I first came across Ian McDonald who has passed at the age of 75 on an EP of the first 3 Foreigner singles. They were slow to take off here so Atlantic clearly saw a way of getting them going in piling the 3 American hits onto on 7” disc. The first three Foreigner albums were quite a way from the AOR fodder of 4 and the later massive ballad hits. Much of this was due to McDonald whose keyboard fills and saxophone added a layer of complexity to their music not present in the likes of Journey. ‘Long, Long Way from Home is the best of these early songs for me.
As my interest in King Crimson, pre-Discipline is limited so I wasn’t very familiar with his work there, excepting the obvious well known songs, at least at this stage. So, my next catch up with McDonald was on Steve Hackett’s ‘Tokyo Tapes live exploration of Genesis. With John Wetton singing and McDonald adding the occasional Sax part this was a different take on the songs.
The following year, 1999, McDonald’s solo album ‘Drivers Eyes’ appeared. Covering a variety of styles with fiends famous and not so famous this is a genuinely great album that it would be good to see reappraised, even if it takes his passing for that to happen. Seek it out, if you have any interest in well played Classic or Progressive Rock with the occasional Jazz tinge, especially on Sax Fifth Avenue. Wetton, Gary Brooker, and Lou Gramm all sing well on their songs but with aspects from all parts of his career this is definitely McDonald’s show.
The 21st Century Schizoid Band were formed by Crimson alumni from a variety of eras, with future member Jakko Jakszyk on vocals and guitar. I saw them live and the denser arrangements featuring McDonald and his replacement Mel Collins on horns and keyboards gave ne a new understanding of the songs. The best of their live albums for me is their last ‘Pictures of a City – Live in New York’. McDonald’s solo on ‘Starless’ is particularly good.
Last but by no means least there is McDonald and Giles, which is an album I’ve loved since I read about it in Sid Smith’s King Crimson biography. It is probably the great lost King Crimson direction, more pastoral, closer in some ways to Traffic, Steve Winwood appears on one song in fact. “Tomorrow’s People – The Children of Today” is quite wonderful, Michael Giles is a brilliant drummer, you can see why Neil peart liked him, and McDonald’s playing is magical throughout. Another album to pick up on if you haven’t already.
His session work is a long page on Wikipedia, and many are subjects for further investigation. To pick one, Judy Dyble’s Talking with Strangers has two lovely flute solos from him.
