Brand X - Percy Jones

[ClarkW]

Wow!

 

I stream music at work with Launch.com and while listening to their Progressive Rock station it spun up a song called "Malaga Virgen" from the album Morrocan Roll by Brand X. Percy Jones (of whom I was heretofore ignorant) was the composer and the bass player (it sounds like an upright, but I almost can't believe he can pull that stuff off with an upright). He's like Jaco's long-lost twin brother!

 

Highly recommended for you jazz fusion and Jaco fans out there!

[alexclaber]

Same era as Jaco I believe but coming more from the Mingus school of bass. Nowadays plays a 5-string Ibanez strung CEADG with magnetic and piezo pickups, heavily panned towards the piezos.

 

I have Brand X - Masques, on JeremyC's recommendation. Good stuff but a little more prog than I'd like - that's probably not a problem for you!

 

Apex

[...]

Brilliant band. I got turned onto them a number of years ago by another huge prog fan. That original version also featured Phil Collins on drums. Phil could certainly play.

[wraub]

I remember copping a lot from the "Do They Hurt?" album, back in the day...

 

Percy is cool with me.

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[doc taz]

I first discovered them when I got their manifest destiny CD back in 1997. I got hooked on them, because of Percy and that guitar playing, Goth looking dude a.k.a. John Goodsall.

 

Actually, that's the only album of theirs I have, but I've heard other tunes from them, including some of the Collins era numbers. Anyone here have that "Live at the Roxy" CD of theirs?

[g.]

Been a Brand X fan forever, and Percy's bass led me to an Italian prog/fusionesque group called Nova. Soon after that find Jack Lancaster (was sax for Blodwyn Pig - see the Jethro Tull connection there too) released a prog instrumental album called MARSSCAPE with a lot of Percy. A few years ago I saw a CD in the cheapies bin with Percy's name on the back cover, as a member of Bon Lozaga's PROJECT LO: BLACK CANVAS. Great music during all periods, in all cases.

[Davo-London]

He is a great player and during his Brand X days played a Wal, as I am sure Phil W will remind us. I saw Brand X in a tiny gig in London back in 1980. Phil Collins on drums, Percy Jones, John Goodsall etc. I loved the synth sounds that Phil Lumley generated. They played with Bill Bruford's band a lot in those days.

 

I really cannot stand Phil Collins' solo career but let me tell you he was a fantastic drummer. My drum teacher spoke to him recently and apparently Phil is back to getting his chops together as he hasn't played drums for over a decade!

 

Back to Percy, he was the first bassist I knew that played harmonic glissandi. I've got all their LPs on vinyl somewhere ... Unorthodox Behaviour and Masques are my favourite albums.

 

Davo

[Phil W]

Yep, Davo's right there. It was a fretless Wal on Morrocan Roll afaik. They had some great bassplayers and were a big influence on me - he had his complete own style, sound and approach and that influenced me too.

The other Wal player in Brand X, John Giblin was great too!

Man, Davo - you have to try out my Wal!

[g.]

Yep, as a drummer Phil Collins was so much better when he was in Brand X and as a percussionist with Nova, who at that time had moved from Italy to London.

 

Wish I could say more about Wal, other than a few players of that period who I admired played those basses ; }

[joke isle]

Originally posted by greenboy:

Been a Brand X fan forever,

Oh man! I will never forget the absolute head-spinning rush I experienced the first time I (as an impressionable 15-year-old with big ears and a head full of weed, usually) heard Brand X on the radio. "Unorthodox Behaviour" was just out (this was late 1976) and a DJ at a free-form FM commercial station in the DC area was using one of the tracks for his music bed to back- announce tunes. This turned out to be real watershed moment for me in terms of the development of my musical mind. I'd never heard anything like this music before and this discovery really helped to shape my musical tastes for years to come. I converted a legion of my high school pals into prog-heads thanks to "Unorthodox Behaviour" and "Moroccan Roll." We knew deep down that we were the coolest MF's around 'cause nobody else we knew was hip to Brand X. Each of those records I must have listened to literally hundreds of times. They still sound exciting to me today.

Originally posted by greenboy:

Percy's bass led me to an Italian prog/fusionesque group called Nova. Soon after that find Jack Lancaster (was sax for Blodwyn Pig - see the Jethro Tull connection there too) released a prog instrumental album called MARSSCAPE with a lot of Percy.

Yes!! Those records got a lot of play at my house in the late 70's.

 

Percy also did some brilliant things with Brian Eno on his solo albums and with Eno/Jon Hassell that are well worth checking out.

[jeremy c]

Time to dig out my albums and listen again.

[g.]

Yeah! Brand X vinyl still spins here. I have some of the Eno stuff too. The Hassell stuff I used to hear a lot but it was a room-mate's. That trumpet electronics compositioning also led me to check out more Mark Isham, which led to David Torn, etc.

[g.]

Kind of aside on the Jack Lancaster album, but awhile back I downloaded a newer Blodwyn Pig cut, partly to hear what Jethro Tull's early guitarist and drummer, Mick Abrahams and Clive Bunker were doing nowdays after enjoying the heck outta them and one of my old bass faves Glen Cornick on the Tull LIVING WITH THE PAST DVD. That kind of made me want to hear Jack Lancaster again on the old Blodwyn Pig stuff, of course ; }

[Davo-London]

Blimey,

 

how wrong can I be. According to Phil Collins' website:

 

http://www.philcollins.co.uk/brandxgigs.htm

 

I must have seen Brand X in '76 or '77. I was 16 at the time ... you should have seen my hair.

 

Davo

[...]

This thread resurfacing has inspired me to listen to them as I surf. I love this band. They brought all kinds of good notes to that magnetic tape stuff.

 

Originally posted by Davo-London:

apparently Phil is back to getting his chops together as he hasn't played drums for over a decade!

He's had Chester Thompson playing drums for him for quite some time now. Chester is all kinds of good. Nice to hear that Phil is getting his ass behind the kit again. Maybe he'll stop singing crappy pop songs and play some real music again (see: music that doesn't make him any money but is much more interesting to listen to)

[Wally Malone]

It's amazing that all of us were turned on to Brand X hearing different recordings. The one that I first heard was "Livestock". When I get back home I'll have to pull that cassette out since it's been awhile since I've listened to it.

 

Wally

[Phil W]

Been listening to Brand X a lot (and Perct Jones in Tunnels). Davo and I were at the Joe Zawinul gig and they played some Brand X over the PA before the gig and I was reminded what an awesome band they were.

 

There's some neat Percy Jones clips on Youtube too.