Liner Notes 1 In and Out

These liner notes appeared on a release of the first Focus album that came out in 1973. They are written by Seymour Stein, CEO of Sire Records.

Slightly over three years ago, I saw a group perform in Holland. Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever seen. Their music, a unique blend of classical, jazz and rock was a refreshing change from the hard driving rock, extremely popular in England and the United States at that time. I was equally, if not more so impressed with the personalities, depth of musical knowledge, ability and drive of the group's motivating forces, Jan Akkerman, guitarist and Thijs van Leer, the band's organist, flutist and vocalist.

The group was Focus and had been formed in mid 1969 as a trio by Thijs van Leer with bass guitarist Martin Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver. Guitarist Jan Akkerman, then with Barinbox, one of the top Dutch pop groups, joined to make it a quartet in November 1969.

After several months, two trips to Holland and some heavy meetings with Hubert Terheggen, the head of the Focus management team, Focus was signed to Sire Records and shortly thereafter, this record "In and out of Focus" was released. The record recieved the critical acclaim of both FM radio and record reviewers, but strong sales never materialized.

That was three years ago and the group has undergone many changes. After a year of moderate success, Jan Akkerman decided to rejoin drummer Pierre van der Linden also ex-Brainbox. They formed a new band and asked Thijs van Leer to come with them. Cyril Havermans joined on bass guitar and they continued to call the band Focus. Bert Ruiter replaced Cyril Havermans in September, 1971.

In the past year, Focus has emerged as the first truly progressive band from continental Europe to achieve prominence in Great Britain and the United States. Why they succeeded, where countless other groups failed, was because of their totally original sound both on records and in personal appearances. Their music is far removed from the rock cliche we have been used to for the past six years. This is the key to their success.

Their more recent albums, "Moving waves" and "Focus 3" and their three triumphant tours of Britain resulted in Focus winning both the Melody Maker Brightest hope 1972 and New Musical Express "Best talent of 1972" awards. Focus is fast being recognized as super-stars here in the United States and American audiences are anxiously awaiting the first Focus tour scheduled for early spring of this year. This, their first album is important because it traces the current success of Focus, back to the inception and early roots of the group and should not be overlooked. It is for just this reason that we have repackaged and made available again "In and Out of Focus".