Focus - Focus 12
For all the intriguingly or quirkily titled songs Focus have come up with over the years, they’ve been pretty straight to the point with album titles these last couple of decades.
Focus 12, which follows six years on from (yep, you guessed it) Focus 11, tells you how many studio albums the luminary Dutch progressives have delivered in their fifty-plus years career (ignoring compilations, unreleased rarities, re-records etc).
What it doesn’t do however is tell you just how good an album this is from the ever-present Thijs van Leer (keyboards, flute, vocals, primary composer), classic-era drummer Pierre van der Linden (rejoining Focus in 2004), guitarist Menno Gootjes (who first played with the band in 1997) and six-string bassist Udo Pannekeet (joined 2016).
The latter pair also contribute synths, piano (Gootjes) and programming (Pannekeet), wrote two of the numbers and share co-production credits (Pannekeet also mixed the album).
Focus 12 opens with the wonderfully named 'Fjord Focus.'
Flowing jauntily through its themes with both jazz and folk inflections, this is prime Focus - Thijs Van Leer flourishes on Hammond & flute, Menno Gootjes delivers a melodically soaring solo (recorded in just one take), and Pierre van der Linden & Udo Pannekeet provide a solid and sympathetic rhythm section in support of van Leer and Gootjes.
Focus 12, which follows six years on from (yep, you guessed it) Focus 11, tells you how many studio albums the luminary Dutch progressives have delivered in their fifty-plus years career (ignoring compilations, unreleased rarities, re-records etc).
What it doesn’t do however is tell you just how good an album this is from the ever-present Thijs van Leer (keyboards, flute, vocals, primary composer), classic-era drummer Pierre van der Linden (rejoining Focus in 2004), guitarist Menno Gootjes (who first played with the band in 1997) and six-string bassist Udo Pannekeet (joined 2016).
The latter pair also contribute synths, piano (Gootjes) and programming (Pannekeet), wrote two of the numbers and share co-production credits (Pannekeet also mixed the album).
Focus 12 opens with the wonderfully named 'Fjord Focus.'
Flowing jauntily through its themes with both jazz and folk inflections, this is prime Focus - Thijs Van Leer flourishes on Hammond & flute, Menno Gootjes delivers a melodically soaring solo (recorded in just one take), and Pierre van der Linden & Udo Pannekeet provide a solid and sympathetic rhythm section in support of van Leer and Gootjes.
Following track 'Focus 13' plays atmospherically for the first half of the number (including a lovely repeating melody) before Pierre van der Linden kick it up a few gears.
The band then cuts loose with an up-tempo, free-flowing version of the intro/ melody, over which Menno Gootjes again impresses with an extended solo over the top. Great stuff.
'Bela' is introduced by some expressive piano, including some jazz variations, before giving way to a downtempo section where Thijs van Leer switches to Hammond and the rhythm section kick in with some quietly understated parts. Menno Gootjes then provides another soaring melody part with van Leer echoing some of his lines. Another winner.
'Met Indefinita' is an altogether more reserved affair with heavily reverbed guitar, haunting bass lines and flute to the atmospheric fore. Pierre van der Linden gradually brings in a repeating drum pattern to what is a sparse yet inventive, ebb and flow number.
'All Aboard' features flute over a repeating, sequenced pattern, which Udo Pannekeet follows on bass.
Pierre van der Linden contributes with an almost tribal drum part and Menno Gootjes an impressive chord sequence. An experimental number with a lovely floating feel, the song then kicks in to a heavier riff section that veers into jazz-fusion territory.
'Born to Be You,' a short but impressive piano number with a sombre, classical music influence, is quickly followed by 'Nura,' which is introduced by unison guitar & organ lines that make the sound almost hymnal.
The spiritual feeling of 'Nura' is interrupted by an uplifting, guitar driven riff part followed by a whimsical, folk-influenced section. The number then returns to the introductory theme before the hymnal mood is broken once again by a Menno Gootjes guitar solo over a boogie rhythm conclusion.
Long-standing fans should absolutely love this track.
