Drivers Eyes is the first and only solo album by former King Crimson and Foreigner member Ian McDonald. It features contributions from

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

, Ian Lloyd, Gary Brooker, Steve Hackett and Hugh McCracken and King Crimson alumni,

Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1969. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...

and

John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and p ...

Overview

The album appears nearly 20 years after his double-platinum days with Foreigner and practically 30 years to the day after his debut with King Crimson. The record contains the influences of both bands, which isn't surprising since McDonald was a central creative force in both. McDonald is backed by most of the people that he had been a sideman for and also been sidemen and band members with. The album features McDonald on guitars, keyboards, synthesizers and woodwinds on various tracks. He also sings lead vocals on 3 of the 11 tracks with 3 tracks being instrumental and the other 5 tracks being handled by various singers Including

, Gary Brooker and former Foreigner bandmate, Lou Gramm. The album's overall sound benefitted from guest singers as "his vocals lack some range and power, probably more ideally suited to backing vocals than lead singing." His instrumental ability on synthesizers and saxophone is well complemented by various guitarists including former Saturday Night Live guitarist,

G. E. Smith George Edward Smith (''né'' Haddad; born January 27, 1952) is an American guitarist. Smith was the lead guitarist for the duo Hall & Oates during the band's heyday from 1979 to 1985, playing on five number one singles. After Hall & Oates went i ...

(who is also based in New York) and ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett (who McDonald had performed with as a sideman with on his live album '' The Tokyo Tapes'' and

Genesis Revisited ''Genesis Revisited'', called ''Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited'' in the US, is the 12th studio album by Steve Hackett, paying tribute to his former band, Genesis. It mainly features songs originally released by Genesis during Hackett's ...

project). The final track was co-written by his former writing partner in King Crimson, Peter Sinfield.

Track listing

per AllMusic and Discogs

Personnel

Musicians

* Ian McDonald –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

(1, 5, 11), alto sax (4, 8, 10),

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

(11),

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(1, 3, 4, 5), guitars (2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10),

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(10),

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

(3, 4, 10), piano (5, 7, 9),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

(10),

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

(all but 6), string arrangements and

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

(11), percussion (3, 10), vocals (2, 6, 9, 10), backing vocals (5) * G.E Smith – lead guitar (2, 3, 6) * Hugh McCracken – lead guitar (4) * Steve Hackett –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(3), lead guitar (8) *

– lead guitar (9) * Stephen Gosling – piano (2) * Park Stickney –

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

(7) * Immanuel Davis and Keith Underwood – flute and

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

(11) * Paul Ossola –

(1, 4) *

Kenny Aaronson Kenny Aaronson (born April 14, 1952 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American bass guitar player. He has recorded or performed with several notable artists such as Bob Dylan, Rick Derringer, Billy Idol, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Foghat, Sammy ...

– bass (all but 1, 4 and 10) *

Steve Holley Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1954) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album ''Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian Hu ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(all but 10), percussion (1, 3, 4, 9) *

– drums, percussion and vocals (10)

Production

* Dan Coleman – string arrangements (1, 3, 6, 9, 11) * Harry Pearce – design * Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound * Dominick Maita – mixing at RPM Studios * Ian McDonald – production and mixing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drivers Eyes (Ian McDonald album) 1999 albums