GRYPHON – Red Queen To Gryphon Three (Talking Elephant TECD313)

Gryphon ThreeThose fine chaps at Talking Elephant continue their programme of classic re-issues with Red Queen To Gryphon Three, self-evidently the band’s third album. Hot on the success of Midnight Mushrumps, whose glorious title track is still a highlight of the band’s live set, they settled down in Oxfordshire to work on the follow-up. The writing had two foci – the partnership of Brian Gulland and Graeme Taylor on the one hand and Richard Harvey on the other.

The album comprises four long pieces, loosely based around the theme of a chess game. The first, ‘Opening Move’, is delightfully bombastic at first with David Oberlé’s thundering drums before Harvey’s keyboards inject a gentler note and the music moves back and forth in a battle between the two styles. Sometimes bassoon and recorders take the lead and even Philip Nestor’s bass gets an almost-solo before everything is gathered together for the climax. ‘Second Spasm’ begins with a bucolic mediaeval theme led by Harvey before Nestor shoulders him out of the way. Richard responds on keyboards and the two slug it out before giving way to a krumhorn duet – those were the days – and a new melody emerges with keys and military style drumming.

‘Lament’ is the longest track and one can imagine the game settling into a more thoughtful phase as pieces are exchanged. It’s a lovely piece. Finally ‘Checkmate’ picks up its quieter style and moves in for the kill. Many of the musical ideas we’ve heard throughout the album are reprised in new themes – the martial drums, the dancing recorders, the bassoon counter-melody and the electronic keyboard sounds.

In two years Gryphon developed from being hippy-style folkies into full-blown prog-rockers – they toured this album as support for Yes – and Red Queen To Gryphon Three may stand as being their most accomplished work.

Dai Jeffries

Artists’ website: http://www.gaudela.net/gryphon/

Rare video footage of Gryphon live – ‘Juniper Suite’:

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