Focus- Hamburger Concerto (REACTION & REVIEW) 

My favourite piece of music of all time, and it has never failed to bring me to tears even after 48 years. I have to stop whatever I'm doing to listen. Focus were never better than this. Thank you so much Justin.

Well done Justin.Rare are the people who would serve this up. You have created a medium, where we can share.listen and keep great music alive! Never lose Focus, and have a grand New Year. Peace & Love.

You've made a lot of people very happy by revealing this to a new generation JP. Way to long in the wings. Thank you.

Thanks for this JP. Fantastic way to end the year. That’s my favourite Prog piece of all (which is why i kept requesting it 🙄) Blues and Jazz are great, but my heart is European. I can’t ever make it through this without shedding salty tears. Everything is perfect…the composition, the atmosphere, the production, the performance…i can’t understand how anyone could not be moved by it 🤷‍♂️ Btw i love that rolling bass of Bert’s too 😁 Happy New Year to you and all ❤️

And they actually played this live on tour. Magnificent. Grandiose! No shortcuts, no cutting corners. Amazing.

It's funny, I lived thru that period (60s-70s) yet so much of the music of that time is still played a lot even now 50 years later. But because this album was such a favorite of mine back then & has been (mostly) forgotten, when I do hear it now it truly takes me back unlike most "classic rock" music. For me, it's like time travel. :-) Cool to see you appreciate it, JP.

Born in '47... This IS THE MUSIC of my youth !! and Gosh how fortunate were we, to have lived through this outstanding musical era !! I remember seeing bands Focus, ELP, Yes, Genesis etc etc etc in small venues, believe me it was truly amazing !! Each and every member of Focus were incredibly talented musicians, individually creative and collectively stunning. But the Prog Era was also unique as it brought some outstanding music, and musical interpretation which set a new trend in experimental music. Even today this is incredible music, and lest we forget, there were little or no electronic gizmo's yet. Enjoy !!

Shout out for the brilliant, rumbling bass and drums which underpin the whole piece.

Bert Ruiter on bass. Rest in peace, man. March 2022

Just love Thijs Van Leer's vocals.

So glad that you did this track, Justin! It's my favorite Focus song and perhaps even one of the best prog songs ever.

Btw, regarding the little theme at the end…in Portsmouth it’s known as the ‘Pompey Chimes’, and you’ll hear it sung at every football match…”Play up Pompey….Pompey Play Up!” 😁

The good people at Focus, yet again showing everyone how it's done. Masterful.

Thank you Justin ; now you know why this was recommended to you from long ago . This is one of the records for a life . Dutch music is like that ! See also band " KayaK " ( a little more Pop ) for example " live in paradiso , Amsterdam 2008 " , song " Merlin "

Musical masterpiece ✨️

Heard this when it when it first came out in '74, still my favourite Focus album. Great stuff.

Thank you for a great start to the New Year here in Oz Justin. I thought you would like this album, always one of my favourites. There’s a great contemporary recording of this track here on You Tube, it’s from the BBC ‘In Concert’ series. Well worth searching for. Happy New Year to you and your subscribers.

Although I’m Dutch and very much into prog, Focus has always slipped my attention. I missed a lot, it seems! Thanks for bringing them into my life, Justin.

One of my favourite songs and albums of all time.

When their 2nd album "Moving Waves" came out in 1972-3 my friends and I listened to it non-stop for months. We felt like we were discovering a deep secret. We knew we'd never hear it on the radio, except we did see them doing Hocus Pocus on TV. We were desperately waiting for the next album, which turned out to be a double called Focus 3. If you haven't heard it, you need to. The extended studio jam called Anonymous II is one of the greatest jam sessions ever put on record. It actually lasted so long it took up a side and a half of the album. (Can you imagine a record company letting a band do that today?) After that album we knew we were in for an amazing ride. I was literally waiting in the record store when Hamburger was released. Side two, as you've just heard is amazing. BTW that "phasing" you thought you heard, was Akkerman hitting every note while turning the volume knob up and down with his little finger, so you wouldn't hear the attack of the string strike, just the fade. He was/is a brilliant, brilliant musician.

I hate to admit it but this is the first time I've heard this. I've heard that this album is highly recommended to Yes fans, and now I understand why. It's deeply rooted in 70's rock but with good use of classical influences to bend the harmonies and take the arrangement into interesting places. The playing -- especially the keys and guitar -- are phenomenal. And yeah, there are enough hooks and ear worms to make you want to hear it again when it's done. Thanks, Justin -- great stuff.

First time I heard this was when you did the first side. I never listened to anything but Hocus Pocus. really a great album. I agree, the first side is perfect. Who knew...Happy New Year

An often overlooked prog classic, great reaction Justin, naturally you get it. Some really majestic sounding music from Focus at their peak. Still, I am well aware of many later albums and they sound good too.

