McDonald and Giles Totally Explained

Everything about Mcdonald And Giles totally explained

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 June 1970. Although McDonald and Giles remains popular among King Crimson fans, its commercial success was limited. The duo didn't 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 American 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 is also notable in that it contains a guest appearance by Steve Winwood, playing organ and piano on "Turnham Green." Winwood's group Traffic were also working on John Barleycorn Must Die at Island Studios at the same time. Some instrumental passages on this album are actually quite similar to the sound Traffic would become famous for at the peak of their fame in the early 1970's.
   Michael Giles' drum solo in "Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today" has been sampled by a number of rap and hip-hop artists.
The first CD edition was released in Japan in the early 1990's. 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" including "Turnham Green", "Here I Am" and others (words and music by Ian McDonald) 11:14
"Flight of the Ibis" (words: B.P. Fallon; music: Ian McDonald) 3:11
"Is She Waiting?" (words and music by Ian McDonald) 2:36
"Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today" (words and music by Michael Giles) 7:00
"Birdman" involving "The Inventor's Dream (O.U.A.T.)", "The Workshop", "Wishbone Ascension", "Birdman Flies!", "Wings in the Sunset", "Birdman - The Reflection" (words: Peter Sinfield; music: Ian McDonald) 21:22

"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". Wathamstow marsh 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).

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 Winwood: 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. Assistant engineer: Richard Digby Smith. Strings and brass on "Birdman" and "Suite in C" arranged and conducted by Mike Gray.

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