by Nick | Nov 21, 2018 | New Releases, News, Tour
Exclusively available on the band’s November UK tour and via the band’s official online store ONLY!
The current line-up of Focus, which features Thijs van Leer, Pierre van der Linden, Menno Gootjes and Udo Pannekeet – completed the new studio album titled “Focus 11” earlier this year and are debuting the CD edition on their November UK Tour.
The 11 track album will be released as a CD, gatefold coloured LP and Download on the band’s own In And Out of Focus Records, via Cherry Red, in late January. The album features artwork by Roger Dean.
When asked about the album, Thijs van Leer responded with this poem:
Wow, my joy could not increase
To see this new release
It has Mazzel, Palindrome and Heaven
Plus a title track called Eleven
Both angelic and a beast
It’s Focus, to say the least!
For fans who can’t attend the November tour, the only place where the CD can be ordered online (with orders being fulfilled in November 2018) is the band’s own webstore: https://burningshed.com/store/focus
For fans wishing to pre-order the CD and LP for when they are released in January, Amazon is starting to take pre-orders now. The CD is identical. Amazon CD: http://geni.us/Focus11CD and Amazon LP: http://geni.us/Focus11LP
Official Focus Website: www.focustheband.com
Official Focus Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Focus-the-band-197272485986/
Focus tour dates:
10th November – LONDON – London 100 Club SOLD OUT
11th November – WOLVERHAMPTON – Robin 2
12th November – MILTON KEYNES – The Stables
14th November – HULL – The Fruit
15th November – NEW BRIGHTON – Floral Pavilion Theatre
16th November – WOKINGHAM – Wokingham Football Club SOLD OUT
17th November – KINROSS – Green Hotel SOLD OUT
18th November – GLASGOW – The Ferry
19th November – EDINBURGH – The Caves
20th November – ABERDEEN – The Assembly
21st November – DUNDEE – The Church
22nd November – GATESHEAD – The Sage
23rd November – LOWDHAM – Lowdham Village Hall
24th November – DERBY – The Flower Pot
25th November – HOLMFIRTH – Picturedrome
27th November – MANCHESTER – Band on the Wall
28th November – ALDERSHOT – West End Centre SOLD OUT
29th November – SOUTHAMPTON – 1865 Club
30th November – FLETCHING – Trading Boundaries
1st December – FLETCHING – Trading Boundaries
by Nick | Nov 17, 2018 | New Releases, News
London – Remember the seventies, when the charts were filled with classic songs such as “A Horse With No Name”? Now Gonzo Multimedia has released worldwide the Christmas album from the band who had that international hit, America, featuring ten familiar Christmas songs and three original songs. With Andrew Gold (another name from the seventies) as producer and multi-instrumentalist, fans of seventies pop music will enjoy this. The set opens with “Winter Wonderland,” which even reminds us of their biggest hit with its arrangement. Other tracks here also provide reminders of their hits.
The year 2018 marks the 48th Anniversary of America. Founding members, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (along with former band mate Dan Peek) met in high school in London in the late 1960s and quickly harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song “A Horse With No Name.” America became a global household name and paved the way with an impressive string of hits following the success of their first #1 single. Forty plus years later, these friends are still making music together, touring the world and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound.
From their formative years, America has been a band capable of transcending borders with its uplifting music and positive message. Embracing a rainbow of divergent cultures, America’s audiences continue to grow, comprising a loyal legion of first, second and third generation fans, all bearing testament to the group’s enduring appeal. “I think that the ingredients of the America sound are the basic fundamentals that translate internationally,” explains Beckley. “The Italians are huge fans of dance music, but they also love a ballad – they’re romantic at heart. It’s the same in the Far East. A lot of times in these countries, we see people singing along, and they don’t really know what the words mean. Music is truly the international language.”
If you enjoy America’s seventies classic hits, you will love America’s “Holiday Harmony.” As a Christmas album alone, it is undoubtedly one of the very best.
