Customer Reviews

Moroccan Roll

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There was a point in Phil Collins' career where he was getting increasingly unhappy with the press who seemed more interested on the costumes Peter Gabriel wore than the actual music of Genesis. He almost left Genesis because of that reason (but instead it was Gabriel who left). So Collins went and formed Brand X, with keyboardist Robin Lumley, bassist Percy Jones, and guitarist John Goodsall. Brand X totally avoided the theatrics of Genesis and went for largely instrumental progressive fusion. Unorthodox Behavior was that first album, as excellent as that album was, an even better album was to be released the following year (1977), that is Moroccan Roll. It was only released three months after Wind & Wuthering, so Phil Collins was an awfully busy guy at that point. The album starts with "Sun in the Night", it's the only vocal track on this album. It has an Indian feel to it complete with sitar and Phil Collins singing in Sanskrit, and you know right away this is something you wouldn't mistake for Genesis. This song is actually pretty untypical for Brand X as well. The next song, "Why Should I Lend You Mine" falls more in to the progressive fusion Brand X is known for. Lots of great fretless bass from Percy Jones, great electric piano and Mini Moog from Lumley. The music mellows out quite a bit for the next few minutes before fading out. The next piece is a wonderful piano piece "...Maybe I'll Lend You Mine After All". This is the first time Phil Collins played piano (something he wouldn't do until he embarked on his solo career in the 1980s). It's an incredible piece. The next piece is "Hate Zone" where the band is more aggressive and funky. The rest of the album is the same excellent quality, and if you like progressive fusion, this album is a must.

Fun, dynamic, inventive and slightly wacky, this is everything a fusion album should be. Despite the prominent presence of Phil Collins this is nothing Genesis had ever dreamed of (and naturally, nothing any Genesis fan should expect to sound like them). I'm not sure I'd call him the leader either, as there are plenty of contributions from all corners. This album covers the whole dynamic range, from slow searching - not the same thing as noodling, mind you - to passages of wild sizzling chemistry and everything in between.

Collins's "Lend You Mine" pair explores some tasty atmospherics amid some of the weirdest free-jazz freakouts you'll ever hear. The opener "Sun in the Night" is delivered with flavors of the East all over, while elsewhere "Malaga Virgen," "Hate Zone" and "Disco Suicide" (I give them good points for that title alone - Zappa, eat yer heart out) burn with enough adrenaline to short-circuit your stereo if you're not careful. The high-octane "Macrocosm" is a small supernova by itself. Every musician shines, filling the songs with little tricks all over the place; single out anyone's single part in any song and you'll find no shortage of fascinating quirks to pay attention to. And yet the whole never quite sounds disjointed or unlistenable; even when they're ranging all over, they never step out of line with each other.

Even with some dated elements, e.g. the Moog sounds that were unavoidable at this point in the 70s, the level of burning energy and fierce creativity at work keeps Moroccan Roll from ever getting stale. I can't imagine any fans of electric fusion a-la the Mahavishnu Orchestra being disappointed with this disc, and anyone with a taste for the offbeat in their instrumental virtuosity will have a field day with this one. Go. Buy. This gem should never be as overlooked as it is.

An all-time personal favorite of mine, Brand X's second album, 1977's "Moroccan Roll," is the group's masterpiece. The album is absolutely exhilarating, an outstanding progressive jazz/rock fusion blend. The band---guitarist John Goodsall, bassist Percy Jones, keyboardist Robin Lumley, drummer Phil Collins (yes, THAT Phil Collins), and percussionist Morris Pert have never been better than on this album. "Sun In The Night" is a great Arabic-tinged piece, featuring Collins singing in Sanskrit language. Phil also contributes the world-class, slow & steady atmospheric piece, "Why Should I Lend You Mine," and the haunting follow-up, "Maybe I'll Lend You Mine after All," in which he also sings excellent, wordless vocals (which he does once more on "Disco Suicide"). Many other stand-outs follow, including *explosive* rockers like "Hate Zone," "Disco Suicide," "Malaga Virgen," and the closing "Macrocosm," which ends perfectly with---what else---an explosion. The band's musicianship is nothing short of stunning, the music simply phenomenal. Brand X's "Moroccan Roll" is an outstanding album, and the group's finest achievement. Progressive jazz/rock fusion doesn't get any better than this!

I got this album maybe 1 year after it was originally released on LP, back in '77 or '78. I think it was the very first Brand X album I got (either this one or their debut, "Unorthodox Behaviour"), and I got it because I was a huge fan of Phil Collin's drumming.

After all these years, I can consistently say this record is one of my top 5 favorites (of all genres) of all time. It's just phenomenal. It has ALL the instrumental elements that I crave: some of Collin's best, relentless drumming ever, Percy Jone's fantastic fretless work (whose abilities seem to have been overshadowed by Jaco's, since they both seemed to arrive on the scene around the same time -- of course, Jaco was a madman, but Percy rates right along with him!), Goodsall's fluid picking styles, and Robin Lumley's tremendous keyboard work on his arsenal of instruments contemporary for the time (Rhodes, Arp, Mini-Moog, Acoustic Piano, etc.) Morris Pert's expanded role as percussionist was certainly welcome, as well.

