He was an accomplished instrumentalist and composer, who played keyboards, guitars, drums, bass and cellos, as well as singing vocals. His talents also extended to producer. He toured with Eddie Money before winning the Yamaha songwriting competition with his progressive rock group Giraffe. Producer Patrick Leonard was impressed with Gilbert's performance at the competition and invited him to join him in forming a new band which became Toy Matinee. During this time, Gilbert worked on the projects of several established pop musicians, including Madonna, Michael Jackson and produced Keith Emerson's album Changing States.
The lone Toy Matinee album was released in 1990 but effectively shelved by the record company, so Gilbert assembled a new backing band to promote the album, eventually getting two successful singles released: "The Ballad of Jenny Ledge" and "Last Plane Out".
Later, Gilbert was part of a songwriting collective (called "The Tuesday Music Club") that met at producer Bill Bottrell's studio in Pasadena, California. After he began bringing his then girlfriend Sheryl Crow to the sessions, the result was Crow's debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club. Gilbert co-wrote many of the songs on that album, including 1995 Grammy Record of the Year "All I Wanna Do." Crow later acrimoniously split with most of the musicians in the collective and only Bottrell was involved in her follow-up album. Meanwhile the remainder of the collective worked with singer-songwriters Susanna Hoffs and Linda Perry on two more albums.
Gilbert continued to work in television and movie soundtrack work as well as studio work and producing and eventually released his first solo album Thud(1995) as well as partially reforming Giraffe to perform the Genesis masterpiece "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" at Progfest 94. Gilbert's manager sent a copy of the recording to Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford who were searching for a new Genesis front man to replace Phil Collins. His manager was coming to Gilbert's home to tell him that he had managed to get him an audition when he discovered him dead.
Gilbert's second solo album, The Shaming of the True was released posthumously. The album was largely incomplete, but Gilbert's estate asked Spock's Beard drummer Nick D'Virgilio to complete it based on the extant tapes and Gilbert's notes. A live album (composed mostly of songs from Thud), and a compilation of Giraffe material that Gilbert had been working on and an "industrial" album with Gilbert's latest group, Kaviar have also been released in the years since his death. His estate has promised two more posthumous studio albums and a live performance from Gilbert's promotional group for Toy Matinee.
Discography:
N.R.G. - No Reasons Given (1984)
Giraffe - The Power Of Suggestion (1987)
Giraffe - The View From Here (1989)
Toy Matinee - Toy Matinee (1990; remastered & rereleased 2001)
Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club (1993)
Kevin Gilbert - Thud (1995)
Giraffe - Giraffe (1999)
Kevin Gilbert & Thud - Live at the Troubadour (1999)
Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming of the True (2000)
Kaviar - The Kaviar Sessions (2002)
Kevin Gilbert - Nuts (2009)
Kevin Gilbert - Bolts (2009)
Kevin Gilbert - Performs Toy Matinee Live (2010)
Kevin Gilbert - Toy Matinee Acoustic Rehearsal (2014)
The Best Laid Plans
Kevin Gilbert Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And hurls it at the crowd
To the sound of a maniacal calliope
And Leo the Lion reclines on the throne
He had built by the boys in the band
And the crown upon his head reads "By the Queen's decree"
Luck knows no justice at all
Everyone's a self made man,
There before the thing began
Making such a circus of the best laid plans
Everyone's responsible, empty words and purses full
Making such a circus of the best laid plans
The best laid plans
The best laid plans
Hey, the best laid plans
The clowns arrive in a pirate ship
And pose before the crowd
Hilarious remarks and inactivity
They throw the dog faced boy a bone
Command him to play dead
For the Hollywood and Hollywood infirmary
For the standard fee (repeat after me)
Luck knows no justice at all
Everyone was paid their fee
I made you and you made me
And we made such a circus of the best laid plans
Everyone's responsible, empty words and purses full
Making such a circus --
The circus of the best laid plans
You can tell a big man by the company he fleeces
Step right on up here son see how your wealth increases
Get your cross of iron, get your thirty silver pieces
Hey! Best laid plans
Best laid... best laid plans
Here's Dr. Dogma's smug prescriptions
Placebo cures of all descriptions
Shucking and jiving for the circus of the best laid plans
I wish I might, I wish I may
You've ruined my August and it's only May
I'm off to join the circus, Dad
Of the best laid plans
Everyone's a self-made man
And there before the thing began
Making such a circus of the best laid plans
Everyone's responsible
Empty words and purses full
Making such a circus
Of the best laid, the best laid plans
Everyone was paid their fee
I made you, and you made me
(Best laid plans)
Best laid -- hey!
Everyone can fill their nose
Everyone can strike their pose
Welcome to the circus
The circus of the best laid plans -- hey hey!
Everyone's a self-made man
There before the thing began
No, no, no
The circus of the best laid plans
Everyone's responsible
Empty words and purses full.......
"The Best Laid Plans" is a song by Kevin Gilbert, released in 1994. The lyrics can be interpreted as a critique of the entertainment industry and capitalism, as well as the fallibility of human plans. The first verse describes a shepherd raising his staff and hurling it at the crowd, demonstrating a lack of control and the unpredictability of human behavior. Leo the Lion, who sits on a throne built by the boys in the band, wears a crown that reads "By the Queen's decree," symbolizing the arbitrary nature of power and authority.
