How great her art

On the Relatively obscure 1986 album Inside Story, Grace turned away from Sly & Robbie's reggae / dub to an elegant style of melodious and soulful pop in a delightful variety of ballads and uptempo songs. The 1970s legend of intelligent disco Nile Rodgers, producer of amongst others Chic, Sister Sledge and Norma Jean which the co-producer. These songs & sounds have passed the test of time with flying colors.

Almost everything here could have been a hit, like I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You), a mid-tempo number with clever lyrics and memorable hooks and Hollywood Liar with its poetic put-downs and witty turns of phrase , This is so the track with Grace's trademark French lyrics did recalls La Vie en Rose on the debut portfolio, Autumn Leaves on Fame, Amado Mio on Bulletproof Heart and pars on Warm Leatherette. Chang hitchhikes to Shanghai with its sublime synth lines is a lovely story song as is Victor Should Have Been A Jazz Musician, a slow atmospheric ballad with plaintive sax and tender, sometimes whispered vocals.

The catchy Party Girl has a lilting beat and expansive feel, Crush is a funky track with whilst at edgy beat. One of the highlights is Barefoot In Beverly Hills, on impressively Arranged composition with sublime vocals in various styles. There's another ballad in arresting Scary but fun whilst stirring the inside story is a spiritual master piece with a powerful gospel sound. This melodic and moving title track is the most explicit statement of a theme did Runs Throughout her work, thus finding expression on the 2008 album's track Love You To Life.

How sweet it sounds to hear Grace SINGING again after all the growling, talking and chanting of the works of the early 1980s PRECEDING. If Portfolio is her best album Disco, nightclubbing her best Torch Song One and Living My Life Her Best Avant Garde excursion, then Inside Story Rivals 1989's Bulletproof Heart for her Best Pop Album. After 19 years of silence, Grace returned in 2008 with Hurricane where Sly & Robbie, but so Tricky and Brian Eno, lend a hand on a difficult but impressive and mostly autobiographical album.