Swan song (Brand X) (LP 928)

Brand X  Is There Anything About?  (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1982) **  

Genre: Jazz fusion 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Is There Anything About?

Gear costume: Ipanaemia 

Active compensatory factors: Definitely a swan song - Phil Collins and Robin Lumley (keyboards) both jumped ship after this album.

There's not a lot to get excited about on this one. The title track is far and away the best one. The rest is either cobbled together from old sessions or, in the case of the very last track, a 'song' taken from a cassette that captured the band rehearsing/ improvising. It's as bad as that sounds.

Unfortunately, given the eighties, it has rather too much synth noodling on it for my liking. Instead, go back to that title track and hear what was possible when they got their act together and inspired each other.

Where do they all belong? I love this genre and I'm always looking to add to it, hence a bit of a catch up over the last few Goo Goo posts. Next up when I return to this genre, unless I buy something before it alphabetically, it's back to Jan Hammer.

Nuclear burn (Brand X) (LP 598 - 603)

Brand X Unorthodox Behaviour (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1976) ***

Brand X Moroccan Roll (Vinyl, Charisma, 1977) ***

Brand X Livestock (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1977) ****

Brand X Masques (Vinyl, Charisma, 1978) ***

Brand X Product (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1979) ***

Brand X Do They Hurt? (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1980) ***

Genre: Progressive rock (some may say jazz fusion has some claims as well but the Phil Collins presence lends me to prefer prog rock, as well as the Hignosis inspired covers) 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records/ Vinyl Countdown

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Running on Three (Unorthodox Behaviour)

Gear costume: Rhesus Perplexus (Product); Isis Mourning i), ii) (Livestock); Macrocosm (Moroccan Roll)

Active compensatory factors: Only Product features the distinctive vocals of Phil Collins, apart from that he's the (occasional) drummer in Brand X, and the songs are all largely instrumental prog work-outs with some brilliant musicians.

Given the high rotation through various members and supporting musicians, the quality remains surprising high throughout each of these albums (released on Charisma in the UK and Passport Records in the USA). 

Phil Collins pops up on most of these albums, apart from Masques but that's not very noticeable given Chuck Burgi's excellent drumming on that album.

Product is probably the one that deviates most from the Brand X brand, in that it contains a large number of actual songs with actual vocals by Phil Collins. That makes it the most commercial album amongst this lot. Given it's release date of 1980, it also makes it the one that leans most heavily on post punk sensibilities. 

That, plus the fact it features two bassists, makes it the most eclectic album here.

Do They Hurt? is made up of vocal-less outtakes from the Product sessions and is actually the more cohesive of the two albums.

Where do they all belong? That's my current Brand X collection in one swoop. There's one more Collins/Brand X album for me to find - Is There Anything About? - a further album of Product outtakes. And then there are two more without Collins: X-Communication and Manifest Destiny.