A decline from their glory years, but beautiful its own wayw
06/12/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Released in 1975, MOTHER FOCUS affirmed the worst fears of FOCUS fans: the dissolution of the Jan Akkerman (guitar) & Thijs Van Leer (keys) synergistic partnership that had created the FOCUS "sound". Add to this the absence of a permanent drummer. The awesome magnitude of FOCUS can be heard on the exploratory MOVING WAVES, the fusionist maturity of III and the compositional brilliance of HAMBURGER CONCERTO. MOTHER FOCUS showcases a schizophrenic band performing pedestrian compositions that lack depth and developement. The songs, as a collective whole, adhere to a vague "disco-fusion-lite" sound, a simpler, less ambitious approach to songwriting than previous releases. Maybe they were pressured to create a more "commercial" package after the ambitiously artistic concept album HAMBURGER CONCERTO? Despite all this, the songs gradually grew on me, and I find myself hearing new and subtle nuances with each listen. The tunes are all executed with astounding musical proficiency, and their structure reveal mature compositional potential, despite their slick 3-minute-each production polish."
A mixed bag.
08/09/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is not Focus' finest hour. Such claims could be made of Hamburger Concerto or even Focus III. This recording is not without it's merit however. The problem lies in the inconsistency in the compositions. The This Van Leer and Jan Akkerman compositions are up to the standard that one would expect of these two brilliant musicians(Bennie Helder aside). Where the passion and fire in the performances between the two is not as evident as on earlier recordings their efforts are still exceptional. The difficulty lies with the Bert Ruiter compositions. I Need A Bathroom is a blues number with inane lyrics about the need that is made clear in the title. The other Ruiter compositons, Soft Vanilla, Hard Vanilla, Tropic Bird are nothing more than Fuzak. There is one composition by a Paul Stoppelman that is quite good. Overall, it's a good record, not a great one. Still it's worth the purchase but start with Hamburger Concerto (which is now back in print) or Focus III (which is not)."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1