Scott's Song by Song #100: Fruupp and Friends - Solace

Welcome to issue #100 of Scott’s Song By Song (#scottssongbysong).

First, I want to acknowledge that this is my 100th official “Scott’s Song by Song” review!  Thanks to my amazing wife Allison Rich and everyone who has been supportive in this venture.  Combined with the 100 albums in the “Prog Magazine Top 100 Prog Albums” challenge and around 10 reviews for DPRP.net so far, I have over 200 reviews under my belt!  Of course there’s all the Spotlight articles which are now In Focus articles for DPRP since earlier in 2026, and the interviews I have done and a few random “Scott’s Thoughts” articles, I am now pushing 300 entries on my blog.  Thanks to everyone who enjoys my writing and is interested in my point of view; it means a lot to me!

Now, onto the reason you are here!  When I published my Spotlight on the somewhat obscure, yet wonderfully charming, Irish prog band from the 1970s, Fruupp, I would have never guessed that slightly over a year later, there would be an album of new material to review!  If you are not familiar with Fruupp, I recommend reading that article first so you know a bit about them!  It’s a truly unique story, complete with a band member (original keyboardist Stephen Houston) quitting to become a Born-Again Christian while absconding with the band’s equipment!

The album “Solace”, by “Fruupp and Friends” is a tribute to founding bassist/lead vocalist Peter Farrelly who sadly passed away in 2025.   Spearheaded by Ian Wright and Nigel Wade, the album is a work of passion. Original Fruupp members, guitarist Vincent McCusker and drummer Martin Foye, were integrally involved in the project.  (John Mason, who replaced Houston has also passed away, but I only know that it was sometime before 2022.) The CD booklet/liner notes include descriptions of each track to let the listener know the details of each track and how it relates to Fruupp. I will be including information from each of those in this review (in italics). Furthermore, the cover image is a drawing from Farrelly himself created in the 1970s (Farrelly did the artwork on Fruupp’s first two albums).  It contains the first new Fruupp tracks in over 50 years!

I want to thank Ian and Nigel for allowing me to review this album.   I receive no other compensation from them.  I am honored to help spread the word!  As always, I “call it like I hear it”, and this is a cold listen.

Time to dig into this intriguing project!

Track 1 - Introductions by Mr. Peter Farrelly (Fruup, 1975) (3:30)

This comes from the live album “Masquerading With Dawn”, recorded in December of 1975.  As noted in my Spotlight article, the original master tapes for this intended live album were burned in a fire, but then many years later, an audience recording from the same show surfaced.  That recording was cleaned-up and eventually remastered to be released as an album in 2022.  Peter introduces the band, set to music written by Vincent McCusker.

It begins with sustained low notes and eventually the organ takes the lead.  McCusker plays a melody  on guitar while Farrelly introduces the band members.  Of course the recording is far from pristine, but given the circumstances, is quite listenable.  The melody is quite nice indeed!  In fact it is the basis for the next track.

Track 2 - Lady in Waiting (Performed by “Flight 76” aka Ian Wright) (6:34) 

Ian Wright performs as “Flight 76”, which is a band that he and Nigel were in during the 1970s.  Ian “resurrected” the name around 2020 when he began recording material that they created back then. Ian plays all of the instruments and sings everything on the track. On this he takes McCusker’s melody from track 1 and works it into a completed song with lyrics from Robert Cochrane. The lyrics, in turn, are based on the lady in the cover illustration.  McCusker and Foye have endorsed the track as a: 

“Song written in the style of and 

as a tribute to Fruupp and endorsed by 

Vincent and Martin as being in that idiom, 

it could have been a Fruupp track had that 

melody been developed further at the 

time. “

The song transitions smoothly from track 1 with peaceful clean electric guitar, joined by synth.  Ian’s vocals are smooth and warm.  A syncopted drum and bass rhythm joins in.  In the next verse, the rhythm becomes slow and steady.  Ian’s voice is in the vein of John Wetton or Greg Lake.  The melody lines are wonderful and the lyrics provide beautiful imagery.   There is a wonderfully orchestrated instrumental break!  Ian’s guitar playing is wonderful as well.  This is a fantastic prog song!  Perhaps they should issue a music video for it.  

