Search - Gryphon :: About As Curious As It Can Be

"YOU sing, I've forgotten the words!"

Robert Carlberg | Seattle | 01/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amongst all of the musical experiments that flourished in the fecund 1970s, Gryphon was one of the brightest and most short-lived (1972-1977). With only five albums to their oeuvre it was all too easy to fall in love with them and still feel unrequited. Literally hundreds of British bands explored the territory between folk music and rock, but only ONE tried to knit Medieval instrumentation with progressive rock sensibilities. Perhaps the devilish difficulty involved frightened off any imitators?



For jilted lovers the arrival of two archival CDs nearly thirty years later (the other being "Glastonbury Carol") recorded in pristine sound by the BBC (and miraculously NOT erased following the broadcast!) was like manna from heaven. Most of the songs here are already familiar from the LPs, but enough different to delight even fans who've memorized the set. And there are a couple numbers on each disc which have never been heard before.



Humourous & insightful liner notes by Graeme Taylor, 4 rare photos and a collage of press clippings treat the eyes as well as the ears. Few archival discoveries have been as successful and welcome as these."