Search - Flash :: Flash (1st Album)/ Out of Our Hands

Out Of Our Motts

Kim Fletcher | Pattaya, Chonburi Thailand | 12/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Peter Banks was relieved of his position as lead guitarist with the formative "Yes" after two albums. Not because of his abilities, but because of a penchant for rather overdoing the Rock 'n' Roll life style and tending to have a bit to much of a good time unlike some of his more studious band mates. When Steve Howe replaced Banks he had to firstly learn how to play Banks' parts, and like all "Yes" guitarists, had to play in that style to this day. However, Steve Howe throws a terrible wobbly if Banks' name is even mentioned in his hearing, scotching any chance of any further collaboration between Banks and any of his old colleagues. So what did the bad boy of Progressive Rock do after leaving "Yes"? Form a Punk band? Well, not quite, but certainly as close as Punk Rock ever came to Progressive Rock. "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. Peter's old drinking buddy from "Yes", Tony Kaye, had also been tossed aside as the others coveted the multitalented skills of Mr. Rick Wakeman and his many assorted keyboards. They were whisked from those laid back folks with 'The Strawbs' and positioned in all their glory taking up the whole left hand side of the stage at every "Yes" concert. Far more prestigious than Tony Kaye's simple Hammond organ. More is not necessarily better. So Tony Kaye was rushed out of one door straight into the door marked Flash. (Tony Kaye never actually toured with the band although his playing here is nothing short of stunning. This was always going to be Peter Banks' band. To be fair to Tony Kaye he had been rather caught on the rebound and decided to take a bit of a break from playing in a band before forming his own. He did so later and formed the keyboard oriented fabulous "Badger", which suited his playing.) On lead vocals was Colin Carter, who looked like an action man doll with long curly blonde hair, and with 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 bassist, 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 drumkit, 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 of which 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 of 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 Alberquque, 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. Definitely some of the classiest music to come out of the early seventies and a great addition to any CD collection. Even cooler, it has an album cover anybody would like to have draped across their coffee table, but it definitely isn't by Roger Dean.They were Flash - their life was short, but burned bright. They came and went in a Flash.Mott the Dog"

Two Excellent Progressive Rock Albums On One Cd & Remastered

highway_star | Hallandale, Florida United States | 03/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When guitarist Peter Banks left the progressive rock group The Yes, he formed Flash. One listen to Flashes debut simply called "Flash" and you'll hear a remarkable resemblence to Yes's sound due to Bank's unique style of guitar playing. The album produced one hit with "Small Beginnings" which is here in it's entirety (not edited), but the rest of the album is full of excellent songs such as "Children Of The Universe", "Dreams Of Heaven", "Morning Haze" and "The Time It Takes". Flashes second album "Out Of Our Hands", while not quite as strong as their first release did include some well crafted songs such as "Open Sky", "None The Wiser", "Man Of Honor", "Dead Ahead" and "Farewell Number One" to name a few. This cd includes both the albums "Flash" and "Out Of Our Hands" and is digitally remastered. The sound quality is superb and is much better than my old copy of Flashes debut album on One Way Records released in the early nineties. If you like seventies progressive rock artists such as The Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, Genesis and Pink Floyd then you'll definately want to add this cd to your collection. Highly Recommended!"

5 for the music, not the package.

Gareth Davies-Morris | San Diego, CA USA | 03/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Flash was the post-Yes vehicle for Peter Banks, and if you like that group's early sound (Yes!, Time & A Word, even The Yes Album in places), you'll find a lot to like in this CD, which combines the first and third Flash albums in one package.



The first album is generally considered their best, with the most developed, lengthy cuts recalling in places "Astral Traveller," "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "Perpetual Change." Only the acoustic "Morning Haze" and the moody closing ballad "The Time It Takes" slow down the frenzied jamming. The production is by Derek Lawrence, who did such a great job on all the early Wishbone Ash albums (another touchstone, I think). Engineering is by Martin Birch, who'd go on to work with Deep Purple, Rainbow, & Iron Maiden, so you can rest assured the sound is clean and loud! Another strength of the debut is that Tony Kaye, also newly fired from Yes, guests on keyboards (unlike the later two Flash albums, which are basically a showcase for Banks), so you get some nice solo interplay between these two Yes refugees.



Out Of Our Hands, the underrated third "concept" album, complements the debut well; along with guitar, Banks plays a few synth parts, so the texture of the two records is fairly similar. The band self-produces but to no detriment. What is different on OOOH is a more calculated commercial approach: shorter songs, clearer attempts at hooks and choruses, and a tighter, less jamming style. The concept that underpins the songs is trite and unoriginal: an alien savior, sent on a mission a la The Day The Earth Stood Still, is betrayed and returns disappointed to his planet Catalina. Er...what? Honestly, without the LP's liner notes and a close reading of the lyrics, you'd never have picked up any plot or coherence, but that wouldn't be any great loss.



The songs could use more development (more jamming!) but especially in the latter half (the old side 2) the band locks into some very satisfying prog riffing that recalls Wetton-era King Crimson titles like "Fallen Angel" or "Easy Money." Check out "Psychosync" or "Manhattan Morning," the album's absolute high point, with its Western imagery, lead bass, and ascending Lark's Tongues-style chords. Banks really lets loose on the fade-out, too. You also get some quite lovely ballads in "Man of Honour" (check out Banks's acoustic runs on the fade-out there, as well) and the Crimson-meets-Yes closer "Shadows." Again, it's all great but under-developed, as if the band is clearly trying to rein in their tendency to 12-minute epics (see In The Can, their second record, for more of those).



A comment on the musicianship: clearly the group sounds like early Yes, especially with the propulsive bass and soaring guitar, though the drums are more on the beat than Bruford ever liked to be. The one difficulty is Colin Carter's voice; getting use to him is half of the challenge of growing to like Flash. He can be a bit shrill and nasal in place, as he sounds like a bad hybrid of Anderson, Robert Plant and Ian Lloyd, emulating their worst rather than their best qualities.



Finally, the package is disappointing. You do get basically both album covers and inner jackets, but the choice and arrangement of photos seems backwards: the smaller, more intricate images (the debut's inner photo montage, OOOH's complex outer cover) are reduced, while the already large images (the famous flashing miniskirt and the inner group photo from OOOH) get the full treatment. A better use of the space could have provided a full reproduction of each cover plus those group photos in greater detail. The annoyance is compounded by an uninformed and basically useless set of liner notes and the reissue producers' waste of a page making their own personal thank-yous (who cares?), space that could have been used for more of the album credits (musician details, for example?) or the lyrics to OOOH. There's also a glitch on 08:13 of track 3.



In summary, early Yes fans or lovers of guitar-based prog should enjoy discovering Flash through this excellent pairing. The package could be much better, but the music is terrific. Give it some time and even the rough edges will wear off."