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cstack3 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Yes vs Flash
    Posted: March 23 2017 at 21:28
New article I found, discussing the original critic views of Yes and Flash, shortly after Peter Banks & Tony Kaye left/were booted out of Yes:


As fine of a band Flash was on their first two albums, I don't think their product rose to the compositional nor performance level of "the Yes Album" nor "Fragile."  However, it is an interesting historical perspective! 

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 23 2017 at 23:37
nobody can tell for sure the future, and whos gonna be rememberd, and whos forgotten, but for sure, more people will remember Yes. But that aint saying Flash should be forgotten either.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 24 2017 at 22:20
Calling Fragile stale and mechanical... it's one of my favourite prog albums, with the most perfect line-up I can think of.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 25 2017 at 11:13
For a period of time (early 70s) Flash was my most seen opening act.  I mean they opened for everybody.  And with all of that I never could get into their music.  IMO they were never in Yes' league.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 26 2017 at 11:41
Originally posted by dwill123 dwill123 wrote:

For a period of time (early 70s) Flash was my most seen opening act.  I mean they opened for everybody.  And with all of that I never could get into their music.  IMO they were never in Yes' league.

Thanks!  I only saw them once, opening for Wishbone Ash on their "Wishbone Flash" tour (the bands shared a producer).  

And I agree, I don't think the band was in Yes' league, although if they had brought on a permanent keyboard player, they may have evolved in that direction.  The band's chemistry was a mess, even though there was some amazing talent.  

Very little Flash video exists, this is about all I've ever found. 


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 26 2017 at 11:54
Batman
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 13 2017 at 15:24
Love those first two Flash albums. Great stuff. Kaye should have stuck around...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 16 2017 at 07:41
Hi,

Interesting. I like the comment that "FRAGILE was not human" ... and in a sense that is so true as the whole album is so well defined and designed that it made it almost inhuman and too perfect an album for us all to ignore.

As much as I like FLASH, and have always had those first two albums, I think that lyrically and compositionally, they needed to get past that "human" thing, not that they had to create an album that was "superhuman", which was never what they were about, but something that helped them transcent what they think they were that helped see them through a different sphere and set of fans. FRAGILE might not be human, but it got our attention ... the first two FLASH albums were nice but did not get our attention compared to the other monster.

There is something to be said about that "human" thing, and it would come alive 20 years later with NIRVANA, for example, but in the end, it renders a band repetitive, and one can not find a reasonable understanding for the pieces of music, that are a bit more than just a 4 minute song ... the solos become meandering in the ears and eyes of the listener, and that is something that hurts the idealism around music, so much of which propels it!

The same thing happened with IRON BUTTERFLY, who could never get past their first piece of music that sent them to the stratosphere, and mostly because it was not about the trip itself, but about the song and its this and that for the trip, and that did not last long enough for us to even listen to the 2nd album of theirs!

The writing was on the wall, proverbially, for the music scene ... it was going to make you buy everything to confuse your understanding of things. All of a sudden, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE was not as intelligent a rock band as one song made it out to be, even though it had nice stuff, and one beautiful song, did not help IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY become any better and more appealing, in favor of louder, and less interesting music around the time.

And then, something like LZ showed up. And "human" was taken to a personal level that most could not even relate to and could only fantasize about. That was "superhuman"? 
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 16 2017 at 08:50
The lead singer always reminded me of Roger Daltry for some reason. Not his singing though. 

Yeah, that first Flash album is very good. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 16 2017 at 09:47
Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Hi,

Interesting. I like the comment that "FRAGILE was not human" ... and in a sense that is so true as the whole album is so well defined and designed that it made it almost inhuman and too perfect an album for us all to ignore.

As much as I like FLASH, and have always had those first two albums, I think that lyrically and compositionally, they needed to get past that "human" thing, not that they had to create an album that was "superhuman", which was never what they were about, but something that helped them transcent what they think they were that helped see them through a different sphere and set of fans. FRAGILE might not be human, but it got our attention ... the first two FLASH albums were nice but did not get our attention compared to the other monster.

There is something to be said about that "human" thing, and it would come alive 20 years later with NIRVANA, for example, but in the end, it renders a band repetitive, and one can not find a reasonable understanding for the pieces of music, that are a bit more than just a 4 minute song ... the solos become meandering in the ears and eyes of the listener, and that is something that hurts the idealism around music, so much of which propels it!

The same thing happened with IRON BUTTERFLY, who could never get past their first piece of music that sent them to the stratosphere, and mostly because it was not about the trip itself, but about the song and its this and that for the trip, and that did not last long enough for us to even listen to the 2nd album of theirs!

The writing was on the wall, proverbially, for the music scene ... it was going to make you buy everything to confuse your understanding of things. All of a sudden, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE was not as intelligent a rock band as one song made it out to be, even though it had nice stuff, and one beautiful song, did not help IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY become any better and more appealing, in favor of louder, and less interesting music around the time.

And then, something like LZ showed up. And "human" was taken to a personal level that most could not even relate to and could only fantasize about. That was "superhuman"? 



good god man.. that is more inspiring than a 6ft blond with big tits and f**k me eyes

you are a treasure Pedro.  the only poster here both smarter than me.. and able to make less sense with his posts LOLClap
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 16 2017 at 20:38
Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Hi,

Interesting. I like the comment that "FRAGILE was not human" ... and in a sense that is so true as the whole album is so well defined and designed that it made it almost inhuman and too perfect an album for us all to ignore.

