Ranking the Studio Albums: Brand X (Viewer Appreciation Day w/Rand Kelly)

Join Pete Pardo and special guest co-host and long time SoT viewer Rand Kelly as they rank the studio albums of legendary jazz-fusion/prog act Brand X! #brandx
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[@Domino7860]

I love this channel! Pete you are a great host and have a great voice and presence.

[@civilian8697]

One of my favorite bands! Thanks Pete! You da man!

[@beckblowbyblow]

I'm a Big fan of these guys! Masques has always been my fave. "Ghost of Mayfield lodge" is just awesome!

[@richarddrolet7746]

I could listen to these guys all day long....fantastic....you guys should be on FM radio......really.

[@scottya001]

Props to Rand. Knew his stuff and was articulate. Can't ask for more.

[@shyshift]

Thanks Scott.

[@MochaDaisy8645]

@Rand Kelly Were you at the Harlow’s show in November of 2017? I was, it was definitely a show I wasn’t going to miss. Great job on Pete’s program and yes, RIP Eddie Van Halen 🎸

[@shyshift]

Beanchowder no. We were at the Harlows show March 2019. Thanks.

[@VincentBautista365]

Great job!

[@shyshift]

zombiefunk247 thanks.

[@domico5838]

I like that they were so daring and experimental! I'm sure I will enjoy them. I am going to get a couple that rate highest here.

[@fragile59]

Thanks a lot for this channel! Brand X - one from my favourite bands. My personal top 5: 1 - Missing Period 2) Livestock 3) Unorthodox Behaviour 4) Masques 5) Morrocan Roll

[@johnp9525]

Great job guys. Just a note on Fire Merchants - that was with Chester Thompson, not Dennis Chambers. Landlords of Atlantis is an absolutely fantastic album. Sort of like a very heavy rock version of Brand X. Brand X fans would likely appreciate it. The debut, self-titled album is pretty damned good as well.

[@neilanderson7669]

Thanks so much for your channel!!! I had heard of this band but never listened, so now I will!

[@marciopainhas5828]

Amazing band! Excellent musicians! Dig them from the very beginning till today. My top 3 albums are: 1- Moroccan Roll; 2- Unorthodox Behaviour; and 3- Product. Jazz-fusion in essence...

[@Jellybeantiger]

Agree with that list,Phil was a very musical drummer on these albums,

[@progger53]

"Don't make waves" should have been a big hit on AOR radio.

[@johnjesberger5676]

I saw them in 1978 and Morris Pert was this insane whirling dervish surrounded by all kinds of crazy things to make noise with. Percy was positioned next to him and between the two of them I just couldn't stop gasping for breath. Masques was my first Brand X album and so it remains my favorite. In fact it ranks absolutely #1 on my "You only get to keep one album" list, by a big margin. Rand was absolutely right, Pert was a high level conservatory trained composer and the melodic and arrangement quality he brought to the table was terrific.

[@sspbrazil]

Nice, thanks Pete. I love the song “Sun In The Night”.

[@stevescott200]

so do I

[@Geoooooooooorge1]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, for doing a ranking for Brand X! When I was 14 or 15 years old, I saved up my newspaper route money to buy a used stereo set from a guy who worked with my mom. It had a Realistic brand (Radio Shack) receiver with the classic '70s shiny stainless steel finish and the knobs that turn as smooth as glass (it still works)! The guy was kind enough to through in a few LPs when I finally bought it, one of which was Brand X's Moroccan Roll! Never heard anything like it before, I found myself listening to the album all the time and eventually finding Unorthodox Behaviour, Product, and others. If it wasn't for this unexpected gift, I may never have become such a fan of Fusion especially at such a young age. It truly formed my musical tastes in a big way! Since then, and all these decades later, I find myself recommending Moroccan Roll and other Brand X albums to everyone who may have a taste for Fusion. Thanks again!

[@williamweiss6128]

Brand X.........love them. Mike Clarke..........amazing drumming.

[@jazzpunk]

He is phenomenal! Funky as Hell & has legit Jazz chops.

[@williamweiss6128]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKmWgqeCeKaDppo monster.........

