Moshkiae
Focus III (Three) 1972
Not exactly a jazz minded album, as this was the band's 3rd album, and I think they used this album to settle down their style and abilities. Still centered on the guitar, and various woodwinds that Thijs can play, and his keyboards, but in general, the one thing that you will probably like in this band, is that they know what they are doing, and they have the touch to do classical stuff, as well as rock stuff, and even jazzy stuff, and that versatility is not something that you often get in any band.
A tougher album to review, compared to "Moving Waves". It starts out with a rock piece, that I think they wanted to break into a fun piece, but it looks like it didn't happen, but hearing Thijs Can Leer kinda wobble his way through this after the opening part, is a bit strange, and apparently not in tune with the opening part, and after Thijs is comes back to it.
The next piece shows us the prety stuff that this band does a lot of ... it is a flute piece with very classical orchestration, and it stands out, and it signals a series of solo LP's that Thijs went on to do (starting with "Introspection"). Next comes a piece called "Sylvia" and it is nice, and done in the style that Focus is best known for musically. A flowing piece of music with guitar over the top leading the way thematically. "Carnival Fugue" follows, and while this is nice, I didn't seem to connect with it as much.
"Focus III" has a touch of the jazzy stuff, in how they bring it about. If anything, the band now has a consistent sound and style and it is very well done and thematically driven, with help by the guitar. These numbered pieces in almost all of their albums, are often a long piece where you and I might think it is just a bunch of stuff connected together, but when you hear this one, for example, it is not a disconnected piece at all ... it is a beautiful piece, and well done. And you know that the majority of their work is not just a bunch of little stuff put together ... it feels like it was actually defined to make sure that the guitar could help take it to the next steps. And it does so nicely.
The listing here does not fit the CD listing, btw. The B2 is the introduction to C1 and then moving forward to D1. Listening to it and now realizing that some of these parts might be connected makes it tougher to figure out, and I think they are labelled differently because the pieces are very different from each other, though, apparently part of the same piece. And this piece, "Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!" is really nice and you can't help it but close your eyes and just go with it. It is that kind of music. But that is a touch that this band has, and gives us a lot of times, and beautifully so! It extends really well, and brings the instrumentation together really well. A fine fine piece, and this does not exactly feel like a jam ... I think it may have been well defined before hand ... as their togetherness is really special here.
"Elspeth of Nottingham" is a sort of medieval piece by Jan Akkerman, assisted by the flute by Thijs. Very nice and pretty.
And lastly "House of the King" ... the long piece in the album. Starting with a long part with the keyboards mostly, it ends up in a quiet moment with the Bass Guitar, that is extended until it can develop into something harder and the guitar takes over. I guess we can call this a "jam" and, all in all, it is nice, very much rock oriented styled jam, and nice. Nit great compared to other pieces, but it is a nice piece that adds a touch to this album, and helps clarify a lot of what FOCUS was really about. They could rock with the best of them. I think that this long piece is a bit on the exhausting side of things, but it is still good. It isn't special like "Eruption" is, though. But, maybe, comparing these things takes away from some of their beauty.
Nice album, though I think "Moving Waves" is better.
