Midnight Mushrumps [Import]

Midnight Mushrumps [Import]

Track Listings

1. Midnight Mushrumps

2. Ploughboys Dream

3. The Last Flash Of Gaberdine Tailor

4. Gulland Rock

5. Dubbel Dutch

6. Ethelion

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese remastered reissue of the British progressive rock act's 1974 album features six tracks packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Arcangelo. 2003.

Tracks:

Midnight Mushrumps
Plough Boys Dream
Last Flash of Gaberdine Tailor
Gulland Rock
Dubbel Dutch
Ethelion

Album Description

2007 reissue of this classic 1974 album from the British new-Folk/Psychedelic band. Six tracks including 'Ploughboys Dream', 'Guilland Rock' and the title track. Talking Elephant.

Album Details

Reissue of this Classic Album by the Medievel Folk-rock Band.

Average customer rating:

Glastonbury Mott
FIND what was lost!
Great Live Album

Glastonbury Carol

Manufacturer: Import [Generic]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Folk | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

About as Curious as It Can Be
Crossing the Styles: The Transatlantic Anthology
Midnight Mushrumps
Red Queen to Gryphon Three
Gryphon

ASIN: B00009XG42
Release Date: 2003-07-28

Tracks:

Kemp's Jig
Sir Gavin Grimbold
Touch & Go
Astrologer
Estampie
Opening Number
Midnight Mushrumps: 1st Movement
Midnight Mushrumps: 2nd Movement
Midnight Mushrumps: 3rd Movement
Glastonbury Carol (The 'Lost' Single)

Product Description

BBC Radio 1 Session 18.07.1972:
Kemp's Jig giSir Gavin Grimbold giTouch & Go giAstrologer giEstampie

BBC Radio 1 Session 10.07.1974:
Opening Number giMidnight Mushrumps, 1st Movement giMidnight Mushrumps, 2nd Movement giMidnight Mushrumps, 3rd Movement
1973:
Glastonbury Carol (The "lost" single, recorded 1973)

Format: Vinyl

Customer Reviews:

