GOLDEN OLDIES

This "Golden Oldies" album is the FOCUS album I had always wanted to have, but didn't exist. All great titles from the Focus history, re-recorded in a perfect way with a perfect line up. Old Focus grandmaster Thijs van Leer is wielding his flute and is taking care of the keyboard parts, once more the most important and most talented Focus drummer Pierre van der Linden is caressing and beating up his drums in a perfect way. As always on the twenty first century albums by Focus there is Bobby Jacobs on bass guitar and with Menno Gootjes Focus have probably found the best guitar-player in their career.

Not only the recordings are new, the arrangements have been refined, adding extra piano parts and doubling rhythm guitars. You get perfect renditions of classics like Focus I, Focus II and Focus III. The flute solo in Focus I is so well recorded and played! Songs like Sylvia and the Jethro Tull-like "House Of The King" have found their definite versions.

Hocus Pocus opens this album in a completely renewed version, although I have to admit that the yodelling has even deteriorated, comparing to the previous recordings. "Tommy" (written by Solution sax-player Tom Barlage) starts with a long complex drum break by Pierre van der Linden and gives us a perfectly performed guitar lead by Menno Gootjes.

21st century songs comprise "Aya Yippie Hippie Yee" (who thought of that stupid title), "Neurotica" and the beautiful masterpiece "Brother" in which Menno makes his guitar weep in a fantastic lead.

This album is recommendable to those who already know Focus and would like to hear all band classics in a modern recording, but it is also a great way to discover this band for those who didn't know the band yet. They will get well-balanced melodic progressive rock by a great band, that started its career in 1970 and is still going strong!

VintageST