MCDONALD & GILES

McDonald And Giles is one of those albums that definitely falls into "could have been great" category if it wasn't for ego raising it's ugly head. True, Ian McDonald and Mike Gilles are heavyweight musicians that added greatness to King Crimson's first classic album In The Court Of The Crimson King before casting off and thinking they could do as well on their own. ItCotCK, more than any other early prog album, is an absolute sum of it's creative parts. (The duo is joined on this album only by Giles' brother Peter on bass on all tracks and the great Steve Winwood on organ, but only on the album's opening track.) If M&G had understood that and bolstered this self titled collaboration album with a powerfully dynamic singer and a top shelf guitarist, the results would have been staggeringly different. Not a classic perhaps like ItCotCK, but a 4 star album would not have been out of the question. Both McDonald and Giles are merely adequate but extremely colorless vocalists that totally dull out any beauty or power of this music. And a decent guitarist with an emotional solo would have helped the boring epic finale titled "Birdman" tremendously. But the result is what we have. Well written and well played songs that cry out for so much more. 2 stars for such a frustrating listening experience.