UNORTHODOX BEHAVIOUR

Back in the 1970s, it seemed like most of the greatest jazz rock fusion bands came from the jazz side of the equation. And most of those were filled with former Miles Davis sidemen. Then came Brand X. With this album John Goodsall, Robin Lumley, Percy Jones and drummer Phil Collins, mostly known for work in rock, pushed this band into the pantheon of fusion groups.

Right from the first track, the music is tight, complex, energetic, and different from any other fusion band. It helps that they had Percy Jones, a bass player with a sound like no other. And drummer Phil Collins excelled at this form of music (it's too bad he has since been usurped by singer Phil Collins). Goodsall and Lumley are no slouches either, showing their chops on blazing melodic sections as well as fiery solos.

This album is less lush than the later Brand X albums, which added percussionist Morris Pert (and juggled other members), but the sound doesn't suffer from his absence.

This band's catalogue is a must for the serious fusion collector.