Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: McDonald, Ian
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 1999
Rating: 3.5/5
The first solo album from legendary multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald (currently a member of 21 Century Schizoid Band) arrives almost twenty years after his double-platinum days and big commercial success with Foreigner, and exactly thirty years after his unforgettable debut with King Crimson on the immortal “In the Court of the Crimson King” (1969). The album carries the influence of both bands, which is no surprise, since Ian was a central creative (and founding) member of each. At first glance it might seem like an odd mix of styles, given that the two bands sit on almost completely opposite shores of the musical map, but that’s usually exactly where music bears its best fruit. Ian brought in nothing but big names who mean something in prog and AOR rock: Gary Brooker (Procol Harum), Lou Gramm (ex-Foreigner), John Waite (ex-The Babys, ex-Bad English), John Wetton (ex-Family, ex-King Crimson, ex-Uriah Heep, ex-Roxy Music, ex-UK, Asia), Michael Giles (ex-King Crimson), Peter Frampton (ex-Herd, ex-Humble Pie), Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis, ex-GTR) and plenty of others. He’s worked with most of them before, and you can feel it on the record. He’s also teaming up again, for the first time in ages, with his old buddy from the famous “Crimsoid” days, Peter Sinfield (also a lyricist for ELP), who chipped in some ideas and lyrics here and there. According to most King Crimson fans, those two were the key ingredient behind the unforgettable magic of that first album, and once Ian left and set off the first avalanche of changes in the band, they were never the same band again and just kept constantly morphing. Their magic comes alive right at the end of the album. Ian sings most of the vocals himself, and I’d say he’s got a very solid AOR-leaning voice that slightly reminds me of Les Holroyd (Barclay James Harvest). On a few tracks Gramm, Wetton and Brooker jump in to “help out”. What really shines on the album is how successfully Ian blends his rich musical leanings: AOR, progressive rock, hard rock and jazz rock. His influences are spread across the whole record, but he usually gets the best results when he steers toward the art rock direction closest to his heart. The hard rock and AOR material gains depth from his virtuosity on keyboards, flute and saxophone, and from Hackett’s guitar, which dominates most of the album. On the other hand, there are no long progressive epics here, so Ian sails the whole time somewhere in the golden middle between all his influences.
The album opens with the lively, joyful short instrumental “Overture”, which doesn’t remind you of either of those two bands at all. Here Ian shows off his virtuoso keyboard skills for the first time, and you can clearly hear Hackett’s signature guitar too. “In Your Hands” is where Ian’s hard rock/AOR influences first come to the fore, though he keeps sprinkling in his trademark art rock spices, which gives the song extra depth. The main guitar riff even slightly recalls some of the ideas from Canadian art rockers Saga. “You Are a Part of Me” is another great example of melodic rock that, thanks to colorful instrumental bits on guitar and keyboards, never waters down into one of the many similar songs out there. “Sax Fifth Avenue” is, as the name suggests, an instrumental where Ian’s sax takes center stage and excellent sax solos rule. The song wins you over above all with its jazzy, “rainy” melancholy. On the dramatic “Forever and Ever”, John Wetton takes over lead vocals. His extremely melancholic voice fits the symphonic coloring of the song perfectly. Ian’s witty flute solos are great here, and they prove he’s probably one of the most overlooked flautists in rock. This is also the first spot where, mostly thanks to the atmosphere and the vocals, that “Crimson spirit” of the Wetton era from the “Red” (1974) days noticeably comes back to life. The hard rock-flavored “Saturday Night in Tokyo” is a completely different kind of song and, with its wound-up guitar solos and sharpened rhythm, would probably have been a hit in the 80s, even though McDonald’s “angelic” voice isn’t exactly the best fit for it (this is where the main weakness of his vocals first shows). The superb instrumental “Hawaii” features a gorgeous string harp and, with its idyllic mood, really conjures up an image of the Hawaiian shore on an evening night. “Straight Back to You” has Lou Gramm on vocals, yet