FRATERNITY

Hence this CD is credited to "Bon Scott and Fraternity" instead of just "Fraternity". Hence the extensive liner notes are written by Bon Scott's biographer, an AC/DC fan. They therefore focus on Bon's role, rather than the rest of the band, and treat it as a journey on the way to AC/DC. As you can guess, it is far from complimentary. Fraternity's music is dismissed with all the usual putdowns - 'ponderous', 'overwrought', 'pompous', 'pretentious', 'esoteric' - while the biographical sketch does its best to paint the band as lazy and out of touch with reality. The whole package is such a massive insult to anyone who might be genuinely interested in Fraternity (as opposed to an AC/DC completist), that one wonders why Raven bothered to release it. Finally, the album includes grabs from two radio interviews with Bon. Both are from the late 1970s by which time Bon had made the big time with AC/DC. Neither of them mention Fraternity. For a Fraternity fan, they have no legitimate reason to be there, but this compilation is not being marketed to Fraternity fans.

Now at least one charge made against the band - that they were lazy - is well-deserved, as this compilation makes clear. Both of Fraternity's albums are included in full, and the first thing one notices are the almost identical track listings - Fraternity hardly managed to write any new material in time for the second album (recorded two years later), so they simply recycled most of the first album with minimal rearrangement. As such, disc one of this compilation has most of the essential material, while disc two has the lesser quality rearrangements and a handful of less interesting new songs. I've split the difference between the two albums and given this compilation three stars.

Fraternity took influences from a few different directions, and that's reflected in this album - in contrast to the proggier moments, there is the Stephen Stills-like title track, and The Band-like "Summerville", and some poppier moments like "Cool Spot" and "Jupiter Landscape" (though the latter still has a slightly proggy keyboard part). These tracks are strong in their own right, and the diversity adds to the strength of the album. On the proggier side: "Raglan's Folly" is the best track, with it's unpredictable chord structure, several changes of mood, and surprising recorder-driven conclusion. The instrumental "Grand Canyon Suites" (not a direct rip-off of Copland, although you'll hear some allusions) is also pleasing, with it's sweeping melody swapping between the organ and guitar. "You Have A God" is more bombastic. "It" unfortunately is the weakest track, several minutes of atonal noodling before it finally finds a song - and it closes the album. (This is why having "The Race part two" at the end on my CD version works very well indeed).

Overall, one of the stronger albums to come out of the Australian prog scene in the early 1970s.

The title cut dances and funks like the Brady Bunch kids on mushrooms-- floral shirts & bellbottoms everywhere on this tragedy somehow put up front followed by considerably better 'Summerville' where Bon Scott's sneers and snarls start to emerge, raising an otherwise bland period piece. Finally the party gets started with 'Raglans Folly', the conspicuous prog markers from John Bisset's organ and subtle dynamics of the band. Out of place 'Cool Spot' is generic and whiney but 'Grand Canyon Suites' revives the art and grinds along, perhaps giving this debut the meandering reputation it had but showing rather interesting ventures into some very strange space without coming completely apart. Lovely 'Jupiter's Landscape' next, a real forgotten beauty of a tune, the band at a highpoint of emotion with Scott's distinctive voice and phrasing wonderful here. Procol Harum-esque 'You Have a God' is nice, and eight-minute 'It' is a chance for the guys to stretch out and improvise, coming together halfway through to become an actual song.

Gritty, inconsistent and occasionally verging on silly, Fraternity were, like many acts of the era, quite easily chewed to bits and swallowed by the very movement they wanted to be a part of, not to mention by an unforgiving press. The follow-up to Livestock was in a blues-rock vein and after a long drawn out demise, the band went their separate ways and Bon Scott made music history with the Young Brothers. Recommended? Only if you can't get enough dusty old prog when no one really knew what they were supposed to be doing or how to do it, played by musicians who were better than anyone cared to notice.