[@richarddrolet7746]

You two complimate each other....great review guys.You 2 are pros.....Love Brand X.....rick.

[@andyshelton4889]

You should check out Percy Jones’s band Tunnels. My Top 5 would be: 1. Brand X Xcommunication 2. Brand X Product 3. Brand X Moroccan Roll 4. Brand X Unorthodox Behavior 5. Brand X Masques

[@jasonpp1973]

Just listen to Phil Collins on Nuclear Burn, Hate Zone, And So to F..., etc. Incredible!

[@Wolverale12]

Out of the four albums that I've listened to so far, I would rank them like this: Moroccan Roll Unorthodox Behavior Product Masques I actually recently discovered and looked into them because they were mentioned during a recent episode of in the prog seat (the genesis favorite and least favorite album episode iirc) and yeah they are fricking amazing!

[@diannecarpenter7718]

Thank you guys for Ranking the Studio Albums: Brand X.🎤🎸🎵🥁

[@metalslather]

You're a regular I see. Pete keeps me in new music been listening for about two years

[@jpcworley]

I have known John Goodsall for over 40 years !! Fab dude !!

[@cheezruff]

Great show, love Brand X from back in the day. Rand did his homework, glad he mentioned Fire Merchants, their 1st CD (self titled) had Chester Thompson on drums, the 2nd CD (Landlords of Atlantis) had Toss Panos on drums with Doug Lunn on bass. Brand X Livestock has Kenwood Dennard on drums, gotta make a plug for Kenwood's appearance on Pat Martino Joyous Lake Album (1976) killer fusion quartet. Also have to mention a live bootleg CD of Brand X- called Rated X- New York Bottom Line 1978 (MPH015). Killer versions of Ghost of Mayfield Lodge, Earth Dance, Black Moon, Nuclear Burn, Deadly Nightshade. The lineup was missing Goodsall, instead on guitar is Mike Miller (played on Chick Corea's Paint the World), with Percy Jones, Morris Pert, Peter Robinson, and Mike Clark. Probably a hard to find CD now, some of the audio is on KZbin.

[@sheldoninst]

As always, love these rankings... Brand X is definitely one of my handful of favorite British bands (along with Tull, UK, Crimson, Camel)... however, as good as John Goodsall is, and I love his playing, he’s not quite in the league of players like Holdsworth/Morse/McLaughlin/DiMeola/Stern/Gambale... but close for sure. I’d definitely say the Percy Jones would indeed be in the league of his fellow bassists like Willis/Clarke/Armstrong/Bailey/Neil Jason... From a close mutual friend, I know John suffered quite a bit of substance abuse back in the 80s/90s of which he’s fully recovered and still touring when they can, which explains some of the quirks here and there... John Goodsall also had a fabulous solo albums under “Fire Merchants”..

[@lousmith1050]

These guys are awesome!

[@richardmorey1558]

Good job reviewing Brand X albums. I've always loved the first two albums and was lucky to see the band 1975/76 can you believe as a support act. Morris Pert is an awesome player first heard him with Stomu Yamashta

[@blackcatcentralmusic]

Another plug for Jack Lancaster "Marscape". He also did an album prior to that with Brand-X alumni, "Peter and the Wolf".

[@garymey4314]

This band deserves a remastered boxset!

[@arnaudb.7669]

Love Brand X.Thanks for the show. Like you i think that the first three albums are the cream of the crop. Here's my ranking : 1- Masques 2- Unorthodox Behaviour 3- Moroccan Roll 4- Do They Hurt? 5- The rest....

[@johnhenfrey5936]

Saw the original line up at Reading in the 1970’s really really good.

[@andyshelton4889]

Keep up the great work!😀

[@captainbeyond7469]

Nice job Rand not an easy thing to do in the ring with the master of ranking the albums. Well done 👍 R.I.P. Edward.

[@shyshift]

Thank you.

[@garyjoyce2160]

Great job RAND!! 👍👍💯💯

[@user-up2xt5zs1g]

Anybody who's just discovered the mighty Brand X should really check out the excellent box set - nuclear burn. Great value for money, and recordings remastered.

