Jan Akkerman vs everyone
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=42984
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Topic: Jan Akkerman vs everyone
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Subject: Jan Akkerman vs everyone
Date Posted: October 26 2007 at 16:47
Jan Akkerman has to be my one of my favourite musicians of all time. I guess I should have called this The Jan Akkerman appreciation thread but I didn`t. Unbeknownst to many he has guested on literally dozens of albums and played with numerous musicians from BB King to Paco DeLucia. He`s put out a few duds ( example : Jan Akkerman 3  ) but his versatility and diversity goes unmatched by any guitarist. Let`s hear it for The Dutch Master  !!!!------------- |
Replies:
Posted By: King Crimson776
Date Posted: October 26 2007 at 16:51
| Akkerman has made some catchy stuff. Focus was sic. |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: October 26 2007 at 18:21
| You'll get no argument from me. Jan Akkerman is as good as any guitarist in rock, any. |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: October 26 2007 at 20:54
BLASPHEMY!!  ------------- The best you can is good enough... |
dwill123 wrote:Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 03:42
Why is it blasphemy? He is unfeasibly talented. As fast as (if not faster than when he chooses to be) the speed merchants like Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, S**tbag (Sorry, Dimebag) Darrell et al, he has technique in spades and the ability to produce interesting solos that actually sound good. No, he's up there with the very best! ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 11:40
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The Dutch Master can play anything. Blasphemy????
Does anyone know where I can get an English version ( subtitled ) version of the Dutch television special from earlier this year. I watched the whole thing but couldn`t understand it. ------------- |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 13:49
Then, there was a semantic issue by me  .... surely I misunderstood the statement posted by Dwill. I though he was meant to put Akkerman as part of the bunch of the average rock guitar player (as good as any), when he's IMO in the first league. That's it  ------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: cynthiasmallet
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:11
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Akkerman is easily as good as McLaughlin, Zappa and Geoff Beck, and anyone who says otherwise clearly hasn't listened to his music enough. ------------- Would you like to watch TV, or get between the sheets, or contemplate the silent freeway, would you like something to eat? |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:11
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Forgiven. ------------- |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:16
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Stop it! You're making me hungry to go listen or watch some Akkerman! I gotta DVD for crying out loud!
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:18
What I really want to know is.......what do you really think of Oil In The Family? Not bad for disco Akkerman. In fact if I were strapped down and forced to listen to disco and had a choice... ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:26
No sorry, but I can tell you something about what I saw. It was a very good tv special. It showed how unique Jan Akkerman was, and I was surprised that he was still so progressive, doing collaborations with people you wouldn't expect, contributing unusual musical ideas which show that he still has the progressive attitude.
The special also showed some great archives material, with Brainbox and Focus, and during his solo career. You could see him at work in his own studio.
There was a tv series, some 10 years ago, called " Special albums", which had specials about famous Dutch albums like Royal Bed Bouncer by Kayak, and Focus II (a.k.a. Moving Waves) by Focus. I taped the Kayak special, but sometimes I wished I taped the Focus special as well.
The Akkerman special did show something of that early material, e.g. from the castle where Focus was developing the music for Moving Waves, and except for the musical side of Akkerman, it also showed his stubbornness, which is good for progressive music, but is sometimes difficult for the people he worked with
 . Like the famous (infamous?) tv show from 1974 where he was about to pick up his Edison (Dutch music award), and left the studio early, before he had to come on out to pick up his award, because he thought someone in the studio orchestra cracked a joke at his expense. Or the time when some of his band members (from a solo tour) made some remarks about his driving abilities, and the next morning at their breakfast found out that Jan had already gone to the next gig, without them, and had left a note, saying that Jan had already left because the band members surely wouldn't be in a car which he drove And about his difficult relationship with Thijs van Leer. Jan wanted to make something clear. He still is very proud of his work with Focus (journalists usually are afraid to ask Jan about Focus, because they're afraid he gets angry): he still has very good memories about the music, but on a personal level he couldn't relate to Thijs van Leer anymore. The musical relationship was strained. Too bad
 Akkerman is one of the best guitar players that I know. For me he's in the same league as Steve Howe and Steve Hackett. |
Posted By: Shakespeare
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:28
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JON AKKURMIN ER WATVR WOOD DEF LUUZ B/C JOHN PETRUCCI IS PART OF "EVRY1 ELSE" I TINK SO HE WOOD LOOZE. er...that is to say... Yes. Yes indeed. *running for cover* |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:30
What the hell is that some kind of preverted text messaging?  ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
|
Posted By: Dr. Occulator
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 17:52
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Yeah, he's OK.
