01	It's All Up Now						07:23
	02	Prince Of Darkness						03:49
	03	Jaunting Car						02:27
	04	Annie Austere						05:20
	05	Knowing You						02:46
	06	Crystal Brook						08:05
	07	Seaward Sunset						03:07
	08	The Perfect Wish						09:56

Fruup

Personnel:
Peter Farrelly - Guitar, Bass, Lead Vocals
Martin Foye - Drums, Percussion
Stephen Houston - Keyboards, Oboe, Vocals
Vince McCusker - Guitar, Vocals
John Mason - Keyboards, Vibes, Vocals
Ian McDonald - Sax

Albums:
Future Legends (Dawn DNLS 3053) 1973 (reissued on one CD (See For Miles C5HCD 646))
Prince Of Heavens Eyes (Dawn DNLH 2) 1974 (reissued on one CD (See For Miles C5HCD 646))
Seven Secrets (Dawn DNLS 3058) 1974 (reissued on one CD (See For Miles C5HCD 646))
Modern Masquerades (Dawn DNLS 3070) 1975 (reissued on one CD (See For Miles C5HCD 646))

45:
Prince Of Heaven/Jaunting Car (Dawn DNS 1087) 1974



McCusker put this techno-rock outfit together in Belfast in the early seventies although they later relocated to London. They were a popular band in the club/college circuit but never broke into the big league. Musically they were similar to Yes and Genesis, classically inclined progressive pop/rock.

All titles on their first album were composed by McCusker and arranged by McCusker and Houston. It was produced by Denis Taylor. Farrelly was responsible for the beautiful cover painting. All the tracks on the album are good examples of classically-tinged progressive rock, with good string arrangements and often melodramatic keyboards.



Farrelly did the cover artwork for their "Seven Secrets" album too. This was similar in style, although some tracks had a hint of medieval-influenced instrumentation such as the opener, "Faced With Shekinah", which was penned by Houston. There are more fine McCusker songs, too, notably "White Eyes". "Elizabeth" is a predominantly instrumental number with some beautiful piano pieces, penned by Houston, though the final track, "The Seventh Secret" was a throwaway number. Houston left after this album with John Mason coming in as a replacement.



Produced by Ian McDonald, "Modern Masquerades" is a little less classically-influenced than their earlier efforts. McCusker's "Masquerading With Dawn" and "Mystery Might" are excellent tracks with some at times captivating instrumentation. John Mason contributed two tracks, too - the sad "Gormenghast" and the finale, "Sheba's Song".

Taken from The Tapestry of Delights - The Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R&B, Psychedelic and Progressive Eras 1963-1976, Vernon Joynson
ISBN 1 899855 04 1




Fruupp - "The Prince of Heaven's Eyes" (1974)The third album was released already later the same year, but it was definitively not a sloppy piece of rushed work. Actually, "The Prince..." is the best Fruupp album for many people. The album had a tighter but also more polished symphonic sound than the two first albums. Houston's piano and string-synths had become the most dominating of the keyboards, although there was still a fair amount of organ. The album was a concept album about a young man named Mud Flanagan who went out in the world to find the meaning of life. My favourite track on the album and one of Fruupp's best songs ever is "Annie Austere". A very tight, tasty, melodic and catchy track that could rival anything that Genesis did in the same style. This track floats into "Knowing You" that probably is the most beautiful moment on the whole album. "It's All Up Now" is beautifully slow-paced symphonic progressive. "Crystal Brook" featured an instrumental-part reminiscent of "Olde Tyme Future" from the first album. "Seaward Sunset" is a piano/flute dominated ballad with classical influences and sung in a high falsetto. Very beautiful. "Perfect Wish" is one of those tracks that grow on you with each listen, and it features lots of great themes, melodies and ideas. And it gives me chills down my spine when the opening theme on the album comes in at the end of the track. A striking end to a classic concept album.


Fruupp - "Modern Masquerades" (1975)The future was actually starting to look bright for Fruupp around the time of "The Prince...". The tour went very well, and the band was still getting praise from rock-critics for their great symphonic progressive rock. However, Stephen Houston had other interests. He had suddenly turned to religion and his spiritual search became so intense that he left the band. John Mason replaced him and the band returned to the studio to record what turned out to be their last album. It became apparent that Houston had meant quite a lot to the band as some of the charm and distinctive "Fruupp-ish-ness" seemed to have gone with him. But "Modern Masquerades" is still a good work of mid-70's symphonic progressive rock. Mason's playing style is in a similar vein as Houston's, although less distinctive and his el-piano gives some passages a slightly more jazzy feel, especially on "Misty Morning Way", "Sheva's Song" and not at least "Gormenghast". The latter was at over ten minutes also the longest track they ever recorded. The best and most typical Fruupp track on the album is with no doubt "Masquerading With Dawn". The vocal-parts sounds like they could have been taken from "The Prince..." and the grandiose instrumental-part give me goosebumps every time. One of their very best tracks actually. "Mystery Might" features some of the most energetic passages the band ever recorded. There are also some funk-influences on some parts on this track, and it works surprisingly well. The band broke up the following year, and that was maybe the right thing to do at the right time. It's good to have at least a few progressive rock bands that released only good albums and remained progressive all the time of their career.


Fruupp - "Songs for a Thought" (1992)This is a compilation that was released on CD only and is to my knowledge now out of print. I guess you can always discuss the selections on a compilation from the view of your own personal taste. However, I think it's a quite obvious weakness for everyone that this compilation includes almost 3/4 of each of the two first albums, while "The Prince..." and "Modern..." are represented with only 2 and 1 tracks each. But you get two non-album tracks as a bonus. First you have the single "The Prince of Heaven". A light, symphonic and commercial song. Ok, but not fantastic. The other non-album track "On a Clear Day" is much better. It's based in a Holst-theme and was meant to be on the first album. A great track that really proves that Fruupp had a sound and style of their own, which made them something more than just another Genesis-influenced progressive rock band. But you should better get the original albums than this patchy compilation. All four of them should be in every progressive rock fan's collection.