01	Goin' to the Country						03:43
	02	By the Way						08:53
	03	Singing Songs						07:04
	04	I'm Afraid, Big Moon						06:27
	05	Release						08:53
	06	Keep on Going						05:25

Frumpy - "By the Way" (1972) Their third and last album was a little bit uneven when you compare it with the two excellent first albums, but there's still enough good stuff here to make it worth the prize. The title-track is absolutely superb and one of the best tracks they ever wrote. "I'm Afraid Big Moon" and "Release" is other fine examples of the classic Frumpy style. Energetic, organ driven progressive rock with lengthy instrumental passages and catchy vocal parts. But the rest of the album? Well, "Going to the Country" doesn't sound like Frumpy at all and seems to be completely out of place on the album. "Singing Songs" is a rather mediocre ballad that fortunately gets better at the end. And "Keep On Going" is obviously an attempt from Mrs. Rumpf to sound sexy, but where's the track? There's no melody or engaging playing in it at all. Anyway, the good tracks makes this a decent album, but start with the two first ones.



Biografie
Like no other German musician, the distinctive personality of Inga Rumpf unites 30 years of pop history in all its variety and possibilities. Folk, gospel, blues, rock, soul, wave, and jazz have accompanied her life between stage and studio, acoustic folk and big band, rock group and boogie accompaniment. Whether as a soloist, a shouter in a band or a singer in the complex surrounds of an orchestra, Inga Rumpf has always known how to hold her own. And that will not change. For in answer to the question of what her future will be she says: 'My future? Music! I'll keep on composing, making records, touring, I'll sing and I'll play.'

Inga Rumpf was born on 2nd August, 1946, as the daughter of a Hamburg seaman and an East Prussian tailoress in the Hamburg district of St Georg. As a four-year-old, she warbled out her first song on the kitchen table: 'Das ist die Liebe der Matrosen' by famous German actor and singer Hans Albers, who only lived a few doors away from the Rumpfs. A cigar box strung with elastic bands had to serve some years as a musical instrument before the twelve-year-old Inga found a guitar under the Christmas tree from her parents. While German hits dominated the radio programmes and juke boxes, Inga was listening to Elvis Presley, playing music with her friends and performing in a blues group in a youth home in St Pauli.
Alongside beat and rock, folk music - in particular politically motivated folk - experienced a renaissance. At the age of 19, Inga Rumpf joined the City Preachers, whose line-up varied between ten and fifteen musicians. The initiator of the group was the Irishman John O'Brien Docker, who integrated Inga into the motley group of individualists. The City Preachers enjoyed their music and stormed enthusiastically through a colourful programme of traditional folklore, blues, country, Balkan folk songs, flamenco, gospel, swing, jazz, and Greek, Italian and Israeli songs. The City Preachers sang in 18 languages and played numerous instruments. This "world-music" was recorded for the first time on LP in 1966 under the title 'Folklore'.
Conservative Germany, which was mainly preoccupied with its economic wonder, showed a surprisingly positive reaction to the young musicians and their sophisticated folk style.