------------- My Doc Told Me I Have Doggie Head. |
Posted By: Samurai3
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 22:39
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Jan is indeed a badass ------------- You Must Die Before You Die So That When You Die You Will Not Die |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 10:29
------------- |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 10:42
My top 5 Akkerman albums : 1. Tabernakel 2. From The Basement 3. 10,000 Clowns On A Rainy Day 4. Aranjuez 5. Pleasure Point Anybody ever heard him with Forcefield II ? It was a studio band that never toured but check out the lineup : Tony Martin, vocals ( later recorded with Black Sabbath ) Ray Fenwick, guitar Jan Akkerman, guitar Cozy Powell, drums Neil Murray, bass ( Whitesnake ) The first one, To Oz and Back is mediocre but The Talisman really smokes. They do a great Deep Purple medley of Black Knight / Strange Kind Of Woman. I don`t think it is currently available but the Talisman is definitely worth checking out if you can find it. ------------- |
Posted By: Agemo
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 12:21
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Akkerman is certainly one of the best guitarists ever !! I would also like to mention the album he recorded with Brainbox. It features some excellent heavy, bluesy, proggy, psychedelic, folky material. ------------- Dona Nobis Pacem |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 12:23
| I've only heard Hamburger Concerto, which was good, but nothing spectacular to me. |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 13:22
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Hamburger Concerto is the tip of the iceberg my friend. My favourite Focus album even though the previous 4 are more representative of the true Focus sound.
------------- |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 05 2007 at 18:34
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Hey, can anyone confirm this.
Akkerman wanted to use bagpipes intead of hysterical yodeling on Hocus Pocus but Van Leer thought that the yodeling, accordion and laughtere would have a more humourous effect. ------------- |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 05 2007 at 18:48
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^ Oh.... kudos to uncle Thys...... xD
------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: Barla
Date Posted: November 05 2007 at 19:12
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I've discovered Focus at the beggining of the year. Jan Akkerman is such an amazing guitarist, he's a lot of feeling and technique and I love his raw guitar sound. He seems to be an expert to create specially catchy melodies everytime (Sylvia, Focus II and III, Birth, etc etc), and that Hemburger Concerto middle guitar solo gives me chills down my spine. Damn, THAT's feeling! ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Barla/?chartstyle=LastfmMyspace">  
|
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 05 2007 at 19:23
^ Glad to hear one more guy able to aprecciate Akkerman's masterliness  ..... You are forced, then, to check out some excellent stuff by his solo work  Oh no..... here I go ../artist.asp?id=2091 - JAN AKKERMAN
Review by ../Collaborators.asp?id=11995 - sircosick (Jorge Saavedra) Posted 11:04:49 AM EST, 1/4/2007 
An impressive acoustic work, and an easy start to listen to this dutch 
guitar god.
This is not prog, so my four stars are for the music only. There are
jazzy passages here, even New Age moments. You can also find here some
pieces of Focus (in Suite nº2) and of his solo work, like Tranquillizer
(with Kaz Lux originally) and the second part of the Suite nº 1
(Wildflower, from Focus In Time). Whatever, this album is full of fine
moments, although very few tracks are composed by Jan Akkerman; but his
features in songs like Bach's Passion (by San Matteo) and the
well-known Classical Gas (which was mixed by Jan Akkerman with one song
of his 1977's album, Gate to Europe), composed by William Mason, are
really superb.Highly recommended to classic guitar lovers, and who enjoy the soft and relaxing music. Dude..... That was my first review in PA!! ------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: Shakespeare
Date Posted: November 05 2007 at 19:36
How does that look anything like a perverted text message? |
Posted By: Barla
Date Posted: November 06 2007 at 19:07
Surely, I'll check out some of his solo work, and good review btw! Is Passion his best solo album or the one that you recommend me the most?------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Barla/?chartstyle=LastfmMyspace">
|
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 06 2007 at 20:17
^ Objetively, I don't think so. It's rather personally, one of my favourites, but if you take a look at his discography in PA, Tabernakel is the best rated (I agree with that). Look:JAN AKKERMAN — TabernakelReview by ../Collaborators.asp?id=11995 - sircosick (Jorge Saavedra)
...Let me show you also an excellent review by our pal Mandy  :JAN AKKERMAN — TabernakelReview by ../Collaborators.asp?id=7121 - Mandrakeroot (Andrea Salvador)COLLABORATOR Italian Prog Specialist
NOTE: You can also see my review in spanish: Manticornio.com ------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Akkerman's best solo effort.Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 10:14
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If you can find them definitely check out " From The Basement " and the live 10,000 Clowns On A rainy Day ". These albums contain a comprehensive cross section of his wide scope. There`s some great jamming on the re-mastered edition of " From The Basement. " ------------- |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 16:29
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^ Right.... never really into From The Basement, but 10,000 Clowns is definitely a must-have for listening Akkerman live; awesome repertory.... including some Focus stuff here and there. Also reccomended!
