AMG EXPERT REVIEW: With Yes' Peter Banks on guitar, Flash was a progressive rock band that played furiously fast-paced and abrupt music, including speedy guitar riffs and painfully loud drumming. Without the whirlwind organ playing from Tony Kaye who appeared on their first self-titled album, Psychosync is a terribly recorded, six-track album of live performances taken from American TV and radio shows. Although their style is deafening, Banks' superb guitar playing is masked by the raunchy feedback and wavy sound that is truly annoying throughout the entire album. The feverishly explosive energy thrown forward from this band is amazing, with Michael Hough on drums, and Colin Carter singing full blast to the smacking bass guitar of Ray Bennet. Songs like "Dead Ahead" and Psychosync" are best heard from 1973's Out of Our Hands album, avoiding all the noise that prevails from this release. Flash played some fine progressive music but can be valued to a greater extent on any of their studio albums, including 1972's In the Can. — Mike DeGagne

by Gary Hill of Music Street Journal http://www.musicstreetjournal.com
When Peter Banks left Yes, he formed the band Flash. The group, rightly so, sounded quite a bit like early Yes. Still, they did have their own identity. After releasing three albums in the early '70's the group fell apart. However, in the course of those three discs, they created some quite intriguing prog. Psychosync is a compilation of live performances by the group. With liner notes from Banks, it makes a nice addition to the collection.

The performances on this disc are quite creative and full of virtuosity. The only real complaint about this collection is that the production is rather weak in places. Still, for a historical record of the live performances of this group, it can be overlooked. The lineup on the disc is Banks, Colin Carter, Ray Bennett and Michael Hough.

Small Beginnings: With trademark Peter Banks riffing bringing this cut up, it transforms into a fast paced prog jam that really feels a lot like early Yes. The vocals here are just a bit harsh, mostly in the production, but this is a very early live recording. The song has lots of dynamic changes, dropping to slower modes and fast arpegiatted riffing. Trying to keep up with all the myriad of changes here could be a daunting task. So, rather than stress out, kick back, relax, and let it happen. The cut will amaze, entertain and surprise even those who are familiar with the studio version.

Room With a View: Quirky fusion oriented Crimsonish riffing begins this cut, then a drum solo takes over. A completely different fast paced riff, with slower accents that are almost bluesish, takes over for a time. Then, the cut shifts gear again to a slower melodic segment and all these sections alternate for a time before it drops to a more sedate movement, much in the mode of early Yes. This section continues for a time, broken by bursts of unusual fast paced jamming. Then Crimsonish textures return. It drops back to the verse segment, then a new jam with a great groove and progish tendencies ensues. The cut then slows down and a mellower mode ends the song.

Children of the Universe: Frantic riffing again begins this cut, then a very Yesish chord progression takes the piece. This one is a very catchy prog number that really rocks. It has always been my favorite song by the band. It still has the fast paced riffing that the y really did so well, and plenty of progness, but it is much more accessible than some of their catalog. All in all, a killer prog song, this one seems to be strong inspiration for bands like Pentwater. It actually drops to a jam a bit in the vein of Yes' "Perpetual Change", and really leaves this reviewer wondering how much of the The Yes Album was written before Banks' departure.

Dreams of Heaven: Beginning with a hard edged, chaotic prog flourish, the cut then drops to near silence. Processed, echoey guitar takes us out of the quiet time. Then more melodic, sedate picking takes over from there, gradually building in almost early Genesisish modes. The cut starts to take on a more definite rock groove, building more. It then drops to a considerably Sabbathesque metal mode. Fast paced prog with jazz element pull the cut out of this dark segment in fine form, building into a strong quick moving jam, again a bit like early Yes, but even more adventurous. It then drops to more quirky jamming, even running into some familiar late 19th century southern territory. Then off to an echoey section that feels a lot like old Rush. Next, over ten minutes in, the composition switches to a more song oriented style and vocals enter. This segment, good melodic prog, takes the piece as the first consistent segment we have heard. Then a short Yesish break takes over leading into another different Yes oriented instrumental segment. The song goes back into verse oriented territory, this time with a more hard edged, almost metallic style. Then a killer instrumental break with a great solo ensues to take the piece to its conclusion.

