Focus - 50 Years Anthology 1970-1976 [box set 9 CD + 2 DVD] - release 13th November 2020

Whoops wrong thread!

 

It looks like my box is now on backorder, although I've pre-ordered it, according to the email I just got from ImportCDs.
They sure aren't getting my money in the future. I'm considering cancelling my order.

 

Hi,

JPC and Burning Shed have (enough) copies in stock, as of 20th November.
Amazon will be getting more copies somewhere in the next few weeks.
I don't know of ImportCDs. Have never ordered anything from them - otherwise: please order from a reliable seller. Copies are ready-to-be-shipped from the abovementioned sellers.

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

Whoever is looking for this box and is located in Montreal, Freeson has a couple of them at $56.99 CAD before taxes.

 

Really loving the first album. Not familiar with it. Even the vocal tracks have much to commend them. This production is really pumpable. Discovering so much new magical moments.

 

Hi all

Here's my two cents about Focus 2:

Focus 2 (also known as ‘Moving Waves’)

I have bought this album at various times. The first was the single album ‘Moving Waves’ on the Blue Horizon label from a market stall in Yorkshire for the princely sum of £1 (Happy days!). Later on I found a double vinyl album, which may have had ‘Focus Plays Focus’ as the other disc, in a second hand shop in Utrecht’s old town during my student placement in Holland in the early 80s. I now have the early Red Bullet version on CD &, finally, the newly-remastered version.



The second Focus album features 2 new members: Pierre van der Linden, who had previously played the group ‘Brainbox’ with Jan Akkerman, replacing Hans Cleuver on drums & Cyriel Havermans on bass guitar replacing Martijn Dresden.

Wow! You could say that the second Focus album opens up with a 'bang', but then ‘Hocus Pocus’ is like very little else in the Focus canon! Jan Akkerman’s scorching guitar sounds heavier than Richie Blackmore in Deep Purple, & also Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, with rapid solo-ing too. I’m sure at the time this frenetic playing was a source of appeal to young head-bangers, for this is hard rock on steroids! There again, at the same time it isn’t. Sounds confusing doesn’t it? This is hard rock on a different level, for there are interludes of crazy yodelling, whistling, squealing & yelping from TVL, & new drummer van der Linden makes his presence felt with a few very jazz-like rolls around the kit, putting me very much in mind of Buddy Rich. This music is definitely something different.

In this piece there are sections in which Thijs’s ‘vocalisations’ are pretty manic, almost sinister. Take for instance the breakdown where he plays harmonium & there are sounds of clog-dancing - well I think I can hear clog-dancing - puts me in mind of the courtyard scene in that old film, set in Holland, called ‘Puppet On A Chain’. In the film a number of dancers in national dress or morris-type outfits warm up for a killing by dancing around & banging sticks, accompanied by an accordion or similar. This section of the music gives a similar, unsettling feel. The band footage included on the DVDs in this boxed set showing Thijs with his madcap, crazy looks as he yodels, also puts me a little in mind of Alex Harvey in that he knows what he is doing may sound silly & look silly but he also knows that we would be too intimidated to tell him!

Energy flies out of the speakers on this track & the introduction of live audience atmosphere raises the excitement again towards the end, leaving the listener breathless.

Following that firecracker of an introduction to this album, the next three pieces offer a stark contrast in style, which must surely have created a headache for radio programmers wanting to pigeon-hole the band. The first of these, ‘Le Clochard’, inspired by a beggar & composed by Jan, features the guitarist's lovely playing on the nylon-strung guitar in a very classical vein possibly influenced by his growing admiration of the English classical guitarist Julian Bream. The guitar is nicely complemented by sparing use of the mellotron which adds to a distinctly European, & to me, very medieval feel to my ears conjuring up images of French/Spanish villages during the Musketeers-era.

As an aside, Jan is seen playing this track on electric guitar during the ‘rehearsal at the castle’ footage shown in the ‘Moving Waves Classic Albums’ documentary present on the second DVD in this collection.

