McDonald and Giles – Suite in C
McDonald and Giles – Tomorrow’s People
McDonald and Giles – Birdman
After almost two years of doing this blog, I’m actually surprised that I hadn’t posted this album before, the single release from Ian McDonald and Michael Giles. Both men had just split from King Crimson, but thankfully the reasoning behind it wasn’t creative indifference. The sound has many elements of that early Crimson sound, personally for me, Giles and McDonald were the best things about those early Crimson recordings. I know that Fripp is the King and I do love his playing, but McDonald’s saxophone and Giles’ drums were what defined the Crimson sound as something special and different from other similar groups.
In fact I’m not sure if there is/was a more distinctive sounding drummer in Rock than Michael Giles. Some of it is in his style, most of it is literally in the sound of his drums. Recording here in 1970 that trademark sound is in full effect especially during what is one of my favorite funky prog songs, “Tomorrow’s People,” with that classic drums/percussion/hand clap breakdown about 2 minutes in. Those drums also go into unexpected areas on “Suite In C” and “Birdman,” as does the sound of the entire group.
It’s that sound that brings me back again and again to this LP. While the similarities to King Crimson are inescapable, this band pushes things in more interesting rhythmic ways while largely keeping brighter tones to the music (which according to the Crismon reissue I reviewed here was a main reason for McDonald’s desire to leave the group, the increasingly dark quality of its music). I’m sure the many many rhythmic changes made this record difficult for some to listen to, the fact that two songs take up 30 minutes couldn’t have helped in terms of radio play. For me they are the moments that make the album, such as when the sax, drums, guitar, hand claps and bass go off in “Birdman,” in all kinds of funky tightness a little after the first 4 minutes and then that same rhythm slows down to a crawl before bringing in the organ and continuing the verses. Those 2+ minutes are amongst my favorite from this entire period of progressive rock, and the album is filled with moments like that.
My love affair with the sound of this LP is part of the reason why I’ve now owned 3 different copies of it. The first was a Cotillion press, then a promo on Cotillion, my current copy is a mid-1970s reissue on Island. With each there’s been an improvement, and this reissue sounds the best of the bunch to my ears, I hear more of the minute elements and there is less distortion when the horns crest. From the inner sleeve it appears that the band recorded over at least three sessions to produce this album. Judging from the treasure trove associated with In The Court Of The Crimson King, that means that somewhere there are instrumental tracks of all these songs, alternate takes and other goodies yet to be discovered. I sincerely hope one day, in my lifetime, we hear even more out of this musical partnership, but for now I’ll cherish what I have.
Cheers,
Michael
p.s. one of the most surprising samples I’d heard in recent years was Amon Tobin sampling some of Birdman for his track “Ever Falling,” from the Foley Room…made me respect the man even more for such excellent taste: