McDonald and Giles
Encyclopedia
McDonald and Giles is an album of music released by British
musicians Ian McDonald
and Michael Giles
in 1971. The album was first issued on Island Records
(ILPS 9126) in the U.K. and in the U.S. as Cotillion Records
(SD 9042), a division of Atlantic Records
. The album was recorded at Island Studios between May and July 1970. Although McDonald and Giles remains popular among King Crimson fans, its commercial success was limited. The duo did not record a second album.
Ian McDonald and Michael Giles were members of the original King Crimson
lineup, and were featured performers on the band's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King
(1969). Both left the group at the end of its first North America
n tour in 1969, although Giles appeared on the second King Crimson album, In the Wake of Poseidon
(1970), as a session musician. Two other King Crimson members also worked on the album: Peter Giles and Peter Sinfield
.
The music on McDonald and Giles contains many of the pastoral and musically complex elements of King Crimson, while generally avoiding that band's darker tendencies. The song "Flight of the Ibis" has a similar melody
and rhythm
to King Crimson's "Cadence and Cascade", with different lyrics. The album contains a guest appearance by Steve Winwood
, playing organ and piano on "Turnham Green." Winwood's group Traffic
were working on John Barleycorn Must Die
at Island Studios at the same time.
Michael Giles' drum solo in "Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today" has been sampled by a number of rap and hip-hop artists, most notably the Beastie Boys
, on the track Body Movin'
from the album Hello Nasty
.
The first CD edition was released in Japan in the early 1990s. It came in both jewel box and paper sleeve versions. This version was the same as the original vinyl but was mastered from a tape copy several generations removed from the original master. In 2002 the group members authorized a revised version of the CD with improved sound. The revised version can be recognized by the use of green lettering on the cover instead of pink. A phrase near the beginning of "Suite In C" has slightly different lyrics. Some of the tracks of the 2002 edition have very minor editing. There are a few slightly different segues in the song "Birdman" and the sections of this song are marked as separate tracks on the CD.
"Suite In C" was written by Ian McDonald in Detroit, Los Angeles
and Earls Court
between December 1969 and February 1970. "Is She Waiting?" was written in Earls Court in the summer of 1969, between King Crimson gigs. "Birdman" was mostly written in the spring of 1968, except for the "Birdman Flies!" section in 1970. The original idea was from Peter Sinfield.
"Tomorrow's People" was written by Michael Giles in 1967, and expanded and arranged in 1970. The song was dedicated to Tina and Mandy, his children.
The lyrics for "Birdman" begin "Long ago / In Walthamstow
". Walthamstow Marshes
was the location of Alliot Verdon Roe's attempts to build and fly his early aeroplanes. (A.V. Roe was the first British aviator and founder of Avro
Aircraft Company).
The parenthetical acronym in the title of "The Inventor's Dream" stands for "Once Upon a Time."
Arranged and produced by Ian McDonald and Michael Giles. Engineered by Brian Humphries
. Assistant engineer: Richard Digby Smith. Strings and brass on "Birdman" and "Suite in C" arranged and conducted by Mike Gray.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
musicians Ian McDonald
Ian McDonald (musician)
Ian McDonald is an English multi-instrumental musician, best known as a founding member of progressive rock group King Crimson, formed in 1969, and of the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. He is well-known as a rock session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist...
and Michael Giles
Michael Giles
Michael Giles is an English drummer, best known as a co-founder of King Crimson in 1969...
in 1971. The album was first issued on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
(ILPS 9126) in the U.K. and in the U.S. as Cotillion Records
Cotillion Records
Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded...
(SD 9042), a division of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. The album was recorded at Island Studios between May and July 1970. Although McDonald and Giles remains popular among King Crimson fans, its commercial success was limited. The duo did not record a second album.
Ian McDonald and Michael Giles were members of the original King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
lineup, and were featured performers on the band's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King
In the Court of the Crimson King
In the Court of the Crimson King is the 1969 debut album by the British progressive rock group King Crimson. The album reached No. 5 on the British charts, and is certified gold in the United States....
(1969). Both left the group at the end of its first North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n tour in 1969, although Giles appeared on the second King Crimson album, In the Wake of Poseidon
In the Wake of Poseidon
In the Wake of Poseidon is the second album by the progressive rock group King Crimson. By the time this album was released, the band had already undergone their first change in line-up, however they still maintained much of the style of their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King.Greg Lake...
