[the whole] greater than the sum of the parts

Richard Havers has been writing about guitarist Jan Akkerman, a prodigious talent but not the only one in the group Focus.

One of the driving forces was Thijs van Leer, classically trained flautist and resident crazy man. They were far too classical for mainstream pop and far too rocky for the classicists. Result - a very select bunch who followed them and yet, as Richard says:

Dutch band Focus in the Seventies – and a brilliant one at that. House of the King, Sylvia, Hocus Pocus and Moving Waves are some of the tracks you might recall.

Classics

Sometimes, when you take a group of talented musos who enjoy both their music and absurdity, some classics emerge and these are two I'd like to recall:

Hamburger Concerto, by Focus. It features the "St. Anthony Chorale" by Haydn, fake magnifico lyrics, yodelling falsetto and brilliant guitar riffs. An extraordinary track really - some say it didn't work but I beg to differ:

[i] Starter

[ii] Medium 1

[iii] Medium 2

[iv] Well done

[v] One for the road

A commenter at Amazon said of this track:

A sunset never blazed so brightly – the penultimate Focus album was their most perfectly achieved statement, a beautifully composed and produced celebration of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership at a creative, if not social, peak.

A real synthesis of their musical strengths – crunching riffs, memorable tunes, classical motifs, whimsy, humour, and those carmine Akkerman guitar runs threading the whole thing together.

Down in the Sewer, by the Stranglers [from Rattus Norvegicus]. As Wiki says about them:

The Stranglers were, beginning in 1976, tangentially associated with punk rock, due in part to their opening for The Ramones' first British tour. [They] were also associated with New Wave as well as gothic rock, but their idiosyncratic approach never fitted completely within any musical genre.

That's what I loved about them. Not only that but they were too good as musos to be accepted in any one genre. Wiki continues:

Although initially received with mixed reaction because of their apparent sexist and racist innuendo, the Stranglers employed a sort of dog-humour in their lyrics that won over many music critics. Indeed, Dave Thompson wrote that the Stranglers themselves revelled in an almost Monty Python-esque grasp of absurdity (and, in particular, the absurdities of modern 'men's talk').

And as for Hugh Cornwell … well:

[i] Falling

[ii] Down In The Sewer

[iii] Trying To Get Out Again

[iv] Rat's Rally

Hughy in recent years

In my humble opinion, the tracks on the next album - Bitching, Something Better Change and the title track No More Heroes are some of the best semi-punk rock ever produced and the free flowing energy is infectious.

[You can hear samples by clicking on the album name links.]