Flash
Flash

I was at a concert, but I don't know whose. The band that was supposed to perform was running late, and the sound technician put on some music. Recurring sounds reminiscent of Yes came through, although the voice was not Jon Anderson's inimitable one. I overcame my damn shyness and went to ask what it was, and I was informed about this new group named Flash. Finding the album was not easy, but in the end, I succeeded in the endeavor and was also rewarded by the cover image, which featured a close-up of a carefree floral skirt in motion showing an equally carefree slip with an intricate leaf design and lace trimming with, of course, the necessary content. The unkind say many albums were sold solely for the cover image. Nonetheless, this splendid cover, beautiful beyond the subject, let's be serious, is credited to the Hipgnosis studio, with collaboration for the "coloring" by Maurice Tate and for the photos of guitars and cows by Barry Wentzell.

The comparison to Yes's sound is not gratuitous because the lineup includes two former Yes members: Peter Banks, replaced by Steve Howe, and Tony Kaye, replaced by Rick Wakeman. The two certainly brought some of the sound of their former band, and these sounds are most evident in the opening track "Small Beginnings," which sounds very much in the style of "Yours Is No Disgrace," the first track on "The Yes Album." This track's opening is explosive. There's rhythm, grit, a brilliant blend among the musicians. It even lasts more than nine minutes: a real mini-suite. We find something similar later in the album but to a lesser extent with "Children Of The Universe," and then, rising back to a high quality with "Dreams Of Heaven," where it's clear the band is comfortable both compositionally and in the actual performance.

A couple of other things seem to have occurred as filler for the remaining space... Some might want to definitively archive this album as an attempt to imitate Yes, even if it's by very talented musicians; but this is not acceptable. Putting Tony Kaye aside for a moment, who participates in the Flash project externally, Peter Banks, who is the true soul of this group, played with Yes and shared in their sound. Technically, he is not far from Steve Howe. If Flash didn't work out, it's for different reasons. Many less talented bands, or soloists, have had greater success. To make things work, many elements need to fall into the right place at the right time.

Here, in the case of Flash, something didn't work as it could have.