The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp in Bloomington, MN

This pre-
King Crimson
aggregate involves the talents of
Michael Giles
(drums/vocals),
Peter Giles
(bass/vocals), and
Robert Fripp
(guitar/vocals) accompanied by a plethora of studio musicians -- most notably keyboardist
Nicky Hopkins
and backing vocalists
the Breakaways
. By any standards
The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp
is one of the more eclectic albums to have been issued during the
psychedelic rock
movement of the late '60s. The album was initially issued in September of 1968 on the
Decca Records
subsidiary
Deram
-- whose releases were aimed specifically at the alternative or
progressive rock
market. That said, this disc is a far cry from the type of material that other artists on the label such as
the Moody Blues
,
Caravan
, or
Pacific Drift
were concurrently issuing. The original record album was divided into two sections: "The Saga of Rodney Toady" and "Just George," which were named after the respective
spoken word
pieces that link the musical works on the A- and B-sides. Musically,
Giles, Giles & Fripp
are wholly unlike anything before or since. Drawing upon
folk
classical
pop
, and even
sacred
music, each track brings a fresh listening experience. Among the highlights is the leadoff track,
"North Meadow,"
which features some stunning fretwork from
Fripp
. Likewise,
"Call Tomorrow"
is a trippy noir tale involving an ambiguous practical joke. The classically influenced instrumental
"Suite No. 1,"
as well as another one of
's more esoteric compositions,
"Erudite Eyes,"
likewise bear some semblance of sounds to come from the trio. While not everyone's cup of tea, there is a tremendous amount to enjoy on
for those whose expectations are not of
, but rather of lighthearted and decidedly folksy English tales. Parties interested in this disc should likewise be advised of
The Brondesbury Tapes
, which is a collection of semiprofessional demos made by this trio and original
Fairport Convention
vocalist
Judy Dyble
(vocals) and soon-to-be
member
Ian McDonald
(flute/sax). ~ Lindsay Planer