Live At The Roxy LA 79

Had an interesting time with the Brand X album Live at The Roxy. Mind you this live recording was done back in 1979, probably not the best equipment to record a live band in such a small venue. There was an unappetizing hissing sound, audience interaction was mostly muddled, but the music sounded pretty decent. You can tell the band is jamming, and under better circumstances, say the band recorded the album today using updated equipment and it was produced by Scott Humphrey’s, who made Rob Zombie’s Zombie Live concert album sound remarkably life sized, maybe we’d get a better glimpse at the full spectrum. Still, not bad. 

 

The album runs an hour and eleven minutes worth of tunes (6 tracks total) and some chatter between the band and the audience. Again, some of the material is a bit under produced and sounds a bit off, but the band plays on nevertheless, knowing full well, at that date and time, they are there to only please the immediate audience. 

 

My focal point for the album, as I’m sure most people unfamiliar with the rest of the players, was Phil Collins on drums. From jazz to contemporary rock Phil tears the set up. I was excited that his performance translated well through the murk, and that of bass player Percy Jones. A bit hollowed out at times was the overall sound, but the majority of the album was obviously worth salvaging for a release. Fans rejoice.