Glastonbury Mott.......2006-02-17

Gryphon is one of the bands that epitomised the early seventies; the life of a Gryphon was not long, five years to be exact. But as the Gryphon grew up it changed like a chameleon, integrating into its scenery whilst becoming a powerful and influential beast.
Gryphon was always a band impossible to categorize, they were sort of labelled progressive rock, but if anything they could have been called retro rock. (Albeit with a progressive slant!) No instrument was too obscure to be used by one of the Gryphons, although a fancy for crumhorns must be acknowledged.
I personally cannot resist just running a thumb over what instruments were used in the studio and the live stage. Beside various crumhorns (apparently they come in a wide range from high to low and resemble something like an early wooden six iron, can be spelt with a C or a K, and make a very jolly if rather rude noise. Rude as in school playground humour). Other instruments that were turned over in the Gryphon hands that were perhaps not considered run of the mill to your average rock band in the early seventies were recorders, bassoons, glockenspiels and yamaharmoniums, along with ordinary items such as pianos, organs, drums, guitars, and bass guitars.
Whatever the band used in the studio was also taken along for live concerts, often creating great hilarity, as musicians desperately stumbled around looking for the next instrument they were supposed to play, usually finding it just in the nick of time.
Over the course of the Gryphon's life, they started out as a sort of trio, Richard Harvey, Brian Gulland and David Obersle, developed into a bit of a four piece with the addition of a lead guitarist in the shape of Graeme Taylor, and then blossomed into the more traditional five piece rock band with the addition of Philip Nester on bass. This gave them a proper rock trio, whilst the other two could rush around at the front of the stage (Gryphons did not exactly rush, but a bit of mottistic license here). They of course went backwards becoming a four piece then a trio before disbanding in the wash of Punk rock in 1977.
Four albums were cut for the progressive record label Transatlantic, and everyone a little gem, too. Firstly, the self titled `Gryphon' (1973) - now how many rock albums can claim to have a track written by the English King Henry VIII? Well Gryphon can. Then there was `Midnight Mushrumps', with its twenty-two minute instrumental title track, inspired from when Gryphon were asked to play along to a production of William Shakespeare's `The Tempest' at the National Theatre.
Quickly on the heels of Mushrumps came `Red Queen to Gryphon Three' - a concept album based on a game of chess, I kid you not. This was an all instrumental album featuring some of the fastest recorder and crumhorn or even krumhorn playing you are ever likely to hear, perhaps paving the way for thrash metal, but perhaps not.
The following year was the turn of `Raindance' (1975) which was Gryphon's attempt at more contemporary rock, which really kind of ruined the original effect. After this Transatlantic rather gave up on Gryphon and to be fair I think Gryphon was a bit on the tired side too, certainly its feathers had been ruffled when sent out on the road with big name progressive rock band Yes all across America, leaving the American audience very bemused by what they saw as a bunch of medieval wandering minstrels setting up on stage. One more album was released, `Treason' (1977) and to be quite frank the title is pretty apt.
But in their day Gryphon was a joy to behold, always giving off a great vibe of fun, whilst showing off their musical skills. Transatlantic have now put together a double CD `Crossing The Styles' which collects together nearly everything that was released by Gryphon, and at over two and a half hours of wonderfully cheerful music is an absolute joy to listen to. Out of all the bands that came and went during the early and mid seventies `Gryphon' stands out as one of the most unique.
In 2003 Hux records put out one more CD, a collection of two B.B.C. In Concert sets, one from 1972 recorded before anything from Gryphon had actually been released officially, giving us a very interesting insiders listen to the original concept of the band. This first session has five songs on it, four of which are traditional laments rearranged by the band, and one original, not that you notice much listening to the five of them in order. But it is crumhorns both high and low to the fore and a merry jig do they make; it is almost impossible not to tap your foot along to the rhythms, especially when the crumhorns break into snippets from `It's a long way to Tipperary' and `Somewhere over the Rainbow'.
The second set recorded two years later shows the fully developed beast in all its five piece glory. Starting off with a bit of a jam between all the band members they then break into all three movements of `Midnight Mushrumps' written solely by Richard Harvey. There is still the unmistakable sound of the Gryphon there, but certainly a few tricks have been taken on board from other progressive rock bands of the time. At times they could almost be mistaken for early Genesis, not that this is a bad thing, everything has to progress, and when the recorders break back in again it is all refreshingly Gryphon again. `Midnight Mushrumps' must be considered Gryphon's finest piece a quite magical twenty minutes journey.
When I say that Transatlantic collected up nearly everything that was recorded for their label by this wonderfully unique band, there was one track missing - a single called `Glastonbury Carol', a song commissioned by the people who made the Glastonbury film, but as the film was never released the song was obviously not used on the soundtrack and only released as a single. The single received no promotional push from Transatlantic, not really seeing Gryphon as `Top Of The Pop's' material. To make matters worse the little hole that you had to have in the middle of vinyl records, LP's as well as singles, was slightly off centre, so by the time the song came towards the end, it made an awful seasick inducing pitching and tossing, not conducive to massive sales. Fortunately the original tapes were found and the single has been tacked onto the end of these sessions as well as lending its name to the album. A great bonus as it remains one of Gryphon's most atmospheric tunes.
Alas all good things must come to an end and by 1977 Gryphon was no more, but they leave behind a fine legacy of music, all available from the wonderful www.amazon.com
After Gryphon came to its natural conclusion, all the members of the band went onto further success in their own fields: Graeme Taylor, Malcolm Bennett (who replaced Philip Nestor on bass guitar towards the end), and Philip Nestor became successful session musicians. After a varied career David Oberie now owns his own record label, Communique. Whilst both Richard Harvey and Brian Gullard work in the film and television soundtrack industry, with Richard Harvey at present in Hollywood putting the final touches to the soundtrack to this year's blockbuster starring Tom Hanks `The Davinci Code'.
If anyone has any idea what a Gryphon or a Mushrump is please write to Mott at the address listed at the end of this review.
Mott the Dog.

