THE CHEERFUL INSANITY OF GILES, GILES & FRIPP

Admirers of Syd Barrett and the more pastoral side of early Floyd will like this. Unfortunately it's not as strange or acid drenched but retains a certain British quirkiness throughout. The songs are sursprisingly catchy and remind me of Bowie's first album from '67.

The Saga of Rodney Toad, which appears more or less at the end of each tune was a terrible artistic decision. You can forget anything you've heard about Monty Python humour. This is straight from the mouth of an eight year old child. It's infantile and uninspired spoken by an uncharismatic Pete Giles. Thankfully the tunes more than make up for this blunder, but still relegates 'The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles & Fripp' to a three star rating, rather than the four it truly deserved.

King Crimson fans are advised to steer well clear. Although even at the age of 22, Fripp had a superb set of guitar playing fingers on him.

There's also the unlikeliest of bonuses with a smiling Robert Fripp on the front cover, which is something I never thought I'd see! Do you think his face shattered into 1000 pieces immediately afterwards?