These guys can all play, but what stands out about Brand X above all their contemporary Fusion peers (Mahavishnu Orchestra, RTF, Ponty) is the sense of humor that seems to run through all their music. You can clearly pick up on the Monty Python influence when you read the liner notes (hell, Michael Palin actually WROTE the liner notes for "Do They Hurt"!), but it's actually there in the music, too -- check it out. (I ALMOST lumped Weather Report in with those other guys, but Zawinul definitely had a little bit of humor in his playing, as well.)

All 4 of the original guys contribute individually-written tunes (although something tells me that Collin's 2 segueing tracks were more of a band jam/collaboration, even though he got the sole credit). Every tune stands out on this album. Goodsall's "Sun In The Night" -- the first BRAND X track with vocals on it by Collins -- in Sanskrit, no less -- contains a great, mad Sitar solo. It, as good as it is, is actually the weakest track on the album. Collin's contribution, "Why Should I Lend You Mine (When You've Broken Yours Off Already)" into "Maybe I'll Lend You Mine After All" is the song with the longest title -- and also just happens to be the longest track (well, TWO tracks!) on the album -- it clocks in at a combined length of 13:26. It starts off with a bizarre bit of synth, and then everyone fades in and just cooks along -- until they all suddenly stop; and float into a very pensive, quiet section of the tune (Morris Pert's percussive work stands out here, and it IS sweet). A few sudden explosive attacks, and then it fades into Part 2, a very atmospheric piano part with Collin's wordless vocals, for 2 minutes, before the song fades away. It's beautifully hypnotic, and a standout moment to me on the album.

Goodall's "Hate Zone" kicks into gear with a solo by Collins, and then a hot, noisy groove by all, with more soloing by Lumley and Goodsall, and into a bizarre heavy rock-crescendo of an ending.

Lumley's brief 95-second keyboard interlude "Collapsar" concludes side one. Then you flip the record over (if it's a CD, just let it play!)

After all that just went on, it actually gets better. "Disco Suicide" opens up Side 2 of the vinyl record, with Collins tapping out an intro on the half-closed hi-hat -- it's great on CD; if you listen closely, you can hear him counting this one off, "onnnnnnne, twoooooooo, threeeeeeee, fouuuuuuurrrrr". Lumley's second track on the album, it's made up of several different sections that just somehow flow one into the other naturally ("how the hell do they do it?!") This tune is one that they played quite a bit live on the '79 tour, but it never sounded quite like it does in the studio, and I have to say I prefer the studio version, with the long, almost-majestic fade out (complete with MORE wordless vocals from Robin and John).

A brief Bass solo with Autoharp accompaniment (all by Jones), "Orbits" precedes the classic studio version of one of the more well-known BRAND X tunes, "Malaga Virgen" (or "Virgin", depending on the version you might have -- on the original album it's spelled with an "E", as well as on "Livestock" and "Trilogy", but on "Timeline" it's spelled with an "I" ... go figure.) This is another one of those classic magical moments, where everyone is JUST "ON" -- so much so, you might find yourself laughing at the synchronicity -- it's so good it's ridiculous. Then, when everyone is all hot and cooking, it comes to a crashing halt. At the 4:29 mark, Jones plays one of the coolest, slithery bass lines I've ever heard. Lumley's string synth comes in, and John does that really fast, acoustic, alternate picking thing he does -- this is just one of those moments, man, that has to be heard to be believed! Then at 7:03, you hear Goodsall's evil electric guitar line creep in -- the song starts to fade -- then they all come back in and, just to show off, they deliver one last really fast well-coordinated run -- just to show you they can. After 8 & 1/2 minutes of pure groove, the song ends.

And now for one of the coolest Rock/Jazz/Fusion tunes ever, Goodsall's "Macrocosm". John just fades in, playing one of the coolest arpeggio riffs ever -- check out the chords he's making on the intro to this tune, with the time alternating in 8/8 and 7/8, then Robin and Percy come in, playing the melody, and Collins holding it all together SO beautifully -- again, it's just ridiculous, and (of course!) they are all spot on! A bit of a transition, in 4/4 and an occasional measure of 5/4, and then they're off to the races, John & Robin trading off licks. Finally, back to the beginning again, until it all comes crashing down into one final, absolutely brilliant explosion! I believe at least one B1 Bomber was destroyed in the making of this record.

These guys don't screw around -- they mean business. This collection of recordings proves it. If you wanna check 'em out, THIS is one helluva place to start.

If you can only afford to buy three Brand X albums, get this one, Unorthodox Behaviour, and Livestock. If you can only have one Brand X album, get this one.

This was the first Brand X album I bought back in 1980 (one of those weird, black things that was 12" across), and I've been enjoying it since then, more recently on CD.

