Customer Reviews

Hocus Pocus-Best of

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Has it really been over 30 years since this terrific group of musicians from Holland scored a huge success with their "Moving Waves" album, and the highly original signature tune, "Hocus Pocus" ? Time flies--but, in the case of Focus, time has been kind--their music still sounds fresh, melodic and exciting.

The band went through some personnel changes, but the key members were Thijs Van Leer ( keyboards, flute, vocals ), and guitar whiz, Jan Akkerman. I have fond memories of seeing them live in Montreal--an awesome concert.

This CD is an excellent retrospecive of their most memorable numbers. Their music was primarily instrumental,and "progressive" in the most positive sense. The "focus" here--if you'll pardon the pun--was on musicianship--these guys could really play. I suspect Akkerman and Van Leer might have had some classical training in their youth. All their well-known numbers are included--"Harem Scarem", "Sylvia", "Janis" and two different versions of "Hocus Pocus".

The 70s was an era where bands flourished who had only the most talented musicians. Later, progressive rock groups were often labelled pretentious--usually by critics who could only appreciate three-chord boogies ! Well--this "pretentious" music gave us some of the most incredible musicians rock has ever had--Steve Howe, Tony Banks, Keith Emerson, Dave Gilmour, Phil Manzanera, Robert Fripp, Daryl Way and--yes--Jan Akkerman. When I hear some of the junk that is selling today, I don't know whether to laugh or cry !

OK--I'm off my soapbox ! Bottom line--Focus were easily one of the best 70s bands, and this CD is a worthy compilation. Recommended.

Imagine this: Barrow, Alaska, the farthest north city in the US at 71 degrees north.
About 20 degrees one windy and dark November morning and the public radio station (the only radio station) ---KBRW---emits the full-length version of "Hocus Pocus" from this album during the annual membership drive.The CD had just arrived by mail, not by dog sled anymore, but rather a daily 737 jet plane. (no road connections)
Almost instantly, classic and progressive rock fans from the 60s and 70s, respond, stretch, wake up a bit and call the dj (my job) and say "Hey, is that 'Focus'?"
"Yes indeed," I respond, and they wake up more, start their feet moving and hands clapping and put on the coffee, grab some pilot bread, maybe a bit of last night's caribou soup, and charge into a new day.
Thats what a classy and classic album like this can do--even in the Arctic. Imagine what vibrations it could emit in communities to the south.
In additon to the long and short version of the title song,there are instrumental songs of varying length and intensity --the keyboards really smoke and the guitar work is almost as powerful as an adult polar bear.
Get this album and cue it up for early morning fun! (and various tempos of instrumentals to get you through the day with a smile.)

Focus was a Dutch progressive-rock band of the '70s, centered around Jan Akkerman's guitar and Thijs van Leer's flute and keyboards. This best-of album won't make you forget Yes or Genesis, but provides a good summary of a band that is largely forgotten today. There are few vocals and no lyrics. The earliest tracks are reminiscent of early Jethro Tull, with Akkerman playing a blues-rock style and van Leer's breathy flute playing a near-exact duplicate of Ian Anderson's. "House of the King" sounds like a long-lost Tull track, while "Anonymus" provides a jam session. The best and most original tracks are the cuts from the "Moving Waves" album ("Hocus Pocus", "Janis", "Focus II", and "Tommy", which is a guitar-solo excerpt from the long piece "Eruption") and "Sylvia", a catchy single from the following "Focus 3" album. "Hocus Pocus" is probably the best novelty single prog-rock ever produced, with a blazing metallic guitar chorus combined with yodeled verses, a Popeye-on-uppers scat-singing break, and flute solo. It's the only Focus song that every got significant radio play in the US ("Sylvia" went to No. 4 in the UK). "Janis" is a lovely ballad with van Leer playing three flute parts. The later pieces on this album are enjoyable, but I probably wouldn't buy an LP on which they were the best cuts. Akkerman has a metal style on "Anonymus" and "Hocus Pocus"; on later cuts, his sound reminds me of Camel's Andy Latimer. In fact, tracks like "Bennie Helder" and "Red Sky at Night" would fit right in on a Camel album.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

I cannot let this opportunity pass to finally get the story right about Focus.
Focus was not a clone of ANY band that existed at the time their first 3(and 3 best)albums came out.The continued references to Jethro Tull in other reviews only reveal that people still dont get it.Thijs van Leer played flute occasionaly,but to say that therefore Focus is similar to Jethro Tull in ANY way is like saying that because Yes has a guitarist,Yes is like Van Halen.
That being said,this is a decent,but uneven collection of Focus's work that includes many of the most important and well known works.It unfortunatly excludes most of their best(longer)works in favor of some questionable later pieces.
To its credit,this release displays Focus as a ground breaking band that combined's the most beautiful aspects of progressive rock,the then emerging style of jazz/rock fusion and also Jan Akkerman's penchant for Medievil music.
A fine release none the less,and a good introduction to one of the most interesting bands of the 1970's.What other band would give you guitar playing that was 25 years ahead of its time,consistantly top-notch musicianship,and vocals in Dutch,English and Latin to boot!

