''Unorthodox Behaviour'' is the first album by British

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

group

Brand X Brand X were a jazz fusion band formed in London in 1974. They were active until 1980, followed by a reformation between 1992 and 1999, and were active following a 2016 reunion until 2021. Members have included John Goodsall (guitar), Percy ...

. It peaked at 191 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 1976, the same year it was released. This album combines jazz fusion with

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

. It shows extensive use of improvisation in the extended pieces, which is common in both genres of music.

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Dave Connolly wrote: "''Unorthodox Behaviour'' samples a variety of styles: from melodic to energetic, ethereal to mathematical. Without a standout soloist..., Brand X does run the risk of sounding like a generic fusion jazz outfit, but their compositional skills pick up the slack nicely. Those interested in the band may do well to start with this album." Markus Scharpey of Genesis News stated: "this is a well-done instrumental debut album. You feel that the musicians are very much in tune with each other. It seems that all tracks were developed from jam sessions and structured later... Phil Collins is on top of his drumming game."

Track listing

All songs written by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

John Goodsall John Goodsall (15 February 1953 – 10 November 2021) was a British-American progressive rock and jazz fusion guitarist most noted for his work with Brand X, Atomic Rooster, and The Fire Merchants. Life and career Goodsall was born in Middlese ...

Robin Lumley Robin Lumley is a British jazz fusion musician, keyboardist, record producer, and author who was a member of the band Brand X with drummer Phil Collins, guitarist John Goodsall, and bassist Percy Jones. He is a second cousin of the actress Joan ...

, and Percy Jones. # "Nuclear Burn" – 6:23 # "Euthanasia Waltz" – 5:42 # "Born Ugly" – 8:18 # "Smacks of Euphoric Hysteria" – 4:30 # "Unorthodox Behaviour" – 8:29 # "Running on Three" – 4:38 # "Touch Wood" – 3:03

Personnel

Credits per insert of original album release on Charisma Records. *

– electric and acoustic guitars *

– electric and acoustic pianos, Moog synthesizer, string synthesizer on "Nuclear Burn",

Echoplex The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s—it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything else is measured." It was used by some of the ...

on "Smacks of Euphoric Hysteria" * Percy Jones – electric and acoustic basses, marimba on "Unorthodox Behaviour" *

– drums, percussion, vibraphone on "Euthanasia Waltz" *

Jack Lancaster Jack Lancaster is a British composer, record producer and musician. In the late 1960s, Lancaster co-founded the British rock group Blodwyn Pig with Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams and in the late 1970s he was a member of the British progres ...

– soprano saxophone on "Touch Wood"

Release information

References

{{Authority control 1976 debut albums Brand X albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Albums recorded at Trident Studios Charisma Records albums Passport Records albums