Gryphon

[llanwydd]

I just heard Gryphon for the first time. I had seen them mentioned here and had also heard they had toured with Yes so, naturally I had to check them out sooner or later. I listened to Red Queen to Gryphon Three on Youtube. It was quite enjoyable but I thought it would have been even better with vocals. Parts of it reminded me of The Snow Goose by Camel and I thought it might have a Gentle Giant influence as well. Too bad their discography is so small. Anybody else like this one?

[NogbadTheBad]

Great band, I like them just the way they are, they certainly have their own vibe. I'm a sucker for bassoon & crumhorn.

[mozo-pg]

I haven't played there CDs (I own two) for years but I did like it. It actually reminded me of Gentle Giant in places.

[rcarlberg]

Gryphon reminds me of nobody else because nobody else uses crumhorn and shawm to play rocked-up Medieval music. "Red Queen to Gryphon 3" is the first album in their short oeuvre (seven albums now, including the two post-breakup compilations) to feature a more traditional rock base to their music. I still like it, and think it's brilliant in its own way but "Gryphon" and "Midnight Mushrumps" are both essential listening to get the real Gryphon experience.

[chalkpie]

LOOOVE Gryphon. Especially the 1st three albums, and the live stuff.

[Mister Triscuits]

It was quite enjoyable but I thought it would have been even better with vocals.

This is actually their only album without any vocals (although there isn't much singing on Midnight Mushrumps either), and it's many people's favorite. I dig all of their albums, but I'm especially partial to the very folky, all-acoustic debut.

[Sputnik]

I have Red Queen, Raindances, and Treason. I like Red Queen and Raindances a lot, though Raindances is a bit uneven. Treason is a step down to my ears, but it's not unlistenable. I have owned the first two, but never really got into them and don't have them anymore. I should probably give Midnight Mushrumps a fresh listen, but the debut I know just isn't up my alley.

For my tastes, Red Queen stands as their best work with Raindances a bit behind.

Bill

[Guitarplyrjvb]

^^ This pretty much sums up my feelings, too. I think Gryphon supported Yes on tour around the time of Relayer, and Treason sure bears the evidence of a Howe-influenced use of the Telecaster. I think the guitarist was a new addition on this record.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I just heard Gryphon for the first time.

They are a classic band and quite frequently a subject of discussion on the main page - where they belong.

As for RQtGT, their chosen format of composition was instrumental and non-vocal from the outset - i.e. I don't think vocal would fit just there. If you try their debut, which is far more strictly 'medieval folky' and almost entirely acoustic, you'll hear them work closely in a vocal format.

[mogrooves]

I think Gryphon supported Yes on tour around the time of Relayer.

I caught this tour, seeing them in the cavernous MSQ. Not ideal, even as they were more electric by then.

[Mister Triscuits]

I caught this tour, seeing them in the cavernous MSQ. Not ideal, even as they were more electric by then.

So lucky. We on the west coast got Ace...as in "HOW LONG can we keep playing our one hit."

[miamiscot]

Red Queen is their best work but I'm a big fan of Treason as well.

[syncopatico]

It actually reminded me of Gentle Giant in places.

jump to 4:30 to hear the best* Gentle Giant song that the Giant didn't write/record
(it even has a percussion breakdown in the middle with a vocal-only counterpoint section! )

[soundsweird]

I have the five studio albums and the BBC live album "About as Curious as It Can Be". Good stuff all around.

[adap2it]

Midnight Mushrumps played live in 2015. Still amazing after all these years...

[adap2it]

Red Queen & Friends 1974.jpg

Not a great picture but the LP cover is clear enough. Taken 43 years ago..

[mozo-pg]

jump to 4:30 to hear the best* Gentle Giant song that the Giant didn't write/record
(it even has a percussion breakdown in the middle with a vocal-only counterpoint section! )

Yes. Definitely sounds like GG.

[GuitarGeek]

About 24 years ago, I stumbled across Treason, in the basement of Record Revolution, in Cleveland Heights. I'd never heard of Gryphon, but the cover looked great, and the instrumentation listed on the back cover seemed interesting. And I think they wanted four bucks or something like that for the record, so I took the plunge (for whatever it's worth, that same day's record store trip also netted me my first Le Orme and Finch records, along with quite a few others).

So, Spring Song ended up being the first thing I ever heard by them, and it's still my favorite track from them, along with Ethelion (from Midnight Mushrumps).

[JKL2000]

Red Queen & Friends 1974.jpg

Not a great picture but the LP cover is clear enough. Taken 43 years ago..

Look at that young whippersnapper in the middle!

[Progbear]

I have all five Gryphon albums and I can safely say they never made a bad record. They veered a bit closer to the mainstream with each album but never really sold out. Treason is a straight-up symphonic prog album, but even here there’s some of that medieval quirkiness that made them the band they are. You’d never mistake them for Yes, even though they’re trying very hard to emulate them on that last one. And good on them for committing to the idea of having a bassoon player in their band, they feature him on every track!

“(Ein klein) Heldenleben” from Raindance is my favorite song of theirs. That’s an interesting album, perhaps not their best, but with some fascinating diversions, not least the title track, a left turn into ambient territory.

[Trane]

I have Red Queen, Raindances, and Treason. I like Red Queen and Raindances a lot, though Raindances is a bit uneven. Treason is a step down to my ears, but it's not unlistenable. I have owned the first two, but never really got into them and don't have them anymore. I should probably give Midnight Mushrumps a fresh listen, but the debut I know just isn't up my alley.

You can clearly hear the progressive rise of Yes Music throughout these three albums... red Queen doesn't have any, Raindances has some clear leanings and Treason... is one regarding the oriinal sound they had

But TBH, if Red Queen is still relatively faithful to the band's raison d'être (and Raindances to a lesser extent as well), but the real Gryphon is IMHO in the debut and Midnight Mushrumps.

[Scrotum Scissor]

But TBH, if Red Queen is still relatively faithful to the band's raison d'être (and Raindances to a lesser extent as well), but the real Gryphon is IMHO in the debut and Midnight Mushrumps.

I'd have to agree. While I enjoy all of their work, the first two stand out quite prominently. There's always something new to discover there.

[JJ88]

The earlier, folk-inclined material is too 'hey nonny nonny' for my personal taste (ye olde English folk just isn't my thing as a rule) but I like the instrumental work-outs on Red Queen To Gryphon Three. I do agree that's definitely a little more rock-leaning though.

So lucky. We on the west coast got Ace...as in "HOW LONG can we keep playing our one hit."

Yeah, I really rate that one great song but heard some of their other stuff here and there- 'one hit' indeed.

John Martyn supported them around this time as well...remember a Word Magazine interview where he said they didn't hit it off, although he liked Alan White (who doesn't?). I think the latter mentioned Gryphon in that Chris Welch Yes book.

[Steve F.]

John Martyn supported them around this time as well...

I saw the Relayer tour at the Baltimore Civic Centre and I got to see Gryphon (who were - of course - great).

I believe John Martyn opened for YES on the previous tour (TFTO); I knew someone whose older brother saw them at the B.C.C. on that tour and from what he described the opening act as all about [weird folkie guy with good voice and acoustic guitar and a ton of echo machines], it had to be John Martyn.

Wish I had seen that too! I never got to see John Martyn.

[JJ88]

^Thanks, Steve. (Donovan was another of their 70s support acts.)

I saw John Martyn weeks before he died (not his very last show, but one of the last). It was obvious he wasn't in good health, but his playing hadn't diminished.