Focus - Janis

[adrenalinerushskier]

I feel at peace.

[londonerw2]

cracking tune off a cracking LP

[londonerw2]

one of the best bands of the day,ans still sound great

[Hernystone]

No son "alemanes"... son HUMANOS!!!

Quien es la salchicha que pregunta???

[TobiasCW]

@Hernystone son Holandeses

[chuggachuggawoowoo]

Great music and memories. It makes me realize more than usual how much this world is crap.

[Lex100500]

epic drums

[TheLunpi]

Gonna be single untill i can be independent and educated , while focusing on my tasks:( .

[mann8942]

a ticket to travel thru imaginary skies and heavens..

[MrErikbravo]

fantastico

[Hardrck1450]

great!! are they german??

[Hypercolumn]

@Hardrck1450 No they're Dutch.

[KingJulienDavid]

@Hypercolumn There's at least one band that makes me proud to be Dutch!

[YoufailTroll1]

Oh, yeah. This is very shit.

[SteffanLlwyd]

Trully original outfit.

[sdgakatbk]

Got into them in high school when they played Hocus Pocus on WNEW up in NY. Immediately got this album. The whole album is good. I liked the second side a lot. Really talented group.

[norseman76]

@sdgakatbk Talented? They split up 30 years ago....

[ponidk]

@norseman76 Maybe, but they were having a concert in Denmark in 2010

[tinfoilhatter]

these guys,along with a handful of greats like frank marino.well they just make it not fair for us mortals,omg yo

[tinfoilhatter]

truly yimeless



[tinfoilhatter]

wow i was 6 too when ma'n'dad had it in the record collection....i'd be like,play the purple one...and the black and purple nlack sabbath album even when i was like 6 i guess? seems a lifeyime ago-music,life are really timeless

[CaptainSandwitch]

i bet the ONE individual who thumbsed this down feels like a huge assmuffin

[ultrakike2011]

Que gran tema gracias por subirlo y compartirlo.

[margovallen]

I have like, 3 LP's from these guys.......... KILLER BAND!!!! (To say the very least)

[kinksbeatlesstones]

Sublime tune! I still have my original copy from the 70's.

[Seaventeares]

I left UK and left all my albums behind. The one i was dying to hear again was moving waves. I finally found a copy on vinyl. It has to be one of the best lp's ever. It should be a part of all the young andup-coming muso's arsenal.

[ahoghill54]

I saw the band live last year and it was the best live gig I've EVER been to! Their music is so joyous I had a great, big smile on my face all the way through the gig and for days afterwards.

[Riskiks]

i just found Focus here on YT by accident --- I think I'm in love..

[dawsonbaiao]

Uma das melhores bandas do mundo..... dawsonb@bol.com.br

[rateforx]

Nice score 185/0 :)

110000 views

[9116660112]

the most favorite title of them,I've once come to their concert in Japan when I was fifteen years old!!!

[evilrobottolhurst]

so who is going to be the first to say that "janis" means "rabbit" in Finnish? Oh...lol tolhurst

[decisivecrewful]

dit zijn goede memories.had deze elpee en vond hem geweldig goed.

[sayitagainsorry]

yea what a great band nothing compares to it today long live focus

[selmazwarg]

Qto tempo não ouvia!Maravilha!

[omega1956]

Focus music reminds me of a girl penfriend I used to write to in 1972 from the west Midlands and met up with in 73, memories of travelling down to Birmingham and spending the days walking and talking and me catching the last train back up North.....ahh good times,...I wonder if she remembers too

[joeyhage]

this tune should be in every rpg perfect rpg traveling a map music

[joeyhage]

i listen to a band covering all songs from a movie called the last unicorn and its got some similarities the bands called america its a little bit fruity but its tallented and full of the flut sound

[joeyhage]

dutch music at its best go holland and may queen beatrix and the land of oranje thrive for ever

[lovelipc]

so beautiful ♥

[sanjathefabulous]

great dutch music just like solution

[carmel1956]

This is a hauntingly beautiful song!

[JdGoo7]

Anybody know any more material from this band like this? Slightly slower, softer stuff...