‘Le Clochard’ is followed by ‘Janis’, a tribute to Miss Joplin, penned by Jan who had once shared a stage with her when he was with Brainbox. I’d say that this piece is very commercial, dare I say MOR, due to the sweetness of Thijs’ multiple flutes – possibly giving a foretaste of his ‘Introspection’ series. This is lovely music but not essential listening for me.

The third, more, ahem, ‘introspective’, piece in succession is ‘Moving Waves’, the alternative title for this album. This track is actually a song & features TVL singing in a plummy English accent backed by very stately piano & in a classical style. By this point on the album we couldn’t be much further away from 'Hocus Pocus', but next come two Focus classics:

‘Focus II’- Now we’re talking! Here all the signature Focus ingredients come to the fore in this superb instrumental. Organ and piano provide a gentle opening before volume control bowing – does anybody do this better? - from Jan’s guitar leads into some restrained playing of the main melody on guitar before amping up the volume attacking the melody in a more aggressive manner in a style which is slightly reminiscent of Santana’s ‘Europa’ & later, Gary Moore’s ‘Parisienne Walkways’.
The guitar provides the main tune or hook and it’s beautiful to my ears. There is nothing over-fussy about Akkerman’s playing: he simply serves the song & gives it wings. This is a worthy sequel to the ‘Focus’ instrumental which appears on the first album. On this version we also hear piano & mellotron again. Jan’s guitar is the key though.
I really love this track and, I don’t know why', I always picture a winter morning with snow on the ground when I hear this track - maybe it’s my misspent youth listening to this music on a Walkman while waiting at bus stops in the winter to go to college!

The final track on the album is ‘Eruption’. This is the first truly ‘epic’ Focus track committed to record. At the time it was recorded, other bands rated as being ‘progressive’ such as Yes, ELP & Genesis were also recording longer tracks & in some cases side-long pieces of music with a number of shorter pieces cleverly edited together to make a whole. However none of those bands were predominantly instrumental bands.

Hearing the embryonic 37 minute live version by the band’s previous line-up, presented as a bonus track on the first album in this box, was a real revelation and a foretaste of the future direction of the band. This 23 minute long suite of many parts is more streamlined, finessed and, indeed, ‘focused’. Sorry. There are some lovely recurring themes throughout.

I won’t attempt to break the track down into all its component parts but I feel compelled to refer to some of them. ‘Tommy’ is another excellent example of Akkerman’s lead and melody playing. This is actually a piece taken from the composition 'Divergence' from the repertoire of fellow Dutch band Solution & is named after its composer Tom ‘Tommy’ Barlage. Here Akkerman's guitar replaces Barlage's saxophone which plays this theme on the Solution track. Incidentally, Solution are well worth checking out and their live album, ‘Solution Live’, contains this track and gives a good snapshot of some of their fine material - I found them to occupy a space somewhere between The Average White Band and Level 42 but with some jazz rock leanings.
Following ‘Tommy’ there are periods of jamming & wonderful interplay between Akkerman & Van Leer with the guitarist darting up and down the frets during the very meaty ‘The Bridge’, & Van Leer, mostly on organ at that point, following him tightly, with the pair again pursuing melodies which range from European folk to jazz rock in style.

There is tension & release throughout the suite &, during ‘Euridice’, piano & flute from Thijs gives a majestic feel to the music. This then links into ‘Dayglow’ in which a very ‘churchy’ feel is achieved with Thijs vocalising like a choirboy or chanting monk!

Eruption also presents an opportunity for van der Linden to take a longer drum solo in a section entitled ‘Endless Road’ too.

The contrasting parts throughout ‘Eruption’ take the listener on a very satisfying journey indeed & it is one of my all-time favourites by the band.

This expanded release is rounded out by single edits of ‘Hocus Pocus’, ‘Tommy’ & for the first time, a live version of 'Focus' (instrumental).

