Oh for the love of all of those FOcus albums from the 70's... Moving Waves, Hamburger Concerto, Focus II and Focus III... where are they now? Cannot find them here. But at least this LP is here and it is true to their legacy, even without Jan Akkermann.
I too am an old Focus fan from my schooldays in the early 70's. Didn't realise Thiijs Van Lear had made a comeback in 2004 until I discovered this album today o eMusic. Wonderful stuff and I agree with 'hoccanrock' that this compares very favorably with classic 70's Focus, and yet the production values and overall sound are more polished and mature somehow... or maybe thats just me :-)
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He's still got it. Of course, that means he only has permutations of the same song. "Rock & Rio" and "Neurotika" are merely extensions of "Hocus Pocus."
I was a Focus junkie in high school (in the mid-70s), always liked their oddball stew of classical and rock and what-the-? And yes, this falls right into the mold of any of their best stuff. I never get tired of hearing the unexpected harmonic progressions and modulations that van Leer comes up with as his compositions wind their way around the keyboard, and the guitar playing is a treat too.
This is the comeback album for Focus (in reality only Thijs Van Leer is back) however, the new players are more than adequate to fill some big shoes (specially Jan Akkerman's) and it sounds (for better or for worse) as the old Focus. This is one of the most enjoyable Focus albums, comparing favorably to their great first three albums.
Some great Hammond B3 work on this album, especially on Brother and Blizu Tébe.
