The latter theory is demonstrably false, which makes me wish the folks in their commune had traded Tarkus for a copy of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

Euridice" is a classical lied which segues into the Gregorian-inspired "Dayglow" and followed by van der Linden's drum solo, "Endless Road". The track is in fifteen distinct sections, and the suite opens with an uncredited melody from the opera L'Orfeo by Monteverdi. No one in English and America, and I’m including Frank Zappa, could have created a song so utterly off the wall. My pal Martijn informs me that “If “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” didn’t exist, “Hocus Pocus” would be the greatest song ever. It is the fate of a select few bands to conquer the world with one song of brilliant Hieronymus Bosch weirdness, then go on to become yet another cult band.The group wanted to incorporate an element of humour in the track because they felt it was missing in the rock genre. But proof that Focus was capable of bending the time-space continuum can be found in the album’s opener—also the band’s biggest hit.

Pierre Van Der Linden è un gran batterista e fa la sua porca figura sia su questo che sul seguente Focus III mentre Cyril Havermans sembra essere quello più adombrato del quartetto (colpa attribuibile alla preminente figura dei "leader" Jan Akkerman e Thijs Van Leer) ma dimostra anche lui di saper stare appresso ai ritmi della band senza dare dimostrazioni eclatanti di sé (e ai fini musicali funziona quindi tanto basta). White Blue Horizon labels with text in blue, ⚭ Stereo to the left and lower-case Britico below it, unlike Moving Waves which has BRITICO in caps. But if “Hocus Pocus” isn’t the greatest song ever, I never hear it without an admixture of mirth, awe and admiration.The Dutch quartet’s second full-length album, Moving Waves —alternately titled Focus II —is one of the least-probable success stories of the early part of the 1970s.

The vinyl is in excellent condition, minor spindle marks, the usually back ground noise in places and minor superficial surface marks on vinyl, not played much. It's not an Album for anyone who wants to have a singalong because there are no vocals whatsoever but it's purely one of the best instrumental renditions ever produced.

Focus II was released to a mostly positive response and remains one of their most commercially successful albums, reaching No. It’s a prime embodiment of what later became known as “progressive rock”: a melding of classical composition elements with rock ’n’ roll tempos in the vein of Frank Zappa, plus jazz fusion passages and a handful of truly masterful guitar licks. Of course, Akkerman and van Leer were exceptional in writing to each others’ strengths as musicians: Akkerman’s “Janis” is really a showcase for van Leer’s multitracked flute parts, while Akkerman totally steals the show with his guitar arpeggios on van Leer’s fusion track “Focus II. Side two contains the 22-minute track "Eruption", a loose rock adaptation of the tale of Orpheus and Euridice from the opera Euridice by Italian composer Jacopo Peri. Moving Waves è il loro primo grande album (sebbene non il loro primo in assoluto , quello è In and Out of Focus) che li attestò come una delle realtà della scena progressiva e che dimostrò (e che dimostra ancora alla gente che vi si approccia per la prima volta) all'Inghilterra come la musica tradizionale europea non è una loro esclusiva terra di conquista e che anche avendo ascoltato decine di album di band più importanti nel panorama si può sempre rimanere stupiti davanti a piccole gemme incastonate nel posto giusto e dove meno te lo aspetti.

Overall, it's not a bad album at all, but there's a lot of better progressive rock albums out there. Focus was formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, bassist Martin Dresden, drummer Hans Cleuver, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The Dutch prog band Focus' debut album is a progressive rock album too but with their second studio effort Moving Waves they adopted even more complex form of prog rock.Proof that Focus was capable of pulling off pretty much anything in those days can be found in “Eruption,” a 22-minute hard rock rendering of Jacopo Peri’s opera Euridice that canvases the record’s second side. Here Hocus Pocus was such a powerful song, it made a massive impression on listeners when they first heard it. The guitar playing by Jan Akkerman is sublime as is the keyboard work of Thijs Van Leer and it is driven along by the superb Bass of Cyril Havermans and drums of Pierre Van Der Linden. We provide a range of musical instruments and accessories for beginners, intermediates and pro players. Eruption” includes tributes to classical composers and other Dutch fusion acts, and an intense drum solo by Buddy Rich disciple van der Linden.