Track 3 - On a Clear Day (Fruupp From a 1973 live recording, with additions in 2026 from Vincent McCusker) (5:48)

From the CD notes:

Taken from the live 1973 from set used for 

‘A Twilight Adventure,’ written by Stephen 

Houston and now re-recorded with new 

guitar work by Vincent McCusker in 2026. 

This was the track that had to be removed 

from Future Legends due to threatened 

legal action by the family of Gustav Holst. It 

later became an encore track, as featured 

on Masquerading With Dawn, taking over 

from The Steam Machine.

A swirling keyboard sound and light cymbals create a beautiful cascade of sound to start this off.  A series of syncopated rhythms follows to lead the vocals in.  The sound is a little saturated in places, probably a symptom of the original recording.  At around 2:45, the tempo changes, but returns to the jazzy syncopted groove soon after.  At around 3:55 is the section I suspect comes from Gustav Holst’s “The Planets”.   It does not come from “Mars, The Bringer of War” (which every self-respecting prog fan is familiar with), but I am not sure which planet’s movement it is based on.  Still, this is some killer classic prog!

Track 4 - Chasing After You (Performed by MGM) (5.41)

From the CD notes:

Recorded live in a studio circa 1980 by 

MGM , featuring Peter Farrelly, Martin Foye 

and Gus Devlin. The track is important to 

this album as it is the best Peter Farrelly 

penned song post Fruupp.

There is some unintelligible studio talk and drum fills prior to the start of the track.  When it begins it is an organ-based, upbeat rocker, with a new wave feel.  The vocals have an odd effect on them that make it difficult to make out.  The music is high energy.  It’s a fun track, but unfortunately I wish the vocals were easier to understand.

Track 5 - I Don’t Think It’s Love (Performed by Minx) (3:36)

From the CD notes:

Music and lyrics by Vincent McCusker, circa 1978 - Vincent’s band with Trevor David post Fruupp. This is his favourite track from that era, and has had the vocals rerecorded in 2026. 

This one is more of a hard rocker at a moderately slow tempo.  I like the vocals; there are some nice harmonies, especially in the chorus!  It comes across as a demo, but it’s good!  The drummer plays some nice fills.  Cool track!

Track 6 - Why (performed by i-a-n) (3:20)

From the CD notes:

Music & lyrics by Vincent McCusker, 1975. 

A new arrangement by Vincent McCusker 

in 2025, now performed and produced by 

i-a-n. This is the first time a cover version 

of a Fruupp track has been recorded for an 

Album.

It seems that i-a-n is Ian Wright, and that is the name of another recording project of his, standing for “I am Neon”.  

It begins with a nice acoustic guitar part that is soon joined by vocals.  This is a beautiful acoustic ballad.  The guitar and vocals are panned to either side of the stereo spectrum.  The melody line is simply beautiful.

Track 7 - “Moytura House (Solace)”  (performed by Argos) (6:49)

From the CD notes:

Music by Thomas Klarmann and Argos, 

with percussion by Martin Foye. Lyrics by 

Robert Cochrane. Taken from the 2026  

album ‘Dr Wilde’s Twilight Adventure’ 

by Argos, an album which was created 

in tribute to Fruupp and was endorsed 

by Vincent McCusker, incorporating the 

name of the fifth album that Fruupp were 

going to release in 1976, but circumstances 

conspired against it. The Argos album details 

the downfall of Dr William Wilde, 

Oscar Wilde’s father. 

A lovely keyboard and guitar mixture starts us off here.  The verse has a nice rhythm under the vocals.  There is a short interlude in between the first and second verses.  The rhythm returns for the second verse.  A whimsical 6-8 section follows.  This is very classical in nature.  However, a wonderful prodigy middle instrumental bit starts, then turns jazzy.  Super guitar solo!  After the vocals return, there is even a bit of mellotron.  This is a fantastic prog track with many moods and sections. 

Track 8 - Under the Influence (performed by Argos) (4:42)

From the CD notes:

Another track from Dr Wilde that features 

Martin Foye’s drumming and Robert 

Cochrane’s lyrics. Both these tracks have 

been used on Solace with permission from

Thomas Klarmann.