City Preachers, 1967

The City Preachers played to sell-out audiences, were guests on numerous radio and television programmes and achieved considerable international success with their album. Inga's 'Waterboy' was chosen as the single. Alongside O'Brien Docker, Inga was pushed more and more into the spotlight and music critics were at pains to choose between 'smoky', 'demonic' and 'roaring' to find the right definition for her distinctive timbre. Analogous to the protest wave triggered by Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs, the City Preachers sang German anti-war songs on their LP 'Warum?' ['Why'] in 1966. The group's reputation and success grew steadily. By 1969, two further albums ('Cool Water' and 'Der Kurbis' ['The Pumpkin']) had followed, as well as some rather extravagant tours for those times. In the meantime, Inga Rumpf had made a foray into solo work and took part in the finals of the German singers' competition.
At the beginning of 1969, the Bild newspaper featured the headline 'City Preachers break up!' After weeks of disagreement in the group, O'Brien Docker and Inga Rumpf parted ways. Both of them claimed the rights to the band name, whereby Inga Rumpf completely changed her musical orientation. The music of Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and the great protagonists of urban blues changed her intentions. With Karl-Heinz Schott on bass, organist Jean-Jacques Kravetz, and Udo Lindenberg, the drummer who had freshly arrived from provincial Westphalia, Inga Rumpf formed the new City Preachers, who had nothing in common with their predecessors apart from Inga Rumpf's unique feeling for music.
At the beginning of 1970, drummer Carsten Bohn replaced Udo Lindenberg, thus becoming the member of a rock band - now renamed Frumpy - which could match any international comparison. In March of that year, the quartet presented itself on a tour of France, followed by playing in 50 German cities supporting Spooky Tooth, and surprised critics and fans alike in the autumn of 1970 with the musical genius of their LP 'All Will Be Changed'. Backed up by the guitarist Rainer Baumann, the 1971 album 'Frumpy 2' included the band's classic 'How The Gipsy Was Born', a ten-minute composition by Inga Rumpf and Jean-Jacques Kravetz. In 1971, Music Express named Frumpy 'Best German Rock group' and Inga Rumpf was described as 'the greatest individual talent on the German Rock scene' (Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper).
Frumpy was just as acclaimed at the Paris Olympia as at the London Lyceum or the English Hereford Festival. Nevertheless, within the band there were artistic confrontations concerning their future musical path. The musicians managed to pull themselves together just in time for the production of 'By The Way' and an extravagant German tour, which was documented on the double album 'Live'. Even Jean-Jacques Kravetz, who had been intensely involved in the recording of his solo record (Inga Rumpf sings on one track), was available for the tour. However, in the summer of 1972, the split could no longer be prevented. Mourning notices framed in black appeared in the larger German music magazines. The final lines of the text conveyed a message of hope: 'We request that you refrain from messages of condolence, since you will soon be hearing from Inga, Karl-Heinz and Jean-Jacques under another name...'
And indeed, it was not long before Inga arrived at her next station. As suddenly as that legendary island described by Plato sank, the band that bore its name appeared on Inga's horizon: Atlantis. In the late summer of 1972, the line-up of Atlantis consisted of the former Frumpy members Rumpf, Schott and Kravetz, as well as the renowned guitarist Frank Diez and the popular drummer Curt Cress. Their first LP aroused enthusiasm in critics and fans alike and Inga Rumpf was named best female rock singer of the year by the readers of Musik Express.
With Udo Lindenberg instead of Curt Cress, Atlantis toured through England, playing with Traffic and Procul Harum, and standing in for Mungo Jerry. Thanks to Atlantis, German rock music finally became respected in the homeland of rock. 'It's Getting Better' was recorded with Bornschlegel (guitar) and Ringo Funk (drums) standing in for Diez and Lindenberg. In response, Inga Rumpf was honoured by Zeit magazine in one headline as a 'superstar', since she gave the band its definitive impetus with her compositions. Jean-Jacques Kravetz explained in an interview, 'Inga characterises our band in the same way that Rod Stewart characterises the (Small) Faces, and her voice makes up our image.'
From October 1973, Atlantis travelled through England for the second time and appeared as guest on the TV show 'Old Grey Whistle Test'. Kravetz had to be replaced at short notice by Rainer Schnelle, ex-member of Family Tree, who in turn made way for Adrian Askew from England in the summer of 1974. On the album 'Ooh Baby', the Berlin guitarist Alex Conti, formerly of Curly Curve, was presented for the first time. Musik Express wrote about their 'raw funky album', and Sounds recognised a 'portion of the best German soul music'. 300,000 American fans welcomed Atlantis in 22 cities as the supporting band for Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Atlantis travelled through the States together with Kraftwerk. The tour, however, did not bring them any luck and almost ended in the break-up of the band.
Back in Germany, Conti left Atlantis to join Lake. The last chapter of the Atlantis story was written with the return of Frank Diez and the second guitarist Rainer Marz. 'Get On Board' was written under the influence of their impressions of the USA and became the legacy of the best German rock band of those times: in January 1976, Inga Rumpf and Karl-Heinz Schott put an end to the Atlantis adventure. The double album 'Live' appeared after this, but this was cut with Conti in front of a 2000-strong audience at the Hamburg Fabrik. Atlantis used its home advantage and played one of its best concerts under the direction of the charismatic Inga Rumpf.

Atlantis 1975

From 1970, Inga Rumpf was seeking new and, above all, different musical challenges. In 1975, Germany's long-reigning queen of rock released 'Second Hand Madchen', made under the influence of Lindenberg's drive to break into new fields. In July 1976, she accepted an invitation from the Goethe Institute to tour through the former USSR as part of their cultural programme. On a variety of trips through the USSR, France and England, as well as expeditions with the German boogie institution Vince Weber to New Orleans and Memphis following the footsteps of blues, Inga Rumpf gathered new impressions, which she ingeniously transformed in February 1978 with her brilliant comeback 'My Life is a Boogie'. Accompanied by excellent British studio professionals like Paul Carrack (keyboards), Neil Hubbard (guitar) and Alan Spenner (bass), who used to play in Joe Cocker's backing band, she offered pure and passionate rhythm and blues. On a subsequent three-week tour, it was lastingly demonstrated that she could take on the highly acclaimed female newcomers of the German rock scene. In 1979 Richard T. Bear produced the next LP 'I Know Who I Am' in New York and Toronto, this time accompanied solely by US musicians. This album, on which Inga convincingly adapted songs by the Police ('Roxanne'), Tom Petty ('Breakdown') and the Clovers ('Love Potion No. 9'), was described as 'her best album yet' by Music Express. It appeared on the American market under the title 'Inga'.

