Focus / 50 Years: Anthology 1970-1976

9CD+2DVD box set

50 Years: Anthology 1970-1976 is a forthcoming box set that contains the complete work of Dutch rock group Focus between 1970 and 1976.

The band – guitarist Jan Akkerman, keyboard player Thijs van Leer, bass player Bert Ruiter and drummer Pierre van der Linden – enjoyed global success during their first six years, touring extensively in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Japan.

Focus scored two unlikely worldwide hit singles with ‘Hocus Pocus’ and ‘Sylvia’ and sold several million albums during this period (such as ‘Moving Waves’, ‘Focus 3’ and ‘Hamburger Concerto’).

50 Years: Anthology 1970-1976 is curated by Focus/Jan Akkerman archivist Wouter Bessels (he previously curated the 26CD Akkerman box and recently worked on the forthcoming Tangerine Dream box set), and features newly remastered versions of the first five studio albums all of which come with rare bonus tracks (single versions, alternates, rough mixes). Additionally, it includes 1973 live album At The Rainbow, the Ship of Memories compilation from 1976 (which features 11 bonus tracks), the complete BBC In Concert 1973 gig taken from the original stereo master tapes and a disc of unreleased live performances.

Two DVDs (PAL, region-free) contain over four hours of audiovisual material taken from the archives of various TV stations around the world and include the first official release of the 1973 ‘Focus At The Rainbow’ concert movie, carefully restored from the original 16 mm film.

The box set comes with an 80-page booklet with band history, liner notes and various memorabilia.

50 Years: Anthology 1970-1976 is released by Red Bullet Productions on 13 November
2020.

It may take a while for this to seep through to various retailers, but it is available on JPC in Germany for €37 (they ship internationally) as well as what’s in the widget below.

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Focus

Focus 50 Years Anthology - 11-disc box set

Shop Price gbp Stock Amazon uk   49.99 Order Amazon de   57.49 Order Amazon usa   44.32 Order Amazon fr   64.77 Order Amazon it   59.99 Order Amazon es   62.87 Order Amazon ca   75.22 Order Amazon jp   5748.00 Order JPC de   36.99 Order FNAC fr   27.00 Pre-Order

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* Previously unreleased
** Previously unreleased on cd

CD1 – FOCUS PLAYS FOCUS / IN AND OUT OF FOCUS
Original release: 1970

1. Focus (instrumental) 9.46
2. Why Dream 3.56
3. Happy Nightmare (Mescaline) 3.56
4. Anonymus 7.01
5. Black Beauty 3.05
6. Sugar Island 3.02
7. Focus (vocal) 2.43

BONUS TRACKS

8. House Of The King 2.23
9. Eruption (Live Lanx 1970) 37.31 *

CD2 – FOCUS II / MOVING WAVES
Original release: 1971

1. Hocus Pocus 6.41
2. Le Clochard (Bread) 1.59
3. Janis 3.06
4. Moving Waves 2.41
5. Focus II 4.03
6. Eruption (Orfeus – Answer – Orfeus – Answer – Pupilla – Tommy – Pupilla – Answer – The Bridge – Euridice – Dayglow – Endless Road – Answer – Orfeus – Euridice) 23.07

BONUS TRACKS

7. Hocus Pocus (single version) 3.27 **
8. Tommy (single version) 3.25
9. Focus I (Live Texel 1971) 14.11 *

CD3 – FOCUS 3
Original release: 1972

1. Round Goes The Gossip… 5.16
2. Love Remembered 2.48
3. Sylvia 3.32
4. Carnival Fugue 6.07
5. Focus III 6.05
6. Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers! 14.03
7. Anonymus II (Part 1) 19.33 **
8. Anonymus II (Conclusion) 7.34 **
9. Elspeth Of Nottingham 3.13

BONUS TRACKS

10. Sylvia (single version) 3.32 **
11. Love Remembered (single version) 2.49 **
12. Hocus Pocus (US single version) 3.25

CD4 – AT THE RAINBOW
Original release: 1973

1. Focus III 3.52
2. Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers! 11.26
3. Focus II 4.24
4. Eruption (Orfeus – Answer – Orfeus – Answer – Pupilla – Tommy – Pupilla) 8.40
5. Hocus Pocus 8.27
6. Sylvia 2.47
7. Hocus Pocus – reprise 2.48

BONUS TRACKS

8. P’s March (original mix – single version) 3.27 *
9. Ship Of Memories (original mix) 4.40 *
10. P’s March (original mix – full version) 4.03 *