------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: Barla
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 22:40
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^ Thanks for the recommendations guys!
BTW, sicorsick, manticornio.com is a great page, and I've read several (and very good) reviews there. Here in Argentina is a Prog rock radio program called The Musical Box, you ought to check it out, very very good stuff, man!:
http://www.themusicalbox.com.ar - www.themusicalbox.com.ar
 ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Barla/?chartstyle=LastfmMyspace">
|
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 08 2007 at 18:47
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^ I'll check the site.... sure
------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 09 2007 at 20:39
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I'd like a lot to let you know (for those who are already into JA's discography) the masterliness of an album called Focus In Time, released in 1997, that surely VB should know...... it has no review (well, I wrote one months ago but it was deleted by my petition to have a chance to re-write it, still I haven't do it ), but it deserves lots of them..... a hell of an album IMO. (Well sorry if I've just distorted the central purpose of this thread; although a "Jan Akkerman Appreciation Thread" would fit very nicely on these forums, wouldn't it? )------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 12 2007 at 16:16
Tom Scott ( featuring Jan Akkerman )- Prism Forcefield - The Talisman Forcefield - To Oz & Back A Phenomenom - ( compilation which features a single he recorded with The Hunters in `66. Crazy guitar. ) ------------- |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 14 2007 at 19:59
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^ Oh.... never heard of them. Must be quite rare to find, aren't they?
------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 15 2007 at 18:50
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I picked them up on vinyl just by chance in second hand stores back in the eighties. Not sure, but I think the Forcefield albums went to CD, whether or not they`re still in print I don`t know. It`s beyond me why this band isn`t in the archives.Killer guitar by Akkerman though. ------------- |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 15 2007 at 19:06
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Forcefield...... I'll check them. Thanks. Well...... Here's another of my reviews.... this time it's the self-titled album released in 1977. Very smooth and jazzy...... great effort. Thoughs about this stuff?
../album.asp?id=9689">
../album.asp?id=9689 - AKKERMAN, JAN — Jan Akkerman 
Eclectic Prog
(Studio Album, 1977) Avg: 4.00/5 from 6 ratings Review by ../Collaborators.asp?id=11995 - sircosick (Jorge Saavedra)
This CD is maybe the most representative of Akkerman’s guitar playing
of the 70’. You know: after have played blues on Talent
for Sale, classic guitar on Profile, rennaisance lute music on
Tabernakel... Akkerman never had the “chance” of playing his
most pure style IMO: jazz-rock. Yes. This album is jazz-fusion. A
little smooth and dull in comparison to the succesful
fusion bands (as Mahavishnu, Weather Report, etc.), but worthly enough.This time, Akkerman’s guitar is not that protagonist as on any previous album (except on the wonderful acoustic Gate to Europe). Here, on the other hand, there’s an excellent bass, piano and drumming stuff too, much better than on Tabernakel or Profile. In these seven songs you can get into the jazzy style of this awesome and versatile dutch guitar player. Also, this is one of the best places to start with JA’s discography. This CD is quite easy-listening in comparison to previous works. Although there are no bad tracks here, there are no songs as excellent as Kemps Jig or as beautiful as Andante Sostenuto (both from Profile), but the fourth star of my rating (while Profile is just a 3-stars and a half to me) is due simply to the effort made here, where the tracks range from average to good. I’d say this Akkerman’s self-titled album is a very nice follow-up to such a masterpiece like Tabernakel. Four stars. NOTE: Do enjoy the extended version of Focus’ “Crackers” from Ship of Memories, here released as the opening track. It’s quite outstanding! ------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: November 16 2007 at 08:03
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His work for Focus is amazing, but I don't know his albums outside this band.
Hamburger Concerto is a real Symphonic Prog masterpiece!
 |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 16 2007 at 12:47
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There`s much more to the Dutch Master than just Focus ! ------------- |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: November 16 2007 at 15:56
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^ ...And that's what this thread exists, isn't it?
------------- The best you can is good enough... |