Flash three-disc Live In The USA set to be released

(Image credit: Think Like A Key Music)

Flash, the band formed by original Yes guitarist Peter Banks after he'd left, are to have a three-disc set of restored live recordings from their 1972-1973 USA tour released. You can watch a video trailer below.

In The USA: Live Recordings 1972-73 will be released through Think Like A Key Music on September 29 and features twenty-two tracks from seven shows, the majority of them previously unavailable.

“What Think Like A Key Music set out to do here, on this multi-disc set, is to gather together whatever was left out there of live Flash stuff regardless of quality and present it in the best possible way," explains original bassist Ray Bennett. "Whatever improvements could be made to the audio were done. Quite a bit of it is rough sounding, but I found that even with the poor sound issues there was something coming across from the live experience. Some surprisingly good moments.

"A fair bit of this material was fan-recorded, probably on cassettes, some possibly from rough mixing board recordings; some is much better studio type quality, and some has been online for years on obscure websites, but in the worst possible form – awful sound, complete with extraneous noise and talking in the recordings. So all that has been cleaned up and the sound mastered as well as possible. Overall, I think this is a worthy project for the historical record at the very least. Other than the In Public CD which is already available, this new set is it as far as we know. Pretty much all that there is of live Flash performance.”

Pre-order Live In The USA.

Flash: In The USA

CD 1:
Roslyn, NY, August 1st, 1972:
1. Black And White
2. There No More
3. Monday Morning Eyes
4. Small Beginnings
5. Children Of The Universe
6. Lifetime

CD 2:
Hempstead, NY, July 18th, 1972:
7. Small Beginnings
8. There No More
9. Children Of The Universe
10. Dreams Of Heaven
Passaic, NJ, December 16th, 1972:
11. Small Beginnings
12. Black And White
13. Children Of The Universe

CD 3:
Indianapolis, IN, December 27th, 1972:
14. Small Beginnings
15. Black And White
16. Children Of The Universe
Burbank, CA, October 9, 1973:
17. Dead Ahead
18. Psychosync
Miami, FL, October 26th, 1973:
19. Children Of The Universe
20. Black And White
Cape Cod, MA, August 24th, 1973:
21. The Bishop
22. Manhattan Morning (Christmas ’72)

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.