Track by track 131 Birds Come Fly Over (Le Tango)

Archive number: 131
Title: Birds Come Fly Over (Le Tango)
Main Album: Focus X
Track number: 6
Genre: Jazz Pop Vocal
Studio: Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length: 5:21
Composer: Thijs van Leer, Roselie Peters

Musicians: Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute, melodica; Menno Gootjes – Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums; Ivan Lins - vocals. 

Producer: Bobby Jacobs, Geert Scheijgrond

Label: Eastworld Recordings
Date of recording/release: November, 2012

Alternative version: The same track is on The Focus Family album. Versions of  Le Tango appear on the Focus album with Jan Akkerman, on Introspection 4 and in other places.

Notes: We begin with drums then acoustic guitar, organ, flute and eventually a chugging electric guitar in tango time. At 0:54 the vocal begins. The words are

I'm always watching sunrise,

I have at least a life

And for my heart's desire, I can die.

And you my love, my good love,

I see you live your life,

But in my heart I've often seen you cry.

I'm only waiting for the time to pass,

How can I raise my voice or my hand?

Birds come fly over to the sun.

Out of a million lovers,

One only could be mine,

Oh there's a million others passing by

From sun up until sundown

This life is such a strife

And if you lose your love you lose your life.

I'm only waiting for the time to pass,

How can I raise my voice or my hand?

Birds come fly over to the sun.

There is a brief instrumental section announced by a beat from 2:02-02:21 after verse 3. In the subsequent part van Leer's melodica is heard. From 3:28-04:01 the band comes in more strongly again before the final vocal section which features the second three verses repeated. A piano is heard in the mix this time.

Track by Track 130 All Hens On Deck

Archive number: 130 

Title: All Hens On Deck 

Main Album: Focus X 

Track number: 5 

Genre: Progressive Rock Instrumental 

Studio: Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium 

Length: 5:44 

Composer: Thijs van Leer 

Musicians: Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute, vocals; Menno Gootjes – Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums 

Producer: Bobby Jacobs, Geert Scheijgrond

Label: Eastworld Recordings 

Date of recording/release: November 2012

Notes: The track begins full pelt with drums then the band led by percussive guitar, the flute coming in from 00:06. This goes on until at 00:23 we have the breakdown with a series of three strokes, lasting until 00:44 when the Hammond led band takes up the theme. The flute then leads until 01:01 and the second break down. At 01:16 it is van Leer's scat vocal that comes in echoing the guitar with the band until 01:43. Menno's bluesy guitar then goes on until 02:28 when the scat section is repeated until 02:56. Next comes a radical slow down and a majestic, classical section led by the vocal and guitar. At 04:13 the earliest section is repeated, leading into the scat section (from 04:40). A final six strokes brings us almost to the end (05:25) before a long drawn out cat moan vocal contribution by a finally breathless van Leer.

Track by track 129 Amok in Kindergarten

Archive number: 129

Title: Amok in Kindergarten

Main Album: Focus X

Track number: 4

Genre: Jazz Instrumental

Studio: Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium (Mixed at B-Spot Studio; mastered at Tube Mastering)

Length: 5' 00"

Composer: Thijs van Leer

Musicians: Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano; Menno Gootjes – Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums

Producer: Bobby Jacobs, Geert Scheijgrond

Mastered: Andy Jackson

Mixed: Bram Bol

Label: Eastworld Recordings 

Date of recording/release: November 2012

Alternative version: Two early versions appear on a rare van Leer solo album called Home Concert. The first is a short piano piece and the second long piece features flute and piano.

Notes: First a sombre mood is set by the cymbals and drums with piano, organ and bass (00:00-00:52) before the guitar comes in too with the jazz melody that meanders along until 02:02 when the guitar takes more of a lead. This continues until 03:49 when something more like the earlier theme is taken up. This is a demanding piece on a demanding theme.

A note on the Dunblane School Massacre (from Wikipedia)

The Dunblane school massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when Thomas Hamilton, who lived five miles from the school, shot 16 children and one teacher dead before killing himself. The massacre occurred in the school gym where 28 children had been gathered for a PE lesson. Several staff were present. He also fired shots into a nearby classroom where the pupils had been instructed to lie on the floor. A total of 32 people sustained gunshot wounds inflicted by Hamilton over a 3 or 4 minute period, 16 of whom were fatally wounded in the gymnasium, which included Gwen Mayor and 15 of her pupils. One other child died later en route to hospital. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history.

Following the massacre two new Firearms Acts were passed, outlawing private ownership of most handguns in Great Britain. The gymnasium at the school was demolished on 11 April 1996 and replaced by a memorial garden. Two years after the massacre on 14 March 1998, a memorial garden was opened at Dunblane Cemetery, where Gwen Mayor and twelve of the slain children are buried.

Van Leer's piece is one of several musical responses to the event.

