Brand X: But Wait...There's More! - Live 2017 (2CD)

New live double album by the re-formed fusion band

Brand X are back! Phil Collins’ former “other” jazz rock band has re-formed for the 40th anniversary of their debut album Unorthodox Behavior in 2016 and went on a U.S. tour. Founding members John Goodsall (guitar) and Percy Jones (fretless bass) joined forces with their stand-in drummer for Collins, Kenwood Dennard, whose drumming can be heard on the 1977 live album Livestock. Chris Clark plays the keyboards, while the position of percussionist that was so important in the 70s but had been vacant since the early years is filled by Scott Weinberger.

cover The reason for this classic line-up probably lies in the music they played. The anniversary reunion tour focused almost exclusively on tracks from their debut album, its successor Morrocan Roll and Livestock, the live album after that. Now you might think that the newly-released live double album that was recorded in January 2017 is a cheap rehash of Livestock. You would be wrong. The band are on fire, their technique is up there and they have gone to great lengths for recording and mixing the performance. Despite numerous soundboard recordings that the band released as “official bootlegs” from their various tours, But Wait … There’s More! Must be counted as the second “real” live album by the band.

The track list comprises the full concert recorded at Sellersville, Pennsylvania, Theatre 1894. Unorthodox Behaviour tracks in the set are Nuclear Burn, Euthanasia Waltz and Born Ugly, while Collins tracks Why Should I Lend You Mine … and …Maybe I’ll Lend You Mine After All (solo version by Clark), Goodsall’s Hate Zone and Jones’ Malaga Virgen are from Morrocan Roll.Livestock material includes Nightmare Patrol and Isis Mourning. The odd ones out are the Collins track …And So To F… (from 1979’s Product), Percy’s new solo spot Magic Mist and a brief intro.

We need not talk much about the tracks. The band sticks mainly to the original versions, but they leave enough freedom for each musician to live out their special talents. Chris Clark has picked his sound settings with much taste and adds jazzier notes to the improvisations. Scott Weinberger’s percussion is mostly unobtrusive – why not lift it up a notch in the future? Kenwood Dennard plays a very Spartan drumset (including whistle) but really plays his heart out. Percy Jones still plays bass in a league of his very own. John Goodsall proves that he can play anything from groovy funk to intricate jazz. The mix was created by an old hand from back when: Stephen W. Tayler created the mix for Morrocan Roll. He also mixed these twelve tracks in his studio at Peter Gabriel’s RealWorld complex, paying careful attention to the dynamism of the music while looking out for strong and clear sound.

After the slightly odd albums and line-ups of the most recent reunion period in the 90s this release leaves us with the impression that the original spirit of the band has returned. Let’s hope that this line-up stay together for a while and perhaps even create new material. Luckily, the comeback has had a professional start in every dimension: They have a great line-up and the marketing is good this time. With the growing attention they are drawing from the successful shows in North America we may even hope that the band might tour Europe again after twenty years.