FIND what was lost!.......2005-04-24

I'll be brief. See Brian Greuling's review as I concur with that commentary. To my ecstatic shock and amazement this recent Gryphon release shot straight to #3 on my Gryphon-favorite list. If you ever enjoyed this band's quircky fusion of futuristic electro-world music and Renaissance style rock'n'roll, THIS RECORD IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to at least the 10th power! In addition to the fact that "Opening Number" & "Glastonbury Carol" are unavailable elsewhere, if you have surround-sound audio, cue up this version of "Midnight Mushrumps", click on Dolby Pro-logic II and make sure you have no recent incisions near your spine or you're gonna lose part of it! Wildly recommended disc!

Great Live Album.......2004-09-21

If you're a fan of the first two Gryphon releases, Gryphon and Midnight Mushrumps, this is a great addition to your music collection. The sound quality is excellent, much better than I was expecting. The first five tracks, recorded in 1972,appear on their first album. The version of Estampie in this collection has an extended bassoon solo. The next track, recorded in 1974, does not appear on any of their studio releases, but sounds like it should have been included on their debut album. The next three tracks comprise their magnum opus Midnight Mushrumps. The last track, Glastonbury Carol, subtitled "the 'lost' single" is superb. Not recorded live, this track was recently recovered from their recording engineer. For me, it's the highlight of this collection. It mixes haunting vocals with classic with an upbeat middle section. Overall, I highly recommend this to any Gryphon fan.

Average customer rating:

Midnight Mushrumps
Gryphon
Manufacturer: Disk Union
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Folk | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Gryphon
Red Queen to Gryphon Three
Raindance
Glastonbury Carol
About as Curious as It Can Be

ASIN: B0000TCL9O
Release Date: 2003-12-22

Tracks:

Midnight Mushrumps
Plough Boys Dream
Last Flash of Gaberdine Tailor
Gulland Rock
Dubbel Dutch
Ethelion

Album Description

Japanese remastered reissue of the British progressive rock act's 1974 album features six tracks packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Arcangelo. 2003.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Average customer rating:

Gryphon's Finest Hour
Medieval rock

Gryphon / Midnight Mushrumps
Gryphon
Manufacturer: Castle - Old Numbers
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000068G90
Release Date: 2002-06-11

Tracks:

KEMP'S JIG
SIR GAVIN GRIMBOLD
TOUCH AND GO
THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS
PASTIME WITH GOOD COMPANY
UNQUIET GRAVE
ESTAMPIE
ASTROLOGER
TEA WRECKS
JUNIPER SUITE
THE DEVIL AND THE FARMER'S WIFE
MIDNIGHT MUSHRUMPS
PLOUGHBOY'S DREAM
THE LAST FLASH OF GABERDINE TAILOR
GULLAND ROCK
DUBBEL DUTCH
ETHELION

Customer Reviews:

Gryphon's Finest Hour.......2003-11-16

While I realize that tastes are subjective, I f ind the opinion of the reviewer below me to be barefaced nonsense. Composed by Richad Harvey (now, it appears, something of a hack who churns out orchestral muzak scores for British film and television), the title track to *MM* truly represents Gryphon's finest hour (or at least, the group's finest 19 minutes ;-) ). It brims with memorable themes that dwarf the group's occasionally fine but progressively spotty output as it became a more "conventional "progressive rock band. Next, "The Ploughboy's Dream" shows the band's arrangements at their most imaginative, even bizarre. The album falters a bit from here, as the remaining members' contributions are less memorable than the preceding works, but these pieces cement this album in my mind as one of Gryphon's better efforts, not to be missed by those who are discovering--or re-discovering--the work of this wonderfully eccentric, original, and ferociously gifted group.

