The revised, corrected and improved edition of the book by Peet Johnson is now available. I have actually had a small hand in things this time. This new revised edition is most highly commended. The book can be ordered here.
.
20130404
How to write a Focus number - 10 steps
1. Ideally, you need to be Thijs van Leer or a current band member but in theory you could be anyone.
2. Look for an attractive but subtle melody or two. Ideally, sing it with words of some sort. You can be inspired by an event or a person. Don't be afraid to half plunder the classics or, at a push, more recent music. Collaborations can come later, if necessary.
3. Play around with the melodies a bit. Try them fast and slow and in different keys.
4. Get the band together and try to get things in some sort of order. Start and end with any instrument. Be happy to receive collaborations or contributions and don't be afraid to throw in a yodel or something else that is slightly bizarre.
5. Not vital but if it is appropriate, try it out on the road perhaps. Live in it a bit.
6. Find someone to put words to it. Alternatively, start with the words. Don't worry too much about these as they will rarely be heard, if ever.
7. Attempt a recording with the whole band. Aim for around six minutes worth of music but it can be more or possibly less.
8. Possibly, abandon this recording unreleased and start again or cannibalise it for future pieces. Record it in another form on a solo project, if possible.
9. Add a van Leer introduction perhaps and think of a title, usually in English. Puns and rhymes preferred.
10. Record it again in a different arrangement with no vocals and release it on an album to critical praise (or otherwise).
20130326
Track titles that rhyme
Over the years Focus have produced at least five tracks whose title rhymes.
These are
These are
1. Hocus Pocus
2. Harem Scarem
3. Night
Flight
4. Hurkey Turkey
5. Flower Shower
20130319
20130312
New book out
It's out at last. You can read the opening pages online at Amazon. Already my knowledge of the band has grown immensely. This is a real labour of love and the fruit of a lot of hard slog. Thanks for the mench too Peet - very kind. As so often with these books it is full of minor proofing errors and slightly expensive but it looks a fine production otherwise and is a must for anyone interested in a blog like this or a band like that. I am eagerly awaiting my copy. Not sure yet how many errors here on this blog will have to be changed or modified.
20130306
A rugby team out of Focus
There are actually now at least 15 men who have been part of the official Focus line up but are no longer in the band.
There are five guitarists and three bassists who can form the forwards, while the six drummers can be the backs with PJ Proby at full back.
There are five guitarists and three bassists who can form the forwards, while the six drummers can be the backs with PJ Proby at full back.
They are
Jan Akkerman – guitar (1969–1976, [1985, 1990])
Hans Cleuver – drums (1969–1970, 1999)
Martijn Dresden – bass (1969–1970)
Cyriel Havermans – bass (1970–1971)
Bert Ruiter – bass (1971–1978, 1990, 1999)
Hans Cleuver – drums (1969–1970, 1999)
Martijn Dresden – bass (1969–1970)
Cyriel Havermans – bass (1970–1971)
Bert Ruiter – bass (1971–1978, 1990, 1999)
Colin Allen – drums (1973–1975)
David Kemper – drums (1975–1978)
Philip Catherine – guitar (1977–1978)
Steve Smith – drums (1978)
Eef Albers – guitar (1978)
P J Proby – vocals (1978)
Jan Dumée – guitar (2001–2006)
Ruben van Roon – drums (2001)
Bert Smaak – drums (2001–2004)
Niels van der Steenhoven – guitar, vocals (2006–2010)
20130305
Track by track 125 It takes 2 2 tango
Archive number: 125
Title:
It takes 2 2 tango
Main
Album: Focus 9 (New Skin)
Track
number: 13
Genre:
Progressive Rock Instrumental
Studio:
Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length:
07:57
Composer:
Thijs van Leer
Musicians:
Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute; Niels van der Steenhoven – Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden
– Drums
Producer:
Bobby Jacobs and Thijs van Leer
Engineer:
Han Nuijten
Label:
Red Bullet
Date
of recording/release: Summer 2006
Alternative
version: None
Notes:
This further exploration of the tango form is quite slow for the most
part. The band handle the first five minutes or so like a jazz quartet but with the familiar Focus rises and falls. There are some
very attractive guitar phrases here as it somehow tells a story
without words. Just when you have forgotten the tango title, tango rhythms
break in first at 05:07-05:40 and then again at 06:08-06:42. In both
cases the piano leads, followed by organ, then drums and then flute. The old
theme soon reasserts itself (05:40-06:07 and 06:43-07:57), The whole
closes on a suitably dramatic and extended note.
Track by track 124 Pim
Archive number: 124
Title:
Pim
Main
Album: Focus 9 (New Skin)
Track
number: 12
Genre:
Progressive Rock Instrumental
Studio:
Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length:
02:57
Composer:
Thijs van Leer
Musicians:
Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano; Niels van der Steenhoven –
Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums
Producer:
Bobby Jacobs and Thijs van Leer
Engineer:
Han Nuijten
Label:
Red Bullet
Date
of recording/release: Summer 2006
Alternative
version: None
Notes:
The guitar leads the band in a jaunty bit of rock with a bright and
pretty sound that celebrates the birth of van Leer's grandson. He
appropriately whistles (01:48-02:00) before the guitar takes over
with renewed strength and the band head for the simple close.
