MINT 1968 PROMO GILES GILES & FRIPP INSANITY Prog Pop Psych KING CRIMSON LP

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202

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• (((PRE- KING CRIMSON UK UNDERGROUND )))
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• THE CHEERFUL INSANITY

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• USA - DERAM RECORDS - DES 180 19  (Stereophonic)
  

1. In a flash GILES GILES & FRIPP formed in Bournemouth UK in August 1967 after the Giles brothers had left Trendsetters Limited. In September of that year, they moved up to London but found gigs hard to come by. Eventually, they got a residency at a restaurant in Jermyn Street, backing an Italian singer but it only lasted a few days and they found themselves gig-less again. In June 1968, Ian McDonald and former Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble were recruited to their ranks. The same month, they put out their debut 45 but the punters just didn't seem interested in them. Both their 45s were decidedly weird and may well appeal to fans of freakbeat or psychedelia. Dyble only hung around for a month before moving on to Trader Horne, although, with her departure in July, Pete Sinfield became their lyricist. Over 40 years on, this album has become a major collectable, which sold only in very small quantities at the time. It was actually quite a great amalgam of sunshine popsike compositions like North Meadow and more offbeat tracks which owed more to Syd Barrett. There were also two narrations, Fripp's The Saga Of Rodney Toady and Giles' Just George. Their break-up was by now inevitable but Fripp went on to much greater things with King Crimson and the Giles brothers were both briefly involved in the band too before leaving to their own McDonald & Giles band. 1968 was a heady time for the musical counterculture. A new sound, the psychedelic sound, was in full gear, and was developing into something even more startling. In Britain, groups like the Nice, the Soft Machine, and Pink Floyd were combining furiously propulsive rock energy with freaked-out experimentation.
   
   And where, among this chaos, were Giles, Giles, and Fripp, precursors to a group that would be renowned as one of the most innovative rock groups of the last three decades? There's a healthy dollop of '60s -complexities here. But then, what would you expect from Robert Fripp's early work? BLUES? In fairness, the album does go quite a bit beyond that, helped quite a bit by the extensive budgeting the group got- far more than you'd ever expect for a group of its ilk and comparative obscurity. But the band's bedrocks are clearly in their "Joe Perrino" approach to music and the lite-psych pop vocal harmonies of the Giles Brothers, the latter providing the clearest contrast between GGF and Crimson. While nothing like it ever appeared in Crimson, the vocals are, on consideration, one of Giles Giles & Fripp's strongest features-
   
2. Pure '60s popsike bliss.
   
   Followers of Fripp's early career will find little of interest here. His compositions are some of the worst tracks on the entire album, though Mike Giles has some pretty dire schlock to dish out as well. One of the biggest surprises, though, is the very pleasant and almost totally overlooked work of Pete Giles, the only member who didn't directly go on to King Crimson (though he was involved with that band at a later stage). Lovely and pleasant songs, with the jazz influence melded very well with a popsike ethos.
   
   The album gets off to a very nice start, with the first side being dominated by Pete Giles' compositions. "North Meadow" and "Newly-weds" both are eminently hummable, richly pop-psych compositions, with Fripp's unoriginal but pleasant jazz guitar work complementing but not throttling the song.
   
   Fripp's stumbling narration that wends its way over the first side, "The Saga of Rodney Toady". The gist of his story seems to be that Rodney is a sad young man because he's fat and ugly. Actual excerpt: "Rodney's father was fat and ugly. And Rodney's mother was even... fat and uglier." "Call Tomorrow" makes one think that Peter Giles may have been listening to "Pet Sounds" a lot. It's built around a haunting and oblique minor-key melody that's not quite up to Brian Wilson's standards, but more than in excess of Mike Love's. The lyrics are about
   
3. rumour-mongering about a vicar's daughter.
   
   Digging My Lawn has the hallmarks of "jazz-based novelty pop tune" all over it. Brainless lyrics, cheesy keyboard solo, and all.
   
   "Little Children" is Fripp's first contribution to the album, and it's underwhelming, to say the least. Wretched lyrics, vocals that sound out of key, and not exactly a compelling melody. The only thing of interest is the prominent mellotron line in the chorus, the first major appearance of the instrument.
   
