McDonald & Giles - Crimson Funk

McDonald & Giles: Flight Of The Ibis and Tomorrow's People
From: McDonald & Giles [Cotillion, 1971]

A change of pace today as we rock out to the proggish tones of King Crimson......... Well kinda anyway. McDonald & Giles were part of the original line up of the band but split from the group after the release of their debut album due to various cited reasons (one common rumour being that the duo fell in love on tour with the women pictured on the cover - can't blame McDonald then, she's rather fine).

While it would have been interesting to see where the band would have gone had McDonald and Giles stayed with them I can't say I'm disappointed with the split when the resulting album is as beautiful as this. While undoubtedly based in prog rock the album feels incredibly sunny and uplifting compared to most comparative records of the time, the duo ensuing the darker noise of their contemporaries for something of a more positive folk laden nature.

Although the album is a break diggers wet dream the first track I have for you is more melody, less beat heavy. Flight Of The Ibis isn't actually half as proggy as the title suggests. Instead the track offers a Beatle-esque vocal over some crisp drums and gorgeous piano and harpsichord work. This tune just makes me want to lie on my back in a grassy field and watch the clouds roll by.

Tomorrow's People is a break heavy banger of a song. Starting unexpectedly with a mixture of horns the track shows clear signs of it's original composition as a Crimson track with it's electronic vocals and more psychedelic overtones. What kills me about this song is that 2 minutes in the track breaks down into a funk groove and never really leaves it afterwards, with the drums and bongos coming hard as various instruments float in over the bass riff before the track literally comes to a stop and reawakens with funk and vocals united together. Funky prog my friends, funky prog.