FOCUS

I first heard focus in the mid 70s when I borrowed a compilation "Dutch Masters"off a friends elder brother.I was 14 and into all things heavy(hendrix,zep,purple,etc).Focus was a refreshing change and I was hooked.Focus 3 ironically was my third purchase and is still my fave along with Hamburger Concerto all though it is not without its faults.Its very dark sounding album,Jan Akkermans guitar tone in particular,purples Machine Head comes to mind.Its also very live sounding with apparently few overdubs.Opener Round Goes the Gossip is an odd mix up of ideas with a jumpy main theme,echoey vocals repeating the title,a jazz mid section with some stunning musicianship,and a quite section with some nonsensical vocalising from vanLeer(he threatens to go into some yodelling but restrains himself).The gentle Love Rembered is lovely.Beautiful flute from van leer.Next is the hit Sylvia with anthem heroic style guitar from Akkerman.His tone is brighter on this track.Carnival Fugue starts with a jazz feel with van Leers piano runs outstanding(think Keith Emerson).It turns mid way into jokey jumpy section pjayed on piccolo? with Akkermaan answering on guitar.For years I didn't like this part but it has grown on me.Side 2(on vinyl) is Focus 3 and Answer Questions and is really one long track.I can sit down relax with a beer by myself and just drift away this although some of akkermans jamming near the end tends to grate.Side3 and well into Side4 is Anonymous2 a re recording of an earlier version on the first album.Nothing more than a jam in the studio it has its moments particularly the first six minutes where van Leer out flutes the Anderson.I like the propelling drum solo to,but the bass solo is too long and Akkerman gets a bit too spiky and discordant.The return of the main theme at the end is great.Elspeth of Nottingham is a lovely lute solo,very medivial.House of the king was not on the Australian release so ends up here as the last track(also probably to make up for the short time of the side).Despite the faults I love this record and I have worn out 3 copies including a german pressing with a poster which I have never seen elsewhere.I now have it on cd but have copied with the correct running order including House of the king.

Not focused enough

After only three studio albums in as many years, Focus released this live album in 1973. In my opinion, the band had yet to reach their artistic peak at this point (which came with 1974's Hamburger Concerto). Had they waited another year or two to record their first live album, they could have made it into a double album featuring tunes from all of their four first albums which are also their best four. This could, for example, have been released in 1975 instead of the uninspired Mother Focus album to keep the Focus brand alive while the band would have had time to regain some new inspiration.

Still, Live At The Rainbow is not a bad live album as it stands. It showcases Focus in the live setting performing some great early numbers. Strangely, some numbers are severely edited for no apparent reason, while others (most notably Hocus Pocus) have been extended beyond reason! I find the album as a whole reasonably enjoyable even if I feel that it could have been much better than it is. It is worth hearing for sure, but it does not hold up well in comparison with many other classic Prog bands' live albums from around the same time.

Live At The Rainbow remains a good addition to any collection that already holds all of the band's four first albums, but it is by no means the ultimate place to start investigating Focus. Start instead with those studio albums.

Good, but not essential

New skin, old tricks

If not counting Jan Akkerman's and Thijs Van Leer's 1985 album Focus (appropriately listen here as a Focus album), then 2002's Focus 8 was the first album of new Focus material since the 1970's. This was a welcome return after such a long absence and Focus 8 was a good album. Four years later came Focus 9, subtitled New Skin. The fact that the album opens with a re-make of an older number (Black Beauty, originally from the band's 1970 debut) is in itself a warning sign that they had already run out of inspiration (again), but this actually is a rather nice version that is not too similar to the original and as such is worthwhile. The album continues with three strong tracks, showing promise and settling the listener into the comforting belief that Focus has made yet another good album. However, initial appearances mislead and the album soon deteriorates. The rest of the album sadly alternates between dull and downright embarrassing.