[@domico5838]

I never quite got into them but from what you've said about them...YES PLEASE!!!!!!😉👍

[@progger53]

I saw Brand X in 1998 at San Francisco's progfest.

[@davidm2066]

Pete and Rand, thanks for reviewing the works of Brand X. I will have to go out and purchase a few more discs. Pete, how about ranking the studio albums of Tribal Tech, Al DiMeola, The Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra and Gamalon? I need to lighten my wallet!! Great stuff as usual.

[@shanelindemanmusic2650]

Nice! Great band with some absolutely MONSTER players! Goodsall and Jones! Holy shit!

[@mathewsandford3796]

Another two oddball releases to look out for: Wilding and Bonus 'Pleasure Signals' which also features the members of Brand X, and Nova 'Vimana' which features Collins and Jones.

[@shyshift]

I own those lps.

[@mathewsandford3796]

@@shyshift I don't doubt it! And, of course, the rhythm section was 'borrowed' for a couple of Eno's albums. That gig was critical to Jones and Collins developing their musical chemistry.

[@cheezruff]

Nova- Vimana had Narada Michael Walden on drums + Percy Jones on bass, Phil C was not on that album.

[@kevmaher8988]

Of the studio albums I have herd 1, Masques 2, Moroccan Roll 3. A tie between Unorthodox Behaviour and Do They Hurt? 5 Product

[@davidjfisher]

You guys got to get “Missing Period”!!!

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

I have it.

[@shyshift]

Me too.

[@tookmyjob]

"Missing Period", the sessions they did before "Unorthodox Behaviour" released in the 90's might be better then them all. I've listened to that the most since I got it and Collins kicks more ass in that then any of the studio albums.

[@stevescott200]

oh yes agreed

[@BRO77TX]

I wouldn’t have known about Brand X if it weren’t for Pete!! I just have a playlist of 17 songs over the first 4 albums. But, I like Brand X a lot!!

[@agsmith001]

thanks guys! but you are crazy. Sun in the Night is awesome, the dynamics & timing in that is genius but i cant stop listening to livestock. Percy is nuts!

[@stevescott200]

I love Brand x, the album, "Missing Period" is my favorite

[@chrisschrecker5497]

Love this under the radar band. Thanks Pete. I saw Percy Jones decided to quit the band recently.

[@lobster4501]

Brand X was my favorite concert in 2018

[@thomasbeck2934]

Props to your guest host. Good job!

[@stevewhiteside4525]

Great show, great guest - but you guys don't like Sun In The Night - are you nuts?

[@martymartin2894]

Good knowledgeable guest.

[@geoffbaker4452]

I saw Brand X supported by Bruford about 1981. Have to say I enjoyed Bruford more. Brand X were touring "Do they hurt". I bought the album and the tee shirt ( still have both). Masque is almost certainly my number one. It just does everything right. Bruford were touring "Gradually going tornado". Love that album too.

[@stuartraybould6433]

Brought these as they came out and that's the order I'd put them in. First three are close after that, so so with smaller and smaller returns but those first three along with the original Live album are special.

[@wolfgangschmid5009]

There is a recent Interview with Eddie where he mentions he hardly ever gets other music. Last acquisition from“ a Band called Brand X” ....

[@DanielHuman1996]

Unorthodox Behavior is so good. It's like an epic adventure!

[@63mckenzie]

I loved all the old 70s Jazz Rock bands, Brand X, Coliseum 11, Bill Bruford, RTF, Chick Ccorea Electric Band, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham etc. Everybody I knew hated them.

[@VincentBautista365]

1. Unorthodox Behavior. 2. Masques. 3. Moroccan Roll. 4. Product. 5. Xcommunication. 6. Do They Hurt? 7. Is There Anything About? 8. Manifest Destiny.

