Looking at the music of Dutch rock band Focus, started in the late sixties by Thijs van Leer (b /31/03/48) with Jan Akkerman (b 24/12/46). Van Leer still performs and records under the name today (official site here). Akkerman's site here.

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20170918

Track by Track 126 Father Bacchus

Archive number: 126
Title: Father Bacchus
Main Album: Focus X 
Track number: 1
Genre: Progressive Rock Instrumental
Studio: Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium  
(Mixed at B-Spot Studio; mastered at Tube Mastering)
Length: 4:03
Composer: Menno Gootjes
Musicians: Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute, spoken word; Menno Gootjes – Guitar; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums
Producer: Bobby Jacobs, Geert Scheijgrond
Mastered: Andy Jackson
Mixed: Bram Bol
Label: Eastworld Recordings
Date of release: November 2012
Alternative version: None
Notes: The track begins with drums, then the whole band give a Hocus Pocus style riff at frenetic pace before (00:12) a flute led section slows things slightly until things kick off again with the band (00:23). At this point van Leer gives a voice over as follows

"And ladies and gentlemen proudly we present Focus
Fo- cus F O C U S
Hahaa! Beautiful!"

At 00:33 the band riff comes in for another 11 seconds and then the flute section follows, this time extended as far as 01:23, where the guitar takes up the lead. At 01:42 the flute returns to interweave with the guitar until 01:55 where there is a brief drum break backed up by the repeated flute riff. At 02:12 a new bassy band Hocus Pocus type riff begins. The guitar leads for a while over this until the flute returns at 02:42, becoming playful ten seconds in as a flute-led acoustic ensemble plays out to a slow fade.
NB This title echoes the earlier instrumental Father Bach (on Mother Focus) by way of reference to the Roman god Bacchus, the equivalent of the Greek god Dionysius, who Wikipedia says is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy in ancient Greek religion and myth.

20170901

New Focus Album Out Today September 1

Rather out of the blue a new Focus album appears today. What they have done is to interleave Focus tracks with tracks from members of the band to create an attractive double album adorned with one of Roger Dean's iconic artwork covers. I understand that the CD version is quite lavish in presentation. This is well worth a listen and full of good things. They could have simply produced a 10 track Focus album but by this means one gets something a bit more meaty and this is probably the right move, although why the old method of calling solo tracks a group effort (pioneered by the Beatles [Yesterday] and continued by Focus [Moving Waves, le Clochard]) could not have been followed I am not sure. Some few tracks have appeared before but the bulk is very fresh to most of us. It is called Focus Family Album and is available through the usual outlets.