Schicke, Fuhrs & Frohling - Symphonic Pictures (Reissue, Remastered) (2010)

SCHICKE, FÜRHS & FRÖHLING is one of the most amazing prog acts to ever come out of Germany. Instilling their symphonic sound with elements of space rock, avant-garde electronics and fusion, their style turns out to be very rich and dynamic, combining light and shade in a perfect balance.

Eduard SCHICKE (drums, percussion, moog drum) and Heinz FRÖHLING (guitars, bass, synthesizer, mellotron), who had already been colleagues in the recently split SPEKTAKEL (one of the major German prog acts at the time), met keyboardist Gerard FÜHRS playing electric piano in a music store, sometime I nearly 1975. A few conversations led to instant chemistry, and furthermore, to the formation of the SCHICKE, FÜRHS & FRÖHLING trio. Six months later, they had a full repertoire of their own, on-stage experience (including the 1975 German Rock Festival in Munich) and a record deal signed with the Metronome label. Their debut album "Symphonic Pictures", an undisputed classic of German prog, was released in 1976, selling about 12,000 copies. The trio gained popularity among local prog fans, mostly for their stunning live performances, which many critics described as magic and overwhelming. Two more studio recordings followed, "Sunburst" (1977) and "Ticket to Everywhere" (1979). Though not as impressive as their debut, these latter albums show the band exploring their musical vision further, with a genuine will to evolve. You can also notice the band bearing a tendency toward a lightening of their sound, especially concerning the third album (the last one, indeed), which bears a bigger tendency toward appealing tunes and catchy arrangements that lean somewhat close to jazz-fusion and jazz-pop, with the symphonic factor not remaining the main focus anymore. In between, "Sunburst" still managed to capture the density and pompous atmospheres that had made the best of "Symphonic Pictures" while containing new rooms for jazz-rock oriented ideas. A year before SCHICKE quit the band, his partners had started working as a duo in parallel: with SCHICKE's leaving, the trio just dropped off. In fact, the "Ticket to Everywhere" was mostly conceived as a studio project more than as an effort by a 'live' band. In the early 90s, a double CD comprising all three albums plus two live tracks was released - the item was dedicated to the memory of Gerard FÜHRS, whose untimely passing occurred on Nov. 3rd, 1992.

Especially recommended to fans of ELOY, NOVALIS, PULSAR, everything symphonic with a strong spacey component and additional elements from jazz-rock and fusion: generally speaking, this band is a true classic of Germany's old school symphonic prog rock, and you can tell that their influence is noticeable in a number of 90s-era prog bands.