Gryphon - GRYPHON***

Kemp's Jig/Sir Gavin Grimbold/Touch & Go/Three Jolly Butchers/Pastime With Good Company/The Unquiet Grave/Estampie/Crossing The Stiles/The Astrologer/ Tea Wrecks/Juniper Suite/The Devil & The Farmer's Wife

Self titled debut from the English progressive folk group Gryphon. They included graduates of the Royal College of Music and were distinctive for recreating a medieval folk style.

“On this debut they were in full retro English folk mode staying very faithful to the original compositions. Almost everything on the album is acoustic and the heavy use of recorders, crumhorns and bassoon gives a most genuine period feel that instantly places you in the time of the Tudors.”

“Taken by itself, due to its repetitiveness in style and instrumentation, this album is nothing more than a quaint portrait of the type of music preferred by our ancestors many centuries ago. Musicianship-wise, the band is terrific, members really showing their mastery of their ancient instruments.”

“It's a little funny how they are tagged as progressive rock when in fact much of their music dates back 500 or more years. The first Gryphon album is a collection of odd little folk tunes and the occasional instrumental that foreshadows their later stuff.”

“Gryphon shared a deep love of early music, Renaissance and medieval church music, as well as British folk, which determined the group's musical direction. Combining these elements with some contemporary rock elements, they managed to achieve a completely unique sound and musical vision.” “It blends medieval instrumentation with some excellent tunes, mostly interpretations of ancient songs performed with great balance of reverence and flair.”

“The songs on offer here are medieval folk music, all of it pretty authentic, some of it quite entertaining but alas listening to the album in one sitting is one monotonous listening experience indeed. Most of the songs are authentic medieval tunes that may as well have been sung at banquets for Henry VIII. Gryphon gain several merit points for authenticity but this is more of a curiosity than something that one would want to listen to on a regular basis.”

“Fantastic album with traditional songs given an Elizabethan type twist that is original, humorous and musically superb. The essence of the album is similar throughout, but the tracks are different enough to provide a delightful overall feel.”