MOROCCAN ROLL

Second album from the fusion supergroup Brand X. The sound has mellowed out a bit and does a dangerous dance around some of the cheesy pitfalls of fusion. In generally it dodges all traps gracefully, but it doesn't list as a genre top release for me.

You got to be in the mood for the opener Sun In The Night. Both its nonsensical title, the sitar, the Indo influenced melodies and Collins' whiny vocals give it a Yes-y vibe reminding me of Topographic Oceans, a similar touch reoccurs at the end of Disco Suicide.

The remainder of the album goes through the known jazz-rock motions: some atmospheric pieces like Why Should I Lend You Mine, funky fusion as on Hate Zone and room for shredding on Malaga Virgen. With Macrocosm the album ends in full Mahavishnu mode, but especially during the solos, the inevitable comparison clearly shows the great quality gap between both. If Mahavishnu shreds with a passion, this is note assembly with a certain lack of depth and effectiveness.

A good fusion album but nothing stellar. If you want to hear Percy Jones and John Goodsall in more flourishing circumstances, check out the album Progressivity from Tunnels, also on PA.