Label: Victor Records (Japan), VICP-61530
Style: Symphonic Rock, Art Rock
Country: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Time: 36:01
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 259 Mb
Focus Plays Focus is the first studio album by Dutch rock band Focus. It is the only album recorded by the group's original line-up consisting of organist and vocalist Thijs van Leer, bassist Martin Dresden, drummer Hans Cleuver, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was renamed In and Out of Focus for the international re-release of the album from 1971 onwards which included their debut single "House of the King".
Jan Akkerman and Thijs van Leer play together with Martijn Dresden on bass and Hans Cleuver on drums; neither of the two guys would manage to carry on to the next album, and thus, for instance, the classic Focus drumming of Pierre van Linden you will meet here not. But the biggest difference still is that the band, just to match the album's title, move 'in and out of focus' way too frequently. To put it differently, it's an album that takes itself far too seriously, and is grossly derivative of ELP (okay, maybe the Nice - ELP had only just formed by then), Jethro Tull, and jammy blues-rock a la Cream. That latter influence persisted and spread over to the following albums, but the former two are only typical for this debut, and so, if you work your way from the later records upwards, you'll be shocked. No yodelling? No comic overtones (except in maybe 'Sugar Island' whose lyrics are dumb anyway)? Pretentious mythological references in 'Black Beauty'? Attempts at making some profound statements? Who do they think they are, Bad Company?
(full version - starlingdb.org/music/focus.htm)
01. Focus (Vocal) (02:44)
02. Black Beauty (03:06)
03. Sugar Island (03:04)
04. Anonymus (06:33)
05. House Of The King (02:51)
06. Happy Nightmare (Mescaline) (03:58)
07. Why Dream (03:57)
08. Focus (Instrumental) (09:44)
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