We are still repeating the word it has taught us

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts

15/04/73 : Moving Waves - Focus

I've never heard of Focus (except for having seen them in the lower reaches of the charts this year) - for some unclear reason, I'm expecting average US rock.  But before we get there we have an interesting character to discuss...

At #12 this week we have Jack Jones's "Together" - I can't say I know a lot about Jack but had written him off as MoR US sixties pop, so had no interest in listening to this.  But I checked it wasn't a compilation album and so had no choice in the matter, gritted my teeth and went off to listen to it.  But it's not available anywhere - not even on Youtube, so now, of course, I'm intrigued by it.  However, live without it we must, so to make up for it here's some Jack-fax - he started out in '61 and apparently still pops up in Vegas from time to time, despite being 84 now.  And boy did he churn out the albums in the 60s - he released six in '65 alone!  And he's been married six times - he's obviously a sucker for punishment.  And now, back to Focus...

The first track starts with an interesting riff - and then segues into yodelling.  Which I totally wasn't expecting.  And the album pretty much continues in a "not what I was expecting" vein - there's all sorts on there, finishing off with a 22 minute track which takes up the whole of the second side.  I'm not entirely sure how I'd describe it - "mostly instrumental soft prog" maybe?  And if that doesn't get you running for the hills, I don't know what will.  I didn't hate it (although I didn't need the yodelling) but I was a bit perplexed by the whole thing.

We're at #16 in the charts this week on its 14th week of a 20 week run, which was actually its third (and longest) run of five over a year from late '72.  And, for no obvious reason, it peaked at #2 - I've absolutely no idea how it managed that.  The top five this week are Led Zep, 40 Fantastic Hits from the 50s & 60s, Faces (a new entry), 20 Flash Black Greats of the 60s and Roxy Music - another top five featuring two of the top 500 albums ever.  

The only other new entry in the charts were The New Seekers, all the way down at #50 and the highest woman was Liza at #15.  But there is an argument that The New Seekers contribute two more women to the yearly tally in Eve Graham and Lyn Paul - and I'm minded to give it to them.  However, because their contribution isn't quite as significant as most of the other women we've seen, I'm going to split the annual count into eight women with their names on the album and four band members.  And it would be "interesting" to do a similar count for the men for the year - a quick count for this week alone gives us 19 named men and somewhere in the region of 60 band members!

Back to Focus again, Wikipedia tells me they're not American, they're Dutch - which doesn't overly surprise me in a "those crazy Dutchies" kinda vein.  It doesn't have a lot else on the album, but I did learn that "Hocus Pocus", the opening track with the yodelling also features eefing - which is apparently "a kind of hiccupping, rhythmic wheeze that started in rural Tennessee more than 100 years ago".  And the 22 minute track "Eruption" is based on the opera Euridice by Jacopo Peri - it may not surprise you to learn that I didn't know either of those things.  The album was well received both critically and commercially with it peaking at #2 over here and #8 in the US and I was also pleasantly surprised to see they're still going, albeit with only one of their original members - Thijs van Leer who's hit the ripe old age of 74!

"Customers also listen to" Curved Air, King Crimson, Wishbone Ash and Caravan.  Who in their right minds would call themselves Caravan?  It's all not really my thing, but I didn't find Focus unpleasant, but I don't think I'd go as far to call it pleasant either - it was certainly an experience though and felt VERY 70s!

08/04/73 - Some very fine haircuts indeed!
22/04/73 - A musical education