Active from 1975-1980, Brand X was another one of those bands who were beloved by other musicians, and the more discerning critics, but despite everything never had the commercial success they deserved. The band released several critically acclaimed albums on the Charisma label in the UK and Passport label in the US, including Unorthodox Behaviour, Moroccan Roll, Livestock and Product. Now much to the excitement of Brand X fans and fusion music fans worldwide, Gonzo Multimedia is releasing 3 rare Brand X titles on CD (Missing Period, Live at The Roxy LA 1979, Is There Anything About?), as well as bassist Percy Jones' hard to find solo offering from 1989 Cape Catastrophe.
Missing Period: This album represents the earliest known recordings of Brand X circa 1975-76. Recorded shortly before the group's debut album Unorthodox Behaviour, the source tapes for this material were recently recovered by John Goodsall from family members in England, who presented John with a box containing all sorts of Brand X memorabilia. At the bottom of the box were some old reels of tape of unknown origin. Upon review John and Percy realized that they had uncovered a long lost treasure – excellent quality recordings of Brand X's classic lineup performing previously unreleased material. This documents a period of the band's history which has been missing for over 20 years.
To purchase Missing Period CD.
Live at The Roxy LA 1979: Recorded at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, September 23, 1979 shortly after the release of Product. This is a previously unreleased soundboard recording of Brand X captured live at the peak of the band's career.
To Purchase Live at The Roxy LA 1979
Is There Anything About?: Not long after Brand X released their 1980 album Do They Hurt?, the band members went their separate ways (until their comeback in 1992 which only featured Goodsall and Jones). However, they still owed their record label one more album. The solution? Release a rarities album! The problem was that there was very little unreleased material in the vaults – about three or four tracks at the most. But with a little doctoring and remixing of tapes, keyboardist Robin Lumley extended that number to six tracks and the label released Brand X's appropriately-titled collection Is There Anything About? in 1982.
To purchase Is There Anything About?
Cape Catastrophe: Several years after the release of Brand X's final album, bassist Percy Jones moved to New York City and began infiltrating the music scene there. He recorded Cape Catastrophe in 1988/89 at a studio in East Harlem. Using an array of hardware and instruments available at the time, including a Casio synthesizer, Roland sequencer. Yamaha drum machine and Korg digital delay, Percy recorded a several tracks ranging in length from 2-and-a half minute to 23minutes.
To purchase Cape Catastrophe
Says music writer Dave Lynch, “There is certainly a lot here for electric bass-aholics to enjoy: Jones' burbles, pops, and plonks are all here, and his tone on sustained notes is rich with harmonic overtones as expected. But the music through which the bass slips and slides is often more like twisted instrumental techno-funk than fusion, along with ominous electronic textures that sometimes sound like an ethereal chorus or gruff, agitated shouts distorted beyond recognition.” Gonzo Magazine's Jon Downes adds, “Jones composed everything on the album himself, except for the closing number. The album is a peculiar, though satisfying mix of jazz fusion and electronica, and is another one of those classic albums that slipped through the cracks at the time, which is just unfair.”
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