REINVENTION

The line up of musicians includes Gryphon stalwarts Brian Gulland, Dave Oberle, and Graeme Taylor, and they are joined by new recruits Rory McFarlane on bass, Graham Preskett on keyboards and strings, and Andy Findon on woodwind.

I was delighted that Gryphon reformed and even more delighted when they announced a new album. I so wanted to give this album a high 4 star rating, but after much deliberation, I feel that 3 stars is more appropriate.

This is a very enjoyable album with good tracks throughout and no weak track on the album.

The problem is that there is no truly stand out track on the album. No track that you can point to as a 5 star track that draws you back to the album again and again.

All of Gryphon's previous albums had a standout track: The debut album had "Juniper Suite", Midnight Mushrumps had "Ethelion", Red Queen to Gryphon Three was excellent throughout, Raindance had "(Ein Klein) Heldenleben", and even the disappointingly pop effort Treason had "Spring Song".

I have played this album over and over for many months trying to find the star track, but I have had to accept that this album just does not have one.

The two longer tracks "Haddocks' Eyes" and "Sailor V" come close, but they are just not quite able to generate (for me) the same emotional connection to the music that tracks like "Ethelion" and "Heldenleben" were able to achieve.

After their ill advised foray into pop rock on their final album of the 1970's, "Treason", the band, fortunately, get back to their roots on this album, with a folk rock fusion which shows off their diverse range of instrumental talents. What's more there are lots of crumhorns on the album, with Brian Gulland on bass crumhorn and new band member Andy Findon taking up the soprano krumhorn (which Brian told us in concert had to be specially made before the album could be completed).

However, fans hoping for an album with a strong medieval flavour are likely to be disappointed, as the album ranges over a variety of musical styles, including more contemporary folk influences and even, on "Sailor V", a celtic folk inspired piece.

Surprisingly, there are rather more vocals on this album that you might expect for a Gryphon album. Whilst, for me, vocals were never one of Gryphon's strong suits, the vocals on this album are, on the whole, marginally better than on some of their other albums. The lyrics are playful in typical Gryphon style, although sometimes rather twee.

My favourite track on this album is actually the unusual and interesting "Hampton Caught" by Graham Preskett, with its use of harpsichord and church organ and strange but interesting rhythms. It's also the most medieval sounding track on the album, which also draws me to it.

ReInvention is absolutely a worthy addition to the Gryphon canon and very much recommended to Gryphon fans and also to fans of folk prog alike, but it will not displace "Red Queen to Gryphon Three" or "Midnight Mushrumps" in my estimation of the very best Gryphon albums.

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