THE PRINCE OF HEAVEN'S EYES

I'm really not fond of the direction that Fruupp's music took after the promising debut Future Legends. Instead of progressing to the exciting symphonic sound often hinted at on that album, the band settled for a mix of cheesy, almost show-tune pop and meandering passages that flatter only to deceive. In fact, they arguably got worse with each succeeding album!

The vast majority of this third album is rather lame. Even though lead vocalist/bassist Peter Farelly's voice has improved just a tad since the debut, the songs are weaker, possibly reflective of the fact that keyboardist Steven Houston started writing a majority of the material. It's All Up Now, Prince Of Darkness and Annie Austere (on which Farelly's voice painfully recalls that of The Nice/Refugee vocalist Lee Jackson) are among the most annoying and least progressive tracks that Fruupp ever cut. As for Crystal Brook, it's really just a lullaby that might have worked on a better album, but which functions as a sedative here.

What saves this album is the mellow yet emotionally charged Knowing You. Although it too is uneven, and drags slightly in the middle, there are enough points of interest (the mournful opening vocal melody, a flute solo by Farelly, a nice electric piano excursion from Houston and a big finish) to make this an engrossing song. The concluding piano ballad The Perfect Wish is also one of Fruupp's better tunes, but really it's too little too late. ... 42% on the MPV scale