RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE

This is a record that always make me feel a bit stupid, because I just dont get it. No matter how many times I hear it I cant see whats so interesting about it. To my ears it sounds like someone done a whole album from the song 'Cans and Brahms' (from Yes classic album 'Fragile'), which is a terrible idea!

To be a bit fair the concept behind the album is very cool, it about a game of chess starting of with the song 'Opening Move' and ending with 'Checkmate'. Also the title of the album is really clever, considering this to be the band's third album. And of course, great art for the cover, it makes the record look beautiful and very classic prog.

So with all those things covered for, what could go wrong? Well, what if the band didn't really have any ideas for the music? That would ruin it, wouldn't it? Yes, and if you ask me, thats exactly what happens. I doesn't sound like chess (or any great progressive adventure, for that matter), it sounds more like five guys playing something they didn't have time to finish writing. Theres just a lot of playing around with half written ideas for some minutes, never leading into anything exciting, no climax, no dynamics, no ups and downs. It doesn't happen anything at all.

I guess its a question of preferences, I'm not a huge fan of Camel's 'Snow goose' ether, and I find the two albums to have quite a few things in common. To start with they are both instrumental, which apparently is hard music to write. Also they are so busy with trying to tell a story without using any words, they forget about the dynamics of a great song. Instead of building a mood or a groove, sticking to an idea long enough to make the listener involved and interested, they keep adding melodies to the song that just doesn't lead anywhere. Its too much going on without filling any purpose and the result is a complex song that does nothing but fall flat to the ground.