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The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp

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The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp was the first of only two albums from the 1960s psychedelic rock group Giles, Giles and Fripp.

The album is divided into two parts, "The Saga of Rodney Toady" and "Just George". The names of the parts came from the titles of spoken word pieces recited by members of the band and spread out, so that they link the musical works on the A and B sides. Though two-thirds of the band would later form King Crimson, the album, arguably, does not represent the traditional progressive rock style. Rather, it is a mix of various styles (folk, classical, pop, psychedelic rock and religious music).

The original U.S. LP version released in 1968 has a completely different cover than the UK version. The album has been released on CD at least 4 times. First in Japan with no bonus tracks, then on Deram in the U.S. and UK with bonus tracks compiled from singles and previously unreleased recordings. A later Japanese re-issue in a paper sleeve contained the bonus tracks and also a bonus paper sleeve reproduction of the U.S. alternative cover. The most recent CD version released by Eclectic Discs has the same bonus tracks as the Deram CD.

According to Robert Fripp the album sold only 500 copies. This information came from his royalty statement, but it is very unlikely that this was the total number of original copies sold. Also during 1968 the group recorded what would become The Brondesbury Tapes at their home demo studio, which would not be released until 2001. Peter Giles was replaced on bass by Greg Lake soon after and the band renamed themselves King Crimson, making The Cheerful Insanity... the only album released by the band during its existence.

Track listing

The Saga of Rodney Toady (Robert Fripp)

  1. Northmeadow (Peter Giles) – 2:29
  2. Newly-weds (Peter Giles) – 2:07
  3. One in a Million (Michael Giles) – 2:25
  4. Call Tomorrow (Peter Giles) – 2:31
  5. Digging My Lawn (Peter Giles) – 1:50
  6. Little Children (Robert Fripp) – 2:48
  7. The Crukster (Michael Giles) – 1:35
  8. Thursday Morning (Michael Giles) – 2:50

Just George (Michael Giles)

  1. How Do They Know (Michael Giles) – 2:14
  2. Elephant Song (Michael Giles) – 3:15
  3. The Sun is Shining (Michael Giles) – 3:06
  4. Suite No. 1 (Robert Fripp) – 5:33
  5. Erudite Eyes (Robert Fripp) – 5:05

Production

  • Produced By Wayne Bickerton
  • Engineers: Terry Johnson, Bill Price, Martin Smith
  • Re-Mastering: Anthony Hawkins

Personnel

Giles, Giles & Fripp

Additional Personnel

  • Ted Barker, Cliff Hardy: Trombone
  • R. Cohen, G. Fields, K. Isaccs, B. Pecker, W. Reid, G. Salisbury: Violin
  • John Coulling, Rebecca Patten: Viola
  • A. Ford, Charles Tunnell: Cello
  • Ivor Raymonde: String Arrangements
  • "The Breakaways": Backing Vocals
  • Mike Hill, Nicky Hopkins: Keyboards
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