FOCUS II [AKA: MOVING WAVES]

Everything from proto-metal, jazz, classical composer rippoffs and rustic images can be heard on this masterful textbook example of what art-rock was all about during it`s years of dominance in the early `70s from this Dutch rock quartet which at the time comprised Thijs van Leer on flute, keyboards and vocals, Jan Akkerman on guitar, Pierre van der Linden on drums and Cyril Havermans on bass.

More of a novelty track than anything else, the outlandish album opener Hocus Pocus nonetheless awakened the world to the guitar vituosity of Jan Akkerman sending him to the top of numerous guitar polls and causing budding young guitar heroes everywhere to drool all over themselves. A non compos mentis composition featuring hysterical yodelling, speed-of-light guitar passages and maniacal drum fills, however unrepresentitive of Focus`raison d`etre, it put them on the record charts on both sides of the Atlantic, the first rock band from continental Europe to do so. Covered by several heavy metal bands over the years including Iron Maiden and German metal band Helloween it was originally contrived from from a drum riff by Pierre van der Linden during a studio jam even though he never recieved a writing credit . The band recorded it as a parody of the art rock movement which they considered was getting a bit too serious at the time. It runs into a brief pastoral guitar interlude entitled Le Clochard which has one wondering whether or not this is same band after the initial onslaught of the potent Hocus Pocus. Janis moves into instrumental pop territory whereas the title track is a subdued madrigal-like vocal accompanied by a piano. Focus II, a worthy successor to Focus I from the In And Out Of Focus debut combines jazz and classical motifs beautifully in a rock context which features some haunting guitar lines by Akkerman.

The centerpiece of the work, the Eruption suite which occupies a whole side on the original vinyl issue, is an elucidation of the 16th century Italian operatic composer Jacobi Peri`s opera Euridice ( sort of ). Although not as overblown as ELPs interpretations of the classics, it contains contemporary flute, guitar, organ and percussion improv sections which, although demonstrating the individual band members`musical prowess creates some continuity problems particularily Akkerman`s guitar sections. But for the most part it remains fluid and does do jusiice to the original Peri work.

My only compunction with this art-rock masterpiece aside from the continuity problems encountered in Eruption is the track running sequence. Opening the work with the rather frivolous Hocus Pocus is somewhat misleading considering the profoundness of what is to occur later on the more structured music, it would have been more appropriate to place it at the conclusion as a grand finale. Still and all this does not warrant the deduction of any stars from what is simply one of the most brilliant art-rock recordings ever etched into vinyl.