THE FLOW

8 years old already and still no review! Schade! To make matters worse, this is a delightful recording full of wondrous material, suavely played and well metered. The immediacy is somewhat veiled as it doesn't quite leap onto the prog jugular but prefers slowly permeating the brain and leaving a positive impression. As the title overtly implies, the chosen theme here is the innocuous power of the river and its imperial "flow". Ines Fuchs is a talented keyboardist very much in the Tony Banksian frame of mind, with strong "art-rock" leanings (Simple Minds, Roxy Music etc.) ,her hubby Hansi Fuchs generates guitar accompaniment along with three ex-Asgard members, the solid Chicco Grosso on plaintive vocals, guitarist Max Michieletto , his brother Marco on drums and the fluid bass and stick from Italian Davide Piai. "Feel the River's Dance" begins promisingly with a masterful melody, grand team playing, fascinating backing vocals and a truly unyielding prog-rock song. "The River & Me" sounds almost like a segue , as it "flows" into a slightly harder edged tone , tempered by some superb violin work, the solo is incredibly gifted, a more subdued keyboard flight , more stellar backing vocals and a indescribable feeling of quality music played with genuine emotion. "In a Space Made of Blue" develops a swirling keyboard surge, with dense ethereal atmospherics, another superb air sung with conviction by Grosso, the chorus particularly effective, albeit using simple lyrics to convey that message of constant flux. A short guitar solo brings this to a gentle conclusion. The first of three brief interludes, all possessing the title "Flow" , ushers in a strong accordion-led Gaelic romp that fits masterfully, raunchy guitars and a twist of hurdy-gurdy for good measure thrown into the drum-infested fray. "I'm Part of the River" is a semi-cinematographic snapshot that is launched by a massive mellotron cascade, a brief synth motif and owning a slight Middle Eastern/Turkish feel that evokes adventure and fantasy. The mood is contemplative but bold and fits well into the overall scheme of things. "After All These Moves" gushes splendidly along, a dreamy and reflective chorus with a huge harmonious hook, Grosso proving that he can handle the vocal spotlight like an battleship admiral steering the convoy. When the colossal drums kick in, the piece evolves into an ocean of symphonics that is hard not to admire. "Downhill" sails much more upbeat with a nearly poppy rudder, a fast moving raft negotiating the torrents, it's a good track but nowhere near the same enchantment as previously expressed above. An immense mellotron squall introduces "Stranded", a quirky arrangement that barely hides a mature melody, some fabulous Celtic pipes blaring beyond the waves, Grosso delivering a somewhat huge Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) vocal impression that is wholly convincing, a thunderclap of synth and this oceanic premise navigates along, lost temporarily in the mist. "Flow 2" has an almost South African touch, accordion ablaze with some suave violin, spiced up with some persuasive percussion and a nice outro vocal plaint. "On the Shore" offers some more Celtic illuminations, buoyed with some sensational Chapman Stick work, breezy keyboard exertions and a mammoth main vocal theme that is breathlessly performed , aided and abated by some willful flute decorations as a guitar solo torpedo effortlessly breaks through the water. This could easily have fitted onto "the Titanic" movie's soundtrack. "Flow 3" is the instrumental highlight here and my favorite track, a pulsating sea of dense atmospherics (a hint of Watcher of the Skies), with heavy keyboard waves, rippling guitar crests, shark-like drumming and a robust Piai stick solo to drown for! The ensuing 6 string fret solo is a short but devastating tsunami of emotion. "The Place by the Sea" is a diminutive track that has the pipes hearken back to the call of the sea, a bright and passionate vocal dance that swells with joyous abandon, as the accordion adds another playful dimension to the overall "flow". "Wishing Well" is the longest track here , clocking in at over 6 and half minutes, an appropriate piano-led send-off that incorporates all the preceding qualities that make this such a surprising addition to any music collection. A languorous instrumental waves us goodbye as the river hits the sea. This is an album well worth prospecting and salvaging from the shallow depths of the prog riverbed. The pan sometimes finds nuggets of gold, this is certainly one of them. 4.5 affluent floods

