Flash – Flash

1,826

5 Stars

Having been kicked out of Yes after two albums and enjoying himself a bit too much, what did the bad boy of Progressive Rock do after leaving Yes? Form a punk band? Well, not quite. Flash was the name of the band, a name thought up over cold pie and chips with a couple of warm lagers after their first rehearsals. Flash by name, Flash by nature.

Peter Banks had found himself the perfect lineup to replace his old colleagues, but thereby hangs a tale as by the time they got into the studio friction among the players was already rearing its ugly head.

This was always going to be Peter Banks’ band.

On lead vocals was Colin Carter, who looked like an action man-doll with long curly blonde hair, a talent for singing Peter’s songs, and smashing tambourines at the end of each song. Indeed, he sounded a lot like Peter Banks’ previous singer, but didn’t insist upon singing his own non-functional lyrics.

On bass guitar was Ray Bennett, one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most inventive bassists, running out fluid bass lines that not only underpinned all of Banks’ solos, but laid down their own stories as well. One listen to opening track “Small Beginnings” will leave you gasping as his bass is all over the song, while not taking anything away from the lead guitars or keyboards. He was also the owner of a very clear pair of pipes enabling the band to incorporate soaring harmonies amidst even the heaviest sections of the music, and, as in the second song on this collection, take over on lead vocals to leave Carter to his tambourine smashing.

Next we have the gentleman with the sticks in his hands behind the drum kit, Mr. Mike Hough, an exponent of his skills of rare talent and violence, probably the find of the band. His live drum solos, though thankfully brief, used to leave audiences gasping.

There are five songs on this debut album, and they come in two varieties: two relatively short ballads (about five minutes each), and three longer, well-structured pieces with room for each element of the band to show off their skills.

The pick has to be Dreams of Heaven. (Actually the gem of an idea for a song that Peter Banks had in his last days with Yes. They changed it into Perpetual Change, but here you get it in its full rocked out glory.) “Dreams of Heaven” clocks in at just under thirteen minutes; however, it often used to be stretched out to thirty minutes when they used it as a closure to their live sets. The music is fast and furious, edgy, and seldom relaxed. They often played ten chords when three would have done. What the heck. If you’ve got it, flaunt it. But they could never be accused of being cliché, gauche, or mediocre.

After touring all over the world for two years, three albums by the band, a solo album from Peter Banks, a disinterested management, a confused record label, tempers shortening, and morale dropping, the band imploded in true Spinal Tap fashion after a show in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It really is a shame.

Despite all the usual accusations of pomposity and self-indulgence leveled at progressive rock, “Flash” had a vibrancy and optimism that transcended all the stereotypes of seventies rock music. They really loved their music and it always showed. They were Flash – their life was short but burned bright. They came and went in a Flash.