Drummer reacts to "Eruption" by Focus 

1000 thanks for this reaction. On the "First Listen channels", Focus is always reduced to the two songs "Hocus Pocus" and "Sylvia", just as the band Argent is always reduced to "Hold Your Head Up" and possibly "God Gave Rock And Roll To You". Yet both bands have so much more to offer.

GREAT CHOICE! The wonderful FOCUS needs to be heard and known for far more than just Hocus Pocus. Their work was deeply moving! Another peak that was 1970-74 that transports me right back emotionally to the nostalgic golden years of my teens when all the greatest were reaching milestones simultaneously. It was quite overwhelming to have such never before imagined music pouring out of these artist and flooding our souls

Fun fact: Jan Akkerman was chosen ‘best guitarist in the world’ by Melody Maker in 1973. And you definitely have to check out their piece Anonymous Two, starting with a medieval theme and giving all four band members plenty of room to solo, with great interplay. It’s 26 minutes long, but over before you know. Highly recommended!

I remember discussing this album with "Whispering" Bob Harris who presented the legendary 70s BBC music show "The Old Grey Whistle Test". Bob and the BBC had no real idea of the size of the shows audience as it was a late night show that played strange music and was presented by a softly spoken hippy. When they had Focus, a Dutch band whom no-one had really heard of, on as guests, the re-action was so great that their record label had to suspend all other LP pressings to keep up with the sudden and totally unexpected demand for "Moving Waves.."..Bob told me that it was only then that they realised just how powerful the show was... I also remember telling him that age 16, I was one of those who immediately ran out and bought the album...

I honestly thought I was the only person who owned this album! (AND Focus III!) So glad to finally discover there are more of you!

I don’t have the words to tell you how much this band means to me. First band I ever saw live in 1974. Seen them dozens of times since as recently as 2023. They are the air in my lungs. Thank you for listening. They are the best.

I would definitely recommend "Answers Questions, Question Answers", either the studio version from "Focus III" or live from "Focus, live at the Rainbow". Jan Akkerman and the Gang at their stupendous best.

Jan is a very underrated guitarist as is all the individual musicianship of these artists

“I feel different”. Bravo young man!! 🤟

FOCUS is really the best and certainly the most talented group ever from the Netherlands. Still going strong as explained by some others below and unfortunately no longer with Jan Akkerman. Their live performance At the Rainbow and at BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test available at RU-vid

My favorite Focus piece is "Hamburger Concerto", That entire album is great.

Awesome, this album has been on my desert island list for years now, it's a masterpiece . It's a shame they're mainly recognized for Hocus Pocus....

One of my favourite bands, I'd recommend "Hamburger Concerto" (from their live album of the same title), Similar to this last song, An amazing 20min song!.

I was 19 years of age when I bought this album, (in 1971), and I couldn't wait to get home to play it. I was blown over by the first side, then when I played 'Eruption' that's when it started, I remember thinking "If this is the future of music, then the future looks bright". I remember upon hearing the track 'Tommy' which incidentally wasn't written by Focus, tears ran down my face, I thought "This is heaven..."

Each time It's like food for the soul.

Focus 3 ... great album

Loved Hocus-pocus and continued buying their stuff back in the day. Can’t go wrong with anything they put out. Ahead of their time. Great classical training and chops. Deserves honor in the world of prog!!!

Welcome to Focus. I recommend Focus III and La Cathédrale de Strasbourg. You will see the talent and musical sensitivity of this group.

I bought this album in 1972 when I was 14 years old. The entire second side of the album was the song “Eruption”. I would put the album on the record player and fall asleep to the song. I never made it to the end. Growing up Akkerman was my favorite guitarist.

The rest of this album is great, yet another FOCUS 3 is worth hearing. Bro, it's really heard for to like modern Prog because nothing is new and everything is stolen

So glad you decided to do this one, Lee. When I first got this album, I was only into loud guitar stuff. My music collection consisted of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. That was it! I LOVED Akkerman's guitar in Hocus Pocus when I heard it as a single, so got this album. At first, I wasn't really into much of the rest of the album, but it won me over and broadened my horizons into the prog world. It was my gateway!