New wave ideas and spartan song architecture dominated the songs from 'Reality', which was produced by ex-PVC member Jimi Foxx in 1981. The most noteworthy Rumpf compositions included 'Stardust '69' and 'I Wrote A Letter'. The latter was taken over by Tina Turner for the B-side of her single 'Let's Stay Together'. Inga and her band, which she had christened Reality after the material, travelled through Germany with Udo Lindenberg, and she appeared as a star guest on his live double album 'Intensivstation' ['Intensive Care'].
In 1982, she lectured in singing at the Hamburg Music Academy, and married the journalist Niko Muller. Their marriage only lasted five months, but the couple remained associated artistically, reflecting their common experiences with Niko's lyrics and Inga's music in compositions like 'Wilde Ehe' ['Living in Sin'] for the LP 'Lieben, Leiden, Leben' ['Loving, Hurting, Living'], which was released in 1984. This was followed by tours and television appearances. The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper confirmed this exceptional singer as having 'the power and energy she had 15 years ago', and acknowledged the contemporary wave rock as having 'musical integrity and concentration'.

Inga Rumpf & Der Bund

In 1985, English lyrics once again became her preference. 'Two is One' was produced entirely with music computer systems. She celebrated her 20th anniversary with a self-assured and daring mix of funk, blues, rock and psychedelic elements. 'She effortlessly takes the hurdle of conceding to the spirit of the times,' commended the Musik Express in December 1985. The following year she became involved in the live sampler 'Rock Against Atom', and went on her 'Union' tour of Germany in 1987 as 'Inga Rumpf & Friends'. Among her 'Friends' were the American bass player Reggie Worth, guitarist Roy Key Wydh, drummer Alfonso Gumbs from Aruba, an island in the Dutch Antilles, and Ghanaian keyboard player Bob Fiscian.

Highly contemporary funk rock brought Inga Rumpf, Jean-Jacques Kravetz and Carsten Bohn together in 1989 for a re-formation of Frumpy, who released the two excellent albums 'Now' and 'News'.
The second Frumpy episode ended in 1992. Inga Rumpf, for whom musical and stylistic barriers were a foreign concept, worked in that year with the Hamburg boogie pianist Joja Wendt, who accompanied her with his quartet in the 1994 project 'Fifty Fifty'. Her multiplicity remains refreshingly unpredictable. She has sung Lennon's 'Imagine' and compositions by Gershwin, she has performed 'Satisfaction' on the Reeperbahn and 'Love is Gold' for the reunification celebrations in the Hamburg City Square, and she has provided the musical framework for the Christmas service in the cathedral of St James. As a soloist, she recorded 'Open Your Door' in 1994, and with the NDR big band she recorded the albums 'It's a Man's World' and 'The Spirit Of Jimi Hendrix' in 1995. In 1996, 30 years after the release of her first record, Inga has given herself a wonderful present on her anniversary in the form of the CD 'In the 25th Hour', the second studio collaboration after 'Fifty Fifty' with the exceptional Hamburg pianist Joja Wendt and his excellent band (Frank Delle/tenor saxophone, Thomas Biller/bass, Christoph Buhse/drums).
Fourteen songs - eight by Inga Rumpf and 6 adaptations, which Germany's best female singer has respectfully yet at the same time confidently approached. She sings the intensive 'Undercover Agent For The Blues' by Tony Joe White, the swinging 'Cakewalk Into Town' by the lone wolf of the blues Taj Mahal, and the immortal 'Unchain My Heart' by Ray Charles. She also performs Gershwin's evergreen 'Summertime', Billie Holiday's 'I Cover The Waterfront' and the light rock piece 'My Own Way To Rock' by the former lead singer of Guess Who, Burton Cummings.
Jazz, soul, blues or rock - Inga Rumpf has never allowed herself to be pressed onto a mould at any stage of her exciting career. For her, the expression 'artistic freedom' is simply the agenda when she explains: 'As long as it is good music'. This is probably the only statement in connection with Inga Rumpf's activities that you can always count on.