Focus
Focus 8

As a good reviewer, after listening to an album several times, before starting to write any comments, I take a little tour on the internet to gather some information and look for some news that might interest those who will want to read my writings. The story of how this album was born is certainly curious and deserves to be told. The Focus, a historic Dutch band that produced some truly extraordinary albums in the '70s, certainly need no introduction, but it must be said that the impetus for creating this "come back album" did not come from any of the original members as everything started from a cover band of theirs, Hocus Pocus. This group, including Jan DUMEE on guitar, Bobby JACOBS on bass, and Ruben Van ROON on drums (the latter would later be replaced by Bert SMAAK), puts together a nice repertoire of Focus classics and bravely decides (probably more as a joke than with any real hope) to invite the historic member, the flautist Thijs Van LEER, for a jam session. The latter, who apparently isn’t as conceited as many of our local artists, gladly accepts the idea of spending a pleasant musical afternoon (speaking of the arrogance of our local musicians, there’s a recent story from a photographer friend of mine, who is very talented and whose photos are on many Porcupine Tree CDs, who was told by Francesco Renga "don't photograph me, I wouldn’t want you to ruin my image"). The jam session with Hocus Pocus reveals to the good Van Leer a great band made up of extremely skilled musicians who, above all, show a sincere devotion in trying to recreate and relive the original spirit of Focus. His enthusiasm is such that he decides to reform the historic band precisely with the unexpected help of these young musician-fans. The result is this album, titled 8, which we will now analyze.

We start immediately with a dive into the past thanks to the opener "Rock & Rio," a rock-blues piece characterized by yodeling and a playful humorous streak that inevitably brings to mind the classic "Hocus Pocus" from "Moving Waves." From this start, it's clear that Van Leer is in great form and that we can expect an album full of surprises. The next piece, "Tamara's Move," allows Van Leer to show off somewhat with a series of flute evolutions over a folk base dominated by the acoustic guitar, while in the following "Fretless Love," it's the intertwining of flute and keyboards with Dumee’s graceful guitar work. After the graceful "Hurkey Turkey," also not too serious, we arrive at "De Ti O De Mi" (are they a Veneto band?) where the ghost of Akkerman takes over as it is a track completely dominated by Dumee's guitar which gets to show itself off with melodic openings alternating with skillful pieces that in no way make us miss the great guitarist of the original lineup. The following title track also features the guitar as the great protagonist in melodic dialogues with the keyboards, while "Sto Ces Raditi Ostatac Zivota?," written by Dumee, presents a slightly jazzy feeling reminiscent of some things from the Pat Metheny Group (thanks also to some "in-style" vocalizations). "Neurotika" is again a piece sprinkled with a certain irony and, like "Rock & Rio," again features very funny yodel sections alternating with truly beautiful instrumental sections, while in "Brother," organ pads accompany a poignant melody performed by the electric guitar, though then Van Leer's "usual" flute enriches and makes everything more varied. We finally reach the end of the album first with "Blizu Tebe," another piece written by Dumee and characterized by a guitar weaving "heart-rending" melodies, and finally with "Flower Shower," another piece characterized by a burlesque singing rich in "sense of humor," demonstrating that in progressive you don't always have to take things too seriously.

What to say in conclusion? Certainly, we cannot call it a masterpiece, but it is surely an album that holds its own when compared to the group's classics and will satisfy fans. If Genesis ever produced an album of this quality level, we would all undoubtedly jump onto our chairs ready to cheer for the miracle. This will probably never happen, so let's be content with Focus and enjoy this new album of theirs.