Niels' Skin is just Focus by the numbers, sounding as if they were running on autopilot. It is however with Just Like Eddie that disaster first strikes. This vocal number is dull and faceless, featuring totally anonymous vocals (by whom I don't know). It does not sound at all like Focus and as such is absolutely out of place on this album. Aya-Yuppie-Hippie-Yee, on the other hand, sounds again very much like Focus, and the track has its moments. But in the end it sounds like the band is just rehashing old ideas, trying to make another Hocus Pocus.

The title track is the second anomaly of this album (as well as an anomaly in the history of the band's trademark self-titled compositions). Focus 9 is an acoustic piece that totally lacks direction. Perhaps it was improvised on the spot? It is dominated by piano and acoustic guitar and as such also sounds out of place here. By now it should be clear that New Skin is an inferior Focus album. It is also a backward-looking album showcasing a band desperately trying to be what they once were. This is nowhere more obvious than during a vocal part of European Rap(sody) in which the lyrics are entirely based on song titles from the band's own past. It is rather lame.

Finally, another problem with this album is that it is just too long for its own good. It would have benefited from being shortened, and there are indeed several tracks that we would have done better without. I don't recommend getting this album until after you have most other Focus albums.

Back to the mother ship

By the mid-70's Focus had already run out of steam which was clearly evidenced by the poor Mother Focus. This was followed by the present album which consists of a collection of recordings left over from earlier years. As such, it is almost per definition primarily interesting for fans and collectors. Ship Of Memories merits a couple of listens by the Focus fan, but it is certainly not an album that I will return to on further occasions (except perhaps to hear the flute-driven P's March, the most memorable track here).

Those who enjoyed the band's four first albums (this reviewer included) might find this a decent addition to their collections, but it is by no means up to par with any of those classic albums (or with the band's more recent studio albums for that matter). The style is 100% Focus, but the quality of the material is somewhat lower. While definitely preferable over the previous Mother Focus, Ship Of Memories is still one of Focus' weaker moments.

With "X", it feels to me that Focus is running on cruise control. There are many elements of the classic Focus, although only Thijs van Leer and Pierre van Der Linden of the old version of the group remain in the band. But on the down side, they show us nothing new, and at times appear to be trying too hard to recapture the old glory.

Nothing is more indicative of this than the opening track, Father Bacchus, which strains to sound as much like Hocus Pocus as it can without calling for accusations of it being the exact same song. And it doesn't help having van Leer shout over the beginning of the song "Ladies and gentleman, let me present Focus, F-O-C-U-S, Focus!"

The rest of the tracks show Focus to now be a competant light prog fusion band, playing elegant jazz with more than a little finesse. Menno Gootjes proves to be an adequate replacement for Jan Akkerman, but the material, while good, just doesn't stay with me very long after a listen.

Hamburger Concerto is the second essential Focus album, and probably their greatest. There is a bit of a change of sound from Moving Waves, with the jazz fading slightly in favor for full on classical influence. Yet the Focus sound and crazy instrumental proficiency is still as present as ever.

The album opens with a short medieval-inspired introduction with 'Delitae Musicae' before seguing into 'Harem Scarem' a full on rocker very similar to what Hocus Pocus was on their second album. Though, it is very straightforward, and isn't anything you wouldn't expect from a classic rock band at the time.

'La Cathedrale De Strasbourg' is a delicate, yet powerful song with piano and underlying organ, playing some divine melodies.

'Birth' is a pretty diverse song, with the opening harpsichord lines leading into a groovier flute and guitar dominated part.

Of course the real meat here (excuse the pun) is the epic title track, 'Hamburger Concerto.' Like the band's previous epic in Eruption, Hamburger Concerto is a multi-part epic with a very diverse structure, but this one seems to be more, well, focused. It is mainly because much of the noodling of Eruption isn't present; instead the band took time to compose a masterpiece with a myriad of pleasant melodies and riffs, many of which are repeated throughout to give a sense of unity to the whole thing.

'Early Birth' revisits a few melodies to appropriately end a fantastic album. Overall, I would venture to say, in comparison to Moving Waves, Hamburger Concerto definitely has the stronger epic, while the former probably has the stronger "other" songs. Regardless, Hamburger Concerto is a solid album, and is perhaps the final hoorah from the Dutch proggers.

