Customer Reviews

Product

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Brand-X was/is a collective of highly talented players, producers and unmentionables who would get together when their individual schedules permitted and make extraordinary music.


Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever are definitely role models, however, with so many distinctive talents involved, Brand-X gains a personality all it's own.

Did someone say "chops?" "Chop-a-holics" will have kittens with this stuff. (No Chinese restaurant jokes, please).
"Product" was actually recorded at the same time as the follow up release "Do They Hurt?". The pool of players were divided up to form a "day" band and a "night" band, which accounts for the two bass players, drummers etc etc. Consequently, Startling Sound (Ringo Starr's studio) was rolling 24 hours a day for some three weeks to accomodate this onslaught of recording.
Compared to their predecessors, both albums contain a far more eclectic batch of compositions, ranging from trademark Brand-X fusion instrumentals to a couple of prog-rock laced actual songs. And with vocals at that! Good heavens!

Those who have formed religions around Unorthodox Behavior & Moroccan Roll may find this vocal thingie as "going a bit too far".
Personally, I don't find it distracting at all. To me, it keeps faith with the spirit by which the band was formed. That is, to play the music the band wanted and just have a good time. Fun, for heaven's sake! - with chops!

Ingore the last reviewer's comment. Percy Jones actually wrote and performs on three of the cuts, including a duet/duel with fellow bassist John Giblin.

I am a drummer. And therefore am a bit partial to drums. I prefer music that is mostly percussive. Fusion tends to be more percussive than most. But Brand X (with Phil Collins anyway) always delivers. First of all Phil Collins DOES play drums on ."..and so to f..." also my favorite song here. Phil wrote it, does some vocal rhythmic scatt type stuff on it,percussion, drums. Percy Jones is also on this recording. Sorry, I also like "Don't Make Waves" and "Soho", with Phil's vocals, as I like Genesis too. But they don't really sound like Genesis either. I would rate this as one of the top three Brand X recordings along with 'Unorthodox Behaviour" and "Moroccan Roll". Musicians appearing on this recording are: Mike Clarke (drums on two tracks), Phil Collins (drums on seven tracks), John Goodsall (guitars) John Giblin (Bass on seven tracks), Robin Lumley (keyboards, etc.), Morris Pert (percussion on two tracks), Peter Robinson (keyboards on two tracks), and Percy Jones (bass on three tracks - one of which also has Percy Jones on bass as well). This was basically recorded with two groups of musicians. One group playing "Dance of the Illegal Aliens" and "Not Good Enough", the other group playing the other seven songs. I am a bit partial to this recording however as it was also my first Brand X acquisition. It went very well with the water, sand and beach where I was vacationing at the time. I just enjoyed it very much.

Unlike the previous four recordings this effort from the brilliant Brand X owes more to Prog-Rock than it does fusion. Drummer Phil Collins even sings two numbers. Both are unlike the Genesis music he was recording at that time. The compositions are inventive and creative. Percy Jones in particular offers some outstanding pieces. On this recording and the following Do They Hurt they established a unique sound unlike that anyone else was playing at the time. Well worth having...Simon

Three of the greatest, most intense fusion tracks ever recorded by homo-sapiens make their permanent residence on this album. These are "Dance of the Illegal Aliens" by Percy Jones (who plays bass on tracks 2, 4, 7 & 8), "Rhesus Perplexus" by John Giblin (an incredible bassist, who played on the first 3 Peter Gabriel & first two Phil Collins albums, and one of the few good enough to fill in for Percy on tracks 1, 3, 5, & 9 & duet with him on track 7) and the mind-blowing "And So to F..." by Phil Collins (his drumming-highness rocket-blasts his incredible sounding & very loud set in all directions on tracks 1,3 & 5-thru-9, monster ex-Herbie-Hancock drummer Mike Clarke, also known today as 'the-most-sampled-drummer-in-hip-hop', filling in for Phil on tracks 2 & 4).