[@terryjohnson5275]

First heard them on their BBC radio session - they did Malaga Virgen. I am not a fan of Phil Collins solo stuff but love what he did with Brand X - shows just what a great drummer he is, though its good that he wasnt on everything as it showed that he was only one part of a great great band. I would agree with Rand's listing , I was going to swap around Moroccan Roll and Masques but have just re listened to both and although Moroccan Roll has great tracks on it I now find I prefer listening to Masques. Got a nice double CD on Musea from1998 - 'the X Files a 20 year retrospective' that has some live and outake s on disc 1 and a selection of solo material on disc 2 - Fire Merchants, Tunnels, Goodsall with Bruford etc.

[@dawnthechaldean5377]

That looks like a Stephen Stills photo on the wall. Your guest MUST have good taste to go along with his pleasant demeanor and musical knowledge.

[@knightvisioniixv]

That's a photo of John Lennon, with the rest of The Beatles. The other members are just out of screenshot :-)

[@dawnthechaldean5377]

@@knightvisioniixv I did not know that. The sideburns and profile are very similar and he isn't wearing glasses. What does DT195 mean?

[@jimmycampbell78]

Yes, it's not Stephen Stills, it's an image of John Lennon from the Beatles Let It Be sessions. I can't find a link to that particular image, but this is from a similar image to the photo on the wall. He is wearing glasses, they are thin wire frame ones so in this video's background you can't make them out. www.pinterest.com/pin/340655159286020726/

[@gordy3714]

The only jazz rock fusion I listen to is a German band called Kraan, who are still touring and bringing out new music to this day.Maybe Pete will add it in the future. 👍

[@jazzpunk]

I was missing a few of these...so I picked up the Box Set mentioned by Rand. $20 at Import Cds (they also sell on EBay). "Dance Of The Illegal Aliens"...1st time I heard it? Swore it was Weather Report or The Zawinul Syndicate. Nice hearing a Tribal Tech reference... How 'bout a show on them? :-)

[@EA-ri6du]

The only thing I’d change is to give Product a higher ranking. Maybe. When it was first released, I was greatly disappointed. Because it followed Masks, my personal #1, and I was hoping for more of the same. But in retrospect, Product had a strength in that some tracks were more structured-they didn’t just play a line and then do solos, they did more actual composing. Or am i just thinking of certain tracks (Dance of the Illegal Aliens comes to mind). This is something I always appreciated about RTF and early Al Di Meola-killer solos but balanced with some intricate composing. Anyway, this was another great ranking session, almost all of which closely mirror my own…I guess proggers think alike.

[@enjois5464]

1, unorthodox behaviour, what an album, hey rand , as well as marscape, you must check out the rock version of peter and the wolf which is brand x before they became brand x, released in 1975

[@shyshift]

Own the cd.

[@johnwilson1689]

I guess I'm a cheater I got the "Nuclear Burn" box set. Incredible !!

[@winnallrockschool-makingmu1504]

Yeah. Can’t argue with either ranking but Livestock caps the lot.

[@MrTarkus01]

Agreed. It's just too short, should have been the full shows.

[@Jellybeantiger]

Moroccan Roll is their best imo,amazing album that is jazz prog rock.

[@TheGenreman]

Missing period is really good

[@johngranda3556]

Love Brand X! Almost as much as Gentle Giant.

[@1359401]

Brand x comes real close but no one and i mean no one js as good or better than GG- the greatest ever.

[@donaldanderson6604]

Don't beat yourself up to much about missing Brand X. In 1980, I missed them playing a double bill with Bruford at Leeds University. To be fair, I was in the middle of final exams but I've been kicking myself ever since!

[@arnaudb.7669]

Pete, could you rank the albums of "keyboard extraordinaire" David Sancious ? I think of the albums Forest of Feelings, Transformation, Dance of the Age of Enlightenment, True Stories and Just as I Thought.All progfusion masterpieces, in my opinion. Thanks and keep up the good work!

[@shyshift]

Love all those cds.

[@arnaudb.7669]

@@shyshift \o/

[@davidkahler2053]

saw brand x with phil at the roxy in hollywood 9/21/79

[@MrFtoudalk]

Brand X was my gateway to fusion. After that it was Weather Report, Zappa and so on..

