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Brand X - Morrocan Roll (1977)

Wederom een klassieker voor jullie.

There was a point in Phil Collins' career where he was getting increasingly unhappy with the press who seemed more interested on the costumes Peter Gabriel wore than the actual music of Genesis. He almost left Genesis because of that reason (but instead it was Gabriel who left). So Collins went and formed Brand X, with keyboardist Robin Lumley, bassist Percy Jones, and guitarist John Goodsall. Brand X totally avoided the theatrics of Genesis and went for largely instrumental progressive fusion. Unorthodox Behavior was that first album, as excellent as that album was, an even better album was to be released the following year (1977), that is Moroccan Roll. It was only released three months after Wind & Wuthering, so Phil Collins was an awfully busy guy at that point. The album starts with "Sun in the Night", it's the only vocal track on this album. It has an Indian feel to it complete with sitar and Phil Collins singing in Sanskrit, and you know right away this is something you wouldn't mistake for Genesis. This song is actually pretty untypical for Brand X as well. The next song, "Why Should I Lend You Mine" falls more in to the progressive fusion Brand X is known for. Lots of great fretless bass from Percy Jones, great electric piano and Mini Moog from Lumley. The music mellows out quite a bit for the next few minutes before fading out. The next piece is a wonderful piano piece "...Maybe I'll Lend You Mine After All". This is the first time Phil Collins played piano (something he wouldn't do until he embarked on his solo career in the 1980s). It's an incredible piece. The next piece is "Hate Zone" where the band is more aggressive and funky. The rest of the album is the same excellent quality, and if you like progressive fusion, this album is a must. 

Tracks;
   1. Sun In The Night 4:25 
   2. Why Should I Lend You Mine (When You've Broken Yours Off         Already) 11:16 
   3. Maybe I'll Lend You Mine After All 2:10 
   4. Hate Zone 4:41 
   5. Collapsar 1:35 
   6. Disco Suicide 7:55 
   7. Orbits 1:38 
   8. Malaga Virgen 8:28 
   9. Macrocosm 7:23

Lineup;
John Goodsall – guitar, bass, vocals, sitar, echo
Percy Jones – bass, autoharp, harp, marimba
Robin Lumley - keyboards, piano, synthesizer, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Moog synthesizer, vocals
Phil Collins – drums, vocals (1), piano
Morris Pert – percussion