Playing on the album we have a five piece band- taking in: Richard Harvey – keyboards, recorders, krumhorn. Graeme Taylor – guitars. Brian Gulland – bassoon, krumhorn. Philip Nestor – bass guitar. And David Oberlé – drums,percussion, tympani.  As you see the sonic line-up is a mix of the common & less-common prog instrumentation, of the more uncommon Krumhorn  is a musical instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance period

As is often the case with Prog albums this is a concept album, and as its title might suggest the concept is a chess game, with each track using a chess move or related as its title. The front cover features a wise & long bearded man playing a game of chess against the backdrop of fantasy land- taking in knights, a Gryphon, a castle & a green hills.

Sonically the band manages to blend together a whole host of genres/ sounds. Mixing prog & symphonic rock styling, with more straight popular classical musical idioms, folk- rock colors, and Baroque-to- Renaissance harmonic flourishes.  Plus a few jazz-rock edges,  that very much brought to mind Zappa’s 1970’s work- which I guess is even more enhanced by the use of horn work.

Each of the four tracks lasts between eight & ten minutes a piece, and each is as entertaining & event-full as each other. With the band weaving a rich & shifting sonic tapestry which moves between the ornate,  elegant & epic, Yet though-out retain a keen sense of focus & a melody.

The reissue it’s self is a fairly bare-bones affair offering up a four-page color inlay, and the disc it’s self just takes in the album’s four tracks, with no extra material. So don’t expect much of an insight to the band, it’s background or meaning behind the album. But I guess you just getting what you would have had when it was originally released.

In conclusion, Red Queen To Gryphon Three is somewhat of a lost gem from the time of  1970’s Prog- offering up a focused, memorable & wholly enjoyable album.