DO THEY HURT?

Brand X is a British progressive rock band that was founded in London in 1975. Brand X was a jazz fusion band that was active between 1975 and 1980 and that had a hiatus from 1980 to 1992. The band was disbanded in 1999 and was reformed in 2016. So, Brand X had a lifespan of about forty six years, and existed on and off between 1975 and 2019, though technically, their last studio creation as Brand X dates back to 1997. At the height of their success, the 70's, they were often considered a jazz-fusion act, but over the time, were rounded up into the progressive music label. That was due in part to their own gradual shape shifting. The fact that upwards of 25 separate and international session players appeared with them in studio or on stage, their frequent reputation of working as a revolving door musical experiment was erroneous. In reality, Brand X was only ever three British musicians who signed on and were defined as "the band", John Goodsall, Percy Jones and Robin Lumley. Brand X was lucky to have signed a recording contract with the Island Records. And as we all know, Island Records has been home to many reputable artists all over the years.

Brand X released four studio albums in the 70's. Their debut studio album "Unorthodox Behaviour" was released in 1976. Their debut live album "Livestock" and their second studio album "Moroccan Roll" were both released in 1977. Their third studio album "Masques" was released in 1978. Their fourth studio album "Product" was released in 1979. Finally, we have the subject of my review, their fifth studio album "Do They Hurt?" that was only released in 1980.

So, "Do They Hurt?" is the fifth studio album of Brand X and that was released in 1980. The line up on the album is John Goodsall (guitar), Peter Robinson (keyboards and tam-tam), Robin Lumley (piano and keyboards), Percy Jones (vocals and bass), John Giblin (bass), Michael Clark (drums), Phil Collins (drums) and Morris Pert (percussion).

"Do They Hurt?" contains material from what's left over from the multivalent sessions for their previous studio album "Product". Commercially, the album wasn't a huge success, but that was pretty much the norm in the Brand X's case. If Phil Collins hadn't been running the band as a kind of a side project as the drummer, the band might have remained even less known. That it would have been too bad, because the level of the band was good. Unfortunately, the rest of the band often got a little lost beside him. That is also too bad, because the musicians are all among the best in their field, guitarist John Goodsall, bassists Percy Jones and John Giblin, keyboardist Robin Lumley, percussionist Morris Pert and drummer Mike Clark. They were also the main musicians on this album. Collins basically played a guest role.

"Noddy Goes To Sweden" is a jazz fusion track that doesn't require a guitar. The dominant instrument is Jones' fretless bass. The song is sparsely instrumented, but grooves pleasantly and sneaks funky-casual. To hear it is a real joy to our ears. "Voidarama" is a very guitar-oriented track. It begins with a nice and catchy relaxed melody. In the middle section Goodsall dares to play somewhat more complex parts. This track is a reminiscent of the Mahavishnu Orchestra style. "Act Of Will" is a piece sung through the vocoder. It's probably catchier than its predecessor. Sometimes is rocky and sometimes is melancholic. I like it even if it sounds rather conservative and commercial by the Brand X's standards. "Fragile!" is probably a bit more complex than the previous track, mildly experimental. It's beautifully an intricate jazz-prog rock number with some bass guitar leads. It's a fine light funky jazz-rock, a reminiscent of the "Masques" album. "Cambodia" is another very guitar-oriented track that follows the Mahavishnu Orchestra path. It oscillates between rock and jazz rock. It's one of the highlights on the album with Goodsall's excellent guitar work and Jones' good bass parts. "Triumphant Limp" is a fusion piece with a very dense drumming. It leans more towards the jazz fusion style. The song lives less on big ideas and more on Jones' excellent bass work and Collins' impressive drum parts. It's a triumphant statement of a great jazz fusion/rock band. "D.M.Z." is typical of Brand X. It seems playful and varied that thrives on the humming singing bass of Jones. The track represents the highlight on the album with Goodsall's excellent guitar work and Jones' good bass parts. This composition is a very successful conclusion of a solid jazz rock/fusion album, really.

Conclusion: With "Do They Hurt?", Brand X continued in the path of simplifying the sound that they had embarked on with "Product". Overall, the album oscillates somewhat indecisively between the jazz rock and rock, between complex and catchy. For some, the album lacks the effervescence of its predecessor maybe because it feels like a collection of outtakes from the "Product" sessions. However and despite of that, it has become a solid album between the jazz rock, prog and rock. It has the typical Brand X signature, bubbling bass lines, weird guitar runs, cool drumming and colorful keyboards. Despite Brand X have created more accomplished music before, "Do They Hurt?" still stands a great album. Here you can hear a number of experts in their field jamming blithely without losing the structure of the band's music.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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