(1970), as a session musician. Two other King Crimson members also worked on the album: Peter Giles and Peter Sinfield
Peter Sinfield
Peter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...
.
The music on McDonald and Giles contains many of the pastoral and musically complex elements of King Crimson, while generally avoiding that band's darker tendencies. The song "Flight of the Ibis" has a similar melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
to King Crimson's "Cadence and Cascade", with different lyrics. The album contains a guest appearance by Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, playing organ and piano on "Turnham Green." Winwood's group Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
were working on John Barleycorn Must Die
John Barleycorn Must Die
John Barleycorn Must Die is the fourth album by the English rock band Traffic, released in 1970, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, and United Artists in the United States, catalogue UAS 5504. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200, their highest charting album in the US, and has been...
at Island Studios at the same time.
Michael Giles' drum solo in "Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today" has been sampled by a number of rap and hip-hop artists, most notably the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, on the track Body Movin'
Body Movin'
"Body Movin" is a song by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released as the second single from their fifth studio album Hello Nasty.-Track listing:CD single #"Body Movin'" – 3:09...
from the album Hello Nasty
Hello Nasty
Hello Nasty is the fifth studio album by the Beastie Boys. It was released on July 14, 1998 via Capitol Records and sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart...
.
The first CD edition was released in Japan in the early 1990s. It came in both jewel box and paper sleeve versions. This version was the same as the original vinyl but was mastered from a tape copy several generations removed from the original master. In 2002 the group members authorized a revised version of the CD with improved sound. The revised version can be recognized by the use of green lettering on the cover instead of pink. A phrase near the beginning of "Suite In C" has slightly different lyrics. Some of the tracks of the 2002 edition have very minor editing. There are a few slightly different segues in the song "Birdman" and the sections of this song are marked as separate tracks on the CD.
Track listing
- "Suite in C" (Ian McDonald) 11:14
- including "Turnham Green", "Here I Am" and others
- "Flight of the Ibis" (music: Ian McDonald, lyrics: BP FallonBP FallonBP Fallon is an Irish DJ, author, and photographer. He currently lives in New York.At a young age Fallon became a famous personality and broadcaster in Ireland, moving on to music journalism and photography....
) 3:11 - "Is She Waiting?" (Ian McDonald) 2:36
- "Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today" (Michael Giles) 7:00
- "Birdman" (music: Ian McDonald, lyrics: Peter SinfieldPeter SinfieldPeter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...
) 21:22- involving;
- "The Inventor's Dream (O.U.A.T.)"
- "The Workshop"
- "Wishbone Ascension"
- "Birdman Flies!"
- "Wings in the Sunset"
- "Birdman - The Reflection"
"Suite In C" was written by Ian McDonald in Detroit, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
between December 1969 and February 1970. "Is She Waiting?" was written in Earls Court in the summer of 1969, between King Crimson gigs. "Birdman" was mostly written in the spring of 1968, except for the "Birdman Flies!" section in 1970. The original idea was from Peter Sinfield.
"Tomorrow's People" was written by Michael Giles in 1967, and expanded and arranged in 1970. The song was dedicated to Tina and Mandy, his children.
The lyrics for "Birdman" begin "Long ago / In Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
". Walthamstow Marshes
Walthamstow Marshes
Walthamstow Marshes, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest SSSI. It was once an area of lammas land — strips of meadow used for growing crops and grazing cattle....
was the location of Alliot Verdon Roe's attempts to build and fly his early aeroplanes. (A.V. Roe was the first British aviator and founder of Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
Aircraft Company).
The parenthetical acronym in the title of "The Inventor's Dream" stands for "Once Upon a Time."
Personnel
- Ian McDonald: guitar, piano, organ, saxes, flute, clarinet, zither, vocals and sundries
- Michael Giles: drums, percussion (including milk bottle, handsaw, lip whistle and nutbox), vocals
- Peter Giles: bass guitar
- Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
: organ, and piano solo on "Turnham Green" - Michael Blakesley: trombone on "Tomorrow's People"
Arranged and produced by Ian McDonald and Michael Giles. Engineered by Brian Humphries
Brian Humphries
Brian Humphries CBE is President and CEO of the European Business Aviation Association , based in Brussels. He has specialist knowledge of the business aviation community and the challenges facing it, having served separate tenures at EBAA as Chairman, President and CEO since 1996.Humphries is also...
. Assistant engineer: Richard Digby Smith. Strings and brass on "Birdman" and "Suite in C" arranged and conducted by Mike Gray.