Walking In The Rain

This is the most feminine & least frightening photo of Grace Jones that I could find. Be grateful.

My first encounter with the ferocious visage of Grace Jones was on a VHS video called "A One Man Show" that was available at the video rental counter on Ramstein Air Force base in Germany, where I was stationed in the mid-to-late 80's; a decade that held a lot of 'love it or hate it' moments for me musically. This Grace Jones person looked... well, interesting enough and I recognized some of the songs she was doing, like The Pretenders' "Private Life" and "Demolition Man" by The Police, so I figured an hour long video rental wouldn't be too much of a waste if I didn't like it. But I was in for an unexpected surprise.

Sly & Robbie, 2012

Grace Jones may have been the star of this video, and yes, she was most unusual; way more so than say, Cyndi Lauper. But the real star of this music was the band! This was the hardest, groovin'-est reggae rhythm section I'd ever heard! I understand how Keith Richards said he felt when he heard Chuck Berry for the first time and flipped out over the piano playing by Johnnie Johnson, not Chuck's guitar work. Grace Jones was signed to Island Records at the time and had been working with producers Chris Blackwell, Alex Sadkin and the Compass Point All Stars, recording at Blackwell's Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. The rhythm section of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare were the pulse of the music. I feel they are one of the greatest bass-drum duos in all of rock music history, right up there with Watts & Wyman, Jones & Bonham or any of the Motown bands. Sly and Robbie were also important in developing the trend towards computer-assisted music and programming in the mid-1980's. They did a killer job with Joe Cocker on his "Sheffield Steel" album from 1981, still one of Joe's best records ever. Together, they have produced and/or performed on literally thousands of recordings to date.

Here's Grace Jones with Sly & Robbie playing their hypnotic version of Flash and the Pan's "Walking In The Rain". This groove is relentless, yet slinky as a cat and very atmospheric.

The thing about Grace's recording of this song is that she was such an extreme personality, yet hers is the more natural of the two versions. I say this because Grace's version has a sound that is distinctly hers. It sounds like any other Grace Jones record; whereas the original artist, Flash and the Pan, gave the song a stark demo quality that stood out from the clatter of New Wave and Punk at the time of its release in 1978, yet it doesn't sound like anything else they did. When this song came over the radio, it sounded very cold and robotic, before that style became more common in the '80's, thanks to the likes of Gary Numan, The Eurythmics and others. And yes, there once was a time when songs like this were given frequent radio play.

Flash and the Pan was little more than an ongoing song demo factory run by Australian hit makers, Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of The Easybeats, who scored hits in the '60s with "Friday On My Mind" and "Gonna Have A Good Time", both of which have been covered several times and will likely be the subject of future articles on this blog. Harry and George also found success as producers; working with the likes of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and The Angels, creating the blueprint for a generation of simpler yet harder rock & roll bands.

George Young & Harry Vanda

Vanda and Young began their own small, something-to-do demo project in 1976. By 1979, the duo had turned out a novelty hit with the single "Hey St. Peter." A second single, "Down Among The Dead," also became a hit throughout Australia and Europe, which lead to the release of the album "Flash and the Pan". American FM radio began playing import copies, which led to a deal with Epic Records. The album would soon reach the Top 100 in the States, despite the lack of a supporting tour. They released two more albums with some minor success in the U.K., but failed to make much impact due to the part-time nature of the project.

Let's all go "Walking In The Rain" with Flash and the Pan. You'll notice the absence of the rhythm section immediately. That sole difference makes the Grace Jones version warmer and more organic. Let's see if you agree. Of course, you may think this song is just plain weird no matter who's doing it. That's ok too.

The Flash and the Pan album on which you'll find this song and "Hey St Peter", which you may vaguely recall from the foggy mist of the 80's, is available as an import CD with bonus tracks, new, for about 6 bucks at Amazon.

Your best bet for Grace Jones' music is either the excellent Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions, for a more complete overview, or Island Life, which is a good single disc compilation, and has the advantage of being available on vinyl, which this music sounds very good on. Get 'em both at Amazon or your favorite locally owned vinyl emporium.