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    RARE 1974 U.K. SYMPHONIC PROGRESSIVE CLASSIC

        

                                                   

                        FRUUPP

                 SEVEN SECRETS

                              

            

\                                         ENGLAND - DAWN RECORDS  - DNLS 3058 

 

DARK TRANSPARENT RED VINYL first printing....

Highly sought after....Original 1974 first pressing on the collectible British DAWN label by the acclaimed symphonic progressive crew FRUUPP and their second album "SEVEN SECRETS"

Includes the scarce group photo/lyrics insert

- Peter Farrelly / bass, flute, vocals
- Martin Foye / drums, percussion
- Stephen Houston / keyboards, oboe, vocals
- Vincent McCusker / acoustic & electric guitars, vocals

Irish guitarist, singer and writer Vince McCusker had spent some months in London to find musicians for his musical ideas. Disappointed he returned to Belfast and recruted musicians to play his material: Miles McKee (lead vocals), Stephen Houston (keyboards/oboe), Peter Farrelly (bass/vocals) and Martin Foye (drums). They called themselves FRUUPP, the name is dreived from an Electroset Page, the band added an U and a P. FRUUPP signed a contract with Dawn Records and in '71 they released the debut album titled "Future Legends", in '74 followed by the "Seven Secrets" and "The Prince of Heaven's Eyes". The band was making real progress (good sales, succesfull gigs) but Stephen Houston left for religious reasons the band and was replaced by John Mason. In this line-up FRUUPP made their last but acclaimed LP "Modern Masquerades" ('74).

As a seasoned reviewer of progressive music, one can become rather cynical, noticing the bad stuff rather than the good stuff, and longing for something fresh. So when listening to Fruupp's second album, 'Seven Secrets', gave this reviewer the feeling of listening to progressive-rock for the first time all over again, fully aware this album was something special.

Quite possibly the album opener Faced With Shekinah is the best track on the album. It's certainly the most symphonic and exciting, with frequently changing time signatures and themes. The song is peppered with excerpts from classic pieces including Purcell's Rondeau from the 'Abdelazer' suite, which provides a dramatic coda to the song. There are just two verses to this song, but the lyrics are sung at breakneck speed and with a sense of emotion and urgency. All in all, this is an adrenaline fuelled start to a wonderful album.

Naturally, the second track Wise as Wisdom starts in a very laid-back way. However, this is an ever-evolving song, in the style of Camel (indeed the guitar solo at 5:11 reminds me of Andy Latimer). There is a very brief verse, which prevents the song from being an instrumental. There is a fair amount of repetition in this song, but an abundance of brilliance. We hear Fruupp play with their ideas on this beautifully crafted track.

White Eyes is yet another solid track. After a 1½ minute quiet introduction, there are a couple of verses that are very reminiscent of the classic early 70's Pink Floyd vocal style. After a few more fantasy-tinged verses the song begins to wind down in a lovely mellow way. The riff heard between 4:34 and 6:06 is simply divine, and is great for relaxing to. This is the most light-hearted track on the album, and not too distant from the style the band would take on their next album.

At just over 9 minutes, Garden Lady is the longest track on the record. The structure of the song is a particular favourite: a brief lyrical section followed by a mammoth passage of instruments winding around one anothr (here lasting over 6½ minutes!) and topped off with a strong lyrical section. The lyrical section here is quite fast paced, and contrasts with the spacy atmospheric passages. Certainly far from dull, and includes more Camel-esque guitar work from the incredibly talented Vincent McCusker. Towards the end, the music begins to pick up pace, in order to catch up with the lyrical section, and one can't help but feel that the band's use of dynamics and tempo changes are genius. A truly rewarding song.

Following the longest track is the shortest; at a mere 5 minutes, Three Spires is an acoustic folky affair. This track is relatively light in terms of progressive rock, but full of emotion. The song will be best remembered for the beautiful outro, which lasts nearly half the track's length and consists of the chorus being repeated over and over. Despite the repitition, the beauty carries the listener through right to the end and certainly worthy of this album.

The band once again show their classical influences on the final proper track, Elizabeth. With an introduction that mirrors Händel's Arrival of the Queen Of Sheba, the classical feel continues throughout the song via the sound of string instruments. This song is certainly progressive and the end is interesting and leads the song out with plenty of style.

The final track, titled The Seventh Secret, is a fey poem recited in a peculiar accent over an acoustic guitar. Given the style and class of the rest of the album we wouldn't have changed the ending any other way!

 Faced With Shekinah (8:23) 
Wise As Wisdom (7:07) 
White Eyes (7:16)

SIDE II 
Garden Lady (9:00)
Three Spires (5:00)
Elizabeth (7:45) 
The Seventh Secret (1:08)

 

CONDITION: The Cover: Very fragile textured delicate cover is well preserved and been carefully handled, rated nicely at near "EX" (excellent) has only some light visible previous handling, nothing to cause anyone interested to put it down...

The Vinyl: is transparent dark ruby red when held up to light...rated: "EX" (excellent) and better...glossy over both sides = play grade is excellent with no audio problems...CLEAN Dawn labels top off a rare keeper of early '70s British progressive quality...

The doublle sided insert has pin holes at corners and tape residue, but otherwise completely servicable !!

       

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

 

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

 

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record

  NOTE: All Items backed by  money back guarantee! IF you have a problem PLEASE let us solve for you BEFORE leaving ANY negative feedback. Thanks!   GRADING SCALE: M, M-, EX, VG++,VG+, VG, VG- M    Completely clean, no marks M-   Carefully used, looks clean, plays clean, shiny gloss, no marks EX   Faint scuff or superficial mark, near M-, high gloss, plays clean VG++ Glossy with minimal scuffing or light mark playing very nice, clean VG+ a bit more scuff or markls still plays well with very minimal surface at worse VG   more marks/scratches only minor, nothing deep, no loud clicks or pops         this grade is abused by many, VG here does not mean "trashed" VG-  surface noise present, will not have skips or jumps     ALL PAYMENTS SHOULD BE MADE WITHIN 5 DAYS Of AUCTIONS END   BIDDERS PLEASE = Do Not Bid If You Are Not Serious About  Following Through The Transaction!   ALL ITEMS GUARANTEED FOR WINNING BID - LESS SHIPPING!