Dead Head [sic]: A playful mode starts this cut, and runs for a short time. Then more dramatic prog tones take over with the trademark frantic riffing definitely showing up. This section then drops to a solid prog rock melody. The vocals here are the strongest on the disc. This mode makes up the remainder of the tune.

Psychosync: Frantic fusionish jamming begins this one, and continues as the song builds, moving into new melodies, but within the same style. This one is another that is very dynamic, jumping from point "a" to point "g" in the course of one measure. After a time, the cut evolves into a great groove with a killer guitar solo that really soars at times.
Source: http://www.voiceprint.co.uk/blueprint/bp242reveiw.htm

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 Liner Notes

What's in a name? Flash was a lot more apoosite than we could have ever imagined when I conjured it up over a mediocre vindaloo and warm lager after one of our first rehearsals. Like most new bands, we regarded the name as a slightly embarrasing, but temporary, handle. Eventually divine inspiration would strike to reveal in all its glory, the designated epithet appropriate to the gathering of four young, talented, good looking musicians; it never happened. We were stuck with Flash and seldom has a band so lived up to its moniker.

The music was fast and furious, edgy and seldom relaxed. We were Flash. In our live performances we came on loud and strong witha musical athlecticism that sometimes resorted to decoration rather than expression. Our songs became lengthy Olympian events which probably puzzled and intimidated a few audiences, but we never let that distract us, the stage was our domain - some nights I felt John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix and God were peeping out of the f-holes of my Gibson 335 guitar. We could take one of our compositions, celebrate every corner, angle and riff, and leave it squeezed dry and breathless, often leaving us in the same physcial state.

What now strikes me whilst listening to these live cuts is the bizarre twists and turns, the convoluted arrangements, the groove that would suddenly veer off tangentially into yet another riff sounding like it was trying to bit its own tail - all of this sounded quite normal to us, which of coarse it was not.

We often played ten chords when three would have been better but we could never be accused of resorting to cliche or mediocrity. We were Flash. On a good night we blazed like our name with music that could shimmer and sparkle, twist, turn and dazzle; music that could inspire and agitate in equal measure. For a trio of guitar, bass and drums, we played like a five or six-piece and I still marvel at singer Colin Carter's ability to sing over the top of music that sometimes had the subtlety and bombast of a world war. "We have no keyboard player; I can do it all on guitar", was my war-cry, though I sometimes secretly wished for 'The mighty swirling organ' of Tony Kaye, who played on our first album.

On this CD live performances from U.S. radio and television show up all the flaws and cracks in our musical architecture. There are incidents when [we] sound like we are jumping through hoops instead of just grooving, or even relaxing. But leisure and blandness was never part of our agenda - we were Flash and we could make a riff stand on its head, walk a tight-rope and through fire - all in the name of rock music. Our songs were long and our trousers were tight. In the short space of two years we recorded and released three albums, had a hit single in the USA, I did a solo album; we toured Europe, America alot, and even went to Australia for one gig - and still found time to do our laundry. In America we played to the biggest and smallest audiences, the best and worst venues; bars and stadiums. After two years of this we became a really tight musical unti. The performances and the songs got faster as did our tempers - we broke up for all the usual and wrong reasons. A disinterested record company and confused management infected our morale and Flash collapsed in true unspectacular Spinal Tap fashion in a Hilton Hotel in Alberquerque, New Mexico. It was a shame really.

Despite all the usual accusations of pomposity and self indulgence levelled at progressive rock, Flash has a vibrancy and optimism that transcended all the stereotypes of seventies rock music - we really loved our music and sometimes it showed. Our critics and detractors accused us of "sounding like Yes". Of coarse we did. I was one of the founding members that helped to make (for better or worse - richer or poorer) the strange beast that band has become today. To those critics and fault-finder who expect a musician to re-invent himself every six months - I say fuck you!

We were Flash, our life was short but burned bright - we came and went in a Flash.

Peter Banks
January 1997