[@stevewhiteside4525]

What about a ranking of the albums for the band Bruford who were doing the the same kind of thing about the same time? I know there were only three studio albums so maybe you could incorporate the live stuff or maybe an album war of your favourite vs. your favourite Brand X, or include a review the recent rereleases.

[@waedi73]

Eddie Unforgetable !

[@tvepv6141]

1 Do They Hurt? (numerous song titles seem to connect to Vietnam, but I was never certain if that was the intent) 2 Unorthodox Behaviour (got it when it first came out---WOW) 3 Masques/Moroccan Roll (pretty much a tie) then the rest

[@TheGenreman]

I would rate the albums in descending order of the way they were released.

[@marcelob4132]

Exactly

[@shyshift]

We almost did that. lol

[@georgelamie7001]

Dennis Chambers isn't on Lords of Atlantis. That's Toss Panos on drums. Doug Lunn on bass

[@Banh__Bao]

Saw Fire Merchants at a record store when they released their cd. They played a little bit in the store.

[@shyshift]

Thank you.

[@jeremydicker6613]

Pete just wondered if youd checked out a band called Cafe jasque.. ? If not think youd like em..!

[@shyshift]

Cafe’ Jacques yes I have Round The Back on lp. Tasty like Steely Dan.

[@stevious7278]

For me it has to be Unorthodox Behaviour.The first. The best

[@johngranda3556]

I call John, Greatsall instead of Goodsall.

[@Steve-mp7by]

Great band. It looked like they fell apart while recording Product and split into 2 bands. Percy said the record company was pressuring them to make more commercial music hence Don't Make Waves and Soho. When those singles flopped the record company had enough. Percy said he never got a dime from any Brand X albums

[@PhuckHue2]

Their greatest album was Moroccan Roll

[@79lerxst]

Remember when I 1st heard,nuclear burn,already a genesis fan and knew how phil works etc..heard that song,was like wtf?!?! A CPL weeks later,I'm blasting that song and some guys with me(younger generation)..they said wtf are u listening to?like it was old sounding,mess of music...to me though,I heard the flavor,the music haha.🍻✌️🍻✌️

[@civilian8697]

I'm 13 and I dig the stuff!

[@79lerxst]

@@civilian8697 right on man!glad to hear that.im 41,so this stuff was being made b4 I was born lmao!!but what some call,mess and scrambled up shit,I hear music,time signatures etc etc..I love the complexity's..so for some of us,we dig the stuff as u say!

[@civilian8697]

@@79lerxst I know man, some people just don't get it. Not that their taste in music simply sucks, but they haven't been exposed to great stuff! Imagine if prog was the new trend! That would be awesome! Great music, and it's great to meet others that enjoy it too!

[@79lerxst]

@@civilian8697 yeah LMAO that be fucking diabolical..'it just got released today! The new YES album!!-TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS!!🤣🤣😂😆🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@arnoldjones]

Kinda weird, just watched an old EVH interview where he said he doesn't listen to other bands and the last album he bought was by Brand X.

[@lonegroover]

Nice work Rand & Pete, must admit I only listened to one of their albums once and dismissed it as a sort of Xerox Mahavishnu.

[@blackcatcentralmusic]

I think "Is There Anything About" is a release of the remaining tracks from the "Product" sessions. It was not recorded in 1982.

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

Released in 1982. We did state that those two albums all came from the Product sessions.

[@blackcatcentralmusic]

Yes... I see that now. At first Rand talked about how Genesis was inactive in 1982 and made it sound like ITAA was a new project. It's the one Brand X album I don't have on CD. Hard to find. I too wondered if it was Phil Collins peeking through the blinds on the "Unorthodox Behavior" album. John Goodsall loves the "Manifest Destiny" album. I didn't play it much. Need to revisit it.

[@Monk118]

I'm surprised no one mentioned a CD call "Timeline". It's a 2 disc anthology of live performances.

[@shyshift]

I don’t have it.

[@Monk118]

@@shyshift It's a collection of live performances from Chicago 1977 & New York 1993.

[@shyshift]

Dennis Brown I think it’s on Amazon Prime I just didn’t study that because Pete was interested in the studio albums only as far as the ranking. We agreed Missing Period was redundant as well.

