Così Sid Smith nel ricordare Ian McDonald, scomparso a 75 anni pochi giorni fa: "A gentle, sensitive man and never one to brag or boast about his considerable instrumental abilities or musical achievements he was nevertheless rightly proud of his contributions. I recently asked him about the making of In The Court Of The Crimson King. “One of the things I’ve always done when I’m recording a song is I ask myself, ‘Could I listen to this 500 times?’ So you have to be honest with yourself when you are making a record. All the while in the studio when we were recording the album I was thinking, ‘Will I still want to listen to this in 50 years' time.’ So part of me was thinking 50 years ahead if you like.” The thought that people will still be listening to his music for another 50 years and beyond, is something that would have pleased Ian enormously."