Brand X

At what here King Crimson? It is not Brufords project. And talks does not go about the one who the best drummer. They are self-sufficient musicians and both of them cost that would not compare them so rectilinearly It was a question about Brand X.

 

Oh well, if that's what you think (I hope you jest) than you are missing a lot of superb music he's done since, both in Prog and Jazz.

 

Max,

I agree - it's not about who is a better drummer - or rather who is a more imaginative, imtelligent, groundbreaking drummer - "better" is just a shortcut. But since he was the founder of Brand X (some would say leader) it has a lot to do with the band. Although I respect and even like the players in Brand X, I still maintain that the band is simply not on the same level as Bruford's bands. Of course you can think differently.

However I do know all the people involved personally, I have seen them perform countless times and have everything they ever recorded, I'm at least entitles to an opinion?

 

I'll tell him that next time I see him - I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that

 

Do They Hurt.
Morrocon Roll
Product

These are my favs. Great musicians and the best drumming you will hear Phil Collins do. This was the band he could could vent from safe playing with Genesis to getting down to a funk jazz groove.

 

nice avatar - do u do that in photoshop?

 

Being a huge Brand X fan, and what Phil brought to the project notwithstanding, I have found the "best" Phil drumming, for the most part, is out of the context of Brand X records. His work with Raphael Rudd, John Martyn, on Jack Lancaster's "Marscape" (which does feature members of Brand X), Rod Argent, and certain Genesis records offer finer examples of the incomparable Phil. Of course, there are tunes in Brand X, where he is staggering.

 

Brand X has had great moments and weak moments, but Unorthodox Behaviour is not to be missed! Also, regarding the Collins vs. Bruford thing (which seems a bit pointless to begin with), I have to say that Bruford's drumming has never done anything for me. Ever. Technically impressive, I guess, but I feel like the dude just wanks over everything. I've read interviews where he talks about mapping out the beats and how everything has significance, but I just flat out don't hear it in his playing. Collins is probably a bit more meat-and-potatoes, but I think it's more solid all around.

 

I'd have to respectfully disagree, his work in Yes, Crimson, UK, & his solo projects have been pretty solid. Also the tour he did as second drummer w/ Genesis was quite fun!

 

Re the Collins/Bruford drumming thing... I don't think there's a need to say that one is better than the other. Maybe Bruford is "better" by some measurable criteria that drummers could inform us about - he certainly did some amazing things on "Feels Good To Me' (but that was a drummers' group project, whereas Brand X seems like a group project with no particular front man).

As a listener, I'm interested in the total experience of the music they produced - and on that basis, both drummers are/were terrific in the fusion contexts we're talking about. Unless you're a drummer yourself, perhaps comparison of these guys should be done with caution.

It may well be that the abilities of the Brand X members don't measure up to those of Bruford or Jean Luc Ponty (although Percy Jones I think is the standout bassist from all of them). Brand X still made interesting and colourlful music which stands the test of time.

 

Words of wisdom.

 

Glad to see a thread on these guys...great band! I like most of there stuff but for me the holy trinity would be Morrocan Roll, Masques and Product.

 

It I also wished to tell, but the language barrier has not allowed me to express the idea. It is very precisely told.

 

last saturday, i saw billy joel live in oakland. his drummer was chuck burgi, who plays on the masques album.

later, chris

 

Anyone know how the sound of the Japanese mini-lps stacks up to the UK virgins?

 

I think they are not remastered. I compared Unorthodox Behaviour and didn't hear any major difference.

 

I picked up a mint UK LP of Unorthodox Behavior a few months back. It sounds spectacular. It's become a favorite of mine.

 

Best Brand X

Do They Hurt (great cover with the aligator)
Morrocan Roll (one of the best examples of Phil Collins drumming)
LiveStock

All great albums with a close follow up called Product (the most commercial of the BrandX albums IMHO). There is a song call Street Of Soho that is great on Product. The compilation cd is also very good.

 

Same here. In fact, I keep running into them in my travels.

Agreed, a great sounding LP. I had it on only yesterday morning.

Now if I could only find a UK Charisma Moroccan Roll LP, I'd be a very happy man.

Not to fault the US Passport pressings, which are very, very good and usually mastered at Sterling Sound, but the UK Charisma's have a sonic edge to them this is particularly tasty.

later, chris

 

I have the Passport of Moroccan Roll also. It's a very nice LP but I'll keep my eyes open for a UK pressing.

A quick look online and a US seller has a UK Charisma pressing. I've spent way too much this month on music but if you are inclined to buy LP's online this Musicstack seller has a UK pressing. I've purchased from them and can vouch for their quality and conservative rating.
http://www.musicstack.com/item.cgi?item=6373951

 

Saw Brand X live at the Knebworth Genesis festival way back, must be one of the few occasions the same drummer has played in two different bands on the same day! Must admit Brand X impressed far more than Genesis, by then the full laser light show was in vogue. As i recall Brand X came on first and did a fair spread on their catalogue including tracks from IMO their best LP Moroccan Roll. But elevator music??? Discuss

 

WOW! That must have been some show!

 

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/knebworth-festival1978.html

 

It would be a rush to ride on any elevator that had "Running on Three", "Macrocosm" or "Malaga Virgen" playing in it ;-). Maybe the one in the Hancock Tower in Chicago or something at 3 Flags.

Last saw them at the Roxy in LA for the "Product" tour that had Phil back behind the kit. Great show.

Also, Best Liner Notes Ever on "Moroccan Roll". One of them was credited with playing the voltage controlled aluminum bidet and Morris Pert was credited with hitting undiscovered parts of Scotland. The album was mixed at Morgan Studios "where the curtains are drawn but everything else is real". A real hoot!

Review of a 1978 Brand X / Pete Hamill show http://www.pyoing.net/brandx/article2.html

A look at their discography
http://www.pyoing.net/brandx/

Sure, they were not pioneers nor did they advance music in any new direction. They were fun, weird and different.

Trivia question: Who was credited with playing "cellophane" on "Unorthodox Behaviour"

 

A thread on one of my favorite bands... I've recently been transferring all of my Brand X LPs to hi resolution digital. I even have a Rock Around The World radio show LP which features one side of Brand X live at Ronnie Scott's in 76 and sounds fantastic. I've also got the Soho 12" which features a different mix of Soho than what's on the vinyl or CD, although I've yet to see mention of this anywhere. The first bridge section, right before the lyrics come in with "Out on the streets.." is different.

There is also the rare Passport EP issue of "X-Cerpts" which features some edited version of tunes from Livestock and one unissued track, "Genocide of The Straights."

I agree that the UK (or W. German) Charisma pressings sound better to me having compared several to the US Passports. I also have a Japanese Unorthodox Behaviour LP, which is probably the best of all - it's certainly the quietest vinyl.

None of the CDs sound great. I've compared the original Passport Unorthodox Behaviour to the later Charisma/Virgin - they are different masterings, from looking at the waveforms, but sound almost identical. In general, the CDs sound like someone took great sounding 70s recordings and tried to make them sound like 80s recordings. The warmth is gone, and there's an artificial high-mid boost, and a slight lacking of clarity overall.

I noticed Bruford has been mentioned here (I didn't read the entire thread) - some may know that he was an early member of Brand X. There's a good interview with Percy Jones on his website where he talks about the early days of Brand X.

I see Percy all the time - he still plays occasionally in NYC. Just saw him last Friday. He's still got that unique sound.