apart from maybe its first part, it doesn’t sound like a typical Foreigner song. Mostly because of Hackett’s “Crimsoid” riff and Ian’s saxophone. The instrumental section right before the main transition more than noticeably recalls the central riff of the King Crimson song and album “Red” (1974). And Ian’s sax solo reminds me of his work on “One More Red Nightmare” (also from “Red”), where he took part as a guest musician. This isn’t Hackett’s first encounter with King Crimson’s music on this album either, as he and Ian already worked together in the past on Hackett’s live album “The Tokyo Tapes” (1999), where they played both their classics and Genesis classics. “If I Was” is a “power” ballad that feels downright made for Ian’s “angelic” voice, and with its tempo and the sincerity of Ian’s singing it will win over all fans of melodic rock. “Demimonde” is a superb mid-tempo instrumental built on Hackett’s guitar, Ian’s saxophone and backing vocals in the background. The best thing on the album for all King Crimson fans, though, is without a doubt the closing “Let There Be Light”, where that authentic magic from their early days comes alive again, the kind that, according to most fans of their music, only the McDonald/Sinfield duo could conjure. The song has everything that defined early King Crimson: intense symphonic sweep with plenty of mellotron, drama and tension. The only difference is Sinfield’s atypically optimistic lyrics. Brooker’s vocals sit in it perfectly, and Ian probably couldn’t have picked a better singer for this track, except maybe Lake or Wetton. “Let There Be Light” is living, artistic proof that the ancient magic of the McDonald/Sinfield combination still works after all these years and can still summon all the drama of the original King Crimson. This song could easily have landed on their first two albums. In mood it leans hard toward the unforgettable masterpiece “Court of the Crimson King” (In the Court of the Crimson King, 1969) and at times it really sounds like one of their forgotten tracks. I remember that when I first heard it live from 21 Century Schizoid Band (a group made up of former King Crimson members that Ian is part of), I was convinced it was a forgotten, never-released piece by the band. The reasons are mostly Ian’s gorgeous orchestral mellotron arrangements, Brooker’s mysteriously melancholic vocals and Sinfield’s mystical lyrics. And when the album ends with it, Ian leaves us downright hungry for more of the same!
With “Drivers Eyes” Ian has delivered a wonderful surprise and made a complex, varied album that also has enough commercial punch to appeal to those who swear by the melody and direct approach of melodic rock. The album is a fascinating mix of the best elements of symphonic progressive rock and AOR, and it surprises by successfully combining early King Crimson and Foreigner elements, which will delight fans of both bands most of all. That’s why “Drivers Eyes” is first and foremost meant for them. It’ll also please those of you who still happen to remember Ian’s “lost” project “McDonald & Giles” (1971). Some thirty years ago, “Drivers Eyes” could have scored quite a nice commercial success with a few of its songs, back when most loyal King Crimson fans, with the band on a temporary “break”, were longing for anything new connected with their name, since it ranks among the best solo works by any of their former members. And that raises another question: when will Ian release his next album, if “Drivers Eyes” was already this good?
Lineup
Ian McDonald – vocals, woodwinds, keyboards, mellotron, backing vocals
Guest musicians:
Lou Gramm – vocals
John Waite – vocals
John Wetton – vocals and backing vocals
Mitch Weissman – vocals
Ian Lloyd – vocals
Gary Brooker – vocals
Steve Hackett – guitar and harmonica
Hugh McCracken – guitar
Peter Frampton – guitar
G.E. Smith – guitar
Maxwell McDonald – acoustic guitar
Kenny Aaronson – bass guitar
Paul Ossola – bass guitar
Stephen Gosling – piano
Steve Holley – drums and percussion
Michael Giles – drums, percussion and backing vocals
Park Stickney – harp
Dan Coleman – Strings
Keith Underwood – flute
Immanuel Davis – piccolo
Catherine Cho, Louise Owen, Time Summers, Patricia Sunwoo and Eva Burmeister – violins
Daniel Panner and Sheila Browne – violas
Matthew Herren, Alexis Gerlach and Edward Arron – cello
Production
Ian McDonald
Tracklist
1. Overture
2. In Your Hands
3. You Are A Part Of Me
4. Sax Fifth Avenue
5. Forever And Ever
6. Saturday Night In Tokyo
7. Hawaii
8. Straight Back To You
9. If I Was
10. Demimonde
11. Let There Be Light