The rest of the album is good but these 3 are the tracks where everything clicks and comes together to a level of perfection that just knocks people's socks off into the next dimension. These gems of uber-musicianship and non-compromise that not only succeed but soar into the skies are what have made Brand-X a legendary band, especially in Japan where to this day, 30 years later, they have almost rock-star status. John Goodsall's hyper-speed guitar solos that always tend to seek to raise the intensity of a Brand-X tune a few more notches still above its already wired state into the red without combusting the group fit in perfectly here. The traditionally understated patented Brand-X analog keyboard sounds by Lumely & Robinson provide just the right level of relaxed respite and playfulness to cushion and cool things down in high gear for a while before things torque-up again. "Rhesus Perplexus" even shows some Pat Metheny and George Benson influences but a funky, melodic, jazzy track with a louder, thicker drum-and-bass sound and a more odd meter you will search for for a long time and never find. "And So to F..." has the distinction of being simultaneously the most accessible tune and one of the most intensely propulsive in the Brand-X universe, using an odd-meter, but with a danceable, hummable rhythm on top that the scorching, fire-breathing, hyper-speed Goodsall guitar solos seem to rip to shreds before it returns again, as Collins, Percy and company give the world a master class in how to play with dynamics and maximum intensity at the same time.

"Product" was recorded in 1979 and is probably the best-sounding Brand-X album overall as it benefits from the workaholic studio perfectionism that Phil Collins was getting into at the time right after Genesis had their biggest hit until then with "Follow You, Follow Me." The unique drum sound he had perfected on "Trick of the Tail" & "Unorthodox Behaviour," sounds even more perfect and refined here and Phil seems to have made sure the engineers got Mike Clarke's sound & Giblin's bass sound recorded as close to his & Percy's sounds as possible also so that the Brand-X experience overall sounds consistent. But to hear all this to best advantage you need to get the 2006 Japanese remaster, not the old 1990 release. There is 16 years of technological improvement there and Japan is where Brand-X truly gets their proper respect. It is definitely worth it for vastly improved sound and you can find it on yab-e for about 15 to 17 bucks.

I do not know much of Brand X's work except what I have heard from "Missing Period" and "Livestock", both very fine fusion recordings.

As a fan of progressive rock and fusion (in that order), I loved this album immediately, since it has the progressive "hooks" - weird time signtures, dreamy interludes, machine-gun staccato runs, interesting compositions with emphasis on group improvization, rather than long self-indulgent solos.

I won't hide that I love the vocal tracks, since the harmonies remind me of Genesis. First off, the album includes the wonderful piece "...And So To F..." This song alone is worth getting the album - it's great symphonic progressive rock at its most glowing, although somewhat simplified - I am listening to it now, and I cannot believe that it has not gotten any airplay, it's just so uplifting and melodic. It has Phil Collins written all over it, although ironically, he does not play on it (?!!) and the guitar work is absolutely delectable. But enough on that. The other tracks are excellent, especially "Dance Of The Illegal Aliens" which is simply on fire, "Not Good Enough" spills over with great ideas, "Algon" is progressive "chop-o-rama" that could make Yes or U.K. green with envy. "April" is a bit of ambient diversion, but tastefully kept to a short 2 minutes, and "Wal To Wal" sounds like the band walked offstage during a live performance, and let the rhythm section relax and have a bit of fun with the drum machine.

Just think of it: this is 1979, when most prog bands, including Genesis were caving in to blatant commercialism, these guys held fast to progressive ideals!

The comparison with "Lounge Jazz" in the other review is absolute rubbish. The criticism was perhaps inspired by "Rhesus", which is a lighter, salsa-like tune with some cool jazzy guitar soloing, this is lean and mean progressive stuff, with no slack whatsoever.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I got this one. I was impressed by the musicianship- the guitarist is awesome. Jazz/Fusion is not always my cup of tea but this one held my interest. Phil sings on 2 song which makes it even more interesting. Overall, I would recommend.