This begins with a Beatle-esque piano based verse at a quick tempo.  I am enjoying this.  It has good energy!  Wonderful harmony vocals.  There is a half-time bridge with interesting chord changes.  The wah-wah tinged guitar solo has a funky groove behind it.  A jazzy sax solo follows.  This is a very strong track!  Lot’s of fun!

Track 9 - Solace (performed by i-a-n) (3:46)

From the CD notes:

Music by Ian Wright, lyrics by Robert Cochrane. A Song written for Peter Farrelly and performed by Ian Wright as I-a-n, using an Erik Satie motif and a strong Farrelly style bass line. 

For anyone who is unaware, Erik Satie was an impressionist pianist and composer in the late 19th and early 20th century.  He is best known for a piece called “Gymnopédies”.

I believe that the melody comes from “Gymnopédies”.  This is another acoustic based ballad, but with a big fat bass line and piano joining in.  This is a beautiful piece of music.  

Track 10 - Tuesday Night at Number Eleven (Fruupp) (2:34)

From the CD notes:

A new track written and performed by Vincent McCusker in 2026, using lyrics he wrote in the ‘70s. A melodic piece which tells the story of some of the early days of Fruupp when they first moved from Northern Ireland to London in 1971. 

This begins on acoustic guitar with a subtle shaker.  McCusker’s vocals are very good.  This whole album is full of rich melodies!  A synth string section joins on the second verse.  This is a beautiful song that I would have liked to go on a little longer!

Track 11 - Banshee Woman (Fruupp)  (3:30)

From the CD notes:

Using lyrics written in the early ‘70s by Vincent McCusker but never used at the time, Vincent has created a new Fruupp track with Martin Foye on drums.  

A dissonant acoustic guitar part with a bell tolling starts off here.  Foye enters on drums along with a guitar solo and bass.  This one has a creepy vibe, perfect for the Halloween season in which I am writing this!  It softens a bit in the first part of the verse, but that vibe returns.  Another guitar solo follows.  There are some sound effects that evoke a wailing banshee as the song begins to transition into the next track.  Pretty cool song!

Track 12 - The Steam Machine (Fruupp) (2:39)

From the CD notes:

Music and lyrics by Vincent McCusker. Used 

for four years as the live encore track, but 

never previously recorded. This version from 

2026 is by Vincent McCusker with Martin 

Foye on drums.

The train sound effects come straight out of “Banshee Woman”.  Then the band kicks in with a hard rock bluesy shuffle.  This is a really good straight-up hard rockin’ tune.  I like the piano triplets that enter in the second verse.  The guitar solo is reminiscent of Richie Blackmore on  Deep Purple’s “Child in Time” during the ending portion.  Good song!  I wouldn't mind if it were extended a bit!

Track 13 - Lament for Peter (Fruupp) (1:52)

From the CD notes:

Written by Vincent in 2026 as a tribute to his old band mate, the front man of Fruupp, Peter Farrelly. It is a beautiful instrumental with a distinct Irish lilt. 

McCusker shows himself to be a wonderful acoustic player on this track!  I believe there is even a little banjo in the background.  Synth strings enter about halfway through to accompany the track.  A nice peaceful ending to a wonderful album

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

This is a wonderful tribute to Peter Farrelly and fans of Fruupp are very excited about its impending release.  Due to the nature of some of the tracks, the recording quality varies.  The love put into preparing this album by Ian and Nigel and all others involved comes through in spades!  If you aren’t familiar with Fruupp, I still think this is an enjoyable collection, but I would also recommend going back and investigating their 70s releases, as they deserve more attention as one of the great unsung heroes of 70s prog!  My only issue with this is the weird vocal effects on Track 4, “Chasing After You”; not sure what happened there.  However, don’t let that prevent you from checking it out!  I give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars (90%).  As I stated at the beginning, I would have never guessed that I’d be reviewing new material from Fruupp in 2026!  I would love it if McCusker and Foye collaborated some more; I’m not predicting they will, but stranger things have happened. (See the links below for a YouTube trailer and Pre-ordering information on Burning Shed.)

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LINKS FOR LISTENING/BUYING:

Video Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAVSFN1xgZY&list=RDmAVSFN1xgZY&start_radio=1

Pre-order here (Burning Shed):

https://burningshed.com/fruupp-and-friends_solace_cd