MORROCAN ROLL

Way back when I was an avid devourer of anything produced by any member of Genesis past or present I bought Unorthodox Behaviour, but it didn't really do anything for me. It was a style of music which which I was unfamiliar.

Then one night I heard a radio programme playing Malaga Virgen off "Moroccan Roll" and something clicked. I went out next day to buy the album. I continued to buy anything by Brand X up until "Do They Hurt?" by which time I felt the magic had gone.

But "Moroccan Roll" is a stunner. Phil Collins doing what he always did best (drumming as opposed to making piles of money from pop tunes- though I can't blame him for the latter!). Truly unique and distinctive bass playing from Percy Jones. Maginifcent percussion work from Morris Pert.

If I had to pick one track from the album it would definitely be Malaga Virgen due to its complexity and the way it holds together as a piece, but there's other gems here. Hate Zone for instance is funk gone mad!

Since the demise of my vinyl collection this is the only Brand X album I owned that made across to the CD age, so that marks it out in my mind as something special. A little short of 5 stars possibly, but well worth owning.