Focus is brilliant. Check out Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto.

This was my first. I was 13 when it appeared in my life, because my brother brought the album for Hocus Pocus, but hated everything else on it, so gave the album to me. This album shaped my teenage listening direction. Yes, Genesis and Tull all followed hearing this. Focus Three has some marvelous moments and Hamberger Concerto, with a replacement drummer, Colin Allen, is a masterpiece. It was wonderful watching Eruption still working it's magic. Thank you.

I finally woke up! [On West Coast] One of my favorites! Thanks for doing this! They have so many great songs, but I always hear the same couple songs... Only you Lee have the nads to do the long masterpieces... Best Line of the Day...Prog is the forbidden fruit, once you bite into it you're done! haha

Thanks for this great reaction. I have not heard this for years but it still sounds fresh. Van Leer played with Focus reformed on Cruise to the Edge a few years back and I finally got to meet him and thank him. He is super friendly and very accessible. He loved to jam with Rachel Flowers in the lounges. Check her out! Van der Linden on was a hell of a drummer too.

You should also check out their live version of Eruption.

We all need more Focus in our lives! 😎 Jan Akkerman still going strong and check Thijs van Leer e.g. with AYREON's "Electric Castle Live and Other Tales" 2019 concert. Here goes: "Ayreon - Amazing Flight (Electric Castle Live And Other Tales)". Cheers from Amsterdam! 🤘

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I was stuck in the Hocus Pocus loop. Starting to investigate and finding that they are incredible!

I saw Focus live in 1972. Absolutely superb. I also saw Akkerman in 2012 doing both solo and Focus material and managed to meet and talk to him. One of my favourite guitarists ever.

I love that you still have Hamburger Concerto to hear. Arguably even better than this.

Can't wait!

Most excellent reactions 👌

When you look at the music education of the band it is astounding. This van Leer studied flute, keyboards and vocals at the Geneva Conservatoire, Akkerman at the Amsterdam School of music, The drummer studied percussion with the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and the bassist's mother was a pub pianist apparently!!

Class!!!

@ 18:09 it’s Thijs van Leer doing the vocals

Yeah, it's actually natural, I believe, that when you hear a great piece of music, you think, "That's the best music I've ever heard!" Many people noticed it in the case of BAND-MAID. Many Maidiacs say, "The best BAND-MAID song is the one currently playing." But it holds for all great songs.

Beautiful reaction, Lee! Bout 52 years old...me being just 5 years hopping around on this blue planet...and this never gets old! Glad 'seeing' you enjoying it so deeply! Jan Akkerman did so much sublime solo stuff, later on.......ahhhhh, you will get there! Cheeriooooo and love from Rich, The Netherlands.

Bravo for your reaction. Curiosity, the desire to discover outside of one's zone or these comfort zones of what one thinks are one's preferences can sometimes lead to very beautiful discoveries. That's what I felt with this group. This is one of the most talented groups I have ever heard. For example, the drummer Pierre Van der Linden is one of the most original and therefore recognizable drummers that I know. When we talk to him about his influences or what he listened to when he was younger, he often cites Buddy Rich and others, which really sets his level. You were able to discover the level of the other instrumentalists, in fact they do not need to sing. Beyond the technicality, what differentiates them from most of the groups I have heard is above all their extraordinary musicality due in part to their eclecticism. like the organist and flautist and the guitarist. for me the best line-up is that of the 1972 album entitled Focus 3 with the change of bassist and the replacement named Bert Ruiter. The guitarist is the most complete that I have heard. I invite you to listen to his solo work, you have the impression that he is another guitarist. He has a technique, a musical richness, a unique feeling. Unlike many others, he was never afraid of taking risks. To return to the group more generally, they put technique at the service of musicality and not the other way around, that for me is one of their greatest merits. I advise you to listen to the album Focus 3 and not to miss the song question answer answer question the song Anonymous number 2. If you liked the solos in this eruption piece then you will not be disappointed. and another album with a piece called hamburger concerto and why not the whole album. Be well 😊

This came out when I was in HS..All of us musicians listened to these guys. To us it was the standard music of the day..Looking back now I wish I would have known then it wasn't going to get much better then this...

