Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

I too am on the sniff for Gentle Giant stuff. Have got Octopus and had Free Hand and summink else on vinyl centuries ago until my mum had a clear out and bunged 'em in a car-boot sale without me knowing with a load of other stuff grrr!

I like Gryphon a lot although definitely an acquired taste.

You might be able to get the first two albums, 'Gryphon' & 'Midnight Mushrumps' on a 2-on-1 cd like wot I did.

'Gryphon' is very ye olde folke being that is as mostly the nascent Gryphon re-arranging actual medieaval and folke tunes rather than original material. Quite good fun if you're roasting a pig and carousing after a hard days jousting.

"Midnight Mushrumps" is a step forward in that they started writing their own stuff in a more overtly proggy vein but still with a lot of ye olde worldiness to it.

As others have suggested "Red Queen to Gryphon Three" is probably their most enjoyable, slightly deranged and silly in a pleasingly indulgent way album. When you're in the mood for it, it's ace. Music from another time in every sense.