Gryphon

Gryphon was still a quartet at the time of their debut, without a full-time keyboard player. The material is essentially progressive folk-rock – elements of jazz and swing ("Over the Rainbow" even turns up interpolated in the arrangement of one number) juxtaposed with traditional folk songs ("The Unquiet Grave," ka "Dives and Lazarus"), works attributed to Henry VIII, and folk-style originals. The group was still doing some folk-type vocal numbers on Midnight Mushrumps, their second album (also on this disc), but it was clearly moving in the direction of progressive rock. The 18-minute title track by Richard Harvey took up one whole side of the original LP, and incorporated medieval, baroque, and classical-era influences in its structure. More..

This single-disc collection gathers the complete contents of both Red Queen to Gryphon Three (1974) and Raindance (1975), respectively the third and fourth titles from Gryphon. Initially the band made a significant niche for themselves with a myriad of intricate and equally beautiful acoustic folk melodies. However, by the time of these two long-players, the original quartet had now expanded to include Philip Nestor (bass guitar), Ernest Hart (organ), and Peter Redding (acoustic bass), and their sound had evolved, now tastefully incorporating elements of prog rock/art rock. As the album's title suggests, the concept behind Red Queen to Gryphon Three is the dramatic strategy involved in a chess match. The move-by-move struggle for supremacy is instrumentally animated during the four movements: "Opening Move," "Second Spasm," "Lament," and "Checkmate." Many enthusiasts have expressed the opinion that this LP best represents Gryphon's abilities to effortlessly vacillate between the electric bombast of mid-'70s prog rock and the delicate woodwind recorders, distinct crumhorn, and hand percussion. More…

Gryphon were a British progressive rock band of the 1970s, notable for their unusual sound and instrumentation. Multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and his fellow Royal College of Music graduate Brian Gulland, a woodwind player, began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble that mixed traditional English folk music with medieval and Renaissance influences. Shortly after this, the duo was joined by guitarist Graeme Taylor and Drummer/percussionist Dave Oberlé. After their self-titled debut, they expanded their sound to include electric guitars and keyboards as well as wind instruments, such as bassoons and krumhorns, not previously used in rock music. Treason is the last album by progressive rock band, Gryphon, originally released in 1977 by Harvest, catalogue number SHSP 4063. The album was produced and co-ordinated by Mike Thorne with engineering by Mick Glossop and John Leckie. It was recorded at the Manor, Oxfordshire and Abbey Road, London.

Swept along by the spirit of the day, Romantic chamber music came to be defined by an increasingly important role of the piano within the ensemble: the reign of the string quartet was eventually brought to an end, making way in particular for the piano trio with violin and cello. Throughout the Romantic repertoire, many works bear witness to the richness of this genre. The Second Piano Trio, Op.26 by Felix Mendelssohn and the Third Trio, Op.26 by Edouard Lalo are of course only two examples of the genre, but undeniably splendid specimens, brought to light in this recording.

Before embarking on the Constantinople journey, Christos Hatzis and the members of the Gryphon Trio envisioned a work that would take chamber music in new directions and bring it to audiences far beyond its traditional realm. The Trio was intrigued by the composer’s ability to utilize the musical sounds and textures of diverse world cultures in his own music. The composer and members of the Gryphon Trio also shared an interest in exploring the connection between music, movement and visual imagery with collaborators from other artistic disciplines.

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music
Listener's discretion is advised.
If you thought that Gentle Giant were THE reference in multi-instrumentation frenzyness…Gryphon knocks 'em down for the count.

Excellent addition to any prog-rock music collection.
Gryphon's second album is a transitional album in sound, connecting the more progressive tendencies that were going to be expanded on in the next album yet still holding onto the pure straight-forward folk influences of their debut. This is an amazing album even if for the title track alone.