Following the meltdown of the original
King Crimson lineup,
Ian McDonald and
Michael Giles brought brother
Peter Giles back, which helps to account, in some ways, for the resemblance of this album to the 1968
Giles, Giles & Fripp recordings -- though the songs here tend to go on at some length, combining prog rock's traits of length and multiple sections with some of the lighter feel of the
GG&F days. The 20 minute "Birdman" tends towards self-indulgence, while "People of Tomorrow (The Children of Today)" loses focus halfway and spends the next four minutes being a blithering -- if pretty -- musical idiot. The main attraction is really the performances turned in by
McDonald and the
Giles brothers -- they all sound fabulous, even when waffling musically, while
Michael Giles has a unique drum tone that never has been duplicated (
Giles himself abandoned the sound for his later career in
Jackson Heights and as a session drummer).
Peter Giles returned to the accounting trade, alas, while
Ian McDonald eventually wound up as part of
Foreigner, which is another tale entirely.
–
Steven McDonald, Rovi