FOCUS CON PROBY

So Akkerman is out of the band, and Thjis van Leer decides to continue putting out music under the Focus moniker (although Bert Ruiter still does play bass here, so maybe it's legitimate). Besides getting the soul "superstar" P.J. Proby on vocals, Thjis also employed Steve Smith on drums, who is today considered to be a world class jazz player, and two excellent guitarists Eef Albers and Philip Catherine, so if this album is lacking in anything it is not in musicianship! The first track is kind of soul tune, with some ace guitar soloing by Eef Albers, it's just too bad that P.J. disrupts the playing with his singing (not that he is a bad singer, it's just that he distracts the great part of the tune). The rest of the album continues in the same fashion for the most part. Gone are the romantic and medieval-inspired days of Focus, there is not much classical influence to be found here, except the piano driven Brother which is quite a trip into past (and future - they would remake this as an instrumental on Focus 8). If you enjoy fusion pyrotechnics then "Night Flight" will be a treat for you, being an explosive jam beetween Albers, Smith and van Leer. Don't listen to "How Long" unless you like straightforward disco grooves! Overall, it's a good improvement from "Mother Focus", but really only for fans.