Search - Focus :: Focus 9/New Skin

Brilliant!

Thomas C. Davis | Reno, NV USA | 11/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"FOCUS once again shows the "old timers" are still the best! Great tunes, great soloing, tasty, with a sense of humor (one tune has Thijs Van Leer making a story out of the titles of old Focus tunes). Pierre Van Der Linden is back in the fold, with his best drumming and drum SOUND ever! NO ONE sounds like these guys, they still have a sound all their owm and instantly recognizable without being dated. Enjoy...."

The enduring tradition element trumps all

Probyn Gregory | 05/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First off; if you like strong melodic themes and thoughtful arrangements, this largely instrumental band is for you. Depending on what side of Focus that the listener fancies, this is either a moderately successful attempt to keep current or, a showcase for neo-Classicisms and restrained melody or a romp in the field with Thijs and the boys whooping their way through. Or (you fill in the blank). With half the original line-up (Thijs and Pierre play superbly, not to take anything away from Niels and Bobby, but you feel the maturity in the formers' craftsmanship), one could be forgiven for expecting the controlled majesty mixed with fervent soloing that the 1970s LPs brought with such splendor. And here we do see Thijs in fine compositional form (perhaps him at his best is Dona Nobis Pacem, his side band project [by Pedal Point] of the early 80s, I highly recommend it). However, the more modern passages intermixed, funky and rocky, are not particularly up to former standards harmonically or ideawise, which I'm not altogether sure is Thijs' fault -- it often sounds like the band is just having fun riffing on whatever fell first from their collective hands. Niels does a creditable job on guitar, but as other reviewers have noted, he has large shoes to fill and needs a bit more of an instrumental voice. I have studied him on youtube and believe he is beginning to approach this threshold.

All in all, a very nice outing from a wonderfully unique band I feared had crumbled post-Focus 8."

Kind of disappointing...

Benjamin J. Neiman | Phila., Pa. United States | 02/26/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Focus is my all-time fave band! Therefore, I am quite opinionated, and probably hold them to a higher standard than I have any right to. Lord knows, this is still light years better than anything else out there that tries to pass itself off as progressive. The tunes are very good (though I agree, we've heard something close to some of them before). The big problem for me, is the guitar chair. One thing that Akkerman, Albers, and Dumee shared is a distinctive voice, as soon as you hear it you recognize it! It just so happens that Akkerman and Albers are two of the finest guitarists in the world as well. I don't think the new guitarist is in that class (yet). He plays very well, but does NOT have his own voice. In fact, there are no surprises in the solos at all, harmonically, or sonically. But jeez, he's young, let's give him a chance! But, sorry, this doesn't make it for a Focus album for me, needs more "ape****" guitar (to quote an Akkermanism). My dream is to see Eef Albers back in the Focus guitar chair, and then have them tour. Whoaa.."