Medieval rock.......2002-10-08

Gryphon was a '70s band that combined early music with rock to form an unusual but catchy prog-rock blend. The band centered around bassoon/krumhorn player Brian Gulland and keyboard/recorder/krumhorn player Richard Harvey, with guitarist Graeme Taylor and David Oberle on drums/vocals both capable players. This CD combines the first two albums, "Gryphon" and "Midnight Mushrumps", which by themselves would be 3 and 3-1/2 star albums. "Gryphon" is soundtrack music for a Renaissance fair, more folk-based than their later music, and comes off as a junior varsity version of Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span. There are solemn ("The Unquiet Grave") and humorous ("Three Jolly Butchers") takes on traditional pieces. On the second half of the album, the band starts stretching the formula, especially on "Estampie", where Oberle gets to cut loose on drums and Gulland throws in a quote from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" during his bassoon solo.

On "Midnight Mushrumps", bassist Philip Nester was added and rock was added to the mix. Here you can hear the beginnings of the unique sound that reached its peak on the superlative "Red Queen to Gryphon Three" album. The centerpiece of the album is the 19-minute title cut. The melodies on this album aren't as memorable as on "Red Queen", but "Mushrumps" is still good. My favorite cut is the closer, "Ethelion".

Tracks:

Kemp's Jig
Sir Gavin Grimbold
Touch and Go
Three Jolly Butchers
Pastime With Good Company
Unquiet Grave
Estampie
Astrologer
Tea Wrecks
Juniper Suite
Devil and the Farmer's Wife
Midnight Mushrumps
Ploughboy's Dream
Last Flash of Gaberdine Tailor
Gulland Rock
Dubbel Dutch
Ethelion

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful mix of the art music of the English Middle Ages/Renaissance period and a little prog.......2006-07-17

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.

Nice Album Uncle R.......2003-09-25

Richard Harvey, is my uncle and i never knew Gryphon were this big. I am only 15 so i know the Led Zeppelins, The Yes's etc. But my Uncles band are well good. For ne fans i reckon i cud nag him and brian into getting the Gryphon boys bak together.

Medieval rock.......2002-10-08

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

Dig that funky crumhorn!.......2001-01-19

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.

A good beginning.......2000-08-02

My wife thought Midnight Mushrumps was a funny title, how fashions change, but enjoyed the music. I like lilting folkiness of this recrord, and I'm a sucker for unusual instruments. This great playing, plus asense of humour. Gryphon has a sort of innocence about it, and I find mushrumps a little darker. I thoroughly enjoyed thi record. I give it 4 stars, because I prefer Red queen to Gryphon Three. Gryphon along with Gentle Giant defined the entrance of Elizebeathan (the first one) culture into modern music. Although maybe this record is a little too folky for some tastes, but it is always good to be receptive to different genres.

Average customer rating:

The beginning of an early-music and prog-rock blend

Midnight Mushrumps
Gryphon
Manufacturer: Communique
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000846
Release Date: 1996-07-19

Customer Reviews:

The beginning of an early-music and prog-rock blend.......2002-10-08

Gryphon was a '70s band that combined early music with rock to form an unusual but catchy prog-rock blend. The band centered around bassoon/krumhorn player Brian Gulland and keyboard/recorder/krumhorn player Richard Harvey, with guitarist Graeme Taylor and David Oberle on drums/vocals both capable players. On "Midnight Mushrumps", bassist Philip Nester was added and rock was added to the mix. Here you can hear the beginnings of the unique sound that reached its peak on the superlative "Red Queen to Gryphon Three" album. The centerpiece of the album is the 19-minute title cut. The melodies on this album aren't as memorable as on "Red Queen", but "Mushrumps" is still good. My favorite cut is the closer, "Ethelion".