Focus II

Focus II (Moving Waves)
Studio album by Focus
Released	October 1971
Recorded	at Sound Techniques Studios and Morgan Studios, London between April 13th and May 14th 1971
Genre	Progressive rock Instrumental rock
Length	41:40
Label	Imperial/EMI-Bovema Sire Records I.R.S. Records (1991)
Producer	Mike Vernon
Focus chronology
Focus Plays Focus (In and Out of Focus) (1971) Focus II (1971) Focus 3 (1972)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Focus II (more known under original title Moving Waves) is the 1971 second album by Dutch band Focus. It includes the hit "Hocus Pocus" featuring yodelling and operatic falsetto from Thijs van Leer combined with Jan Akkerman's guitar. Even though the sound of the album was highly experimental for the time, it became very successful peaking at #9^[2] in the Dutch Top 40 and later becoming popular in the United States, with "Hocus Pocus" raised at a #9 position^{[citation needed]} on the Billboard Hot 100, and a #2 position^[3] in the UK Albums Chart.

The album also features "Eruption" − a 23 minute long adaptation of Jacopo Peri's opera Euridice, which tells the tale of Orpheus and Euridice.

In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #24 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".^[4]

Track listing

(EMI's 1988 CD issue)

1. "Hocus Pocus" (Thijs van Leer, Jan Akkerman) – 6:42
2. "Le Clochard" (Akkerman) – 2:01
3. "Janis" (Akkerman) – 3:09
4. "Moving Waves" (van Leer, Inayat Khan) – 2:42
5. "Focus II" (van Leer) – 4:03
6. "Eruption:" - 23:04
   1. "Orfeus" (van Leer) – 1:22
   2. "Answer" (van Leer) – 1:35
   3. "Orfeus" (van Leer) – 1:20
   4. "Answer" (van Leer) – 0:52
   5. "Pupilla" (van Leer) – 1:03
   6. "Tommy" (Tom Barlage) – 1:45
   7. "Pupilla" (van Leer) – 0:34
   8. "Answer" (van Leer) – 0:21
   9. "The Bridge" (Akkerman) – 5:20
   10. "Break" – 0:24
   11. "Euridice" (van Leer, Eelke Nobel) – 1:40
   12. "Dayglow" (van Leer) – 2:09
   13. "Endless Road" (Pierre van der Linden) – 1:36
   14. "Answer" (van Leer) – 0:34
   15. "Orfeus" (van Leer) – 0:51
   16. "Euridice" (van Leer, Nobel) – 1:37

Track descriptions

The aforementioned "Hocus Pocus" is Focus's biggest hit and has gained the band fair popularity.

"Le Clochard" is a two minute acoustic guitar composition backed by the Mellotron. Comparisons can be made to "Horizons" on Genesis's Foxtrot album.

"Janis" is a flute ballad with mellow guitar throughout.

"Moving Waves" is the only track (other than "Hocus Pocus" and the "Pupilla" sections of "Eruption") that contains vocal parts. It is mainly classical piano accompanied by vocals.

"Focus II", the second installment in the "Focus" series, is a guitar ballad.

The 23 minute "Eruption" is split into 16 different parts and reincorporates themes such as "Orfeus", "Answer", and "Euridice" quite frequently. The sixth section, "Tommy", written by Tommy Barlage, consists of a lengthy Akkerman solo accompanied by operatic humming from van Leer. "Tommy" is a re-working of the track "Divergence" by the group Solution of which Tommy Barlage was a member.

Personnel

• Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, piano, mellotron, harmonium, flutes, vocals
• Jan Akkerman – guitars, bass guitar
• Cyriel Havermans (Cyril Havermans) – bass guitar, vocals (on "Pupilla")
• Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion

References

1. ^ "allmusic ((( Moving Waves > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r7537. Retrieved 2009-11-15. 
2. ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Focus - Moving Waves". dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Focus&titel=Moving+Waves&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-11-15. 
3. ^ "Chart Stats - Focus - Moving Waves". www.chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=3148. Retrieved 2009-11-15. 
4. ^ Q Classic: Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, 2005.

External links

• Focus II at Discogs (list of releases)