Chords for Ian McDonald Talks About His King Crimson Days
Tempo:
115.85 bpm
Chords used:
Eb
Bb
Gb
A
G
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
The two Giles brothers and Robert Fripp had known each other from Bournemouth in England,
southern town in England, formed Giles, Giles and Fripp, but after a point they wanted to
move on or expand in some way.
In the meantime I had got together with Judy Dybald, we put an ad in Melody Maker and we
got a call from Peter Giles and said why don't you come on over, we've got a little recording
set up and Judy and I went over to meet Giles, Giles and Fripp and we just basically joined
Giles and Fripp, so it became Gigi and F plus 2.
Judy then moved on, so sort of four of us and then Greg came in to replace Peter Giles
on bass and lead vocals and that was basically King Crimson.
I brought my friend Peter Sinfield along who was my writing partner at the time, lyric
writer at the time and he came on board and saw great things for the band and injected
a lot of enthusiasm and ideas for the band and so he's really a fifth member, he's not
a participating musical member but he's very, very important, very important and of course
he wrote the lyrics which is of course essential but his backstage input was also very strong too.
The making of the album In the Courts of the Crimson King, not to get ahead of ourselves
but that was basically, we were sort of learning on the job, I mean we decided to produce it
ourselves and I took a prominent role in that process [Eb] and we just figured it out as
we went along, we only had eight tracks to work with and I think I just took to producing
quite [Bb] naturally actually.
That's really what I probably do best.
[Gb] The others, Mike Giles and Robert had a little more experience in the studio than I had in
the studio because they had [A] recorded Giles, Giles and Pripp even though they didn't produce
them themselves, they had had some professional studio [Eb] experience [G] that was recorded at Decca
[Bb] Studios and that in fact was my very [N] first professional, the first time I walked into
a professional studio and put on headphones and heard what it sounded like because I did
some additional material for Giles, Giles and [Eb] Pripp, they did some, I think I put some
clarinet on one of the songs and this sort of thing.
The improvisations were a very important part of what King Crimson was about.
You don't hear so much as that on the first album but you [N] get, there's a hint of it with
the Moonchild improvisation but live there were definitely two distinct parts of our
show.
You know, one was doing the more arranged material like [Abm] In the Court and Epitaph and
things like that but a large percentage of the material was basically jumping off points
was for improvisations.
For instance the Donovan song Get Thy Bearings was a, [N] you know, it's a great song but we
used it as a sort of a vehicle to just to improvise on.
Some of Mike's so-called drum solos were just hilarious, you know, because he, they were
just non-drum solos and he would just do the silliest stuff, you know, muttering into his
bass drums and all this sort of stuff and it was just, just great and, you know, we
had a lot of fun and we were blowing the audiences away, they'd never heard anything like it.
We felt we could go, you know, you could go anywhere and have the support of the others
or even, you know, in perverse ways we would not support each other just to play games,
you know, just to put each other, you know, out there on the highway just for a little
while and just, you know, I might start an idea and Mike may feel like he doesn't want
to go in that direction so he, but at the same time we, it was even there, you know,
we, it was done knowing that we had implicit trust, absolute trust in the others and it
was fun, it was, we were done with a tremendous amount of humour, I mean, the image of King
Crimson is sort of like a monster's band but it was so much fun, it was just, we were just
having a laugh.
We were fortunate enough to, to get a loan in order to buy amplifiers and drums and things
to rehearse but other than that, you know, we, we were, we were, had to do everything
ourselves and, you know, even, and Pete made, built these little light boxes from plywood
and, and silver, you know, silver paper and all that sort of thing and he would do the
sound also, you know, the gigs and so, yeah, that's, I mean, that's how, that's how it was.
I'm not sure whose, whose idea it was but probably Pete actually, it might be Pete,
the name King Crimson came from, came from the sound and that's hopefully, in a nutshell,
how King Crimson came about.
southern town in England, formed Giles, Giles and Fripp, but after a point they wanted to
move on or expand in some way.
