RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE

Baroque and folk ebb and flow. This is a much more eclectic than folk album, though, similar to the eccentric cheerfulness of Gentle Giant. The difficulty with this album is that it lacks coherency in the compositions, prancing and bobbing from one passage to the next without intelligible transitions. Red Queen to Gryphon Three is equal parts affable and harebrained- it is the unbalanced friend who will just as quickly laugh with you as laugh at you.

"Opening Move" The beginning of this quirky quartet starts off like a late 1970s Yes song, full of bombastic synthesizer and light guitar runs. It gives way to a Wakeman-like piano bit that launches back into that symphonic jauntiness. At that point, the bassoon lends Gryphon a more distinct sound. This is a very ambitious opus.

"Second Spasm" One would think one was entering a renaissance fair with the recorder and acoustic guitar dancing away. It morphs into something akin to a folky edition of "Sound Chaser." That section drops off unexpectedly for some sputtering reed instrumentation. The next passage is like a processional. After that, the music suddenly grows ominous, like a dark cloud has threatened the parade, but the minstrels soon carry on anyway.

"Lament" The most acoustic and accessible piece has quite a bit of acoustic guitar, bassoon, and easygoing drums and bass. The piece energizes halfway through, with tooting and upbeat rhythms.

"Checkmate" The final piece returns to the zany symphonic rock of the opening track. Soon, however, it takes on a military march feel with flighty recorder. The middle passage is reserved, but laden with organ and snare drum. The final segment takes throws everything at the listener in a gleeful symphonic folk fashion.