[ScottOnTubeTV]

Someone's building a house on the sims =D

[jcast18k]

@ScottOnTubeTV fuck yes!

[WateverBr]

@ScottOnTubeTV hahahahaha

[rapspicy555]

Focus band music is a variety song, like this song Janis this is a classical Jass. But mostly of music listeners can not shift rock song to Jass, because rock song make us live sounds, while Jass is good for meditate and make us sleep, thats why they are just listening the. hocus focus..to stay awaked..

[MrKingkirby]

bought the lp for hokus-pokus...didn't know what to make of the album..but i knew that i liked this styl.  of music...boy were my eye's opened!!!!!!!!!

[edw700]

Uma síntese de Focus em pouco mais de 3 minutos.. Maravilha!

[Heautontimouronmenos]

essa musica é divina!

[MyTiger44]

this band was so much more than hocus pocus. they are masters of the art!!!!!

[asaphjeffrey]

Just listen to this guitar! Jan Akkerman is a legend who shaped my learning guitar, and im only twelve. Listen to "Hocus Pocus", its amazing. This is the band that, when learning a song, inspires you to go on, no matter how hard it is. In the words of rock, never before in rock history have so little done so much for so many. Amaazing.

[johmo23]

This master piece belongs to my memories, to my past, it's like the music of my youth, I love focus since I have 20 years old.

[kapitein60]

everytime I listen to this album I wish it was longer but I guess less is more in this case.

[ivanluiggy]

Parabéns pelo bom gosto musical. Fazia tempos que procurava por essa Banda Holandesa maravilhosa. Realmente uma benção para os Ouvidos.

[0boidacarapreta]

Música do Mestre dos Magos!

Abç!

[giancarlogul]

Thijs van Leer es un genio!!! El tema Focus II es otro punto alto de este disco!!

[1970sman]

What a great band..........and they aint even British........well fcuk me.

Rock on.

[delpotman]

@1970sman All the good bands are coming from holland! Greatings from a dutchman!

[3984ja]

@1970sman i like that comment;) and yes i will rock on.

[Fretliner]

Great piece by a great band.

Though this sounds more a TVL style composition it's actually composed by Jan Akkerman, proving he's much much more than a brilliant guitar player

[plempintong]

GORE

[rayoloco5000]

buen tema ...listen TRAFFIC SOUND -america , from peru

[westpalmscott]

Always thought this track sounded a bit like early King Crimson

[chrisart7]

I think side one of "Moving Waves" was modelled after King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King" in some ways: blistering rock song for the opening, followed by a beautiful flute-driven tune, then a mellotron-heavy ballad. Focus' "Hocus Pocus", "Janis", and "Focus II" follow that blueprint.

[westpalmscott]

I can see that though I really don't think they sound like King Crimson except for this particular track

[chrisart7]

Crimso's initial aim, as per guitarist Robert Fripp, was, "What would (Jimi) Hendrix sound like playing (Bela) Bartok?" One can see Emerson, Lake, & Palmer also picking up on this with the heavy distortion of Bartok's "Allegro Barbaro" retitled "The Barbarian" on ELP's first album. Focus likewise played Bartok excerpts in concert with lots of Hendrix-like bluesy bending from guitarist Jan Akkerman. Seems much prog rock embraced this concept as a catalyst for experimentation.

[jpg1716]

Tottaly agree

[westpalmscott]

I think this is a really good album but they were even stronger on Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto. I saw them twice in the 70's. the first time was right after Focus 3 was released and the next time was a few months after the release of Hamburger Concerto.

[royalsteven]

If anyone liked their second album Focus II (Moving Waves) also listen to Focus III (slighty better even in my opinion) and their debut In & Out Of Focus (where they still sing on some songs). As a matter of fact get their whole discography but I would advice their first three first.

[AsphyxGr]

Masterpiece :)

[lololiet]

Is this for ( or about ) Janis Joplin?

[chrisart7]

Not sure. I thought so, as she died in late 1970, but this music is a far cry from her style of hard, bluesy rock. Focus' hit "Sylvia" was named after a young lady who was in cabaret group with Thijs van Leer, so Janis may well have been someone Jan or Thijs knew at the time. Or maybe even Janis Ian (whose hit "Society's Child" was an early example of classical-pop music with Leonard Bernstein's arrangements).  "Tommy" (on the same Focus album) was written by Tom Barlage, so who knows?