Track by track 128 Victoria

Archive number: 128

Title: Victoria

Main Album: Focus X

Track number: 3

Genre: Progressive Rock Instrumental

Studio: Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium (Mixed at B-Spot Studio; mastered at Tube Mastering)

Length: 5' 28"

Composer: Thijs van Leer

Musicians: Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute; Menno Gootjes – Guitars, Vocals; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums

Producer: Bobby Jacobs, Geert Scheijgrond

Mastered: Andy Jackson

Mixed: Bram Bol

Label: Eastworld Recordings 

Date of recording/release: November 2012

Alternative version: This track was originally recorded in 1970 with a vocal in Dutch penned by Lennaert Herman Nijgh. The lyric tells the story of a man accused of rape who is knifed by the girl's father! An edited version of the instrumental appears on The Focus Family Album

Notes: The track begins with a solo piano intro. At 00:10 the drums break in and then the guitar led band when the chorus comes (00:52-01:16). The chorus features a background vocal repeating the name Victoria. The verse (to 01:55) and chorus (to 02:18) are then repeated. The break down then comes, featuring organ, flute and a little muted flute before returning to the theme just before the three minute mark. A verse and some chorus work follow until 03:56 when a jam comes in with real jazz flute and some guitar. This plays out to the end of the track.

Track by track 127 Focus 10

Archive number: 127

Title: Focus 10

Main Album: Focus X

Track number: 2

Genre: Jazz Rock Instrumental

Studio: Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium (Mixed at B-Spot Studio; mastered at Tube Mastering)

Length: 5' 28"

Composer: Thijs van Leer

Musicians: Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute; Menno Gootjes – Guitars, Vocals; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums

Producer: Bobby Jacobs

Mastered: Andy Jackson

Mixed: Bram Bol

Label: Eastworld Recordings 

Date of recording/release: November 2012

Alternative version: None

Notes: This is the title track and the tenth in the eponymous series. The drums again briefly introduce the guitar led band. The tune is a playful jazzy, even at times a quirky and teasing, one. The tune has something of a French feel to it. Beginning at 00:02 it goes on to 02:28 before the flute joins in. This flute section then goes on until around 03:40 before being chiefly superseded by the guitar although it does make some brief comebacks. At 05:02 the piece breaks down and first only piano and organ play and then for the final 33 seconds just solo jazz piano to close the track.

Focus X Review

So amazingly Focus reach double figures with their tenth album. I have held back from writing about it until now as I know by experience that initial impressions can be wrong. Certainly the presence of familiar titles was offputting – a nod backwards in the opening title Father Bacchus (good joke though), yet another Focus track, Le Tango in its umpteenth incarnation, Message Maqique was on a solo album (that also featured Talk of the Clown, there called Pierrot). Van Leer insiders also know that the curiously titled Amok in Kindergarten was directly inspired by the Dunblane incident way back in 1996. Even the title All hens on deck made me nervous as I feared a re-hash of Hurkey Turkey. It turns out to be one of the most attractive numbers on the album.

In fact this is as good a post-Akkerman album as Focus have come up with so far. The only real problem is an over-dependence on Van Leer for the writing and performance, a Van Leer almost shorn of one of his attributes, his voice (his keyboard and flute work are better than ever). Van Der Linden's drumming is of a high order throughout but good drumming though important is a relatively small component in a rock album's make-up.

The opening track is a fine effort from the new guitarist Menno Gootjes, spoiled only by Van Leer announcing the band's name as if in a live setting. The track Focus 10 is fine, though since Focus 5 I feel that particular strand has not been working so well somehow. The third track is currently my favourite. Quite what inspired Victoria I don't know but the result is quintessential Focus. Superb! Amok in Kindergarten is contemplative and an adequate track for inclusion. After the up tempo All hens full of Van Leer scat we have an interesting version of Le Tango that justifies its inclusion by being re-titled Birds come fly over and featuring the veteran Brazilian musician Ivan Lins singing lyrics by Van Leer's ex-wife Roselie Peters (she also provides the spoken lyrics for Crossroads). The decision to hand over the mike to Lins was wise. Presumably there was a similar plan with Van Leer's daughter Berenice for the last track (she is credited but I do not hear her unless she is doing backing vocals). Hoeratio is better known as Horace in the English speaking world. Someone has spotted his reference to the flute in his ars poetica. Van Leer reads this in Latin over a slow Bobby Jacobs written piece that is again only adequate as far as I can see. May be it will grow on me. We then have the two tracks lifted from the 1986 solo album Renaissance. The use of acoustic guitar on the first of these tracks and on Le Tango is refreshing. So there it is a rock album with a lot of jazz or Latin influences but no obviously classical ones. Great guitar work from Gootjes and a solid rhythm section, Van Leer at the height of his powers for the most part.

The CD comes as a little book with artwork from Roger Dean, which adds to the overall enjoyment.

Focus X

You will all know that Focus have a new album, Focus X. I am slowly digesting this mostly brand new material and will no doubt have something to say here in the near future. I am also hoping to see them on the last date of their current short tour of the UK.