Moving Waves [Import, Original recording remastered]

Focus | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 19, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: RED BULLET
• ASIN: B00005B364
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,151 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #21 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Netherlands

Editorial Reviews

Reissue of 1971 album for Dutch progressive rock act best known for their 1973 hit single 'Hocus Pocus', included here. 2001 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dutch Masters' Finest Hour!, December 20, 2002

By 

Chuck Potocki (Crown Point, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving Waves (Audio CD)

This is a fantastic album; a true classic! A majority of the tracks on this CD are instrumentals, with the exceptions of "Hocus Pocus", featuring Thijs Van Leer's manic yodelling, and the title track "Moving Waves", in which the "lyrics" are more or less a Nostradamus-like reading, or a "quatrain" set to music.

As some have pointed out, "Hocus Pocus" is basically the bizarre curio on this album, as the 2nd track "Le Clochard (Bread)" with it's gentle, lilting classical guitar phrasings and Mellotron backing are indeed in sharp contrast to "Hocus Pocus". "Focus II" is a wonderful instrumental track, which sets the tone for the lengthy "Eruption", containing a "suite" of individual songs; most notably "Tommy" and "The Bridge", both of which amply display the screaming guitar pyrotechnics of Jan Akkerman.

In my opinion, this is one of the greatest progressive rock albums ever recorded!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop. Rock. Progressive rock. Arty pop. Call it what you like. Just listen to it....Brilliant!, May 9, 2006

By 

Daveyboots (Brighton & Hove) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving Waves (Audio CD)

This album was so well composed and executed that it has easily stood the test of time. It is good music through and through; clever, exciting, beautiful and moving. This band of dutch guys really knew what they were doing and boy could they play. They were (and still are) essentially an instrumental outfit with the melody carried by guitar, flute, keyboards and occasionally vocals. Focus didn't appear to be too much swayed by music fashions or commercial pressures of the music business when they recorded this album and that is one of the reasons why "Moving Waves" still sounds as fresh and exciting today as it did when it was released in the early 1970's.

The album kicks off with the one that was released as a 45, "Hocus Pocus" a thunderous, relentless rocker composed by Akkerman and van Leer. Suitably titled and very clever, it has lots of surprises, tricks and dazzling guitar licks and is comewhat comical. Keyboardist Thijs (pronounced Tys) van Leer plays the jester with his wild flute playing, whistling, yodelling and other crazy vocal gymnastics, effortlessly hitting notes higher than Brian and Carl Wilson ever went on any Beach Boys recording. Not to be outdone, guitarist Jan Akkerman provides a lot of the thrills and excitement with his amazing gibson les paul antics and oh what a cracking job by the Rhythm section, drummer Pierre van der Linden and bassist Cyril Havermans.

In contrast to this on the next track Jan displays his talent as a classical guitarist by playing his own composition, the gentle, haunting "Le clochard". Nice touch by Thijs with the mellotron backing which adds a touch of weirdness and eeriness to the piece. GORGEOUS. Track 3 "Janis" is another Akkerman compostion and features Thijs on multitracked, interwoven flute parts. This is probably the weakest track on the album, but is still interesting to listen to. The impressionistic title track "Moving waves" is one of the sayings of Hazrat Inayat Khan set to music by Thijs on vocals and piano. Listen to the words with the music that van Leer has written. The rippling piano chords and the crecendos and diminuendos conjur up the image of the waves as they "become excited and then all calm together". The ascending last few chords rise with the waves as they "reach upwards" (to the moon). This is good composing. Track 5, oh yes! Thijs van Leer's "Focus II" with Jazz and Classical influences and the most beautifully sensitive guitar playing by Jan. It is typical of Akkerman to add expression with the use of dynamics and subtle phrasing to enhance a melody as he does on this magical piece. STUNNING, however the best is yet to come.

The last track is made up of several different compositions, most by Thijs who came up with the overall concept "Eruption", aptly titled lasting 23 minutes. It commences with a line of music borrowed from Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" with Thijs on Hammond organ and Jan using his violin guitar effect (volume control tweaking. You hear a smooth note without the plucking). The music is mesmerizing and quickly grabs your attention. After a few minutes it bursts into life taking you on a journey through the most amazing music with stunning guitar solos that never get boring and a couple of incredibly skillful and creative drum solos which add hugely to the overall piece and don't lose one's interest for a second. The richly melodic guitar oriented section "Tommy/Pupilla" segment is spine tinglingly sublime. The range of musical styles in this piece is incredible, from the Renaissance-style "Orpheus" and "Dayglow" to the Latin American style organ solo segment of "The bridge". The impact of each composition is enhanced by the contrast between it and the next, but despite the great variety it all flows and makes musical sense. Thijs displays his talent a a flautist producing the richest timbres achievable on a flute. His jazz-rock hammond organ playing is fabulous. I wonder if dutchman Eddie van Halen was paying homage to Focus when he used the title "Eruption" for his ground-breaking guitar piece for solo guitar in the late 70's.

Musically the band were in a different league to any other at the time if you consider the musical progressions within each piece and the expertise of each musician. Technically brilliant with a lot of feel and a real understanding of music, Jan Akkerman is one of the best and most versatile guitarists in the business. Drummer Pierre van der Linden has a lot of musicality, not only providing the beat and rhythm, but hugely augmenting the music with his incredibly creative, expressive and skillful drumming. Cyril Havermans (later replaced by Bert Ruiter) plays a highly musical, rhythmic and solid bass. Multi-talented keyboardist, flautist and vocalist Thijs van Leer has a great gift for composition and has written music which stands among THE MOST EXCITING, ORIGINAL AND BRILLIANT ROCK/POP MUSIC EVER PRODUCED.

If you want to hear something dramatically different, then give "Moving waves" a few listens and you will be much rewarded. This is one of the best albums of "rock/pop" music ever recorded.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quirky album that plays to their strengths..., November 17, 2006

By 

Mark Gatzke (Plant City, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moving Waves (Audio CD)

Focus caught a wave in the US with their eccentric hit, Hocus Pocus. The song was novel and catchy enough to give Moving Waves some notice, although some were surely surprised at how unique Hocus Pocus was even within the context of the rest of the album. The rest of it is decidedly more serious and less focused, as it were. Short on vocals (thankfully so) and long on classically influenced instrumental suites, Moving Waves covers a lot of musical territory, sometimes within the same song. For serious prog rock fans it's a delicious cornucopia. For casual listeners who are expecting more songs like Hocus Pocus it can be maddening. The album's centerpiece, Eruption, is by far the most interesting song (plenty of opportunity as it comprises the last half of the album), even if its foundation is little more than an extended jam featuring lengthy keyboard and guitar solos by Van Leer and Akkerman. It's hardly a spontaneous affair though, carefully laid out to range from somber to achingly beautiful to borderline chaos with a keen sense of musical drama keeping it all tied together as it reaches an end that seems to arrive all too soon. If you really like Hocus Pocus, a compilation might be the way to go as most of them include the shorter, more accessible songs. If you're willing to hang on for the ride, Moving Waves offers a wild one indeed, but a very satisfying one as well.