...so glad to see you getting better again, Lee, and reacting on Eruption... Moving Waves was my first Focus album, and I've never missed a beat of them since then... Hollands top-notch contribution to the English-heavy ProgRock scene of the 70s - Focus can stand with the best and most famous of the time, and they add a certain Dutch medieval flair to it, that you don't find in the English scene... sublime... 💖

please feature Focus live at the Rainbow FInisbury park London I was there 15 years of age and then saw them again at the Tivoli theatre Wimborne Dorset in 2019, 46 years later . Still with the great Thijs van Leer keyboard extraordinaire. And the original amazing drummer Pierre van der Linden. sadly no Jan Akkerman lead guitar as he left in 1990 and missing Bert Ruiter bass who died recently. They were amazing then and now and forever.

Great response to good music from my youth. Focus guitarist Jan Akkermann was an outstanding rock and jazz guitarist and was voted the world's best guitarist by the British music magazine "Melody Maker" in 1973. There were several excellent Dutch bands in the seventies. Golden Earring was the most successful. The 25-minute long "Eight Miles High" by Golden Earring, with a long bass and drum solo, would certainly also be very interesting for you.

The Dutch always had great bands, EKSEPTION being another one.

A great album up there with anybodies prog. And some of the guitar is rarely if ever surpassed. HAMBURGER CONCERTO next for you dear chap. This 70s music was my heyday as an engineering apprentice in the nuclear industry and accompanying tech college attendance. Aged 16 - 20. Loved it all.

Akkerman was really a great guitar player. The whole band was good. Got to see them only once back in the '70s. But it's great that Arjen Lucassen still brings Van Jeer back on the stage from time to time. And towards the end of this song I pick up the bass and the lead from Zappa's 1971 Willie the Pimp. (live at Fillmore)

Never heard this. I am hearing Yes, Kansas and "Funeral" for a Friend (Elton J.). Wonder who was influenced by Focus? Yup., hear the melodic Carlos riffs...the guitar is right out of Samba Para Ti (a year earlier), so wild...a little Jethro Tull, even some P Floyd, Emerson Lake and Palmer?!!! DRUMS! The Babys, "Every Time I Think of You" (Piano)? Gregorian chants!!!! So glad you reacted to this! I thought I had heard every noteworthy prog band! Sweet!

You do deserve us, you self-deprecating fool! This band is top of my Xmas list. This is a superb track, apparently put together predigitally by splicing sections of tape from different sessions together, which is why some of the changes are abrupt. Check out the eponymous track from their 74 album, Hamburger Concerto.

Somewhat obscure group but they have some great stuff. If I recall correctly, Genesis used to open for Focus and Van der Graaf Generator. If not they should have shared the billing.

It's like all prog... ALL the players need to be at the top of their game otherwise it just doesn't work... And this works so well. I did get to see this live on British televesion way back after the album had come out.. It's just amazing how music has changed since the advent of the home digital studio. No digital plug ins, no internet to download stuff. Just musicians doing their thing. Haha... I loved Santa coming down at the end and the Frosted Wheaties. Hehe.... Keep on Rocking.

I dare you check out the greatest rock drummer Carl Palmer from Emerson,Lake and Palmer live! Thanks so much!

I think Akkerman was one of the first guitarists who used sweep picking. He is also very proficient on the lute.

The beautiful fireworks at the end haha, really good band that's isn't a one-trick-pony for sure! I always thought it was a shame that most ppl actually stay on the Hocus Pocus's first impression (which is still a great piece), Focus is much wider than that.

