arrangements, drum programming, keyboards, synthesizer programming Jeffrey Fey – design Chris Floberg – sound mixing Ray Foote – FX guitar Sherman Foote – drum programming, synthesizer programming, sound engineering, sound mixing Chris Fosdick – vocal effects Freedom – rap David Gennaro – vocals engineering Greg Gorman – inside photography Gordon Gottlieb – percussion Jean-Paul Goude – cover art

Diva Gray – backing vocals Steve "Griff" Griffin – recording engineering Lani Groves – backing vocals Clive Hunt – bass, horns, keyboards Chip Jenkins – synth programming Grace Jones – production, arrangements, vocals Curtis King Jr. – backing vocals Alex Lasarenko – keyboards, piano, synth bass, arrangement Jim "Bonzai" Lyon – mix engineering Willie Menendez – narration Jim Nicholson – synth programming, sound engineering Clifford Pemsler – synth programming, sound engineering Janice Pendarvis – backing vocals Lenny Pickett – saxophone Carl Pitterson – drum programming, keyboards, percussion, sound engineering, sound mixing Tom Regis – drum programming José Rodriguez – mastering Paul Seymour – vocals engineering Ira Siegel – groove guitar Frank Simms – backing vocals Chris Stanley – production, keyboards, bass, guest vocal Vanessee Thomas – backing vocals Dave Tofani – tenor saxophone George Victory – guitar, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards Martha Wash – backing vocals Kenny Williams – backing vocals

Chart positions

Chart (1989)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[3]	108
Germany (Media Control Charts)[4]	55

Release history

Region	Year	Format(s)	Label
Worldwide	1989	LP, CD, Cassette	Capitol, Jugoton
Europe	2004	CD	EMI

References

1. "Bulletproof Heart – Grace Jones". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
2. Robert Christgau. "Robert Christgau: CG: grace jones". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
3. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
4. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Grace Jones – Bulletproof Heart (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-18.

External links

• Bulletproof Heart on AllMusic
• Bulletproof Heart on Discogs
• Bulletproof Heart on Rate Your Music