   "The Crukster" is up there as one of the most pretentious things Fripp was ever involved with. "Pretentious" in a Doors-type way. There's no orchestra here or five minute solos- in fact, the song itself clocks in at barely over a minute and a half. It consists of Michael Giles, reading dire paranoid poetry over some actually pretty interesting dark and paranoid guitar riffing by Fripp, culminating in a blast of pure noise. Not as downright EVIL as Crimson would later get. The first side, fortunately, brings an end to the rather pathetic tale of Rodney Toady, and culminates in Mike Giles' attempt at a contemporary innocuous pop hit. "Thursday Morning" is an good song. Not the best on the album. The track feels oddly sparse, despite the production work done on it. "How Do They Know" kicks off side two with what must be one of the most frustrating songs on the whole album. The first ten seconds are fantastic- a killer off-kilter Crimsonian riff. A song built on this riff could've been one of the best on the album, and even as it is the choruses aren't TOO bad, in a very cool '60s way. Here's where the '60s vocal lite-jazz tendencies take over with a vengeance. Some bands could've pulled off the incongruity of the verses combined with the "dust is sucking your eyes" chorus, but Giles, Giles, and Fripp can't, that much is clear.
   
   We also get our first taste of the second side's linking narration here. Less ambitious in scope than "The Saga of Rodney Toady", this limits itself to Mike Giles saying "I know a man and his name is George" over and over again in a variety of grammatical contexts.
   
   Elephant Song is the sort of song that could lead a man to kill given prolonged exposure. Not sure the point of the lyrics, as some sort of a self-defense mechanism kicks in with songs this band, and Giles reads the lyrics as if it was SUPPOSED to be a joke, despite the fact that the punchlines are utterly inscrutable. Example: "Ah, but we're burning all the artists."
   
   "The Sun is Shining" takes its name from the first line, which ends "but it's raining in my heart". Yes, it's exactly that kind of a ballad, full of exactly that kind of forced sentimentality. Having convincingly shown us that he can't write pop songs, Fripp returns to show off his ineptitude at more advanced forms of composition with the wordless "Suite No. 1", in which he plays "Flight Of The Bumblebee"-derived runs for two minutes then unleashes on us classically-derived instrumental section. To top it all off, he goes back to playing the bumblebee riffs. At this point, we get the surprise of the album. Giles, Giles, and Fripp having shown us by this point that they have no idea how to play rock and roll, they proceed to play a rip-roaring psych jam. The song itself is probably Fripp's best composition on the album proper. After about a minute and a half the band lets loose for a spliced-together series of quintessentially Frippian improvs that to my mind outdoes Fripp's solo spot at the end of "Lizard". Like Fripp's best stuff, it treads that fine line between aimless wankery and avant-garde menace. For some reason some dissonant piano overdubs are added. A satisfying way to end a strange trip of an album...
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5.  Giles, Giles & Fripp:
   
       Robert Fripp: Guitars
   Peter Giles: Bass
6. Michael Giles: Drums
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8. The Saga of Rodney Toady
   
       Northmeadow (Peter Giles) – 2:29
       Newly-weds (Peter Giles) – 2:07
       One in a Million (Michael Giles) – 2:25
       Call Tomorrow (Peter Giles) – 2:31
       Digging My Lawn (Peter Giles) – 1:50
       Little Children (Robert Fripp) – 2:48
       The Crukster (Michael Giles) – 1:35
       Thursday Morning (Michael Giles) – 2:50
   
   Just George
   
       How Do They Know (Michael Giles) – 2:14
       Elephant Song (Michael Giles) – 3:15
       The Sun is Shining (Michael Giles) – 3:06
       Suite No. 1 (Robert Fripp) – 5:33
       Erudite Eyes (Robert Fripp) – 5:05
   
   
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   CONDITION:
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11. The cover: rated: MINT STILL IN ORIGINAL SHRINK WRAP & PROMOTIONAL stamp on back cover , dating as a 54 years past
    
12. super-rarity in this case. 
    
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14. Note: Impossible to find original without the always IF if ever found, shelf wear on front/back cover. Still per front photo = very colorful, no split seams, no bends, no writing and no writing...
15. back cover w/ DERAM promo stamp has slight aging due to 54 years survival.
    

1. The vinyl: Rated: near M- TOP COPY, plays, looks clean ... sharp & clear audio  ... totally clean DERAM labels from 1968 no less!