frenzyness...
Gryphon knocks 'em down for the count. Those guys are the crazyest perfectionists of the 70's. Such a level of song structure and complexity AND skillness has never been topped.
Well, not in my humble knowledge. Nor Gentle Giant, Angalgard, This is where the poo hits the fan for me. This is way too much.
Every song is 10 minutes long and could be splitted into 40 littles songs easily. The pace is always changing, the tempo is jumping constantly from folk to soft rock. This isn't working too much for me.
Folk prog has never been this challenging. Forget Jethro Tull or Amazing Blondel. This cannot be associated with anything you heard.
Think very medieval and complex. Complexity? Intelligence?
Everest-like musicianship? Shouldn't you be mouth-watered by all those qualities? Yes, if gay sheperds in pantyhoses running happily on a green meadow is your cup of tea.
..go for it dude.
By the way, Yes fans should be pleased. Did you know they did the first part of Yes on a full tour? Without the shadow, of a doubt those guys knew what they were doing and if not.
..send A decent record, thick, for mature ears.
Not mine as it seems. Posted Wednesday, March 10, 2004, 14:08 EST |
Woah! 4 prog folk songs with tons of well played instruments!
You can hear singular wing instruments like bassoon and krumhorns. The percussions are really impressive. It almost sounds medieval.
Extremely complex music! very accoustic! The keyboards are excellent but they do not take all the room: this allows accoustic instruments to be appreciated in full!
No progressive groups has this unique style! Posted Friday, April 09, 2004, 19:27 EST |
Their Masterpiece! and beesstt effort!
!. Clearly, I agree.
..not a really weak point in the whole album.
Probably, without a doubt their most Symphonic. Less Folk overtones, and complex at times..
.I will placed them in this period, somewhere between the acustic side of Yes and IMHO, the best track "Lament" a 10+ minutes piece..
.that starts with wind instrumentation with the medieval feel that carry you over the entire album!!
..Call me crazy, but I even hear some Mike Olfield mixed inn; however, bear in mind that this album was from 1974.
..so, maybe MO had some Gryphon influence after all?
!..
:o). A must for any prog lover, especially for those who are hunting for musical Gems for their Posted Monday, May 31, 2004, 13:08 EST |
I bought the LP of "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" in 1975 and liked the music. The years went by, I moved many times, my LPs were lost or sold and I completely forgot about the band and the album.
A year ago I remembered the band, looked them up on the Internet, listened to a clip from 'Lament', and memories of GRYPHON's pleasant, unusual music came flooding back. So I bought the CD. "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" is an instrumental album consisting of four long pieces apparently inspired by a game of chess.
All the band members are consummate musicians, and the playing is faultless. The twist is that the music has medieval/Renaissance and folk influences, with the band using bassoon, crumhorn and recorders alongside keyboards (piano, organ and synth), electric and acoustic guitars, drums and other percussion. It's quite a unique sound: primarily lilting, very melodious and, even during the parts using synth and other modern instruments, retaining a medieval feel.
Lest you feel this medieval influence would be too much to bear, we're not talking Greensleeves here. It's definitely Progressive Rock, albeit using some unusual instruments and themes in places. For those who like electronic keyboards, there are several bursts of synth.
All four tracks are good, each comprised of a variety of melodies, tempos and moods. I like very much the piano and tune in 'Opening Move', but 'Lament' is probably my favourite: it has as its core theme a very melodious tune which, amongst other things, shows how pleasing the recorder can be when in the hands of an expert. Mind you, the second and fourth tracks are also showcases for Richard Harvey's recorder playing: country folk music-like in the former and sea shanty-like in the latter.
This music works in two ways for me: I can listen to it intently or I can listen to it as background music. There's plenty of complexity in the music, lots of changes in tune, mood, tempo and instruments to keep you interested, but without vocals I find it can still be quite relaxing in the background. Now, the fact that I completely forgot about the existence of the band and the album for nearly 30 years could be taken to mean that this album only deserves a 3-star rating (Good, but non-essential).
However I did buy the album again after all those years, think it is well worth having and still enjoy listening to it very much. So I think it deserves 4 stars (Excellent addition to any prog rock collection). If you like not-too-heavy symphonic Progressive Rock then you should find this album not only eminently listenable but also interesting.
