RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE

Red Queen to Gryphon Three is Gryphon's magnum opus 3rd album. One of the all-time Folk Prog classics, the album is dominated by the unique medieval/renaissance sounds of Brian Gulland (Bassoon, Crumhorn) and Richard Harvey (Keyboards, Crumhorn, Recorder). The theme of the album is based on a chess game, as is reflected by one of the greatest Progressive Rock album covers of all time.

"Opening Move" opens the album (quite obviously) with a spectacular riff that is built upon throughout the song with different variations from piano to bassoon. The song picks up at around the 3:00 minute mark, with a great distorted guitar hook, with a timpani build-up, that leads into a total medieval jig section.

"Second Spasm" is an awesome tune. It opens with a recorder/guitar lick that leads into by far the most aggressive part of the album. The crumhorn section is the most notorious part of the song and always puts a massive smile on my face whenever I hear it. It is very Gentle Giant-esque. I'd have to say that this one beats "Opening Move" by just a little bit.

"Lament" is my favorite song off the album. What an absolutely beautiful song it is. Filled with classical guitar, recorder, and magnificent bassoon work from folk-rock legend, Brian Gulland, the song is a 10-minute epic. Halfway through the song it takes a completely different direction with a faster-paced tempo. Of course, it being Gryphon, every 30 seconds they switch from a speedy interlude to a folk lick that sounds like the theme of a renaissance fair.

"Checkmate" is the closer of the album and a superb one at that. With a rambunctious opening riff that flows through many ideas and time signatures until arriving on a flute solo over a medieval drum roll. The song comes to a riff that resembles that of "Second Spasm" dominated by flute and bass, which transitions into a melodic section with piano and crumhorn. As with a few tracks on albums such as ELP's debut, it features wonderful musicianship but can feel a bit structureless at times. Nevertheless, I still enjoy this track greatly.

My only takeaway from this album is that the songs can often get lost in wandering instrumentalism. I would say this is a 4.5-star album but I'll round it down to 4 stars. This is Gryphon's best work by leagues and I love the format of 4 long tracks comprising an album. Highly recomended to fans of Rennaisance and Gentle Giant.