RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE

I bought the LP when it was first released on Bell Records (a label that had been putting 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 that make up each "medley", because it seems like each of the four tracks has parts that I 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 that's been hanging over Gryphon since this album came out: some folks thought that they sounded so much like two particular progressive outfits that they nicknamed them "Gentle Jethro". I'm forced to agree, but these days there are so many prog bands that blatantly rip off the "old masters" that Gryphon seems positively original by 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.