The chorus repeats the phrase "making such a circus of the best laid plans," which reflects the idea that even the most carefully crafted plans can become chaotic and unpredictable when put into action. The clowns arriving on a pirate ship and posing before the crowd demonstrate the superficiality of entertainment and the way it can distract people from the reality of their lives. The reference to the dog faced boy being commanded to play dead for the Hollywood infirmary suggests that the industry treats people as objects to be used for entertainment and discard when no longer useful.
Overall, the lyrics suggest that human plans are fallible and can be easily derailed by the unpredictable nature of reality. The entertainment industry, in particular, is portrayed as a shallow and exploitative environment that perpetuates a cycle of empty words and full purses.
Line by Line Meaning
The Shepherd raises up his staff
The one who guides us (God) is upset
And hurls it at the crowd
He expresses his anger and throws it at the people
To the sound of a maniacal calliope
With the music of insanity playing in the background
And Leo the Lion reclines on the throne
The king of the jungle is sitting on his throne
He had built by the boys in the band
Built by his followers
And the crown upon his head reads 'By the Queen's decree'
He is the king by the queen's order
Do we all agree
Is everyone on the same page
Luck knows no justice at all
Fortune doesn't play fair
Everyone's a self made man,
Everyone is responsible for their own fate
There before the thing began
From the very beginning
Making such a circus of the best laid plans
Our carefully made plans become a big show
Everyone's responsible, empty words and purses full
We are all accountable, with deep pockets and meaningless words
The clowns arrive in a pirate ship
The funny people come on a pirate ship
And pose before the crowd
And show off in front of everyone
Hilarious remarks and inactivity
Making silly jokes and being lazy
They throw the dog faced boy a bone
They toss a bone to the weird one
Command him to play dead
Telling him to pretend he is dead
For the Hollywood and Hollywood infirmary
For the entertainment industry and the fake hospital in Hollywood
For the standard fee (repeat after me)
For the usual price, as we all know
You can tell a big man by the company he fleeces
You can judge a person by the people they cheat
Step right on up here son see how your wealth increases
Come here and watch your money grow
Get your cross of iron, get your thirty silver pieces
Get your burden and payment for betraying someone
Here's Dr. Dogma's smug prescriptions
Here are the arrogant expert's recommendations
Placebo cures of all descriptions
Fake treatments of every kind
Shucking and jiving for the circus of the best laid plans
Playing along with the show of our well-thought-out ideas
I wish I might, I wish I may
I hope and pray
You've ruined my August and it's only May
You messed up my future plans early on
I'm off to join the circus, Dad
I'm going to be part of this circus, dad
Everyone can fill their nose
Everyone can indulge in their vices
Everyone can strike their pose
Everyone can put on their show
Welcome to the circus, the circus of the best laid plans -- hey hey!
Welcome to the grand spectacle of our carefully planned ideas
Everyone's a self-made man
Everyone is responsible for their own fate
No, no, no
But it's not true
The circus of the best laid plans
Our well thought out ideas, turned into a circus
Empty words and purses full......
Talking the talk, but unable to put our money where our mouth is
Contributed by Jackson O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Chris Piccirillo
Absolutely epic and iconic album. Not a wasted second on the entire disc. This song especially does that magic mix that kevin always had - pop sensibilities with crazy hooks and singable melodies and out of this world musicianship and top notch lyrics. This is a desert island disc for sure.
WannabeHasBeen1
Oh my Gaaaahddd! What a freakin' incredible and priceless piece of audible art!
Dammit Kevin, you were so gifted... I'm still pissed off at you for leaving us too soon but I (and a hundred million screaming fans) will always be grateful for the volumes of music you left for us to enjoy. We only wish you had stayed around longer to give us more. I guess that's being pretty selfish. I hope you've found the peace that always eluded you in life.
Bela Lugrisi
One of my favorites! Kevin sure did study the amazing production of Gus Dudgeon on the early Elton John albums! Thanks for posting!!
Love you, Kevin, RIP❣
Larry Baltz
It's always great to see Kevin's legacy preserved on YT and the KG website!
MrZimpoppel
Legend ! The Shaming Of The True is one of the very best records I've heard in my whole life ! I'm 61, btw...
Michael Cave
What an absolute and utter treat to wake up to this absolute gem, what a fucking song this is, true genius at work here, lyricist, multi instrumentalist, singer, producer, this boy had the lot, what an absolute crying shame we lost him so young, Kevin is the one musician I always think ‘what if’…imagine the body of work he would have gone on to release, he would have been such a prolific song writer, even now I feel sad that he left us so young…if you haven’t already, listen to ‘we always come home’ Toy Matinee and ‘there was a little boy’ again by Toy Matinee, also ‘holding on with both hands’ Giraffe, true music that moves you…god bless you Kevin ❤
David Short
In my not very humble opinion, the most important but also the most varied, at times most beautiful, kick ass album ever put together.
Ray Schumacher
How hasn't anyone written/performed a show to tune/story of this album yet!!?
manifestgtr
I remember showing my college girlfriend this album back in the early 2000s…her first observation was “this dude’s got issues” lol. I was like “YES EXACTLY”…so did Pink from The Wall, Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain…hell, even Mozart. “Having issues” is, unfortunately, a huge part of producing meaningful art sometimes.
EDIT: by the way…this new remaster sounds great. I’m usually not a huge fan of remasters but this stays 100% true to Kevin and Nick’s source material, imo.
Kevin Collins
Always felt this was like a long lost song from The Who.