Flash
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1971-73) - Peter Banks -- guitar, synthesizers, banjo, backing vocals - Ray Bennett -- bass, guitar, vocals - Colin Carter -- vocals , percussion, synthgesizers - Michael Hough -- drums, percussion
supporting musicians (1971) - Tony Kaye -- keyboards
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- Peter Banks (solo efforts) - The Breed (Ray Bennett) - Camel (Colin Carter) - The Devil's Disciples (Peter Banks) - Empire (Peter Banks) - Eyes of Blue (Ray Bennett) - Gun (Ray Bennett) - Jabberwocky (Peter Banks) - Mabel Greer's Toyshop (Peter Banks) - Mushroom (Colin Carter) - Neat Chance (Peter Banks) - The NIghthawks (Peter Banks) - The Syn (Tony Banks) - The Syndicate (Peter Banks) - Yes (Peter Banks and Tony Kaye)
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Genre: progressive Rating: ** (2 stars) Title: Flash Company: Capital/Sovereign Catalog: SMAS-11040 Year: 1972 Country/State: US Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor ring wear; gatefold sleeve; original inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 20411 Price: $15.00
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Executive summary - if you like Yes, then Flash (the band and their debut album) will be right up your alley.
Guitarist Peter Banks was the main draw behind the band. Starting in the early-'60s he'd been in a number of bands including Mabel Greer's Toyshop who morphed into Yes. His two album stint with Yes is what brought him his fame.
Banks was fired from Yes shortly after the release of their 1970 album "Time and a Word." After a brief stint with Bloodwyn Pig, his first post-Yes musical project was Flash. Formed in late 1971, the band featured former The Breed bassist Ray Bennett, former Mushroom vocalist Colin Carter and drummer Michael Hough the quartet attracted the attention of Capitol Records newly formed Sovereign subsidiary. Produced by Derek Lawrence, there was no way to avoid comparing "Flash" to the Yes catalog. The similarity was further underscored by the presence of Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye. Kaye had been actively recruited to join Flash and the liner notes even listed him seemingly as a member, but he was a guest, having turned down the offer in order to join the band Badger. With Banks and Barrett collaborating on the majority of the LPs five songs, tracks like 'Children of the Universe', 'Dreams of Heaven' and 'The Time It Takes' aptly displayed the band's debts to Yes. Long compositions; complex, every changing melodies, spacey lyrics, interesting vocal harmonies, Kaye's array of keyboard and synthesizer washes and, recalling Jon Anderson, Carter's high pitched vocals. They all screamed Yes. Perhaps I'm an exception, but powered by Banks and Barrett's acoustic guitars, I've always thought the atypical acoustic ballad 'Morning Haze' was the album's standout performance. Hardcore Yes fans seem to delight in trashing the album, but I find it entertaining. Perhaps not the zenith of creativity, but it's certainly less ponderous than some of the Yes catalog (think about the fourteen minute long 'Perpetual Change' off the three album "Yessongs" set). Give it a try. What do you have to lose; plus you can still locate affordable copies.
Always liked the Hipgnosis designed cover art.
"Out of
Our Hands" track listing: 1.) Small Beginnings (Peter Banks - Colin Carter) - 9:23 rating: *** stars To my ears 'Small Beginnings' complex melody and song structure, coupled with Carter's high pitched vocals were the characteristic that instantly reminded me of Yes. Maybe a little more commercial than your standard Yes tune (nah, you weren't going to mistake this for Eric Carmen and the Raspberries), but the Yes similarities were clearly there. Most of the attention focused on Banks' impressive array of lead guitar moves, but Kaye's organ fills certainly mimicked the Yes sound, while Bennett's bass playing was every bit as impressive as Chris Squire. Sovereign was clearly interested in marketing them as Yes competitors going as far as releasing a heavily edited version of 'Small Beginnings' as a single:
- 1972's 'Small Beginnings' b/w 'Morning Haze' (Sovereign catalog number 3345) # 29 US Billboard charts 2.)
