HAMBURGER CONCERTO

Probably the last great album done by dutch prog legend Focus. By this time the music has changed quite a lot, and the rifts between founder members and songwriters This Van Leer and Jan Akkerman didn´t help matters. Still they could produce fine music together. English drummer Colin Allen steps in and has a very different style from Pierre Van Der Linden, more funky and down to earth. He worked well with bassist Bert Ruiter. The use of diverse percussion was also a novelty and added some colours to the overall sound.

The side long opus hamburger Concerto is usually cited as the highlight, but I think this is a very balanced CD and I liked all the tracks. It´s interesting to see the band experimenting with some more ´heavier´sounds like in Harem Scarem (it works very well after the short opener, which was played only with lute and recorder), but the best track to me is Birth: beautiful harpsichord opening, then comes bass and drums, and finally some of Akkerman´s best guitar solos ever, while the flute interventions are also amazing. I remeber going over and over to this song since I first heard it and I think it´s a pity that it is not so well known. To me is another classic like Hocus Pocus or Sylvia. My CD version has a bonus track called Early Birth, that is obviously an embrionic version of Birth. Nice addition for the hardcore fan or collector, but it is not as good as the other tunes.

In the same league as the more famous Moving Waves and Focus 3, it is one of the most interesting and unique instrumental prog albums of the 70´s. Highly recommended.