The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles & Fripp (The Songs) (LP)

The year 1967 is rightly remembered for an abundance of classical albums, but there were also quieter debut LPs that signaled the impending shift in popular music towards a more rock-oriented, music-centric approach. It was also the year that Robert Fripp applied for a job advertised by brothers Peter and Michael Giles as "singing organist", despite having no experience as either a singer or organist. Despite some challenges and disappointments, the year was an exciting one for the trio, who recorded a series of demo tapes that eventually landed them a recording contract with Decca Records. 1968 saw the release of the album "The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles & Fripp", which contained a mixture of folk and psychedelic pop with Goon-esque humor - a slightly confusing cocktail of seriousness and comedy, but nonetheless an album of beautiful harmonies and fine guitar playing. Despite its lack of commercial success, the album has been reissued several times - but never in an edition that focuses solely on the songs. For this updated 2025 edition, the somewhat dated spoken word and humorous interludes have been removed, allowing the songs to flow as an album and revealing it as a charming, sometimes whimsical example of late British psychedelic music.