Morning Haze (Ray Bennett) - 4:32 rating:
**** stars 3.) Children of the Universe (Ray Bennett) - 8:55 rating: *** stars Well the title certainly screamed early-'70s, as did the lyrics and Kaye's opening keyboard washes. The funny thing is that overlooking the songs continual melodic changes and the goofy refrain ("La ouv ya ouv ya la ouv ya ouv ya la Ouv ya ouv ya la ouv ya ouv ya la oh, etc.") the song proved surprisingly catchy. Banks turned in one of his more melodic solos while Kaye's cheesy synthesizer solo was entertaining . An abbreviated version of the tune reappeared as the "B" side of their 'Lifetime' single. The black and white video and sound quality are poor, but YouTube has the band seemingly lip-synching a performance of the tune at: Flash - Children Of The Universe
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2) Perhaps intended as the albums centerpiece, 'Dream of Heaven' opened with kind of a chaotic band warm-up, abruptly shifting to some classically-inspired Banks solo guitar before bursting into one of the album's most melodic efforts. Clocking in at almost 13 minutes, the song bounced all over the musical spectrum, including jazzy interludes, some of their most conventional rock moves and a section where the hyper-speed group vocals reminded me of the refrain from CSN&Y's 'Deja Vu'. The extensive running time also gave each member some time in the solo spotlight. Had it been a little more focused I would have gladly given it a fourth star. 2.) The Time It Takes (Peter Banks - Colin Carter) - 5:48 rating: *** stars The atmospheric closing ballad 'The Time It Takes' sported another pretty melody (with some of Kaye's most tasteful synthesizer moves), another set of fairytale lyrics and one of Carter's nicer vocals. He handled the track in a deeper register.
© Scott R. Blackerby November, 2024
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Genre: progressive Rating: ** (2 stars) Title: Out of Our Hands Company: Capital/Sovereign Catalog: SMAS-11218 Year: 1973 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor ring wear; gatefold sleeve; original inner sleeve'; small cut out hole top right corner Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4861 Price: $15.00
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Genre: progressive Rating: ** (2 stars) Title: Out of Our Hands Company: Capital/Sovereign Catalog: SMAS-11218 Year: 1973 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor ring wear; gatefold sleeve; original inner sleeve'; small cut out hole top right corner Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4861 Price: $15.00
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Flash's third album, 1973's "Out of Our Hands" found the group releasing a dreaded "concept'" album. (I can already see some you hitting the escape key.) So what's this thing sound like? Well if the band's first two studio sets recalled early Yes, you probably wouldn't be shocked to learn that the same comparison extended to material like 'Open Sky', 'Man of Honour' and 'Manhattan Morning'. Largely penned by bassist Ray Bennett, the plotline was largely lost to me, but then my intellect has steadily declined with extended exposure to rock and roll. I'm really guessing here, but the story line seemed to establish some sort of connection between chess and an alien bringing the Earth a message of peace ... Clearly it was way beyond my limited analytical skills - feel free to send me a note with the true story. In a way the story line probably didn't matter all that much since Colin Carter's voice wasn't the thing that attracted listeners to Flash. Mind you, Carter wasn't a bad singer, rather he was just kind of got lost surrounded by the rest of the band. It's interesting that even though I'm not a big instrumental fan, instrumental segments in tracks like 'Dead Ahead' and 'The Bishop' provided the album highlights for me. Not my favorite of the three studio sets, but not the worst either.
Given the album hit # 135 on the US charts I can only guess that legions of Yes fans were looking for a readily available substitute with their favorite band on one of their creative holidays.).
"Out of
Our Hands" track listing: 1.) Open Sky (Ray Bennett) - 0:48 rating: ** stars Powered by a couple of Peter Banks chords the instrumental 'Open Sky' was more of an aural fragment than a complete song. It certainly set the stage with a slightly ominous vibe. 2.) None the Wiser (King) (Ray Bennett) - 3:17 3.) Farewell Number One (Pawn) (Ray Bennett) - 1:37 4.) Man of Honour (Knight)(Ray Bennett) - 4:45 5.) Dead Ahead (Queen) (Ray Bennett) - 4:38
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2) 2.) Psychosync (Farewell Number Two) (Ray Bennett) - 4:50 3.) Manhattan Morning (Christams '72) (Colin Carter) - 6:24 4.)
Shadows (Its You) (Colin Carter) - 3:20
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