MCDONALD & GILES

I like this album, not all of it but most. As you probably all know, Ian McDonald and Michael Giles (as well as lyricist Peter Sinfield and bassist Peter Giles who are also here) were of King Crimson's first line-up and especially multi-instrumentalist McDonald was to a large part creating the groundbreaking sound of "In the Court of..." That's why it's kinda sad this album isn't better. Or maybe the sad thing to me is that Crimson didn't hold that great line- up longer; also this album proves that it takes a whole band to make a masterpiece. But I guess these men made exactly the record they wanted to make, without trying to follow in the direction of that KC debut. Lighter and happier this is for sure.

Two shorter tender tracks remind a bit some KC 'ballads' (another of them was reformed as 'Cadence and Cascade'). The best playing I find in the first song, including jazzy flute. What I don't like very much is the near-22-minute 'Birdman', or only some parts of it. It has no glory of a prog epic to me. So, all in all quite an enjoyable album, but not as good as you could expect from these musicians.