MASQUES

Review Nº 882

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.

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. Brand X was formed by Genesis' drummer Phil Collins and the Atomic Rooster's guitarist John Goodsall as a side project from their regular bands. Their initial line up also included keyboardist Robin Lumley and bassist Percy Jones. The band was lucky to have signed a recording contract with Island Records. As I said, Brand X's debut studio album, "Unorthodox Behaviour", was released in 1976 and their debut live album, "Livestock" and their second studio one "Moroccan Roll", were released in the following year. After that, Collins left Brand X to can concentrate on Genesis. For their third studio work "Masques" that was released in 1978, Phil was replaced by the Al Di Meola drummer Chuck Burgi, as well as the additional keyboardist Peter Robinson, who had played with Stanley Clarke.

So, "Masques" is the third studio album of Brand X that was released in 1978. The line up on the album is John Goodsall (guitar), Peter Robinson (keyboards), Percy Jones (bass), Chuck Burgi (drums) and Morris Pert (percussion and Fender piano).

"Masques" was released with the regular line up of the band with Goodsall, Jones, Lumley and Pert despite Lumley left for the producer's chair, and Robinson have replaced him. But, Phil Collins wasn't there for the first time. Burgi sat on the drums for replace him. Basically, I would say it's less important whether Collins was there or not. The pillars of the sound were, in my opinion, above all Jones and Goodsall. Pert also featured prominently on the album. Even without Collins, the band offered perfectly recorded jazz fusion, as always with light progressive parts. Some pieces gain an additional individual touch through the percussive inserts by Pert, including xylophone inserts. Most of the pieces convey, not least through the fragile synth sounds, the genre typical fusion light heartedness. Thus, we can say that "Masques" mainly contains not particularly original, but first class fusion music that is on par with their first previous albums in terms of memorable melodies and superlative playing. As a whole, "Masques" stays as a firm studio album.

"Masques" has seven tracks. "The Poke" opens the album with a memorable motive with its great blend of jazz breaks and progressive keyboard sounds. It's a rocking number with guitar parts mostly in unison with the synthesizers. It shows that Brand X could also act with some spirit. The title track "Masques" is a pastoral piece that is dominated by the bass. It retains the atmospheric and Eastern feel of their last two previous works. It features Jones' brilliant bass playing as is usual by him. I think that Percy was always the heart and soul of Brand X. "Black Moon" is a delicate piece with a catchy mid paced tune. It's a foray into the smooth jazz that stands out with its massive relaxing energy. This is a lovely piece, a great find for any Latin jazz lover, really. "Deadly Nightshade" is the longest piece with its more than ten minutes. It has a middle section with committed guitar solos and shrill keyboard sounds as well as a slightly bombastic progressive like ending. This is another foray on the album into the Latin fusion. "Earth Dance" has a funky Latin feel and some interesting progressive gimmicks. It has an amazing musical interplay of all the instruments used due to the excellent keyboard, drum, bass and percussion works. "Access To Data" has some nice instrumental complexity that also exudes a lot of Latin feeling. It's a joy to listen to. It's a very light song, another fine tune with some clear highlights in Goodsall's guitar solo passages and some enjoyable sequences. "The Ghost Of Mayfield Lodge" has a great tune that evolves through its many and multiple music parts. It's a well done mix of jazz fusion and progressive rock music. It represents one of the best moments on the album with its percussion, synths and bass guitar parts. It's a nice closer.

Conclusion: Compared to the two previous first albums of the band, probably due to the absence of Collins, you get the feeling that the band is more focused on the song than just instrumental parts. As a result, it seems more clearly structured, in addition to the often somewhat noncommittal, light West Coast like sounds. The liquid bass lines, percolating percussion, spacey synthesizers, fiery guitar work and forceful drumming create truly an exotic musical landscape that represents what's best about the progressive fusion from the 70's. So, "Masques" is a firm studio album that will keep listeners fascinated with the band. Definitely, it's one of many high water marks in the 70's jazz fusion style. In its own way, "Masques" turned out to be a great album, which I can see on par with their first two studio works.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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