Listening now for the umpteenth time. Still gets better …

I loved seen you react to this magnificent piece and over all I really enjoyed your description, I never could put what I felt listening to this album on words and you just did it, you're really good at this!

"Enough of the set design," that bit cracked me up. Thanks for doing this, I owned Moving Waves and that was it. I need to give their discography more scrutiny.

Nice inspirational work - I was checking to see if that lead guitar anthem motif pre-dates Nektar's Recycled (1975) album. That downward guitar is heavily used on "Recycled, Part 1".. So it's possible Focus's "Hamburger Concerto" (1974) might have influenced Nektar's 1975 work - which could be considered for a listen in 2023. BTW, Happy New Year!

Hi Justin. Dave from Beyond The Sea. Quite simply, this is one of my favourite prog long songs. Packed with musical ideas, it flows so well. The playing by the whole band is off the scale, as they flit between prog, rock, fusion and classical. Love that recurring riff - what I call their George Harrison - and the way all themes are developed. Jan's solo may be long but it's so damn exciting, and the end climax, with the synth solo, always gives me goose-bumps. On first listen, your reaction is brilliantly insightful. Thanks, JP.

The doorbell melody is 'Westminster Chimes' and a very popular choice for heritage clocks in the UK, obviously.

It's fantastic to see you enjoy this entire album. You made this a unique experience for me as well. I appreciated Focus already, but you helped me see even more of their brilliance. I'd suggest listening to Focus 3 next. It has arguably (i dont agree) more misses but also great great music.

18.24 till the end PURE BLISS

Hello from the Netherlands! May I humbly suggest the Dutch band FINCH? Also instrumental prog. Their first two albums are masterpieces.

One guitar riff sometimes repeated reminds me on Creams Badge!

Still got my vinyl copy from the 70s and still one of my favourite albums of all time

Happy New Year Justin ! A phenomenal track by a brilliant band. First heard this when I was 16 and now 63, never fails to me move. Thank you.

I first hears this track around 42 years ago, and it rapidly became my favourite Focus Track. I recognise the look on your face as I have the same expression on my face when I play it. Intact, I played in as I was doing my super market shopping here in good old Derby in the UK. I thing folks must have thought I was nuts by the faces I was pulling. A totally awesome epic

Brilliant. Others have already said it better than me in the comments. An incredible song on an incredible album. Edited to offer a Happy New Year to all and sundry but especially Justin and his lovely wife. Thank you for this past year of music and reactions. May the next year be much better.

A classic album from a classic group!! 👍👊

It's been a bit of a desert on here for me recently, but at last something I can enjoy. "Eruption" is my favourite piece by Focus, but I'll take this 👍🏼

Not heard this album before. I liked this side too. A pleasant listen.

The piano playing a "doorbell" at the end is actually emulating the sound of carillon bells, which is often heard coming out of church towers in the south of the Netherlands and that area of Europe.

It is a great album. I've had the vinyl since it came out about 1974. I prefer the first side and have played it more often, though the b side is good, it does go on a bit. (A reverse of Moving waves, where it's the long b side piece that I love.) Here in UK we know those doorbell notes as Westminster Chimes. The big clock at paliament, and many others, bang them out every hour. Didn't know about the dutch carol, I'll have to investigate it further now. Glad you played it. Wonder where your going to go next? What goodies are there in 1923?

What a way to start 2023 JP! Knew you'd be as impressed with side 2 of this hugely impressive album ! I cannot stress enough that after nearly 50 years of listening to this record it's still as hypnotic as it ever was. You now have to dive into Focus 3!

Focus is always welcome, so long as it's not another reaction to that cursed yodelling song whose name I will not mention.

There's a lockdown version on here put together via Zoom which guest stars Akkerman and is really good as well.

Happy New Year JP

Thanks for reviewing this magnificent Piece of Music. Happy New year.

A masterpiece of Dutch prog.

And i'm back in the room... With nowt decent since flying teapot, it's good to be back. A great side this, though not without it's niggles. Great composition, fantastic playing, partic the flute, keys, and geet, it flows nicely, for the most part. Though not all original, some themes originally from Haydn, and a Dutch Christmas carol, still a great piece. The niggles: That first vocalisation for one. I love the yodelling, but the initial noise, wasn't sure if he was gargling or trying an impression of Neddie Seagoon, just sounded off. And then the last segment, part 6. I wish they'd melded it better into the rest of the tune, more fluidly. Though not a bad segment in itself, it did come across almost as a musical afterthought. But still very enjoyable overall.