Tracks:
Winter Wonderland | Let It Snow | White Christmas | A Christmas to Remember | Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | Sleigh Ride | Silver Bells | Christmas in California | It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas | Winter Holidays | Frosty the Snowman | Silent Night | The First Noel | A Holly Jolly Christmas (2010 Collector’s Edition Bonus Track)
Release Date: 9th November 2018
To purchase: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/16132
America’s official website: http://www.venturahighway.com/
by Kev Rowland | Nov 16, 2018 | Reviews
Formed in 1991, many progheads became fully aware of Ten Jinn with their second album, 1999’s ‘On A Darkling Plain’. Lead singer/keyboard player John Strauss moved to Sweden in 2001, and although Ten Jinn released their third album ‘Alone’, in 2003, that was also the year of their final live show at Draken Theater in Stockholm. John returned to the States in 2004, but then undertook a Master’s degree program for music theory/composition, and it took a long time for Ten Jinn to become operational again. But, in 2017, a mere 14 years on from their last album, Ten Jinn were back. Joining Strauss was drummer/bassist Mark Wickliffe, and guitarists Ken Skoglund and Mike Matier, so three of the quartet have been there since the debut while Skoglund was in the band for the previous album so this is very much a continuation as opposed to a brand new band trading under an old name.
‘Sisyphus’ is an eight-part programmatic work that tells the story of the founder and King of Corinth after whom it is named. Because of affronts to the gods, while alive, Sisyphus was condemned in death to spend eternity in Hades rolling a boulder to the top of a mountain, only to have it roll back down each time he completed the task. It was originally conceived as a classical work (for string orchestra and piano), and was then reworked to include rock instrumentation and vocals so that it tied in with earlier albums. The band then started working on shorter songs to get it all up to album length, when the idea was mooted to undertake an instrumental mix which would be more indicative of the original concept. So the album contains just two songs, 26 minutes long each, with one being the instrumental version of the other.
Many bands have attempted, with lesser or greater success, to combine orchestra with rock music, but generally, these are approached from the rock side first, with orchestra then added to it. Here the reverse is true, as it was originally a classical piece with rock added. There is no doubt that of all rock bands, the one they have most in common with is The Enid, but there is less pomp, more piano. Also, the vocals are very strong indeed, and the result is something that is modern classical, progressive rock, singer-songwriter, symphonic metal, all these things and so much more. For all its complexity, it is also an incredibly accessible album, one that feels wonderfully light even when though there is a great deal happening within it. Strange to think that there were 14 years between this album and the previous one as the band are tight, focussed, moving through multiple styles and facets with ease.
Since this release, the band has produced the wonderful ‘Ziggy Blackstar’ album, which is a tribute to Bowie, and John tells me that he has almost completed writing “Worlds: the Four Worlds of the Hopi Cosmology” which is in four movements (worlds) total running time about 60 minutes. Whether they soon get back into the studio or hit the festival circuit, is a matter of current debate. Whatever happens, Ten Jinn is back and very much making up for lost time.
10/10 by Kev Rowland
by Kev Rowland | Nov 16, 2018 | Reviews
I only recently discovered Fruits de Mer Records, but they are rapidly becoming one of my very favorite records labels as they seem incapable of putting out a bad release. This triple vinyl album came out in October, but the pressing has already sold out, and having been playing this it is not difficult to see why. What we have here are 27 songs that were originally recorded between 1966 and 1968, which have now been given a new lease of life, providing more than two hours of incredible music. One thing to note is that two of the songs are new live versions by the original bands, namely The Yardbirds and The Pretty Things, while The Electric Prunes also make an appearance with their take on “7 And 7 Is”.