As much as I like FLASH, and have always had those first two albums, I think that lyrically and compositionally, they needed to get past that "human" thing, not that they had to create an album that was "superhuman", which was never what they were about, but something that helped them transcent what they think they were that helped see them through a different sphere and set of fans. FRAGILE might not be human, but it got our attention ... the first two FLASH albums were nice but did not get our attention compared to the other monster.

There is something to be said about that "human" thing, and it would come alive 20 years later with NIRVANA, for example, but in the end, it renders a band repetitive, and one can not find a reasonable understanding for the pieces of music, that are a bit more than just a 4 minute song ... the solos become meandering in the ears and eyes of the listener, and that is something that hurts the idealism around music, so much of which propels it!

The same thing happened with IRON BUTTERFLY, who could never get past their first piece of music that sent them to the stratosphere, and mostly because it was not about the trip itself, but about the song and its this and that for the trip, and that did not last long enough for us to even listen to the 2nd album of theirs!

The writing was on the wall, proverbially, for the music scene ... it was going to make you buy everything to confuse your understanding of things. All of a sudden, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE was not as intelligent a rock band as one song made it out to be, even though it had nice stuff, and one beautiful song, did not help IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY become any better and more appealing, in favor of louder, and less interesting music around the time.

And then, something like LZ showed up. And "human" was taken to a personal level that most could not even relate to and could only fantasize about. That was "superhuman"? 



good god man.. that is more inspiring than a 6ft blond with big tits and f**k me eyes

you are a treasure Pedro.  the only poster here both smarter than me.. and able to make less sense with his posts LOLClap


This last post just reminded me of Bilbo's last birthday speech before disappearing. Should the crowd feel flattered or offended by it? Should Pedro feel flattered or offended by your post?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 18 2017 at 07:26
Hi,

Neither Dellinger. I try to word my best in regards to these things, about how I feel, and how I have heard and understood some of this stuff for 40 some years. FLASH was not new to me yesterday, and I heard it almost at the same time as FRAGILE, if I am not confusing dates in my head.

But looking at the whole thing from a different perspective, and a historical one, I would say that FLASH did not have the ability to "overcome themselves" and do better, like YES did, and Jon speaks about. I won't say "lazy", because some of us can meditate and some can not -- very simple -- but in the end, and the new material shows it ... there was something missing ... it was still very nice and enjoyable ... but something missing, that I can not put a finger on!
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 18 2017 at 10:51
Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Hi,

Neither Dellinger. I try to word my best in regards to these things, about how I feel, and how I have heard and understood some of this stuff for 40 some years. FLASH was not new to me yesterday, and I heard it almost at the same time as FRAGILE, if I am not confusing dates in my head.

But looking at the whole thing from a different perspective, and a historical one, I would say that FLASH did not have the ability to "overcome themselves" and do better, like YES did, and Jon speaks about. I won't say "lazy", because some of us can meditate and some can not -- very simple -- but in the end, and the new material shows it ... there was something missing ... it was still very nice and enjoyable ... but something missing, that I can not put a finger on!

Nicely said!  Flash were sort of "prog pop," and they sounded great on the AM radio.  However, their composition really never rose to the level of Yes on the "Yes Album" and beyond, and "Fragile" was far more advanced than anything in Flash's catalog. 

I enjoy Flash and remain connected to the surviving members, who were excellent musicians in their own right.  However, "Fragile" represented a quantum leap in popular music, and remains one of the best LPs in Yes' catalog to this day.  

The historical comparison is interesting, but only moderately so.  We have another "Yes" controversy with two simultaneous Yes versions, i.e. Howe's formal "Yes" and "Yes featuring ARW".  Another bifurcation in the Yes  saga! 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 21 2017 at 12:55
Hmmm...I 'll have to go and play my Flash vinyl....been a while. I honestly can't recall their songs well.
But I did enjoy that video clip above...and that one rings a bell.

One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 21 2017 at 16:11
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Very little Flash video exists, this is about all I've ever found. 


  
That is one god-awful video.




Edited by The Dark Elf - April 21 2017 at 16:13
...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2018 at 16:26
I've just read this thread to Ray Bennett (Flash bassist and songwriter). He had one comment:

If you're going to compare Yes and Flash (a reminder—comparisons are always a dubious enterprise at best), it's wise to limit your comparison to the first two years of both bands. Flash broke up so early, they were just getting started and who knows what they would have sounded like on a fourth album, and with the time to work out all the initial problems and growing pains of a new band (like kicking out the source of most of their problems—Pete—just as producer Derek Lawrence suggested and Yes actually did.)
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2018 at 16:58
You're so right, Dark Elf, that's a god-awful video. It was doctored from the original (overdubbed with an out-of-sync, badly recorded live concert track). The original version was already a very bad-quality grab, probably from a TV screen..

Here's the original...
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2018 at 17:11
Here are Ray and Colin Carter rehearsing the same tune during their 2010 reunion...did you all know about that, and the Flash 2013 release, "Flash Featuring Ray Bennett & Colin Carter"?


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2018 at 17:18
The 2013 album...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsOwj68zSE0&list=PLrnz4OHBKJcQDejyDD778x3rCnsNiSmZK


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2018 at 19:15
nice to see you around and kicking Sherry!
The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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