[Review] Brand X: Unorthodox Behaviour (1976)

The debut from a fusion group that you’ll love to Marscape and back again.

Kronomyth 1.0: The tricks of a different tale.

Daedelus Rex, chief archivist to the lords of leisure, notes the following on 2X4.0621.448 re: Brand X

Amid clutter a sputtering engine clambers, attic’d in a bubbling chamber of bright ideas, skinned knees on fusion’s grass, at last aloft, at last emboss’d of their own destiny, free from the Green world of mimicry, there are twinkling keys like stars in the heavens, propelled by their explosive brethren into orbits and apogees where their craft is glimpsed in a heavenly distance.

A chemistry set of constellations breeds Hysteria, the joy of creation creeps into every crevice of the burning nuclei, and here am I writing down impressions, under the impression really of space fusion forged in a taffy machine, as with Masques one of the great brands I’ve seen. (There’s also a didactic review of this mucking about in the quasi-academic aether at All Music Guide, for which forward apologies are made.)

Original LP Version

A1. Nuclear Burn (6:25)
A2. Euthanasia Waltz (5:37)
A3. Born Ugly (8:10)
B1. Smack of Euphoric Hysteria (4:25)
B2. Unorthodox Behaviour (8:13)
B3. Running On Three (4:35)
B4. Touch Wood (3:03)

All songs written by Phil Collins, John Goodsall, Robin Lumley and Percy Jones.

The Players

Phil Collins (drums, percussion), John Goodsall (guitars), Percy Jones (fretless bass) and Robin Lumley (keyboards). The four had first played together as session musicians in June 1975 on Eddie Howell’s Gramaphone Record. The record was co-produced by Dennis MacKay (the engineer on the aforementioned Howell session) and the band.

The Plastic

Recorded in September/October 1975 and released on June 18, 1976 on elpee in the UK (Charisma, CAS-1117), the US (Passport, PPSD-98019), Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal (Charisma, 6369 977) and Japan (Charisma, BT-5198) with picture innersleeve. Reached #191 on the US charts.

  1. Re-issued on elpee and cassette in the US (Passport, PB/PBC-9819) without the innersleeve.
  2. Re-packaged in 1983 alongside Moroccan Roll on a “double” cassette (i.e., twice the music eaten by your cassette player at slightly more than half the price) in the UK (Charisma, 103).
  3. Re-issued on compact disc on 1989 in the UK (Virgin, CASCD-1117) and in the US (Caroline, CAROL 1387-2) and in Europe (Virgin, 787120).
  4. Re-issued on compact disc in 2006 in Japan (Virgin/Charisma, VJCP-68782).
  5. Re-released on super high material compact disc on July 30, 2014 in Japan (Charisma, UICY-76412).

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