CD5 – HAMBURGER CONCERTO
Original release: 1974

1. Delitiæ Musicæ 1.13
2. Harem Scarem 5.50
3. La Cathédrale de Strasbourg 4.57
4. Birth 7.45
5. Hamburger Concerto (Starter – Rare – Medium I – Medium II – Well Done – One For The Road) 20.23

BONUS TRACKS

6. Early Birth 2.56
7. Harem Scarem (single version) 3.08 **
8. Birth (alternate mix) 7.43 **
9. Harem Scarem (alternate mix) 5.51 **

CD6 – MOTHER FOCUS
Original release: 1975

1. Mother Focus 3.05
2. I Need A Bathroom 3.04
3. Bennie Helder 3.33
4. Soft Vanilla 3.04
5. Hard Vanilla 2.35
6. Tropic Bird 2.45
7. Focus IV 3.57
8. Someone’s Crying… What! 3.19
9. All Together… Oh That! 3.41
10. No Hang Ups 2.56
11. My Sweetheart 3.38
12. Father Bach 1.33

BONUS TRACKS

13. Focus IV (rough mix) 4.02 *
14. Bennie Helder (rough mix) 3.45 *
15. Vanilla (rough mix) 5.42 *
16. Mother Focus (rough mix) 3.02 *
17. All Together… Oh That! (rough mix) 3.42 *
18. My Sweetheart (rough mix) 3.46 *
19. Someone’s Crying… What! (rough mix) 3.18 *
20. Studio 55 Jam 6.56 *

CD7 – SHIP OF MEMORIES
Original release: 1976

1. P’s March 4.48
2. Can’t Believe My Eyes 5.22
3. Focus V 3.02
4. Out Of Vesuvius 5.51
5. Glider 4.40
6. Red Sky At Night 5.52
7. Spoke The Lord Creator 2.33
8. Crackers 2.42
9. Ship Of Memories 1.47BONUS TRACKS
10. Elektrisch Levenslicht (Neerlands Hoop in Bange Dagen) 3.09
11. The Shrine Of God (Ramses Shaffy with group Focus) 3.39
12. Watch The Ugly People (Ramses Shaffy with group Focus) 2.19
13. House Of The King (rough mix version 1) 2.27 *
14. House Of The King (rough mix version 2) 2.26 *
15. Focus III (unreleased single version) 4.37 *
16. Hocus Pocus (US single version – takes 14-17) 7.12 *
17. Glider (single version) 3.28 **
18. P’s March (single version) 4.07 **
19. O Avondrood 5.10 **
20. Crackers (vocal version) 2.31 **

CD8 – FOCUS BBC 1973

1. Focus III 3.54 *
2. Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers! 12.09 *
3. Focus II 5.06 *
4. Anonymus II 23.30 *
5. Focus I 4.27 *
6. Hocus Pocus 7.38 *
7. Sylvia – Hocus Pocus (reprise) 5.52 *

Produced and recorded by BBC Radio 1 In Concert, Paris Theatre, London, 17th January 1973.

CD9 – LIVE 1971 – 1975

1. Eruption (Live Rotterdam 1971) 46.37 *
2. Birth 11.38 *
3. Improvisation #1 8.35 *
4. House Of The King 3.02 *
5. Improvisation #2 6.23 *
6. Hocus Pocus 3.20 *

Track 1: Recorded by AVRO radio at the Newport Jazz Festival, Grote Zaal, De Doelen, Rotterdam, 29th October 1971. Track 2: Recorded at the Festival Hall, Osaka, 2nd July 1974. Track 3-6: Recorded at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, 21st June 1975.

DVD1 – FOCUS SIGHT & SOUND VOL. 1

1. BBC The Old Grey Whistle Test (May 1972) 24.26 *
2. BBC The Old Grey Whistle Test (December 1972) 16.01 *
3. Focus At The Rainbow (May 1973) 47.28 *
4. BBC In Concert (April 1974) 36.18 *

DVD2 – FOCUS SIGHT & SOUND VOL. 2

1. NOS Van Gewest Tot Gewest (July 1970) 1.54 *
2. NOS Uit De Kunst (June 1972) 3.51 *
3. RTE The Music Makers: Focus at the Stadium (November 1973) 48.00 *
4. VARA Nederpopzien (December 1973) 34.22 *
5. AVRO Toppop: Harem Scarem (May 1974) 3.01 *
6. AVRO Toppop: O Avondrood (June 1976) 4.51 *
7. Veronica Goud van Oud (April 1990) 16.44 *
8. NCRV Classic Albums: Moving Waves (June 1997) 50.02 *