'Bowie,' like 'Born To Be You,' is another solo piano piece. Where the latter was a short, mid-album interlude the beautifully recorded 'Bowie' is a longer piece with both jazz and classical influences.
As such it becomes another highlight.
'Positano' starts out as a contemplative piano & acoustic number before proceedings develop towards a full band arrangement, first with judicious use of synths and flute, followed by an electric guitar taking over melody duties, which sits atop a bubbling rhythm.
Final number 'Gaia' is another slow burner, with guitar and organ playing a complex unison part over more expert rhythm parts before we are introduced to a section with a distinct samba-jazz feel (five and a half decades after their prog & folk influenced debut album Focus continue to musically explore).
Each studio release from the 21st century Focus (a run that started with Focus 8 in 2002) has had something to offer, with Focus X being particularly strong.
However Focus 12, recorded at the world-renowned Wisseloord Studios and Wedgeview Studios in the Netherlands, surpasses them all.
It doesn’t immediately grab the consciousness, but after a few listens you get the full, musical message – a quartet of highly talented musicians musically experimenting and keeping it fresh, while still respectfully nodding to the band’s stellar, peak-era history.
Nelson McFarlane & Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Focus 12 will be released on Spirit Of Unicorn Music on July 5th.
It will be available on CD, Vinyl and on all good streaming services.
The band then cuts loose with an up-tempo, free-flowing version of the intro/ melody, over which Menno Gootjes again impresses with an extended solo over the top. Great stuff.
'Bela' is introduced by some expressive piano, including some jazz variations, before giving way to a downtempo section where Thijs van Leer switches to Hammond and the rhythm section kick in with some quietly understated parts. Menno Gootjes then provides another soaring melody part with van Leer echoing some of his lines. Another winner.
'Met Indefinita' is an altogether more reserved affair with heavily reverbed guitar, haunting bass lines and flute to the atmospheric fore. Pierre van der Linden gradually brings in a repeating drum pattern to what is a sparse yet inventive, ebb and flow number.
'All Aboard' features flute over a repeating, sequenced pattern, which Udo Pannekeet follows on bass.
Pierre van der Linden contributes with an almost tribal drum part and Menno Gootjes an impressive chord sequence. An experimental number with a lovely floating feel, the song then kicks in to a heavier riff section that veers into jazz-fusion territory.
'Born to Be You,' a short but impressive piano number with a sombre, classical music influence, is quickly followed by 'Nura,' which is introduced by unison guitar & organ lines that make the sound almost hymnal.
The spiritual feeling of 'Nura' is interrupted by an uplifting, guitar driven riff part followed by a whimsical, folk-influenced section. The number then returns to the introductory theme before the hymnal mood is broken once again by a Menno Gootjes guitar solo over a boogie rhythm conclusion.
Long-standing fans should absolutely love this track.
'Bowie,' like 'Born To Be You,' is another solo piano piece. Where the latter was a short, mid-album interlude the beautifully recorded 'Bowie' is a longer piece with both jazz and classical influences.
As such it becomes another highlight.
'Positano' starts out as a contemplative piano & acoustic number before proceedings develop towards a full band arrangement, first with judicious use of synths and flute, followed by an electric guitar taking over melody duties, which sits atop a bubbling rhythm.
Final number 'Gaia' is another slow burner, with guitar and organ playing a complex unison part over more expert rhythm parts before we are introduced to a section with a distinct samba-jazz feel (five and a half decades after their prog & folk influenced debut album Focus continue to musically explore).
Each studio release from the 21st century Focus (a run that started with Focus 8 in 2002) has had something to offer, with Focus X being particularly strong.
However Focus 12, recorded at the world-renowned Wisseloord Studios and Wedgeview Studios in the Netherlands, surpasses them all.
It doesn’t immediately grab the consciousness, but after a few listens you get the full, musical message – a quartet of highly talented musicians musically experimenting and keeping it fresh, while still respectfully nodding to the band’s stellar, peak-era history.
Nelson McFarlane & Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Focus 12 will be released on Spirit Of Unicorn Music on July 5th.
It will be available on CD, Vinyl and on all good streaming services.