In the meantime I had got together with Judy Dybald, we put an ad in Melody Maker and we
got a call from Peter Giles and said why don't you come on over, we've got a little recording
set up and Judy and I went over to meet Giles, Giles and Fripp and we just basically joined
Giles and Fripp, so it became Gigi and F plus 2.
Judy then moved on, so sort of four of us and then Greg came in to replace Peter Giles
on bass and lead vocals and that was basically King Crimson.
I brought my friend Peter Sinfield along who was my writing partner at the time, lyric
writer at the time and he came on board and saw great things for the band and injected
a lot of enthusiasm and ideas for the band and so he's really a fifth member, he's not
a participating musical member but he's very, very important, very important and of course
he wrote the lyrics which is of course essential but his backstage input was also very strong too.
The making of the album In the Courts of the Crimson King, not to get ahead of ourselves
but that was basically, we were sort of learning on the job, I mean we decided to produce it
ourselves and I took a prominent role in that process [Eb] and we just figured it out as
we went along, we only had eight tracks to work with and I think I just took to producing
quite [Bb] naturally actually.
That's really what I probably do best.
[Gb] The others, Mike Giles and Robert had a little more experience in the studio than I had in
the studio because they had [A] recorded Giles, Giles and Pripp even though they didn't produce
them themselves, they had had some professional studio [Eb] experience [G] that was recorded at Decca
[Bb] Studios and that in fact was my very [N] first professional, the first time I walked into
a professional studio and put on headphones and heard what it sounded like because I did
some additional material for Giles, Giles and [Eb] Pripp, they did some, I think I put some
clarinet on one of the songs and this sort of thing.
The improvisations were a very important part of what King Crimson was about.
You don't hear so much as that on the first album but you [N] get, there's a hint of it with
the Moonchild improvisation but live there were definitely two distinct parts of our
show.
You know, one was doing the more arranged material like [Abm] In the Court and Epitaph and
things like that but a large percentage of the material was basically jumping off points
was for improvisations.
For instance the Donovan song Get Thy Bearings was a, [N] you know, it's a great song but we
used it as a sort of a vehicle to just to improvise on.
Some of Mike's so-called drum solos were just hilarious, you know, because he, they were
just non-drum solos and he would just do the silliest stuff, you know, muttering into his
bass drums and all this sort of stuff and it was just, just great and, you know, we
had a lot of fun and we were blowing the audiences away, they'd never heard anything like it.
We felt we could go, you know, you could go anywhere and have the support of the others
or even, you know, in perverse ways we would not support each other just to play games,
you know, just to put each other, you know, out there on the highway just for a little
while and just, you know, I might start an idea and Mike may feel like he doesn't want
to go in that direction so he, but at the same time we, it was even there, you know,
we, it was done knowing that we had implicit trust, absolute trust in the others and it
was fun, it was, we were done with a tremendous amount of humour, I mean, the image of King
Crimson is sort of like a monster's band but it was so much fun, it was just, we were just
having a laugh.
We were fortunate enough to, to get a loan in order to buy amplifiers and drums and things
to rehearse but other than that, you know, we, we were, we were, had to do everything
ourselves and, you know, even, and Pete made, built these little light boxes from plywood
and, and silver, you know, silver paper and all that sort of thing and he would do the
sound also, you know, the gigs and so, yeah, that's, I mean, that's how, that's how it was.
I'm not sure whose, whose idea it was but probably Pete actually, it might be Pete,
the name King Crimson came from, came from the sound and that's hopefully, in a nutshell,
how King Crimson came about.
Key:
Eb
Bb
Gb
A
G
Eb
Bb
Gb
The two Giles brothers and Robert Fripp had known each other from Bournemouth in England,
southern town in England, _ formed Giles, Giles and Fripp, _ but _ after a point they wanted to
move on or expand in some way.