Mother Focus album is a good one to chek out ...

Can you imagine being a 14-year-old kid leaning against the stage while your heroes play this song? Well that. Been there done that......

Fun fact: Akkerman actually played all the bass on this record!

Please Romantic Warrior, Return to Forever Thanxxx

If you like your prog dark and weird, and with a definite Continental flair you should really hear French band "Magma". Created, controlled and guided by one of the most intense drummers in modern music, Christian Vander. Contemporaries of Focus, and still playing today. It will completely fry your brain - in the best way possible!

Focus is one of ghe finest ptog bands. Guitsrrist...one of the best

Since you like Focus so much, I'm sure you will love The Mahavishnu Orchestra. For me, their 1971 debut album is the best place to start. When Yes saw them in concert for this album, it inspired to up their game and helped to create Close to the Edge. Most of he whole album is worth listening/reacting to: 1] Meeting of the Spirits 2] Dawn 3] The Noonward Race 4] A Lotus on Irish Streams 5] Vital Transformation 6] The Dance of Maya 7] Awakening Bonus track: Live version of The Noonward Race. The studio version is 6.5 minutes long while the live version is 15.5 minutes. It's an insane jam-fest.

Told you.

I was drawn to Focus by the beautiful Moving Waves cover, with absolutely no idea of what was in store musically. The yodeling on Hocus Pocus was surprsing, yet somehow it worked. Eruption just sealed the deal for me, and I was an instant fan. I agree with other people who recommend Hamburger Concerto, their very best composiotion, in my humble opinion. If you want another representation of the band's talents, I humbly recommend Anonymous II. If you are put off by the song's length (it takes up a full side and a half on vinyl), then try the original Anonymous from their debut album. It's much shorter and still gives each member a moment or two to shine.

You’ve been bitten! Prog fever!!!

Sugestion, listen to the Anonymous II from Focus 3 album

Thank you I've been recommending Focus for a long time to you even mentioning don't do Hocus Pocus it's not what I really considered progressive rock. Eruption is perfect along with all of their other great progressive rock tracks. Next to Jeff Beck Jan akkerman is my favorite guitarist and t h e j i s Van Lear is one of my top keyboard players right behind the great Keith Emerson Rick Wakeman hand Chick Corea😮 awesome thank you😊

Do yourself a favor if you get the chance Google Focus live and rare and you'll get to see on RU-vid live videos from 1970 to 76. Then you will really appreciate the musicianship of these guys especially the lead guitarist Jan akkerman😮

Another god one of theirs is Hamburger Concerto

Vanleer the keyboard player does the vocals😊

Google Focus live and rare and you could see everything live in the studio that you've just played😊

Thijs Van Leer is pronounced Tie-sh Von Leer, Pierre Van Der Linden is Pee-air Von Der Linden, Jan Akkerman is Yan Akkerman…

Thijs is pronounced 'teece', like fleece but with a 't'; Jan is like 'Yan'; Pierre as in normal French pronunciation; Cyril similar to English .

This tune is crazy good. Prog with heavy jazz, interesting melodies and riffs. These guys really knew what they were doing. Musical folk, classical overtones, Santana, Gregorian chants? Really?

you should listen to ''Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!'' for me their best piece.

Classic prog masterpiece ....

JAN is admired by other guitarrist like steve howe and bruan may

Almost has a Frank Zappa sound

Thijs is pronounced Tice, like rice. Jan is pronounced Yarn.

Try: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EaoOIw7wvEE.html Featuring: guitarist Jan Akkerman, drummer Pierre Van Der Linden, Kaz Lux a great singer of Polish descent and on bass André Reijnen.

Okay it’s Yan for Jan, Ties for Thijs.

Great epic track....and it's not even their best. " Hamburger Concerto " is.

Just some more old hippie music.

You said it. "WTF"? Prog.....the forbidden fruit. 🍌🍎🍑🍓🍇🫐🍊🍋