IN THE CAN

In The Can is Flash's second album out of three, but it was the last one to reach my ears. The reason for that is that this second album seems to be harder to get hold of now compared to the other two. This is because the debut (self-titled) and the third album (Out Of Our Hands) have been re-released together on a two-on-one CD, fairly recently. I often wondered before why they chose to release the debut and the third album together like that, passing over the present album. However, I now understand why - this album is simply a bit less good than the other two and a disappointment after the very good debut.

For this second album Tony Kaye had moved on, so the presence of keyboards on this album is weaker. However, there are some keyboards here played by guitarist Peter Banks. After Kaye's departure, Banks was now the only ex-Yes member of the band. As I said in my review of Flash's debut, that album held up very well in comparison with the two first Yes albums and early Symphonic Prog in general. But while Yes moved on to create fantastic and mind blowing masterpieces like The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge, Flash were pretty much stuck in the Time And A Word-era. This is not necessarily a problem though, and I do think that they managed to sound fresh and interesting on their first album. On this follow up, on the other hand, it feels like they are mostly going through the motions. The style is basically the same as on the debut, but the passion seems to be somewhat lost.

The most urgent problem, however, is the lack of memorable melodies. The debut album was strong in that department and I can now, off the top of my head, recall the melodies and riffs of Children Of The Universe, Small Beginnings and Dreams Of Heaven, while I don't remember any of the songs from the present album, even though I just heard it! Also, while the third album tried out something new, this second sounds just like a bleak copy of the debut. Don't get me wrong though, this is not a bad album by any means and those who liked the debut (myself included) will certainly find something to enjoy here too. But this adds nothing to it, they said everything they had to say on the previous album.

I can recommend this album only to those who has already enjoyed the other two Flash albums (particularly the very good debut). And since these other two albums are conveniently available together now on a single CD that is an excellent addition to a Prog collection, this standalone album is only recommended for fans and collectors of everything Yes related (again, myself included).

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