_ In the meantime I had got together with Judy Dybald, we put an ad in Melody Maker and we
got a call from Peter Giles and said why don't you come on over, we've got a little recording
set up and _ _ _ Judy and I went over to meet Giles, Giles and Fripp and we just basically joined
Giles and Fripp, so it became Gigi and F plus 2. _ _ _
Judy then moved on, so sort of four of us and then _ _ Greg came in to replace Peter Giles
on bass and lead vocals and that _ _ was basically King Crimson.
I brought my friend Peter Sinfield along who was my writing partner at the time, lyric
writer _ _ at the time and he came on board and saw great things for the band and _ _ injected
a lot of enthusiasm and ideas for the band and _ so _ he's really a fifth member, _ he's not
a _ participating musical member but he's very, very important, very important _ and of course
he wrote the lyrics which is of course essential but his backstage input was also very strong too.
The making of the album In the Courts of the Crimson King, not to get ahead of ourselves
but that was basically, we were sort of learning on the job, I mean we decided to produce it
ourselves and I took a prominent role in that _ process _ [Eb] and we just figured it out as
we went along, we only had eight tracks to work with and _ _ _ I think I just took to producing
quite [Bb] naturally actually.
That's really what I probably do best.
[Gb] The others, Mike Giles and Robert had a little more experience in the studio than I had in
the studio because they had [A] _ recorded Giles, Giles and Pripp even though they didn't produce
them themselves, they had had some professional studio _ [Eb] experience _ [G] that was recorded at Decca
[Bb] Studios and _ that in fact was my very [N] first professional, _ _ the first time I walked into
a professional studio and put on headphones and heard what it sounded like because I did
some additional _ material for Giles, Giles and [Eb] Pripp, they did some, I think I put some
clarinet on one of the songs and this sort of thing.
The improvisations were a very important part of what King Crimson was about.
_ _ You don't hear so much as that on the first album but you [N] get, there's a hint of it with
the Moonchild improvisation but live there were definitely two distinct parts of our _
show.
_ You know, one was doing the more arranged material like _ _ [Abm] In the Court and Epitaph and
things like that but a large percentage of the material was basically jumping off points
was for improvisations.
_ _ _ For instance the Donovan song Get Thy Bearings was a, [N] you know, it's a great song but we
used it as a sort of a vehicle to just to _ _ improvise on.
Some of Mike's so-called drum solos were just hilarious, you know, because he, _ they were
just non-drum solos and he would just do the _ silliest stuff, you know, _ _ muttering into his
bass drums and all this sort of stuff and it was just, just great and, _ _ _ you know, we
had a lot of fun and we were blowing the audiences away, they'd never heard anything like it.
We felt we could go, you know, you could go anywhere and have the support of the others
or even, you know, in perverse ways we would not support each other just to play games,
you know, just to put each other, you know, out there on the highway just for a little
while and just, you know, I might start an idea and Mike may feel like he doesn't want
to go in that direction so he, but at the same time we, it was even there, you know,
we, it was done _ knowing that we had implicit trust, _ absolute trust in the others and _ it
was fun, it was, we were done with a tremendous amount of humour, I mean, the image of King
Crimson is sort of like _ a monster's band but it was so much fun, it was just, we were just
having a laugh.
We were fortunate enough to, to _ get a loan in order to buy amplifiers and drums and _ things
to rehearse but other than that, you know, we, we were, we were, _ had to do everything
ourselves and, you know, even, and Pete made, built these little light boxes from plywood
and, and silver, you know, silver paper and all that sort of thing and _ _ he would do the
sound also, you know, the gigs and so, _ _ yeah, that's, I mean, that's how, that's how it was. _ _
I'm not sure whose, whose idea it was but _ probably Pete actually, it might be Pete,
_ the name King Crimson came from, came from the sound and that's hopefully, in a nutshell,
how King Crimson came about.
southern town in England, _ formed Giles, Giles and Fripp, _ but _ after a point they wanted to
move on or expand in some way.
