RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE

This is Gryphon's masterpiece and it's very original. It sounds different to the group's previous albums. All of the acoustic instruments are here in abundance, but the prevalence of synthesizers add more colour. Yet that doesn't detract from the pastoral feel. The strong renaissance style is retained throughout. The bass sound is more crisp and the soft-hearted riffage from the guitar is lovely as well. The full drumming kit also gives Red Queen to Gryphon Three plenty of bombast and energy.

The four fully instrumental tracks are complex, carefully-composed and arranged. My favourite tracks are "Opening Move" and "Lament", which begins with a quiet unassuming melody, goes off on various tangents, and then the opening melody returns in a sunny, triumphant blaze of glory at the end. One very loveable moment is the hint of the jokiness from the earlier albums with a brief whoopee-cushion noise in the "krumhorn choir" section of Second Spasm! This record is totally competent and unpretentious. I can't find a single album in my collection that comes close to sounding like this stuff. Such music needs a day in a sunny English garden to work best. However rare that setting might be! Four and a half stars for this unique experience!