Track by track 123 European Rap(sody)
Archive number: 123
Title:
European Rap(sody)
Main
Album: Focus 9 (New Skin)
Track
number: 11
Genre:
Progressive Rock Instrumental
Studio:
Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length:
10:19
Composer:
Thijs van Leer, Gordon Taylor
Musicians:
Thijs van Leer – Piano, voice, handclaps, synthesiser, organ,
flute; Niels van der Steenhoven – Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass;
Pierre van der Linden – Drums
Producer:
Bobby Jacobs and Thijs van Leer
Engineer:
Han Nuijten
Label:
Red Bullet
Date
of recording/release: Summer 2006
Alternative
version: None (although there is a clip of a Focus jam in Kasteel Groeneveld on Youtube where they play something similar to one of the sections)
Notes:
This song is in several parts. First comes a slow, even halting part
led by the guitar backed by piano and keyboard set to choral
(00:00-00:42). It leads into a second slow part, backed by the organ
(00:43-01:07). We then turn east for an increasingly fast, Russian
style dance tune led by the flute with the guitar and backed by the
rhythm section (01:08-02:10). This is further developed from 02:11
with the use of the voice and handclaps, the guitar giving
balalaika-type riffs. At 02:37 a shout or laugh takes us back to the
flute-led tune, this being brought to an end by a couple of piano
arpeggios (02:38-02:59). The slow and introspective guitar then leads
off again followed by the cymbals, organ, bass and then piano too
(03:00-03:34). This segues into the next part, still slow, led first
by piano then with guitar and backing from the rhythm section and
organ (03:35-05:20).
A crash of cymbals abruptly announces a new and jaunty fast section,
which features a first litany of about 12 titles of previous Focus
tracks from van Leer (05:21-06:27). The list with the few additional
words is as follows:
Spoke the Lord Creator, Can't believe my eyes, Out of Vesuvius, Red
sky at night, Round goes the gossip, (of) Eruption, Well done,
Dayglow (to break), (Creating) Moving Waves (for how long?), Answers,
questions ..., (of) Love remembered, … Questions, Answers, Ship of
memories, ??? (06:28-06:13)
This is followed by an instrumental section in the same vein (06:14-06:28)
At 06:29 we come into a new section that begins slowly then becomes
jaunty again but this time we are looking west and the style is very
French, the keyboards in a very accordion-like mode. At 07:33 this
comes to an end with the same slow piano, cymbals and bass conclusion
as before, ending at 07:47.
A crash of cymbals announces the second part of the litany. This time
we have around 35 further tracks
Carnival Fugue, (on an) Endless Road, (it's an) Early birth, (like a
fugue of the) Sneezing Bull, Hocus Pocus (and) Birth (and Birth, and
Birth), No Hang ups, (with the) Russian Roulette, (surely) Harem
Scarem (dreams, dream), (and a) Cathedrale de Strasbourg, Anonymus
(it seems), Maximum, (or) Medium, (or) One for the Road (but)
Someone's Crying … what? (in the) House of the King, (it's a) Happy
nightmare, Altogether … Oh that!, (Let's) Focus (on) Who's
calling?, (Is it) Beethoven's Revenge, (or may be) Father Bach, (is
it) Tommy, Benny, Eddy (or) Judy or Sylvia, My Sweetheart (My
Sweetheart), It's an Indian Summer, (I'm the) Glider, The Tango,
(with) Tokyo Rose, Night flight (with a) Black Beauty, (such a)
Tropic Bird, (With movement, with movement, with movement; that's the
Lord, that's the Lord, that's the Lord) (07:48-09:15)
We then play out with the band led by van Leer's rocking flute
(09:16-10:10). The closing nine seconds are left to the solo flute.
20130206
Songs in different languages
Focus are not known for their vocals but the songs they have sung feature several languages.
1. English (Why dream, Happy nightmare, Black Beauty, etc, etc)
2. Dutch (O Avondrood, Hamburger Concerto, Flower Shower)
3. Latin (Round goes the gossip, Hoeratio)
4. French (La Cathedrale de Strasbourg)
5. Spanish (Santa Teresa)
20121127
Track by track 122 Ode to Venus
Archive number: 122
Title:
Ode to Venus
Main
Album: Focus 9 (New Skin)
Track
number: 10
Genre:
Jazz instrumental
Studio:
Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length:
04:25
Composer:
Thijs van Leer
Musicians:
Thijs van Leer – Piano, Hammond organ; Niels van der Steenhoven –
Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums
Producer:
Bobby Jacobs and Thijs van Leer
Engineer:
Han Nuijten
Label:
Red Bullet
Date
of recording/release: Summer 2006
Alternative
version: None
Notes:
This haunting slow jazz instrumental begins with a bass slide and the
briefest of caesuras before being led by the electric guitar backed
mainly by brushed drums, bass and piano but also featuring the
Hammond organ at certain points, which outlasts the final piano chord
by some seconds at the end.