Ines is a forgotten neo prog band from Germany, who release so far four albums. Formed in early '90's and taken the name after the female keybordist Ines Fuchs, not really get all the attenti they desearve. Now, Ines is something diffrent of the most neo prog bands from this scene, because they have a special sound, very smooth and elegant arrangements, almost all the pieces are mid temo, with lush kybords played by Ines with great atmospheric passages combined with great voice of Chicco Grosso. The main attraction of this album is to my ears the vocal parts, I mean this guy really knows how to handle his vocal tone and to create something of a real intrest in this domain. He shines on most of the pieces here with a warm voice, calculated vocal passages, who remind me a lot of Camel, elegant and smooth in same time. The rest of the instruments had a role here of course but I don't think the guitar has the most important one, Massimo Michieletto the six string man from here done a good job, giving the album a very solid and intristing aura. I said that Ines is diffrent from other bands from this genre, because thay have an unique way of sayiung or playing this music, not very quirky or over complex, but has enough moments to capture my attention for almost one hour. All the pieces are well balanced, who relies more on atmospheric keybords who are very close to Genesis or Roxy Music in parts, but aswell are some who are excatly similar to Iq for ex, but always unique and great. Not a weak moment here, that the resean I give a solid 3 stars for this album release in 1999 named The Flow. Moody neo prog, little underrated IMO, but not exactly one of the essential albums from this genre. Still needs a better and wider view for sure. Good album all the way, pieces like Feel the River's Dance , The River and Me or On the Shore shines as great as they are and the true sound of Ines.

The best disk group. Music in the spirit of the IQ group. Very beautiful and sad Neoprog in the best traditions of ASGARD, IQ period cd Ever, Beautiful and delicate passages keyboards. Very soulful vocals and gorgeous Chicco Grosso. INES compositions are sometimes similar to Marillion and Genesis Collins era. Sometimes echoes and Galleon and early cd FRUITCAKE, that is, from the Pendragon and GREY LADY DOWN. The band's music is a bit simple-minded and naive. But this simplicity is offset by the stunning, sad and beautiful melodies. It is on this disc three original members of the band Asgard: Chicco Grosso / vocals - Massimo Michieletto / guitars - Marco Michieletto / drums, percussion it is worth recalling that Chicco Grosso sang in the group AUFKLARUNG I highly recommend this CD to anyone who loves Genesis, Marillion, Pendragon, IQ, ASGARD, FRUITCAKE, GREY LADY DOWN, Galleon

It has been over ten years, now, since any review was posted on this quite outstanding album. Whether this is due to oversight or simple unfamiliarity is immaterial: either way, this represents a grievous harm. The previous two albums in Ines' catalogue (Hunting the Fox, and Eastern Dawning) were both excellent in their own right, but contained some tracks that didn't sit prettily within the whole scheme of things; and by the time of the fourth and final album, Slipping into the Unknown, the band had clearly run out of inventive steam, and duly called it a day. But The Flow is an unheralded synth-washed gem from start to finish. Indeed, it is one of the (very) few albums that I can safely sit through without wishing that something had been omitted. Be assured, we are not in the presence of any Gentle Giant-type instrumental jiggery-pokery (for which I give thanks), or lyricism in the vein of Dylan Thomas, or any of the grandeur associated with Big Big Train, or distorted rhythms, or tedious drum solos - what we have here are terrific melodies throughout, and top-class musicality. I'm not absolutely sure if it properly classes as neo-prog, but what's in a label, anyway? This is just great stuff.

For what it's worth, I note that Ines is still playing wonderful keys, and singing backing vocals, as part of her husband Hansi's eponymous band, Fuchs. If you put Ines Fuchs und Band in the internet search engine, there she will be on You Tube, at the back of the stage to the right, supporting bespectacled Hansi (who is seated at the front), as the band delivers a great version of How Could I Just Ignore Him, from the album Station Songs - which is just a fantastic album, incidentally, as is its predecessor The Unity of Two. (Purely in passing, the band's principal vocalist sounds, to me, uncannily like the late-lamented Geoff Mann.) Be that as it may, I also note that Fuchs are playing at the Night of the Prog Festival taking place in the Loreley open-air amphi-theatre near Sankt Goarshausen (Germany) between 14-16 July. Cyan and Karfagen are also appearing. If the Festival organisers could kindly re-locate the whole kit and caboodle near to God's chosen country (Yorkshire), I'd be there like a shot.

But, as ever, I digress. The Flow is what I'm reviewing. And I have. And it's just magnificent.