Soft soundin' music (Harpers Bizarre) (LP 3404 - 3407)

Fanny  Live on Beat-club '71-'72 (Vinyl, Real Gone Music, 2024) ****  

Focus  Ship of Memories (Vinyl, Sire Records, 1977) **** 

Harpers Bizarre 4 (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1969) ****  

Jade Warrior  Kites (Vinyl, Island Records, 1976) ***  

Genre: Rock, prog rock, pop.

Places I remember: The next installment of albums I bought recently in California/Colorado - Amoeba Music (Hollywood Blvd), Wax Trax Records (Denver)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Hey Bulldog (Fanny)

Gear costume: Soft Soundin' Music (Harpers Bizarre)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I stupidly sold my collection of Fanny's albums years ago and have been slowly buying it back ever since. I still have a few to go, and although I found one in Amoeba Music it was really expensive so I opted for Live on Beat-club '71-'72 instead.

It's a great set. The liner notes by the band indicate that they had been road tested before these live in the studio tracks were recorded (no audience so the sound is perfect). With gusto is probably the best adjective I'd use, as the band tears into these songs with full confidence.

The Focus album is a kind of lost album. The tracks were compiled by their producer Mike Vernon. He selected previously unreleased material and compiled without any active involvement by any band member. The recordings date from January 1970 to mid-1975, and largely during unproductive recording sessions in 1973 for a follow-up studio album to Focus 3 (1972).

It sounds pretty damn fine to me. Classic Focus - adventurous, playful, and succinct (as far as prog wig-outs go). I was delighted to find it and it hasn't disappointed in the slightest.

Harpers Bizarre 4 is the final album of theirs that I have been searching for, for some time. It's actually pretty great. It kicks off with the terrific Soft Soundin' Music and keeps the quality level high throughout. Their version of The Beatles' Blackbird is well worth hearing. Ry Cooder appears on slide guitar and he's always worth listening to.

Finally in this set is another Jade Warrior album - Kites. It is described as 'intense ambient music' by the AllMusic reviewer and I do get that. I'll need to listen to it a few more times to get into it. I've found that with Jade Warrior in general. Their music rewards repeat listens.

Where do they all belong? A final post of the American A to O purchases coming up next.

Focus (Focus) (LP 2536 - 2541)

Focus  In And Out Of Focus (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1970) ***  

Focus  Moving Waves (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1971) ***  

Focus  3 (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1972) ****  

Focus  At The Rainbow (Vinyl, Sire Records, 1973) **** 

Focus  Hamburger Concerto (2 copies on Vinyl, Polydor Records/ Atco Records, 1974) **** 

Focus  Focus Con Proby (Vinyl, Harvest Records, 1978) ***

Genre: Prog rock 

Places I remember: Spellbound Wax Company, Real Groovy Records, Vinyl Countdown.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Hocus Pocus (Moving Waves)

Gear costume: Anonymous (In and Out of Focus), Sylvia (3)

Active compensatory factors: Focus is a band that is mainly known by the wider music public for a couple of quirky atypical singles involving yodelling, but really the band is a fun mixture of all sorts of prog elements - folk rock, jazz, classical, even blues.

The first album suffers from being more out of focus than in as the band present a wide variety of those styles and genres. Luckily, Anonymous points to the direction they'd largely take from here on in.

Moving Waves, their second album, was huge, thanks to a song with Thijs Van Leer ad libbing some yodelling! Yes, Hocus Pocus was all over the airwaves in 1971. 

Listening to it always takes me back to 1971 and being a student at Mt Albert Grammar in Auckland.

The rest of the album is more coherent than the debut, with some nice mood pieces building to the final 23 minute epic - Eruption. Franks Zappa's compositions are undoubtedly an influence. It certainly nails their prog influences (Yes, Jethro Tull, Zappa) to the mast.

Focus 3 is my favourite. There's the lyrical Sylvia - another hit single, but the rest of the double album is an intriguing collection of strong prog rock moments. A double album suits them as they can stretch out ideas and be brave. 

The 'they' is principally Thijs (amazing on organ and flute) and ace axeman Jan Akkerman, but the band is a harmonious unit throughout. 

Anonymous II is a long wig out for Akkerman, bassist Bert Ruiter and drummer Pierre van der Linden. Each get a workout over the 20 plus minutes. 

The 1973 live album, At The Rainbow, includes their big moments thus far. The singles are prominent and the album is sequenced well - building up to those big hits. My copy is from America, hence its appearance on Sire.

Their fourth studio album was 1974's Hamburger Concerto. It continued the lengthy complex instrumentals to the same excellent conclusion. This album is a bit of an undiscovered gem. All four musicians (Colin Allen now on drums) are in top form. Loads of other instruments on this one (Thijs alone plays 13 different ones plus vocals and whistling).

I've called it quits* after Focus Con Proby from 1978. Jan Akkerman left after Mother Focus, so only Thijs Van Leer remains as an original member (Bert Ruiter is also on board for this one).

P.J. Proby is the featured vocalist on 5 of the 9 tracks. Yes - 9! This album deviates from the earlier ones and presents nine shorter songs.

Although the instrumentals work well, and the two guitarists replacing Akkerman do the business, overall, it's not a very successful project. Proby's voice is very understated and doesn't really suit a prog rock outfit like Focus. 

Where do they all belong? *I appear to have missed out Mother Focus in my collection - will get that if I come across it.