This box continues to be a gift that keeps on giving & now, thanks to careful remastering, this album has never sounded so good.

 

I've received my boxset yesterday (from Amazon.FR, 35.99 € shipped, amazing price !)
I'm starting playing cd 1 right now and so far, so good !

If only all anthology boxsets were done this way and at the same price (no need for useless goodies/crapies), I bet the physical format would still be well and alived.

Imagine a Genesis 70-76 boxset with original mix remastered this way, with great liner notes and remastered videos on DVD ?

Congrats for all the efforts done here !

 

I hear what you’re saying but I get the impression that no-one at Genesis would be interested in such a set as they’ve already done it once - for better or for worse
The remixed remastered box sets sounded terrible to me, I got rid of them.

 

They spent all that time and money on the remixes and surround mixes, taking ages to agree the final releases, only to find none of the fans liked the stereo remixes, and the only compliments were from the few who listen to the surrounds. Is this the legacy they want? For over a decade all the fans I have come across on the forums want remastered versions of the best-available original stereo masters presented with the care and attention they deserve, and without the unnecessary remastering tweaks made to some previous CD releases. Like Focus, although I have never heard the original stereo masters, I always thought the 1988 EMI releases could be bettered, and Wouter has delivered. I also believe that the Genesis catalogue has not delivered the best sounding CD or Hi-Res versions of the original stereo masters.

 

I totally agree.

You’re absolutely right he sure has & I’m sure many on here would agree.
I’ve not heard the EMI versions either but yesterday I listened to the old Red Bullet remaster of ‘Focus 3’ about 3 times & then played the new version twice. Wow what a revelation. It sounds so much better, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed listening to ‘Answers? Questions? Questions? Answers?’ or ‘Anonymus 2’ as much.
It’s like a blanket has been removed from the speakers.
I also have the Japanese Focus 3 but to be honest, although I haven’t played it for a few months, I don’t remember being knocked out by it.

 

Hi,

On a side-note and way off topic: I would love to do a cd (stereo) cd box set featuring the original mixes of Genesis albums up until Duke. Plus hi-res versions.
Anyone here who could fix that job for me, please?

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

I wish I could help

 

I wish too

Finished playing focus cd 1 & 2. I guess I'll appreciate later the first live version of Eruption : 37 minutes long was quite difficult for a start.
But I've really enjoyed the more polished/structured studio version on cd2 !

 

To an extent All the boxes and even the individual SACDs and DVDs sold out soon enough.

Tim

 

Yes the streamlined more familiar version is long enough at 23 minutes but I also like the longer versions too. There’s another on CD 9 & it’s 46 minutes. Personally I love it when they stretch out, but if they are a relatively new band for you I can understand it being challenging.

 

Clever marketing, limited supply, high demand and expectations, close to sold out before anyone had their ears assaulted.

 

Tresspass to Duke is a good fit for a lot of Genesis fans.

Good luck with that as it has to be a complete carte blanche licensed project with no interference or veto rights from the band members and label executive...

The Mosaic jazz label business model could probably work for this type of project. I wouldn’t mind to buy my set upfront and quite sure some others would also do as well.

Hoping and dreamimg are cheap!

 

Has anyone received their JPC order yet?? I live in the Netherlands!!

 

Yes, over one week ago in the UK, as I believe quite a few others on here too.
Have you received your JPC shipping notice?
I think they are based in Osnabruck, so very close to the Netherlands.
Contact them for an update:
[email protected]

 

thanks

 

Send the 12th!! and still not here??????

 

Still waiting for my copy as well.

 

Not yet. According to my tracking info it took about 8 days to get across Germany to Frankfurt for overseas shipping. Apparently the set left Frankfurt 5 days ago.

 

Strange, I live in the same town as you and received mine last week.

 

Just got mine in the mail this morning. To my surprise it only took 6 days to come from UK to US. Cant wait to sink my teeth into it.