NOT TOO LATE

I have never heard this band (even the name!) until a friend of mine introduced me this album "Not Too Late" (1999 Remastered) by Out of Focus. To my surprise that this album came out in the 70s and I did not know at all at that time. In fact, it blew me away at first spin of the album especially with its dynamic composition, blending great guitar solo and flute (oboe) throughout the music Out of Focus delivers. I cannot categorize precisely on the kind of jazz-rock music they play but for sure there are bits of Canterbury as well as old school jazz style with sort of bid band arrangement.

The opening track "That's Very Easy" starts off with a jazzy ambience demonstrating saxophone as lead melody followed with vocal line. The song moves excellently with vintage jazz-rock style while guitar solo and flute provide intertwining roles as lead melody during music interlude. It's noticeable that the flute as well as guitar solo are stunning and energetic. Sometimes the music projects the sound of classic rock style. The second track "X" demonstrates what so called a dynamic jazz-rock music with guitar as main melody maker plus improvisation arena of the music. Throughout the song, there are interesting segments with its dynamic style stemming from brass section work at some transition segments as well as great drum solo towards the end of the song. The opening track is really excellent. You might compare this song with those of Weather Report or Jaco Pastorius solo albums or Soft Machine. They are not alike but in some ways there are similarities.

The third track "The Way I Know Her" is different than the previous two tracks as it contains an acoustic version using acoustic guitar, vocal, and flute. It's not really an interesting song but when the flute comes into play, it sounds quite interesting to my taste. "Y" starts with a saxophone solo followed by cymbals. It reminds me to the intro of Chase music ("Woman of The Dark" I think). The music moves dynamically with woodwind as soloist and the accompanying music reminds me to Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" especially the way keyboard / piano is played. The guitar solo is truly stunning and makes me replaying this song after it ends. I also like the brass section that enriches the textures of the music. The concluding track "Spanish Line" is a dynamic song at the very beginning until the end. The rhythm section is very Canterbury in style and it reminds me to one song under Khan "Space Shanty" album. It's very interesting as the flow of the music is excellent and the brass section dominates the rhythm section as well as lead melody. At the end, guitar also provides its wonderful solo. This is truly an excellent track!

Overall, this is a true gem of the seventies and it contains songs with excellent composition combining great solo work by guitar, saxophone or flute in jazz-rock vein. You might vein some elements of jazz music ala Dave Brubeck, Weather Report and also Canterbury. It's beautifully blended nicely here by the band. Those of you who love Soft Machine would also find this album by Out of Focus is interesting. Despite my tendency to progressive metal music, I can fully enjoy this using my jazz-rock nerve because sometimes I can fully enjoy Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius etc. If you have some nerves of jazz rock music, I bet you would love this album. It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

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