The Gonzo Daily: BRAND X: Belgium review (translated)

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

BRAND X: Belgium review (translated)

BRAND X - Is there anything about?/ Published on 21-01-2014 /

In 1980, Brand X comes slowly to the end of his adventure. The band broke up but he still has an album to his label. How to avoid a lawsuit if the deceased jazz fusion combo does not fulfill its contractual obligations? The solution is simple :scrape all drawer bottoms to find pieces left out in previous recordings. Thorough search of what may remain unheard in the work of Brand X eventually give only meager booty: four pieces from the era of"Product" (1979).

Going to have to do with and is the keyboardist Robin Lumley who manages to climb this to six parts separating longer tracks to make independent pieces. We are really here in the economy but cutting corners Brand X happens to publish under his name one last album called "Is there anything about?" in September 1982. We imagine that album pieces left behind in the past will not shine by his genius. It is a bit like some DVDs, where we are offered a bonus cut scenes of a film. Most of the time, these scenes have no interest, it is why they have been excluded from the mount. Fortunately here in the case of this "Is there anything about?" , we are dealing with something even acceptable. enthusiasts Brand X who swear by the first album "Unorthodox behavior" (1976), " Moroccan roll " (1977) or "Masks" (1978) will tend to pull your hair listening to this latest album from the classical period of the group (Brand X will reform in the 90s around its founders John Goodsall and Percy Jones ).

But it would be harsh on this disc, while it is nowhere near the genius of the early works, however, offers beautiful dancing or technical passages.bassist Percy Jones is not mentioned on the package. In fact, the bass is held here by John Giblin , a studio musician throughout CV as the arm of a gorilla quartered.

The man has participated in multiple albums (Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Al Green, Everly Brothers, Gerry Rafferty, Simple Minds, Richard Ashcroft, Phil Collins, etc..) And therefore it has nothing to envy to the great Percy Jones , usual bassist Brand X. But this is when it plays the bass ( "Is there anything about?" ) we immediately feel the difference. This piece which gives its title to the album is by far the best of this selection. It is the historic line-up of Brand X who plays above, namely Robin Lumley, John Goodsall, Percy Jones and Phil Collins . This song is also the longest album (nearly eight minutes, an ideal format that allows the group to fully develop its potential.) In conclusion, this "Is there anything about?" is not the album which must begin to discover Brand X. But if you listen to this album before listening to the early works of the group, it will be even more convinced of the excellence of Brand X when it comes to addressing the albums 1976-1978.

François Becquart