[@ATS3788]

Brand X never touched me. Pete how long would it take to listen all your record 27/7 from A to Z. More then a year... Lol👏😊

[@marcelob4132]

1 Unorthodox Behaviour 2 Moroccan Roll 3 Masques 4 Product 5 Xcommunication 6 Do They Hurt 7 Missing Period

[@domico5838]

What do you suggest that I try first... I'm going to get two to start with I think. They are all very accomplished musicians from what I know about them.

[@shyshift]

David Micco Buy Nuclear Burn contains 7/8 albums bonus live concert for $22.

[@marcelob4132]

@@domico5838Yes, the musicianship is outstanding on all of their albums! Start with Unorthodox Behaviour and Moroccan Roll, with *Phil Collins*. He also plays on the live set, Livestock, although the sound quality isn't as good as on the studio versions

[@bennettwolf3821]

Sad that Percy Jones just announced last week that he has left the most recent version of Brand X.

[@PhuckHue2]

temporarily

[@bennettwolf3821]

@@PhuckHue2 “I would first like to say thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, especially the Brand X fans,” he wrote. “But I had been facing some long standing frustrations that had to do with the day to day operations of the band. Sometimes - more often than not - it’s the business that gets in the way of the art and ultimately kills it; in Brand X it’s getting to be a habit. Which is why, due to long standing frustrations with the day to day operations of Brand X, I decided the experiment wasn’t working as I’d hoped when I agreed to reform the band in the summer of 2016.” Of course you can never say never but there is no mention of temporary in there. Meanwhile Jeff Berlin has stepped in.

[@PhuckHue2]

@@bennettwolf3821 He said the same thing 40 years ago.

[@bennettwolf3821]

@@PhuckHue2 He is older now. Time is running out.

[@ethosardour2320]

One of the greatest songs I have ever heard and one of the greatest live performances. All of them are underrated except Collins and all are brilliant here especially John Goodsall. Saw them in 1979 at the Roxy in L.A, Dig this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpLYgIelYqd-ibs

[@treybenton2392]

Hi. I'm André from Brazil. Could you do a Ranking The Studio Albums with Casiopea?

[@terryplatt8115]

Yeah, I second that! Only discovered Casiopea about 2 years ago, and wondered how they'd escaped my attention for so long. Trouble is, their albums were hard to fiind in the UK, and now they're bloody expensive! The band have their own internet radio station, which you can find on TuneIn - continuous music, no presenters, all them, but mixed in with associates The Square (or TSquare). But how long would it take to get through all their albums on this channel - which is around 30+! Great band though, and check out their live video on YT - absolutely stunning. Runs about 95 mins.

[@stevescott200]

"is there anything about" was released without their permission , they don't regard it as an official album.

[@celiotintorifilho8966]

CELIO TINTORI FILHO FROM BRAZIL , I HAVE LISTENING TO YOUR CHANNEL FROM SOME TIME AND I LIKE IT A LOT PLEASE DO SOME RANKING OF IGGY POP , DAVID BOWIE , THE RESIDENTS AND FRANK ZAPPA PLEASE THANKS A LOT

[@robsongremio]

Celio, he already ranked Bowie and Zappa.

[@andyshelton4889]

Morris Pert played with Peter Gabriel.😀

[@geoffbaker4452]

And Kate Bush, and Mike Oldfield.....

[@johnjesberger5676]

Wherever he went I think Pert was often the best pure musician among whoever he was with.

[@shyshift]

Sun Treader.

[@andyshelton4889]

Percy Jones has left the band!😥

[@armonepaiomar6243]

What no Livestock?

[@shyshift]

Honorable mention because Pete ranks the studio albums and not the live ones.

[@johngranda3556]

What? No Brand X t-shirt?

[@shyshift]

Wearing it.

[@giorgioformicola5287]

Nobody fancies PRODUCT?

[@richardweigle1687]

I fancie it, It doesn't need the Collins vocals, get that in genesis, don't need it in brand x, sorry it's just me, I'm an instrumental dude especially when it comes to jazz rock fusion imo