But, for me the highlight is The Luck Of Eden Hall and their crazed version of Alice Cooper’s “Reflected” which appeared on their debut album ‘Pretties For You’. Alice themselves revisited the song and turned it into “Elected”, but the guitar on this version as it goes through distortion and a wah-wah pedal, along with Keith Moon-style drumming is just wonderful. Kris Gietkowski’s keyboards sound as he is in Procol Harum, and no-one could ever imagine that this is a new recording, so vintage does it seem. I also had to smile when I heard a great version of “Beck’s Bolero”. I undertook my degree in Wolverhampton a million years ago, and the Wolverhampton song at the time was Jeff Beck’s “Hi Ho Silver Lining”, so needless to say we all had copies of the single, and this was the B-side so is a song I know really well, although I hadn’t played it for years, and Icarus Peel do it proudly.
This really is a wonderful album, so get onto eBay and see if you can track down a copy, and get on the FdM mailing list so you don’t miss out next time! 10/10
side 1
1. The Past Tense – Magic In The Air (originally by The Attack : recorded in 1967)
2. LoveyDove – Bedazzled (originally by Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations : 1967)
3. Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder – Amelia Jane (originally by Made In Sheffield : 1967)
4. Jack Ellister – Aquarius (originally by The Zodiac:Cosmic Sounds : 1967)
5. Rob Gould – Granny Takes A Trip (originally by The Purple Gang : 1967)
side 2
1. Mark McDowell and Friends – Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire (originally by The Small Faces : 1966)
2. Anton Barbeau – Sunshine Superman (originally by Donovan : 1965)
3. The Electric Prunes – 7 and 7 is (originally by Love : 1966)
4. Moonweevil – Child Of The Sky (originally by The Deviants : 1967)
5. Kris Gietkowski – A-Minor Explosion (originally by Don Shinn : 1966)
6. The Yardbirds – Think About It (live in 2016) (originally by The Yardbirds : 1968)
side 3
1. The Locker Room Cowboys – We Love You (originally by The Rolling Stones : 1967)
2. King Penguin – White Bird (written : 1967, released by It’s A Beautiful Day : 1969)
3. Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin – Solitary Man (originally by Neil Diamond : 1966)
4. The Luck Of Eden Hall – Reflected (originally by Alice Cooper : 1968)
side 4
1. The Honey Pot – Kites (written by Hackaday/Pockriss; recorded by The Rooftop Singers / Simon Dupree and the Big Sound : 1967)
2. Cary Grace – 1983 (A Merman I Should Be…) (originally by the Jimi Hendrix Experience : 1968)
side 5
1. Sidewalk Society – A Saying For Today (originally by The Action : 1968)
2. Jay Tausig – Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (trad. recorded by Anne Briggs : 1963 / Pentangle : 1968)
3. Magic Bus – Tribal Gathering (originally by The Byrds : 1967)
4. Proud Peasant – Down At Circe’s Place (originally by Touch : 1968)
5. Icarus Peel – Beck’s Bolero (originally by Jeff Beck Group : 1966)
side 6
1. The Green Ray – Dusty (originally by John Martyn : 1968)
2. Ex-Norwegian – Winter (originally by Family : 1968)
3. Consterdine – Fly (originally by J.K. & Co : 1968)
4. The Gold Needles – The Smell of Incense (originally by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band : 1967)
5. The Pretty Things – Loneliest Person (live at the Half Moon, 2010) (originally by The Pretty Things : 1968)
By Kev Rowland
by Nick | Nov 16, 2018 | Reviews
I must confess not to have heard a version of “Watchtower” quite like this before, as it has been deconstructed yet still contains plenty of guitars. It is as if Hendrix never existed, and someone took Dylan’s classic as a base and wondered just what they could do to it yet still keep t recognizable. Spoken words, excerpts, layers of mellotron, treated vocals, acoustic guitar, seagulls, it’s all in there and certainly the song to a totally different level. It is incredibly weird, and brilliant at the same time. “The Doors of Perception” is a new song, which allows Nick to show just how psychedelia can be brought into the modern age.
9/10 Kev Rowland
