Brand X was another one of those bands who were beloved of other musicians and the more discerning of critics but which despite everything, never had the commercial success that it deserved.
They were a jazz fusion band active 1975–1980. Brand X started in 1975 as a 'jam' band signed by Island Records' Richard Williams. Williams A&R man Danny Wilding wrote down the name 'Brand X' to keep track of their activity on the studio calendar and the name stuck.
Noted members included Phil Collins (drums), Percy Jones (bass), John Goodsall (guitar) and Robin Lumley (keyboards). Not long after jazz/rock fusion greats Brand X put out their 1980 album, Do They Hurt?, the band members went their separate ways until their comeback in 1992. Goodsall and Jones formed a trio version of Brand X with drummer Frank Katz in 1992. To make up for the lack of a keyboard player, Goodsall used a Gibson Max MIDI-guitar system to trigger synths, samples and keyboard sounds along with his guitars. This line-up went on to record Xcommunication (1992) and Manifest Destiny (1997), and tour Japan and Europe in 1997 with keyboard player Kris Sjobring and ex-Gong drummer Pierre Moerlen replacing Katz.
The X Files features music from both periods of the band’s career.
Disc one of this extraordinary album consists of ten previously unreleased live recordings in reverse chronological order, from the 1997 Manifest Destiny tour to the group's initial mid-'70s lineup, when Phil Collins and Robin Lumley were the band's drummer and keyboardist.
Disc two technically is not Brand X at all, but a sampling of extracurricular projects by group leaders John Goodsall and Percy Jones, in tandem and separately. These tracks come mostly from the '90s, and are well worth checking out.
personnel on DISC 1:
Percy Jones: all tracks (except 4)
John Goodsall: all tracks
Frank Katz: 1, 2, 3, 5
Franz Pusch: 2
Pierre Moerlen: 6
Kris Sjobring: 6
Mike Clarke: 7
Robin Lumley: 7, 8, 9
Morris Pert: 7, 9
Phil Collins: 8, 9
Preston Heyman: 8
personnel on DISC 2:
John Goodsall: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13
Percy Jones: 3, 10, 11, 12
Ronie Ciago: 1
Doug Lunn: 2, 4, 8
Chester Thompson: 2
Frank Katz: 3, 12
Marc Wagnon, Van Manakas: 3
Toss Panos: 4
Danny Wilding, Phil Collins, John Giblin: 5
Bill Bruford, Bayete, Donny Harvey: 7
Paul Delph, Rick Parnell: 8
Mick McClinden, Mike Barsimanto, Krash: 9, 13
Malcolm Bruce, Pierre Moerlen: 10
Mike Clarke, Shankar, Jeff Llewelyn: 11
