Soul Strut 100: # 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
edited August 2012 in The Soul Strut 100
I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)



The list so far:

# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja
# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen
# 67 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis/Live! (1971)
# 66 - Al Green - Im still in love with you
# 65 - The Beatnuts - Street Level
# 64 - Archie Whitewater - Archie Whitewater (1970)
# 63 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & the Soul Brother
# 62 - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
# 61 - The J.B.???s - Food For Thought
# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)
# 59 - Niagara - (Tiddies)
# 58 - Can - Ege Bamyasi
# 57 - Whatnauts - On the Rocks
# 56 - The Mohawks - Champ
# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)

Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.

About


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 July 1970. Although McDonald and Giles remains popular among King Crimson fans, its commercial success was limited. The duo did not 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 McDonald and Giles: 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 contains a guest appearance by Steve Winwood, playing organ and piano on "Turnham Green." Winwood's group Traffic were working on John Barleycorn Must Die at Island Studios at the same time.

Michael Giles' drum solo in "Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today" has been sampled by a number of rap and hip-hop artists, most notably the Beastie Boys, on the track Body Movin' from the album Hello Nasty.[citation needed]

The first CD edition was released in Japan in the early 1990s. 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


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald_and_Giles

Related Threads

McDonald and Giles Self Titled Appreciation Thread

Mcdonald & Giles???what else?

MacDonald & Giles VS McNeal & Niles

Mcdonald and GIles Question

Media



  Comments


  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,789 Posts
    Hah. I just minted-up on an Island og realising that this would appear in the list soon and might raise demand.

    Great record, I don't have to skip a second of this. Discovered it through TTLab's record checks (in the late '90s?) - Diplo edition.

  • finelikewinefinelikewine "ONCE UPON A TIME, I HAD A VINYL." http://www.discogs.com/user/permabulker 1,416 Posts

  • SunfadeSunfade 799 Posts
    Always loved the photography on the cover with the weird purple background vegetation effect and graininess.


    I think we should do a Top 100 Album Cover art after this is done.

  • OligeeOligee 289 Posts
    Yeeeeaah, I want that.

  • leonleon 883 Posts
    So glad an album appears on the Top 100 i have yet to explore. So, thanks again for this list! Will cop the lp when i spot it.

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Sunfade said:
    Always loved the photography on the cover with the weird purple background vegetation effect and graininess.

    Not to mention the females.

    Male rock stars of the 70s had a thing for showing off their girlfriends and wives on the covers of LPs, as if to say, look what I got! This album is clearly exhibit A. Giles, in particular, is grinning like a man who knows he's gonna get laid that night.

  • DanteDante 371 Posts
    Awesome record in every way. Co sign on the cover, it's one of those record pics where a certain athmosphere (spelling?) is certainly acheived, like the hazy inside pic of Trout Mask Replica. I didn't have a copy either, just checked eBay and found a cheap BIN for a VG+ canadian gatefold. Canadian dudes, is US$20 about right for one LP to Mexico? Seemed a bit high...

  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    Copped a nice WLP Cotillion a few years ago for 16.00. It's an album worthy of all it's praises.

  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    This album used to be about the drums for me.. until one day I had my heart broken to this song.



    Lots of good and bad memories attached to this song.

    - spidey

  • bennyboybennyboy 538 Posts
    Lovely to see this so high up in the Hot 100 - great LP, and a great sleeve, great all round. There are some good edits of Tomorrows People knocking around too. Drums please.

    Has this rocketed in value recently? Discogs price seem a bit high, this used to be a fairly cheap pickup?

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    bennyboy said:

    Has this rocketed in value recently? Discogs price seem a bit high, this used to be a fairly cheap pickup?

    I used to buy and sell this all the time for under $20.00.
    I think rock guys didn't use to value it, but now they do.
    Also WLPs are sometimes mono, which is a big deal for rock collectors.
    And US rock collectors will pay a premium for UK pressings.

    I have a mono WLP now and was surprised at it's value.

    Didn't care for it much back in the 90s. Just re-listened. It's folky, which I like, but pretentious, which I can't stand.

  • BeatChemistBeatChemist 1,465 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    Just re-listened. It's folky, which I like, but pretentious, which I can't stand.

    Perhaps this is part of the price jump? I heard pretentiousness is in. Unfortunately.

    Didn't know about this LP. I like a lot of King Crimson stuff, and am enjoying this as well.

  • akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
    one of my favorites. found 3 copies over the years. just recently sold the mono WLP copy for a nice profit on ebay...

    such a good album. i dont skip anything. probably have listened to it 300+ times. essential in my opinion.

  • LaserWolf said:
    It's folky, which I like, but pretentious, which I can't stand.
    Pretentiously dope! I honestly don't know what there's not to like on this record. The production, arrangements, melodies, mammoth breaks, ill cover art, etc. are all superb. But you know...to each their own.

    This list keeps getting better!

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I know I stand alone in my rejection of pretension/prog/avant.

    Of course, there are many exceptions, and I am sure if I listened to this 5 days in a row with someone who loved it I would come around.

    A big difference between this music and a lot of other pretentious music is that this is very sparse. In my book that is a good thing.

    I get why people like it.

  • ako said:
    one of my favorites. found 3 copies over the years. just recently sold the mono WLP copy for a nice profit on ebay...

    such a good album. i dont skip anything. probably have listened to it 300+ times. essential in my opinion.

    I like this record a lot. I don't think I've ever listened to anything 300 times though, not even my top favorites. That's amazing.

  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey,

    I love this LP!!! "Suite in C" is my main joint, with "Flight of the Ibis" following closely. It's great to see this great LP including here on the Soul Strut 100.

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak

  • akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
    Controller_7 said:
    ako said:
    one of my favorites. found 3 copies over the years. just recently sold the mono WLP copy for a nice profit on ebay...

    such a good album. i dont skip anything. probably have listened to it 300+ times. essential in my opinion.

    I like this record a lot. I don't think I've ever listened to anything 300 times though, not even my top favorites. That's amazing.

    lets just say its one of the CDs that got stuck in our station wagon's CD changer, and it still is, 7 years later.

    im not complaining either.
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