[victormotta262]

Altamente clássico, o Focus tem uma magia incomum.

[vboy13]

so good

respect to the masters

[yawekalb]

@GiorgioLazarov

Cheers, don't know about rich, but great to meet him briefly and signed the old vinyl I guess, down here in Devon, UK, it was 2000, not 2001... got it wrong. Anyway he moved me emotionally when I was young, he holds a good place in my heart always. Love to Jan and yourself. Bye have a good one.

[beestingo]

Bought this a long time ago saw them live. A band ahead of it's time. Thank you for sharing a simply remarkable band.

[mottledbrain]

I purchased this album in my teens. I didn't realize the quality of this music until recently , thanks to YouTube.

I still haven't got that turntable fixed.

:(

Thanks for sharing this great piece of music!

[RobayoOrtega]

"Janis", es el tercer tema del disco "Moving Waves".

Focus.

[chrisart7]

Beautiful song! One LP version said that Jan Akkerman wrote most of the tune, and that Thijs van Leer wrote the middle part. I'd say Thijs has 3-4 flute overdubs on this one, depending on which part of the song. Akkerman used a little bit of chorusing on his guitar, something he really didn't do on album again until "Hamburger Concerto" of 1974. I don't know if they ever played this one live. On stage it would take more than a 4 piece band to pull it off (unless radically rearranged).

[rogerdking]

Fantastic, very moving instrumental.Always will be one of my favourites.Thanks FOCUS!!!

[yawekalb]

Jan Akkerman signed my Moving Waves vynil album in 2001, when he played Tavistock in Devon. Just downloaded Akkerman 3...funk and Jazz, but great stuff and he's still one of my favourite guitarists. I'm also drummer and loved Pierre Van Der Lydens work. On Youtube recent gig, check out, great drum solo.

[Russel1110]

Beautiful! 5/5

[seesselberg]

All of a sudden , I'm 8 years old again ! I love Focus SO much , and I reckon this is their best album , but they did so much great music it's difficult to choose . Thanks for this x

[DirkjeA]

Ahhh I completely forgot about this one. Ahh those lazy hazy sunday afternoons listening to this, together with friends, some wine and some funsiggies, memories.... happy memories, thanx for posting, made me a very happy dutch lady

[mauvezonemagick]

This was [& still is] something new. No one had done this before on a pop album @ this time in America. George Gruntz notwithstanding.

[conexionaerea]

......los "viejos"....tocaban con una mano!..porque con la otra le estaban colocando su sello a este tema!.....

[Yarsh52]

I love this song and album, but I can't find it anywhere.

[ZIPPTPH77]

I still have the original record I purchased in '73...... just a few scratches......

[Yarsh52]

I wanted to buy the CD, but it was kind of expensive to buy. I downloaded it since I couldn't buy it anyways.

[memandy123]

oh shit this i ridicolously good.

[tz125r]

This is just magical ! focus were trully wonderfull

and its a pleasure to see genius at work.

[dharmaseed]

Beautiful. Wonder how many flute overdubs it took to make this song?

[troughsnout]

How about Le Clochard for a great track.

The whole album is soooo brilliant.

I think it should be revived so that their genius can be appreciated by a whole new generation.

[dharmaseed]

That would be nice, troughsnout, but how would anyone hear them? Most of the radio stations nowadays are playing emo, teenybopper music, or bland corporate rock. We need bands like Focus to bring the life back into music.

[dojomania]

I agree 110%...only problem is, on the radio and MTV nowadays,there is very little talent like this, compositionally, or performance- wise. It took a lot of musical training for the individual members to get to this point...patience and the will to practice are lost virtues.

[taildragger51]

dharmaseed: Agree with you 100%. The trouble is the 60s-70s were incredibly unique eras for music.

Artists PLAYED their instruments and were more concerned with creativity rather than big bucks. Since the advent of MTV the shift has been towards increased commercialism & gimmickry.