1979's "Product," the fifth album by Brand X, sees the very-welcome return of Genesis drummer & singer Phil Collins to the fold after a one-album break (Phil was busy with Genesis the previous year, so Chuck Burgi stepped in on the drumkit for Brand X's 1978 release,"Masques"). "Product" also sees Brand X swell up into an eight-man line-up, not only band veterans Collins, John Goodsall, Percy Jones, Robin Lumley & Morris Pert but also keyboardist Peter Robinson, bassist John Giblin, and Mike Clarke (though I don't have the info on what Clarke plays on the album, and my CD booklet doesn't say, either). I suspect that Brand X named this album "Product" because the band were trying for a more radio-friendly feel with this release, even including two "proper" songs with vocals & lyrics (95% of the band's music, I'd say, is strictly instrumental). But there's no need to be put off by this, because "Product" is a great disc, featuring the group's incredible knack for whirlwind, progressive jazz-rock fusion & musical chops. The two songs with lyrics, "Don't Make Waves" and "Soho," are both very rockin', and feature excellent vocal performances from Collins ("Soho" was even released as a single---a rarity for Brand X---but it didn't go anywhere). I also enjoy the expert jazz-rock of such tracks as "Dance Of The Illegal Aliens," "Algon," the great grooves of "Wal To Wal," and the ferocious instrumental "And So To F," penned by Phil Collins himself (who totally outdoes himself on the drumkit with this one). The music is terrific, and the band's performances are mindblowing. It's another winner for Brand X! I'm very confident you will enjoy this "Product."

This 1979 release is my favorite Brand X album. While it features the astounding playing that characterized the output of the band, there are also a few progressive rock/pop tracks with vocals that round things out nicely. Product is a diverse album and along with the prog/pop, there are atmospheric passages, high energy prog instrumentals, and above all else, mind-blowing jazz rock instrumentals that feature daunting meter shifts and complex ensemble work.

There is a large cast of musicians on this album; indeed it seems like there is a different lineup on every tune. On drums there is Genesis drummer Phil Collins (vocals on two tracks) and mind-blowing ex-Herbie Hancock virtuoso Mike Clarke. Mike's drumming on Not Good Enough - See Me! is astonishingly intricate. There are a few bassists as well (John Giblin and Percy Jones). The bassists do a fine job although they seem to simply imitate Jaco Pastorius at times. John Goodsall (guitars), Morris Pert (percussion), and Robin Lumley/Peter Robinson (keyboards, synthesizers) all turn in fantastic performances, although the keyboards are a little too buried in the mix for my taste.

The tracks on Product are all very good, yet are fairly different from one another. There are the progressive rock/pop tracks with Phil on vocals (Don't Make Waves/Soho), the proggier instrumental tracks that would not have been out of place on a mid-late 1970s Genesis album ...And so to F... (written by Phil) is a good example, then there are the standard jazz rock instrumental rave-ups. Lastly, the "jazziest" track on the album is Rhesus Perplexus. If I had one complaint though, it is that some of the tracks have an unfinished feel to them - the bass guitar driven track Wal to Wal is a good example. This really is minor though when you consider the high caliber of the musicians and the interesting compositions.

While this CD has not been remastered, the sound quality is pretty good. Although the liner notes are nothing to speak of, from what I can recall from a billion years ago, my LP was not so hot either.

All in all, this is a great album by Brand X that shows them mixing aspects of progressive rock into the jazz rock format. As a long time fan of both progressive rock and jazz rock, I found a lot to like here. Recommended.

A bit different from the normal Brand X fare...but a refreshing change. A bit of Phil's vocal abilities are present, and a bit more straightforward approach from the band than on previous discs. However, there's still enough of the instrumental prowess and incredible soloing by all the band members to keep the purists happy.

While the four previous Brand-X releases had a consistency and adventurousness to them, "Product" definitely shows obvious signs of Multiple Personality Disorder.

Here, most likely under a lot of pressure from their management (hereafter referred to as "THE MAN"), Brand-X essentially splintered into two bands. The more adventurous half (with Percy Jones in the bass chair and ex Herbie Hancock's Headhunters drummer Mike Clarke), and the "Trying To Have A Hit At Any Cost" half (with Phil Collins and John Giblin on bass) seemed at odds with each other here. The "Phil Collins Half" is seen churning out cheese-whiz pop ("Soho") and even VERRRRRY BAD arena-rock ("Don't Make Waves") and even regurgitated Genesis-lite ("And So To F---").

The 'Adventurous Half" hangs in there with gems like "Not Good Enough, See Me--", "Algon", the pleasantly Pat Metheny-esque "Rhesus Perplexus" and "Dance of The Illegal Aliens". Another odd item is the dual bass feature "Wal to Wal" driven along by a robotic drum machine track.

Listening to this was somewhat difficult for me, in part because of the music and in part for the rather muddy production quality on most of the album.

But anyway, THE MAN may well have led to Brand-X's dissolution in 1980, trying to have it both ways. "Product" does have some worthwhile moments on it, but hardly essential by any stretch.