Peter Banks

Album review

Flash / Two Sides Of .....

added: 5 Feb 2010 // release date: 23 Nov 2009 // label: Esoteric
reviewer: Andy Snipper

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Peter Banks was one of the founder members of Yes but later had a career both with the band Flash and with a series of solo projects. Esoteric are re-issuing the first Flash album and �Two Sides Of Peter Banks� and one listen tells the listener a great deal of the core of Yes� sound and how much they lost after his departure.

�Flash� included Ray Bennet on bass, Colin Carter on vocals and Mike Hough on drums as well as another ex-Yes man, keyboardist Tony Kaye. I would have to describe their sound as archetypal Prog without the excessive noodling and time changes for its own sake. �Small Beginnings� starts with a spiralling guitar riff over portentous drums and a very Moody Blues-like kicker � this was released as a single which is also included here as a bonus item. What you notice from the off though is the sense of fun that pervades the number as the verses give way to short instrumental passages that differ each time. That then gives way to a folky and pretty �Morning Haze� that has touches of flamenco as well as some rudimentary harmonies. �Children Of The Universe� is the big Prog middle number and this features Kaye�s keyboards as well as some great guitar work from Banks. �Dreams Of Heaven� takes it all to another place with all of Prog�s best and worst attributes � lots of changes, acoustic and electric sections and massed voices � but it is my favourite track here and really hits the spirit of the day.
The album is a fine piece in its own right and the remastering really improves on the sound of the original.

�Two Sides Of Peter Banks� sees Banks as a solo artist after the success of Flash in the US allowed him the money and time to do an album featuring the likes of Jan Akkerman (Focus), Steve Howe (Genesis) and John Wetton (King Crimson), not to mention Phil Collins before the jacket came off.
Now this is a totally different kettle of fish. Not a word is sung or spoken and the album features a guitar dialogue between Banks and Akkerman as well as a great deal of Prog powerplaying.
The first six numbers or so form a coherent set of pieces that seem to flow into and through each other but the mammoth �Stop That� is a thirteen minute improvised creation (jam in other words) that grows on you more each time you play it.

Peter Banks was one of the great guitarists that prog threw up and these albums serve him in a fine light. The second and third Flash albums are due shortly on Esoteric, I can�t wait.

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