[dharmaseed]

That's true, taildragger. Eddie Jobson said in an inerview that 'It isn't the type of music you play nowadays, it's what product you're affiliated with'.

[burnsmay]

Agreed, That's why 99% is garbage and DJ's the new stars.They don't tell a story

[djminimoto]

Of course 99% is garbage,but in my opinion, 99% is s---

[eflesh21]

Why the hell is this the only video of janis by focus...

[borgduck]

YOU put one up then!

[tricio1234]

One of the most beautiful song ever

[wigginsdesign]

Simply gorgeous

[peterwilliams56]

Some good comments posted here. This beautiful and sensitive track slipped my attention back in the '70's, but who can blame falling for the power of "Hocus"? Jan does some nice guitar fills. A good song for flute players to learn. This album and Hamburger has stood the test of time very well. Anyone got the tab?

[ZIPPTPH77]

Or maybe "sunrise sermonette"...

[ZIPPTPH77]

This would make a great opening track for some early morning show...

[neduddgi]

Wonderful! Thanks!

[bigslick45]

PFM was an Itallian Progressive Rock Band

[Yarsh52]

This sounds like sort of music from Chrono Trigger for the SNES.

[tdon61]

This song is absolutely beautiful.

[jdlewis60]

Focus is way ahead of their time. They were playing everything even before there was such a term, -New Age Jazz. They were already doing it.

[Farweasel]

In some ways they remind me of King Crimson & PFM

[jdlewis60]

PFM? Who are they? I believe that they are tighter and more deliberate than Crimson, but yes a little.

[Farweasel]

Stick PFM & Dove (actually Dove Quando)into the search box - You're in for a treat. ... But make sure its one of the more recent recordings, a lot of the old ones have disappointing sound quality.

Maybe you've not heard of them because they're Italian. They're a bit Focussy, a bit leaning sort of toward mid-phase Genesis and very much their own entity.

[Farweasel]

Just stumbled back across Camel's Snow Goose on 'Tube too. I'd forgotten about them. They're even more like Focus!

[jdlewis60]

La Luna Nuova PFM, wow thanks for the turn-on. Great stuff!

[pb12z4]

Hopefully you've had a listen to the PFM composition I posted on here a while back, Appena Un Po, from their album Per Un Amico as well. :) I really should keep tabs on these comments a bit better!

[jdlewis60]

Yes I did and it was great, thanks. Love it.

[gabetvc15]

the yes album

[flowerking83]

"Moving Waves" is such a cool record! A divine piece of music,that is totally timeless.

[gastonisaias]

Focus has stood the test of time. Wonderful music!

[turnerhq]

First heard them when I was 14 and nothing has come close ever since.

So original, from heavy to classical all in there own style and the vocal range is outstanding.

A truly amazing band that will stay dear to my heart forever.

Bought my own Gibson LP Black Beauty ( and still have it) after seeing Jan Ackerman.

Long live Focus.

[Leonmpj]

How many flutes?

[2309sergio]

Linda canção, excelente arranjo e magnífica interpretação!!! Beleza atemporal...

[dodgyphil23]

i'd love to hear Thijs and Jan play together again but they probably won't. they could do the best ever version of Peaches by Frank Zappa then " are you going with me" by Pat Metheny  saw focus at The Oval in '72 or '73 jamming with jeff Beck ...... Whishbone Ash,Hawkwind(Stacia) ELP(Tarkus)Linda Lewis and LLoyd George ...... Happy Daze!

[Gentle45Giant]

I was there!! Also had Argent and a band called Genesis on the bill. 50p!! Oh yes... plus Jack Bruce jamming with them. What a day!!

[Kendokita]

Recuerdo haber comprado este disco en Parque Rivadavia en 1976. Muchos recuerdos de mi adolescencia.

[chrislad108]

I remember the 'hocus pocus' album from when I was 10 or 11 years old on a drive down to a holiday camp with my parents lol, hated it back then but really appreciate it now. Great stuff!

[Anglagard1]

Thanks. I foolishly wrote these guys off as a one-hit wonder band and have missed out on a lot of good music. I will definitely buy this album next time I come across it.

[mi1964amigo]

Sublime.