I'm not going to say GRYPHON sound like YES, but I think that if you like the music of YES you could very well like this album. As it happens, GRYPHON did support YES in several concerts - I can't think of a better fit. Posted Saturday, June 12, 2004, 21:36 EST |
And on the eighth day, God made Red Square To Gryphon Three.
OK, so I'm exaggerating. After all I don't even think Red Square To Gryphon Three is greatest prog albums ever, and that alone represents a leap of miraculous proportions. When one considers its flawed predecessor Midnight Mushrumps, it's hard Augmented by bassist Philip Nestor, the original Gryphon quartet of Richard Harvey, Brian Gulland, Graeme Taylor and David Oberle plunged headfirst into hardcore progressive rock.
Perhaps inspired by Rick Wakeman, the multi-talented Harvey swapped Based loosely on a game of chess, Red Queen To Gryphon Three is a wholly instrumental Opening Move is both otherworldly and regal, with a distinct sense of magic about it, as Harvey and co. show us instrumental chops that they always had but previously hadn't bothered with. Second Spasm harks back to Gryphon's Renaissance roots with some krumhorn (OK, so Harvey didn't give it up completely) and a lovely militaristic Lament?
Well, Lament is something else. It has at its core two absolutely sumptous woodwind melodies. As beautiful as the first one is, it is the second, tragic bassoon melody that both won, and broke, my heart.
Frankly, after the melody concludes I find myself just hanging on for dear life as Gryphon take flight, hoping against hope that I will hear it again. I don't. The blistering concluding segment is of course titled Checkmate, and really that says it all.
A mighty congregation of musicians firing on all cylinders, in a way that no other band seems to have done. ..
. 91% on the MPV scale Posted Tuesday, February 15, 2005, 13:54 EST |
out poppy bubblegum acts!!
). I knew nothing of the band, and thought that the cover art was pretty lame, but I was intrigued by the instrumentation listed on the back cover. My friends and I liked the album immediately, and I eventually tracked down the "Midnght Mushrumps" LP on import, as well as "Raindance" later.
I do have a few "quibbles" with this album. It would've been nice if each track had been split up into the individual songs really like and parts that I find just "okay". In some cases, there's even a space betweeen the songs that make up each track, so it could've been done.
Also, there's the pesky issue them "Gentle Jethro". I'm forced to agree, but these days there are so many prog bands comparison. Another minor complaint I have is with Richard Harvey's choices of synth sounds.
All too often, he opts for the kinds of sounds that typify Styx and Kansas albums (in other words, cheesy). In addition, a vocal here and there would've helped this album's overall "interest level". Still, a solid effort.
Three and a half stars, I guess. Posted Thursday, March 31, 2005, 23:03 EST |
All of Gryphon's 5 albums are worth buying, yet all are flawed to some extent - except this one. This is consistently excellent folk/mediaeval prog.
4 movements, loosely based on a game of chess, with a wide mixture of instruments and demonstrating musicianship of the highest order with lots of complex time changes and mood swings. Harvey's keyboards are recorder, Graeme Taylor is a superb acoustic guitarist and shows talent on the electric at times and Brian Gulland is a magnificent bassoon and krumhorn player. It's instrumental, so gone are the quirky vocals of the first album.
They had toured with Yes around this time and, when I saw them, they blew Yes off stage. That is a measure of the band. This is their best album and deserves to be rated as a masterpiece and, if they were better known, it would be top 20 material.
Buy it and enjoy it. Posted Monday, September 26, 2005, 18:31 EST |
enough popularity to continue releasing their own music. Once you listen to Red Queen.
.. you won't believe your ears, as I did!
How did is possible a band like this not to We all progressive aficionados know well the circumstances involving bands that, despite, their impressice capability and performances too soo were out of games and, at the same moment, other bands (I won't name them, though...
) that did establish their own market place during many years to come! That's life, after all. And Gryphon is not an exception.
By the way, the structure and the conception of such a concept album, completely instrumental arranged, is really awesome. It could deserve its own place on the PA's top ten. Two impressive and elaborated tracks each side.
It is lesser folkish than the previous works and more keyboard drenched. P.S.
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