Brand X - 2017 "But Wait...There's More!" / LIVE 2017

 Brand X's first release in 20 years finds original members Percy Jones and John Goodsall joined by former drummer Kenwood Dennard (Livestock), plus Chris Clark (Keyboards) and Scott Weinberger

Containing an explosive set recorded at the historic Sellersville Theatre in Pennsylvania in 2017, "But Wait....There's More!" features remarkable new versions of Brand X classics taken mostly from the band's first three albums, including Nightmare Patrol, Nuclear Burn, Malaga Virgen, And So To F and more.  Jones and Goodsall are at their blistering best and the performance has been beautifully mixed by Stephen W. Tayler (Peter Gabriel, U.K., Kate Bush, Bruford, Brand X, Underworld).

But Wait... There's More!, the new live album by Brand X captures a complete performance of the classic Anglo- American prog-jazz-fusion band (can we fit a few more hyphens in here?) from their recent, eagerly anticipated, recent tour. Recorded in January at the Sellersville Theater, it is a blistering, high energy set, reexploring material from their first two studio albums, 1976's Unorthodox Behaviour and 1977's Moroccan Roll, as well material from their 1977 live album, Livestock.

Recorded at a single show, the recording has an authentic, energized feel. It's a solid "warts and all" document of a band really gelling after a hiatus of over two decades. Founding members, guitarist John Goodsall and bassist Percy Jones, along with veteran Livestock era drummer, Kenwood Dennard, are joined by new members Chris Clark on keyboards and Scott Weinberger on percussion. The new line-up brings new ideas and vigor to the material, with the old members exploring new sounds and the new members bringing their own musical identities into the mix.

Goodsall's guitar often has a nastier, snarling tone only hinted at on the band's old albums, unleashing solos that are cutting and angular. Jones in fine form, with his deep, swirling magma bass showcased on "Born Ugly" and "Hate Zone," while his solo "Magic Mist" highlights a more lyrical, cosmically mysterious sound.

The sheer power of Kenwood Dennard's drumming is very much at the forefront here, injecting the material with an unrelenting funkiness. Scott Weinberger does a fine job finding spaces within the groove for color and emphasis. The rhythmic approach of the two constantly shifts in its relationship and dynamics, vacillating between complimentary, rhythmic discussions and full-out unison freight train assaults.

Clark's keyboard work is more staid, his approach more cerebral. He executes his parts expertly and constructs his solos for maximum chromatic effect. His solos often seem to deliberately eschew any notes that could possibly be expected in a given moment. The results are often dizzyingly satisfying. In addition, his solo piano version of ..."Maybe I'll Lend You Mine After All" is masterful. His spare and lovely, but crisp and sharply attacked playing (evoking Chick Corea, to no small extent) makes the piece worth the price of admission alone.

But Wait... There's More! is a fine document of a band reemerging and reasserting itself, but more, it's a powerful and engaging album in its own right. In spite of the fact that nearly all of the music was composed decades ago, the album features some incredibly strong performances and a level of intensity that makes this recording stand out based on its own merits, making it worthy addition to the Brand X catalog.

“As you can see, Brand X does continue on,” bellows a gregarious John Goodsall during an incendiary set recorded in Pennsylvania. Their first release in 20 years finds Goodsall with bassist Percy Jones and former drummer Kenwood Dennard, alongside keyboardist Chris Clark and Scott Weinberger’s agile percussion. They’re clearly happy to be up there playing for a wildly enthusiastic crowd, and Stephen W Tayler’s stunningly detailed production puts the listener right up there in the sweet spot with them.

Some of the hottest instrumental music you’ll hear this year.

Aside from big names such as Soft Machine and Nucleus, the UK jazz rock scene was a bustling place in the 70s with less well-known bands such as Turning Point, John Stevens’ Away, Back Door, Zzebra, Pacific Eardrum, Paz and others. As good as they all were, toiling on the college circuit and occasionally nabbing support slots with big name rock acts, Brand X grabbed a higher profile thanks to their association with Phil Collins, moonlighting from Genesis.

Ending with more of a whimper than a bang in 1980, aside from an unsatisfactory reunion sortie in the 90s, they’ve been in danger of being as forgotten and overlooked as all those groups mentioned earlier. Yet albums such as 1976’s Unorthodox Behaviour and 1977’s Moroccan Roll and Livestock showcased a turbocharged outfit whose thunder was every bit the equal of the heavy weather the American jazz rock aristocracy generated. Forty years on, this Anglo-American incarnation breathes new life into classics like Nuclear Burn, Isis Mourning, Euthanasia Waltz and Malaga Virgen.

Percy Jones’ pugnacious bass work continues to dazzle as rumbling figures trip from his fingers, to push and prod the tunes into some unfamiliar tangles. Goodsall’s echo‑enhanced rushes across the fretboard show he’s lost none of the melodic sense of direction that historically informed the bulk of his guitar soloing. And let’s hear it for Chris Clark’s reading of …Maybe I’ll Lend You Mine After All, which leans heavily on Debussy channelling Keith Jarrett, offering up a moment of calm in the surging electricity of the night.

Between them, they still possess a killer synergy that enables them to journey into nebulous, free‑form clusters and terse, jazzy phrasing, only to flick the switch on abrupt accelerations into tight, twisting themes. That they achieve this so flawlessly provides abundant proof that this incarnation of Brand X is anything but a shadow of its former self. The last 18 minutes of this two-disc set features some of the hottest instrumental music you’ll hear this year. It’s good to have them back.

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Track listing:

CD 1
1     Intro     1:42
2     Nightmare Patrol     8:28
3     Euthanasia Waltz     4:42
4     Born Ugly     9:58
5     Isis Mourning     6:29
6     Nuclear Burn     9:20

CD 2
1     Magic Mist     2:32
2     Why Should I Lend You Mine...     9:10
3     ...Maybe I'll Lend You Mine After All     3:37
4     Hate Zone     6:03
5     And So To F     8:32
6     Malaga Virgen     10:00

Personnel:

John Goodsall: guitars;
Percy Jones: bass;
Kenwood Dennard: drums;
Chris Clark: keyboards;
Scott Weinberger: percussion