20121126
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.
20121124
Track by track 121 Curtain Call
Archive number: 121
Title:
Curtain call
Main
Album: Focus 9 (New Skin)
Track
number: 9
Genre:
Progressive Rock Instrumental
Studio:
Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length:
04:31
Composer:
Thijs van Leer
Musicians:
Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute; Niels van der Steenhoven –
Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums
Producer:
Bobby Jacobs and Thijs van Leer
Engineer:
Han Nuijten
Label:
Red Bullet
Date
of recording/release: Summer 2006
Alternative
version: None
Notes: This rousing ensemble is counted in by the drums and soon the band
(organ, piano, flute, etc) are involved. There is a break down at
00:28 and a slower electric guitar-led theme. These slower themes break
in at 00:29-00:39, 00:43-00:53 and 01:09-01:19. At 01:24 the electric
guitar grows more wistful and jazzy. The flute leads with its own
style 01:52-02:13, that section ending with a swinging staccato
conclusion in 02:14-02:24 that includes a piano glissando at 02:23.
The flute then returns for a few more bars (02:25-02:37) before the
electric guitar leads again with some fine rock playing to take us
into the same conclusion just heard with the flute leading
(02:38-03:16). The flute leads with a slower section again at
03:17-03:27 before the band races off again with the main theme, the
drums growing quicker and more prominent all the while until ending at 04:21. This is followed by a 10 second ending in which the guitar
delivers one long note and the piano a series of trills.
Track by track 120 Focus 9
Archive number: 120
Title:
Focus 9
Main
Album: Focus 9 (New Skin)
Track
number: 8
Genre:
Jazz Rock Instrumental
Studio:
Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length:
07:53
Composer:
Thijs van Leer
Musicians:
Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, flute; Niels van der Steenhoven – Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden
– Drums
Producer:
Bobby Jacobs and Thijs van Leer
Engineer:
Han Nuijten
Label:
Red Bullet
Date
of recording/release: Summer 2006
Alternative
version: None
Notes: The track begins with a rather simple, fairly halting and jazz style
solo piano introduction (00:00-00:29). The organ, bass and brushed
drums then join in with a staccato 4 or 5 note theme reminiscent of
Focus 3 (00:30-00:55). The acoustic guitar and piano take up the
halting jazz theme (00:56-01:24) before the organ, bass and drums
return (01:25-01:49). The bulk of the track, all the way from 01:50
to 05:49, is taken up by the guitar and piano, with the theme growing
slightly more melodic at times but remaining very much a jazz piece.
At 03:15-03:49 and 04:19-04:50 the flute is dubbed in with the other
two instruments. At around 05:53 the organ, bass and drums return
with the Focus 3-style element. At 06:20 the acoustic jazz guitar
starts to take the lead. From 07:14 it is the Hammond organ's turn.
The track is almost done by 07:36 except for two piano trills and a
final resounding bass note from the piano (7:37-07:53).
20121112
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.
20121011
20121010
20111203
Track by track 119 Aya-yuppie-hippie-hee
Archive number: 119
Title:
Aya-yuppie-hippie-hee
Main
Album: Focus 9 (New Skin)
Track
number: 7
Genre:
Progressive Rock Instrumental
Studio:
Fieldwork Studios, Schoten, Belgium
Length:
05:15
Composer:
Bobby Jacobs and
Thijs van Leer
Musicians:
Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, flute, voice, bird whistle; Niels van der Steenhoven – Guitars; Bobby Jacobs – Bass; Pierre van der Linden – Drums
Producer:
Bobby Jacobs and Thijs van Leer
Engineer:
Han Nuijten
Label:
Red Bullet
Date
of recording/release: Summer 2006
Alternative
version: None
Notes:
A traditional clay bird whistle is heard at the beginning of this
track which typically alternates between first a yearning theme on
guitar backed by the band (00:00-00:29) and a contrasting rock theme
introduced the first time by drums and consisting mainly of a four
note riff from the guitar backed firstly by harmonics and organ with
some great drumming from van der Linden (00:30-01:16). When the high
soaring guitar returns at 01:15-17 it leads into a twofold repetition
of the title – Aya Yuppie Hippie Hee – the vocals having an
effect on them (01:18-01:26). We then slip back into the rock theme
with the second guitar wailing much more this time (01:27-02:10)
before a repeated “Aya Yuppie” section (02:11-02:22) and the rock
theme again (02:23-02:44). There is then a break down into a quieter
and slower guitar section (02:45-02:54) that gives way to a three
note riff (02:55, 56) followed by a jazzy flute-led part
(02:57-03:29), van Leer breaking out vocally at 03:14 and other
points, ending with some glossolalic scat. At 03:30 we begin on an
increasingly wild guitar-led lead up to first the rock and then the
yearning themes which come in at 04:14-04:35 then 04:36-04:59 (listen
out for the bird whistle), the whole closing on one more brief
rendition of the rock theme with a sudden, decisive and unified stop
at 05:12 (the reverb lasting just a few seconds more).
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