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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20080607

Track by track 57 All together ... Oh That!

Archive number: 57
Title: All Together ... Oh That!
Main Album: Mother Focus
Track number: 9
Genre: Progressive Rock Instrumental
Studio: Decca Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (later Studio 55)
Length: 3' 36”
Composer: Jan Akkerman
Musicians: Jan Akkerman – Acoustic guitars, Electric guitars; Thijs van Leer – Piano; Bert Ruiter – Bass; David Kemper - Drums
Producer: Hubert Terheggen/Focus
Engineer: Eric Prestidge
Label: LP – Polydor, Atco, Philips, EMI
Date of recording/release: Recorded 1975, released October 1975. LP – 1975, 1977, CD - 1988
Notes: As with Ruiter's pair of 'Vanilla' tracks so with these Akkerman tracks we again have a matching title and a livelier second piece. This one is possibly the most commercially accessible track in the whole Focus catalogue. Rather countrified, it begins with double-tracked acoustic guitars (00:00-00:18) supplemented by drums, bass and wandering piano (00:19-01:02) before a very bright and playful electric guitar takes things up at 01:03. The piece then plays out with electric guitar beautifully leading the other guitars and the rest of the band breaking down a little from time to time but then rising again (01:03-03:10) until the piano becomes more insistent and we reach a final fade (03:11-03:36).

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