8/10

Moving Waves is the second Focus album and is one of the two essential efforts from the band, with the other being the great Hamburger Concerto. Moving Waves solidifies Focus as a true prog rock band, as if the presence of flute, mellotron, some crazy musicianship, and a 23-minute epic weren't obvious evidence.

The album opens with the band's most (if only) commercially successful song, and perhaps sort of an anthem for the band. Hocus Pocus shows off the quirky nature of the band. It is fast-paced, loud, and just plain rocking. This song also showcases the ridiculous talent of Thjis Van Leer in which he pretty much plays every instrument, including the yodeling.

Le Clochard is a short, yet beautiful song with tons of mellotron under some acoustic guitar work. Perhaps my only problem with this tune is that is isn't longer!

The same could be said for the next song, "Janis," which is absolutely stunning with great melodies played on flute.

Unfortunately, Moving Waves is the only true weak link of the album. The instrumentation is nice, but the vocals are very weak and add nothing to the song, which may be why much of the band's work is indeed instrumental.

Focus II is a lively, yet soulful tune with some amazing guitar work. The jazz influence is undeniable on this one as well, which is always welcome.

But the staple of the album is the song that takes up half of it, in Eruption. The piece is the first attempt at an epic, and while I would say the later Hamburger Concerto is a more polished attempt, this one definitely has its moments. The melodies are fun and catchy, and the structure is pretty diverse, containing tons of heavy riffs, softer, yet energetic organ parts, and an overall beautiful atmosphere laced with mellotron. My only problem with the song is that it is sometimes prone to excessive noodling, but other than that, Eruption is a great addition to the longer songs of prog.

Overall, Moving Waves is an undeniably strong album from beginning to end with only a few minor hiccups along the way. A solid addition to symphonic prog collection.

8/10

Soft vanilla

It is very hard to believe that this is by the same band who recorded the first four albums. After they peaked with the excellent Hamburger Concerto, they clearly ran out of steam and inspiration before the recording of Mother Focus. The style is very, very different too. Gone are the side-long suits and much of the Classical and folky elements. Gone is also the energy, the passion and the edge. Here they gave us 12 short tunes focusing (pardon the pun) on lounge Jazz and light Funk! This music would work fine if played quietly in a hotel lobby while you're sitting and sipping a drink, or perhaps as film music, but it is not music for listening. It is all very soft and lightweight and there is hardly anything progressive about it.

The music is mostly instrumental, but when the vocals do enter on the embarrassing I Need A Bathroom one wishes that they would have kept it instrumental!

This dull album is only for serious Focus collectors

In case you didn't know who you are listening to, they spell it out for you. Literally!

Focus X is, as the title implies, Focus' 10th studio album (not counting Jan Akkerman's & Thijs Van Leer's 1985 album entitled Focus and appropriately listed here as a Focus album). What strikes the listener almost immediately when hearing this new album is how close it is in both style and quality compared to classic Focus. If you are a fan of those four first albums from the first half of the 70's, by all means pick up Focus X. The band sounds almost as energetic as ever and they seem to have fun playing this music.

The contents of this album are largely instrumental, jazzy and folky tunes. Some vocals and vocalisations, but no yodelling this time! I enjoy this, just as I enjoy the classic Focus albums, but it is not something that I would listen to many times over. Nice sleeve picture by none other than the great Roger Dean.

Good, but not essential (unless you are a Focus fanatic)

Someone spiked the cornflakes or what?

Focus is giving one nasty lesson to youngsters with their newest album: don't underestimate us. The drums are fantastic, proving that Van der Linden still have plenty of gasoline in the tank. Where does he get such energy? And Van Leer is equally essential as before, he's still vigorous on piano and upmost at the flute. Probably my favorite flutist of all-time, he jumps from shredding to jazz licks with ease.

The guys are in splendid shape and they treat us with an album above your average contemporary band with loads of techs but with no feel. I don't see why people would snub this album, it sports everything proggers love, from the sci-fi cover to the jazz rock instrumentals we all know and love.

A real follower of the spirit of the 70's and another great entry in their gallery.