I will never forget the first time I ever heard Focus played in a record store in Winnipeg in the early 70's (it was Focus III) - it was as unforgettable as the first time I ate Caesar's salad, or listened to Mahler's 5th. It's a shame that most people only know them (if they know them at all) as the band that did the yodelling song. They are much more than that. Generally, I agree with Tom Karr's comments in lauding Focus' originality and unique qualities, and, like Tom, lament the fact that some of the longer, edgier pieces are not represented here. And even as extended works go, Questions Answers, Answers Questions is superior to Anonymous. I'm heart sick that they would choose to leave off the achingly-beautiful Focus V (but included Red Sky!!). If you've never heard Focus V (Eat your heart out, Slow Hand!), you owe it to yourself to get the under-rated Ship of Memories (Still can't figure out why P's March did not become as big a hit as Hocus Focus, since it's so catchy, but interesting enough to withstand more than a couple of listening.). In general, I do not enjoy all of the more "mellow" material they did, such as can be found on Mother Focus: too close to muzak for comfort, and in the shadow of their great works, sort of like comparing Donald Fagen's so-so second solo effort with his masterful first. Focus is in my mind the best band that came out of Holland (followed closely by Ekseption).

This is one of the better-sounding rock CDs in my collection. Musical details are present that I remember hearing on the LPs I owned of this music 'back in the day'.
The sixteen tracks on this release would probably seem a fairly generous number for a CD anyway (the average still being no more than twelve), but as a few selections here run as long as ten minutes apiece, this is a collection that uses the potential of the compact disc for long programs quite well.
Some other reviewers have quibbled with the choice of tracks, and I don't wholly disagree, but believe that this release represents a good sense of compromise. American listeners, uniquely, look for the 'fast' version of "Hocus Pocus", as it was a hit single (and still the only Focus record many people know). The longer version of "Hocus Pocus" is also included, which I think was a wise decision, as well as "Sylvia", which received quite a bit of American airplay.
The other tracks on the album consist of what seem judicious choices, often favoring the lyrical, tuneful side of a band that could as often rock the walls down (and some of that music is here too).
All in all, this is a pretty good single-disc collection from a group of musicians who could easily have merited a box set. How else can one explain a Focus collection without (for instance) "Love Remembered"? Never mind; everything here is good. I would recommend also purchasing (at least) "Focus III" in addition to this disc.
As I write this, "The Best of Focus" seems to be unavailable except in used copies. My hope is that enough interest can be generated in this disc, and this band, that re-issues will be forthcoming.

Progressive rock. How else could we describe rock songs that still sound futuristic so many decades after their release?

I initially wanted to write a review about the whole of this album, but it seems I can't. Whenever I want to listen to it, I just get stuck on "Hocus Pocus". What an unbelievable song! Rock music has never since produced a more exciting, self-confident, timeless representative of the kind. The word "masterpiece" is used too often by too many people to describe too many songs. But if I was to use it just for one rock song, "Hocus Pocus" would be the one.

Focus is not my favorite band, and I 'm trying to be as objective as possible, through my puny English skills. But this song! Oh, this song...

I cannot let this opportunity pass to finally get the story right about Focus.
Focus was not a clone of ANY band that existed at the time their first 3(and 3 best)albums came out.The continued references to Jethro Tull in other reviews only reveal that people still dont get it.Thijs van Leer played flute occasionaly,but to say that therefore Focus is similar to Jethro Tull in ANY way is like saying that because Yes has a guitarist,Yes is like Van Halen
That being said,this is a decent,but uneven collection of Focus's work that includes many of the most important and well known works.It unfortunatly excludes most of their best(longer)works in favor of some questionable later pieces.
To its credit,this release displays Focus as a ground breaking band that combinded the most beautiful aspects of progressive rock,the then emerging style of jazz/rock fusion and also Jan Akkerman's penchant for Medievil music.
A fine release none the less,and a good introduction to one of the most interesting bands of the 1970's.What other band would give you guitar playing that was 25 years ahead of its time,consistantly top-notch musicianship,and vocals in Dutch,English and Latin to boot!

I came a bit late to the Focus bandwagon. Of course I had heard their one big US it "Hocus Pocus" which still gets classic rock airplay to this day, but I had never explored any of their albums. When we signed the band to play ProgDay 2004 I thought I should pick up a compilation and this is the one I picked. I was very pleasantly surprised. The album presents a nice overview of the band's career and the recordings have all been remasterd and sound top notch. There are two versions of "Hocus Pocus" the single which made it into the top 10 on the singles charts back in the 70's. Most of the band's other best known stuff is here too including "Sylvia", "House Of The King", "Harem Scarem" and "Focus III". The album is all instrumental with the exception of a few yodels and yelps from Thjis Van Leer. Both Van Leer and Jan Akkerman shine on their respective instruments throughout and the album switches between up tempo rockers and more mellow melodic fare. Overall this is a nice compilation and would serve as a decent into to the band's material.

From holland, this compilation offers focus'very well written songs, excellent arrangements, one of the greatest electric and acoustic guitarrists ever, and a lot of balls. A little Tull's flute, a little jazz, a lot of rock, hammond organ. Or get these 3 records: Focus 3, Moving waves or hamburger concerto, their truly best studio albums. Focus has won its place in the hall of greats from the seventies.