Awesome!!!

You've picked a good one. This just keeps on going from one movement to the next with bitchin' virtuoso guitar solos (modal?) and keyboards.

Really great with the Xmas chants too!

Yep - Focus uses Brahms in the first part. Really seamless transcription to modern instruments, too. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s6CUlhpZig4.html

Masterpiece !!!

I think it's their best album.

‘The owl sat in the olms’ de uil zat in de olmen, I heard😊

Its the "St Anthony Chorale".

Perfect choice for a season's end! A masterpiece album !

Yeah! Happy New Years

Do you know the modern rockband Muse? They sound like Focus.

PS, the bells... Big Ben anyone... Very apt for tonight :)

My favorite Concerto! I replaced this album twice tying to learn the bass parts by ear!

Hey, have you ever watched their 1973 Live on Midnight Special?

It's the view from the top of a mountain. It doesn't really matter whether the mountain is Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Mt Cook, or even Mt Kosciuszko. It's just from the top of an mountain. (Even from the top of Inanda Mountain, maybe. And yes, what's Inanda Mountain? Exactly. It's a mountain, obviously. There's sure to be a view from its top.) OK, so maybe this is K2 or Olympus Mons, or any Hawaiian island considered from sea level, or from its roots, whatever you please. Maybe that matters to some extent.

19:20 did you get a tubular bells vibe

The Big difference on this album is the change from the technically brilliant drummer van der Linden to a British blues-rock drummer. Colin Allen gives Focus Groove.

I bought this when it came out, and oddly, I was disappointed. I think because, although Akkerman's playing is superb throughout, it's more jazz-based, without the soaring guitar-based instrumentals (Focus, Focus ii, Tommy, Sylvia) that first drew me to the group. Now, it's a firm favorite. You could do worse than moving to the next letter of the alphabet and checking out fellow Dutch band Golden Earring's Moontan, an early seventies rock album with a few nods to progressive rock.

There is a live version of a good part of this song when Focus played on Don Kirshner's rock concert show that is worth catching on YT. There are a few other videos of the song being played live as well. Interesting, but the part in which Jan Akkerman goes into his solo always seems problematic in each of the videos I have seen. Not sure if it is his volume swells he uses as part of the riff or what. Don't get me wrong as I absolutely love Focus and Jan in particular, but his live playing always comes across as uneven at best. Regardless. Thanks for the review. My vote would be Anonymous II off of Focus III for your next Focus reaction.

Has nobody yet suggested Andreas Vollenweider to you yet? Just wondering. He’s a Swiss harpist you would definitely like. You could start with Caverns Magica

Believe it or not, this album was pretty much a flop at the time despite this epic tune. I do believe the follow up album " Mother Focus" really bombed at the time. I had a double back album of Both Hamburger and Mother Focus, aswell as the previous 3 albums. Yes I liked Sylvia and Hocus Pokus,, But Hamburger Concerto always out shone all of them and still does

Its a lot of hamburgers.

I Great Long Classic Prog vision by Focus Justin !!! 👍🎵🎹🎸🥁🎼🎶 Check out the two Live videos of this I've sent you on Patreon in past weeks, their Fantastic ! ☺✌

Too much Thijs van Leer, not enough Jan Akkerman. Don't get me wrong, I admire van Leer to no end, but there's little balance here.

A really good side of music that I can never listen to as i hate the yodelling and religious chanting bits with a passion as for me they interrupt and destroy the continuity and almost make an otherwise serious piece sound frivolous. When I had it on cassette tape i would always fast forward those sections.

First time listen for me. A trifle overblown, drawn out, pregnant, self-indulgent, over cooked, direction-less, repetetive, meandering and lacking a vocal focus and chorus. I’m enjoying the slinky guitar solo though, ‘That was a Run’. He ‘s a fabulous guitarist. But i need more... i need character and personality and now, less guitar slinky ness. Oh to have a Jon Awaken type vocal part. Doh, the claps are ace on the slowdown but again, it dissipates into a slinky slimy wet void Ah cue idiosyncratic choral passage! Which only succeeds in reaffirming the stereotypical classical meets rock vibe that i had hoped would have been avoided. Kitchen sinks in the vestry so to speak. It’s A trifle - complete with Sherry and glacé cherries , which is fine if you enjoy those, but the sponge & jelly, fresh fruit, custard , cream and chocolate shavings are sometimes enjoyed more as seperate puddings. I have a soft spot for them as unsung Europeans, and will always enjoy Moving Waves, but wots ultimately preventing me from calling this video Great is the familiar main riff which is bugging me major league - who else has recorded this riff???!! It’s drivin me mad. I haven’t given up on this lp though - off to listen to side 1. Diolch!