| The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 13 September 1968 |
| Recorded | 26 February – 18 May 1968 |
| Studio | Decca Studios No. 2, London |
| Genre | Psychedelic pop, jazz rock |
| Length | 37:43 |
| Label | Deram |
| Producer | Wayne Bickerton |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp is a 1968 album from the English band Giles, Giles and Fripp. The music shows a varied mix of psychedelic pop, folk, jazz and classical influences. The songs on each LP side are connected with comedic spoken word pieces, "The Saga of Rodney Toady" and "Just George", which tell stories.
Contents
- Track listing
- Notes
- Personnel
- Giles, Giles & Fripp
- Additional personnel
- Production
- References
- External links
The album had little recognition on first release, but has gained more attention through multiple reissues. According to Robert Fripp the album sold only 500 copies. This information came from his royalty statement, but it seems unlikely that this was the total number sold on initial release. Most copies are stereo, but a rare mono LP was also released in the UK. The original United States and Canadian editions had a different cover from that of the UK version.
There are at least four CD editions: the first was in Japan with no bonus tracks, followed by US and UK releases with bonus tracks compiled from singles and previously unreleased recordings. A later Japanese re-issue in a paper sleeve contained the bonus tracks as well as a bonus paper sleeve reproduction of the US cover. Subsequent editions on Esoteric (UK) and Deram (Japan) followed this format. In 2025, Fripp reissued the album on LP and CD on Discipline Global Mobile, remastered by David Singleton, with the "somewhat dated" spoken word sections removed (but still containing the bonus tracks) as The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp (The Songs). [2]
Also during 1968 the group recorded a series of demos at home, which would be released as The Brondesbury Tapes in 2001. Discipline would also reissue this in 2025 as a 21 song CD, and a 13-song LP entitled A Selection from The Brondesbury Tapes. Following this album Peter Giles was replaced on bass by Greg Lake. Soon after that the band changed their repertoire and renamed themselves King Crimson.