_ In the meantime I had got together with Judy Dybald, we put an ad in Melody Maker and we
got a call from Peter Giles and said why don't you come on over, we've got a little recording
set up and _ _ _ Judy and I went over to meet Giles, Giles and Fripp and we just basically joined
Giles and Fripp, so it became Gigi and F plus 2. _ _ _
Judy then moved on, so sort of four of us and then _ _ Greg came in to replace Peter Giles
on bass and lead vocals and that _ _ was basically King Crimson.
I brought my friend Peter Sinfield along who was my writing partner at the time, lyric
writer _ _ at the time and he came on board and saw great things for the band and _ _ injected
a lot of enthusiasm and ideas for the band and _ so _ he's really a fifth member, _ he's not
a _ participating musical member but he's very, very important, very important _ and of course
he wrote the lyrics which is of course essential but his backstage input was also very strong too.
The making of the album In the Courts of the Crimson King, not to get ahead of ourselves
but that was basically, we were sort of learning on the job, I mean we decided to produce it
ourselves and I took a prominent role in that _ process _ [Eb] and we just figured it out as
we went along, we only had eight tracks to work with and _ _ _ I think I just took to producing
quite [Bb] naturally actually.
That's really what I probably do best.
[Gb] The others, Mike Giles and Robert had a little more experience in the studio than I had in
the studio because they had [A] _ recorded Giles, Giles and Pripp even though they didn't produce
them themselves, they had had some professional studio _ [Eb] experience _ [G] that was recorded at Decca
[Bb] Studios and _ that in fact was my very [N] first professional, _ _ the first time I walked into
a professional studio and put on headphones and heard what it sounded like because I did
some additional _ material for Giles, Giles and [Eb] Pripp, they did some, I think I put some
clarinet on one of the songs and this sort of thing.
The improvisations were a very important part of what King Crimson was about.
_ _ You don't hear so much as that on the first album but you [N] get, there's a hint of it with
the Moonchild improvisation but live there were definitely two distinct parts of our _
show.
_ You know, one was doing the more arranged material like _ _ [Abm] In the Court and Epitaph and
things like that but a large percentage of the material was basically jumping off points
was for improvisations.
_ _ _ For instance the Donovan song Get Thy Bearings was a, [N] you know, it's a great song but we
used it as a sort of a vehicle to just to _ _ improvise on.
Some of Mike's so-called drum solos were just hilarious, you know, because he, _ they were
just non-drum solos and he would just do the _ silliest stuff, you know, _ _ muttering into his
bass drums and all this sort of stuff and it was just, just great and, _ _ _ you know, we
had a lot of fun and we were blowing the audiences away, they'd never heard anything like it.
We felt we could go, you know, you could go anywhere and have the support of the others
or even, you know, in perverse ways we would not support each other just to play games,
you know, just to put each other, you know, out there on the highway just for a little
while and just, you know, I might start an idea and Mike may feel like he doesn't want
to go in that direction so he, but at the same time we, it was even there, you know,
we, it was done _ knowing that we had implicit trust, _ absolute trust in the others and _ it
was fun, it was, we were done with a tremendous amount of humour, I mean, the image of King
Crimson is sort of like _ a monster's band but it was so much fun, it was just, we were just
having a laugh.
We were fortunate enough to, to _ get a loan in order to buy amplifiers and drums and _ things
to rehearse but other than that, you know, we, we were, we were, _ had to do everything
ourselves and, you know, even, and Pete made, built these little light boxes from plywood
and, and silver, you know, silver paper and all that sort of thing and _ _ he would do the
sound also, you know, the gigs and so, _ _ yeah, that's, I mean, that's how, that's how it was. _ _
I'm not sure whose, whose idea it was but _ probably Pete actually, it might be Pete,
_ the name King Crimson came from, came from the sound and that's hopefully, in a nutshell,
how King Crimson came about.