This is great stuff, and all the players are monstrously talented. All you Jaco Pastorius fans need to hear what Percy Jones can do on a fretless bass. He's got the riffs and the effortless multiple harmonics down to a science.

Be forewarned, Brand X music is intense ("aimless noodling" aside...I think the reviewer named Simon is actually Simon Cowell, judging by his snarky comments) and has been known to elicit strong reactions from listeners.

Some of my old friends once smoked some MJ and listened to "Why should I lend you mine..." and almost had to be committed. Another friend threw up after listening to "Livestock". Women run screaming, or yell at you to "turn that stuff off!" from the other room.

Brand X albums also have some of the best liner notes in the business. The vinyl LP version of "Do They Hurt?" had notes written by Michael Palin, but they don't appear on the CD version. Some of their songs also have a "python" influence (see the album "Product").

I read somewhere that the album cover photo was shot on the set of the original "Star Wars" movie back in the 70s, too. I'm not sure what's up with the multiple spellings of Moroccan, but that just adds to the mystique (mystaque?).

Anyway, if you like prog rock, jazz and/or fusion, this is as good as it gets.

This album is Brand X at their best. Many would say that Mahavishnu's Inner Mounting Flame was the quintessential fusion album, but I'd say this one delivers stiff competition. Lumley's flowing melodies soar in front of Goodsall's intricate picked (not strummed) rhythms and Jones' innovative bass lines. If that's not enough, Phil Collins does his best work ever on the drums right here. There's no comparision to his work in Genesis -- who knew the guy could play this well? If you love fusion, you've gotta have this one.

I purchased this album based on the sound clips, the cover art ( a western world man walking down a Moroccan street) and the album title ( 'Morooccan' Roll). I was expecting a mix of Moroccan world music and rock/fusion. The first song "Sun In The Night' is very much what I had expected, the rest of the album is not. I was a bit disapointed at first, but what is here is some SUPERB 70's fusion music. The playing is totally hot on a true virtuoso level, and this album really grew on me. I am a big fan of any kind of jam music Jazz, Rock Fusion, whatever and there are many great moments on this album. It is hard to believe that at one time people made this kind of music. On this album Phil Collins does what he does best - play fantastic drums. I don't konow the other musicians, but the play great as a unit. This was a great accidental find.

I actually think those that reviewed this as "aimless noodling" is quite amusing. In my opinion I don't think that there's anything wrong with a little "aimless noodling". I like the various musical approaches on this album. You can definitely tell that the band was working together as a team. I especially like the tracks "Malaga Virgen", "Sun In The Night" and "Maybe I Should Lend You Mine...". The track "Sun In The Night" features Phil Collins on vocals. This is my second favorite Brand X album.
I definitely recommend it.

This Brand X album is a classic of the fusion genre. I must disagree with an earlier reviewer re "aimless noodling" - while the album does have it's share of longer and more ethereal music (Why Should I Lend You Mine...), I find that the more varied styles on this album enhance its appeal. There are touches of world music (the first track with Collins' vocals), as well as a bit of Brian Eno-flavoured ambience. And of course there is the phenomenal ferocious fusion of Malaga Virgen. Disco Suicide is a mind-blowing example of extreme grandiose jazz-rock fusion.

Overall, I rank this as the equal best Brand X album with Unorthodox Behaviour. Masques is not far behind. Moroccan Roll is an absolute essential classic.

'Morrocan Roll,' along with 'Livestock' and 'UnorthodoxBehavior' is one of the most extreme fusion records ever made. No fanof early Genesis has any doubt about the genius of Phil Collins as a musician's drummer. But not too many of them will know about the genius of John Goodsall on guitar or Percy Jones as a bassist, because they have no idea of the existence of Brand X and its direct link to Genesis. That's why it's odd that Phil himself gives fusion music a bad rap by choosing to downplay his role in the great mid-70s records of Brand X. And it's a waste that after having made 500 million dollars singing silly love songs, he chooses to play 'Big Band Jazz' 'not for the money but for the fun' instead of reuniting this awesome '70s fusion powerhouse for even just a short tour to introduce them to a new audience. There may've been some harsh words spoken between him and the other members of the band, I don't know. All I can say is that I've listened to the 3 above mentioned records 100s of times and I'm still not remotely sick of them. Something went haywire on these three and synergized into another level. As far as I'm concerned, they are absolute classics and will live on as monuments of 70s progressive jazz/rock, just as much as anything from Mahavishnu or Weather Report. Every single hard-or-prog rock fan I've played this disc for(macho inclinations notwithstanding) has been blown away by it. They clearly decided to sound like the Mahavishnu of the Bizzaro world and succeeded; but without any kind of 'religious' or 'devotional' reverberations. 'Morrocan Roll' sets the imagination rolling into the land of stoned '70s dreamscapes with Lumeley's backdrops and wheezing synth lines, overdrives into virile science fiction with the thick, eccentric fretless of Percy, then shreds a guitar solo of maximum turbulence past your head and leaves you gasping, courtesy of Mr. Goodsall.