Gryphon/Midnight Mushrumps [Import]

Gryphon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Castle
• ASIN: B0000070MV
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,783 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Kemp's Jig

2. Sir Gavin Grimbold

3. Touch and Go

4. Three Jolly Butchers

5. Pastime With Good Company

6. The Unquiet Grave

7. Estampie

8. The Astrologer

9. Tea Wrecks

10. Juniper Suite

11. The Devil and the Farmer's Wife

12. Midnight Mushrumps

13. The Ploughboy's Dream

14. The Last Flash of Gaberdine Taylor

15. Gulland Rock

16. Dubbel Dutch

17. Ethelion

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for music lovers, July 16, 1999

By 

Listener (BayArea, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gryphon/Midnight Mushrumps (Audio CD)

Gryphon is in a league of their own. Their style and perfection are unmatched. To break yourself in to this album, start at the end and give Ethelion a listen. That was my first Gryphon tune, and it lasted me years until I discovered their Red Queen to Gryphon Three album (buy that, too). Find out what a krummhorn sounds like, and order this CD now.

I recommend this CD without the slightest reserve.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dig that funky crumhorn!, January 19, 2001

By 

Gavin Wilson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gryphon/Midnight Mushrumps (Audio CD)

Gryphon don't get a mention in any of the rock encyclopedias in my possession. No great surprise if you listen just to their eponymous debut album, because, outstanding though it is, it simply isn't rock. It's folk, it's medieval, and it's excellently recorded.

By the time they had recorded their initial repertoire had moved onto their second album MIDNIGHT MUSHRUMPS, it appears that they had moved into more 'progressive' territory. This is material that Gentle Giant would have been proud to record.

I have to admit that this is a CD that has been sitting largely unplayed in my collection for four years. It's exactly the sort of CD I snap up quickly but am slow to play: bargain price, technically proficient, well remastered, excellent sleevenotes and a 'soon-to-be-deleted' aura about it. What a treat I have been missing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful mix of the art music of the English Middle Ages/Renaissance period and a little prog, July 16, 2006

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gryphon/Midnight Mushrumps (Audio CD)

This package by Transatlantic Records pairs the self-titled debut album (1973) with the follow-up album Midnight Mushrumps (1974). The lyrics are featured along with a decent and somewhat informative set of liner notes.

Gryphon

The debut album is very heavily influenced by the art music of the English Middle Ages and Renaissance period and as such, there is little rock to be found. Archaic instruments are featured exclusively and include harpsichords, crumhorns, the harmonium, bassoon, and recorders along with acoustic guitars and light percussion. In addition to this instrumentation, there are vocal parts that sound authentic for the period. From a musical perspective, I found their approach to be very interesting and a refreshing change of pace. The 11 pieces are fairly short and range in length from 1'06" - 5'40". The musicians on the debut include bandleader and former Royal College of Music student Richard Harvey (recorders, crumhorns, recorders, keyboards, guitar, mandolin); another Royal College student Brian Gulland (bassoon, crumhorns, recorders, keyboards, and vocals); David Oberle (drums, percussion, and vocals); and Graeme Taylor (guitars, keyboards, recorder, and vocals). All of the musicians are very good and clearly well-trained in the style of early music. Overall, this is a great album that interprets traditional English folk music.

Midnight Mushrumps

This album shows the band incorporating the melodies and harmonies of rock music into their early music compositions and might be said to be their first "proggy" album although it is still pretty far removed from what I consider to be rock music. The lineup is similar to the debut with the exception of the addition of Philip Nester (electric bass guitar). Although archaic instruments are used predominantly (especially the keyboards - including pipe organ), instruments more in keeping with rock music are also used. Vocals are not as big a part of the compositions as they were on the debut. The pieces are longer and range in length from 2'58" (The Ploughboy's Dream) to 19'00" (Midnight Mushrumps) and range from moody to sprightly/upbeat. Overall, this album shows the band starting to move closer to the progressive rock style, which would reach it's fullest expression on the Red Queen to Gryphon Three album (1975) - in fact, this is the album most proggers cite as their favorite Gryphon album.

This package is highly recommended to folks that would like to explore a different approach to the progressive rock style - namely one that incorporates early English music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Recommended.