| Focus X | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Roger Dean | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 November 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Studio | Wedgeview Studios (Woerdense Verlaat, Netherlands) Fieldwork Studios (Schoten, Belgium) Skystudio Bassbob Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:40 | |||
| Label | Eastworld Recordings | |||
| Producer | Bobby Jacobs, Geert Scheijgrond | |||
| Focus chronology | ||||
| ||||
Focus X is the tenth studio album by the Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released on 5 November 5, 2012 by Eastworld Recordings.
Focus X is the group's first studio album in six years. The album features Menno Gootjes on guitar, replacing Niels van der Steenhoven, who played guitar on the ensemble's previous album Focus 9 / New Skin (2009). The Japanese edition contains two bonus tracks, "Santa Teresa", and a live version of the band's successful 1971 single, "Hocus Pocus". The album generally received positive reviews. The cover art is designed and painted by Roger Dean. [1]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Father Bacchus" | Menno Gootjes | 4:04 |
| 2. | "Focus 10" | Thijs van Leer | 5:48 |
| 3. | "Victoria" | van Leer | 5:28 |
| 4. | "Amok In Kindergarten" | van Leer | 5:00 |
| 5. | "All Hens On Deck" | van Leer | 5:45 |
| 6. | "Birds Come Fly Over (Le Tango)" | van Leer, Roselie Peters | 5:26 |
| 7. | "Hoeratio" (Words: Horatius, taken from "Ars Poetica") | Bobby Jacobs | 5:38 |
| 8. | "Talk Of The Clown" | van Leer | 2:59 |
| 9. | "Message Magique" | Ben van der Linden | 3:53 |
| 10. | "Crossroads" | van Leer, Peters | 5:39 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Santa Teresa" | van Leer | 5:59 |
| 12. | "Hocus Pocus (live)" | van Leer, Jan Akkerman | 17:30 |
Focus is a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band has undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised Van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States.
Leaves' Eyes is a symphonic metal band from Germany and Norway. Formed in 2003 by Liv Kristine, formerly the lead singer of Theatre of Tragedy, along with the entire line-up of Atrocity, the band has since released eight studio albums, a single, six EPs, one live album, and a DVD.
Thijs van Leer is a Dutch singer and keyboardist, best known as the founding member of the rock band Focus as its primary vocalist, keyboardist, and flautist. Born and raised in Amsterdam among a musical family, van Leer took up the piano and flute as a child and pursued them at university and music academies.
Focus 3 is the third studio album by Dutch rock band Focus, released as a double album in November 1972 on Imperial Records. Recorded after touring in support of their previous album, Moving Waves (1971), the album saw the band write extended pieces and is their first with bassist Bert Ruiter in the group's line-up.
Focus II is the second studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released in October 1971 on Imperial Records. Following the departure of original bassist Martin Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver in 1970, the band recruited Cyril Havermans and Pierre van der Linden, respectively, and prepared material for a new album. Recording took place in London in April and May 1971 with Mike Vernon as producer. The album features "Hocus Pocus" a hard rock song featuring keyboardist Thijs van Leer's yodelling, scat singing, and whistling, and "Eruption", a 22-minute track inspired by the opera Euridice by Italian composer Jacopo Peri.
Lucidity is the debut studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Delain. It was released on 4 September 2006 by Roadrunner Records. It was released in the US by Sensory Records on 22 June 2010. In 2016 the band celebrated their 10th anniversary by re-releasing the album.
John Young is a British rock musician hailing from Liverpool. He is currently the keyboardist and singer for the progressive rock band Lifesigns.
Hamburger Concerto is the fourth studio album by the Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released in April 1974. It peaked at No. 20 on the UK charts. The title track is based on Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms. The composition also incorporates the first two verses of the Dutch Christmas carol O Kerstnacht, schoner dan de dagen at around 15 min. The first track is based on a Gaillarde of Joachim van den Hove of his work Delitae Musicae.
Mother Focus is the fifth studio album by the band Focus, released in 1975 on Polydor in Europe, on Atco Records in North America and on EMI in Japan.
At the Rainbow is the first live album from the Dutch rock band Focus, released in October 1973 on Imperial Records. The album was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on 5 May 1973 by The Pye Mobile Unit, recording engineer Alan Perkins. A studio album was initially slated for release, but it was shelved due to disagreements within the band. At the Rainbow was released instead.
Ship of Memories is a compilation album from the Dutch rock band Focus, released in 1976 on EMI-Bovema. During a period of group inactivity, longtime associate Hubert Terheggen asked their producer Mike Vernon to select previously unreleased material for official release. Compiled without any active involvement by any band member, the recordings date from January 1970 to mid-1975, and largely during unproductive recording sessions in 1973 for a follow-up studio album to Focus 3 (1972).
Focus con Proby is the sixth studio album by the Dutch rock band Focus, released in 1978 on EMI Records. It features five tracks with vocals from American singer P. J. Proby. The record also features guitarists Eef Albers and Philip Catherine, drummer Steve Smith, as well as the two Focus members from previous albums. Smith and Albers would later go on to collaborate on the second album of Smith's band Vital Information.
Survival is a Dutch Progressive / Symphonic rock band/project, initiated in 1981 by keyboard player and composer Jack Langevelt and inspired by classic bands like Trace, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Ekseption, The Nice, Camel, Procol Harum and Deep Purple. The sound of Survival is characterized by strong dynamic melodies with odd time signatures and epic themes. Survival existed as a band between 1981 and 1997, although Jack continued making music under the name Survival.
Mayan is a Dutch symphonic death metal band founded by vocalist Mark Jansen, guitarist Frank Schiphorst, and keyboardist Jack Driessen. The band features many different vocalists in a mix of clean vocals, growled vocals, and screams, supported by an instrumentation combining both heavy metal and symphonic metal elements.
Plagues of Babylon is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released in January 2014, the album is the group's first studio release with bassist Luke Appleton and the only with drummer Raphael Saini, who was a guest on the album. According to rhythm guitarist and band leader Jon Schaffer, half of the album is focused on his "Something Wicked" concept, while the other half are stand-alone songs.
"Sylvia" is a 1972 song by Dutch progressive rock band Focus. It was released on their 1972 album Focus 3 and as a UK single on 27 January 1973. The single became the band's biggest international hit, reaching number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and number 89 in the US Billboard chart.
The Focus Family Album is a compilation album by the Dutch progressive rock band Focus. It shares the same concept with 1976's Ship of Memories. A total of 15 previously unreleased tracks and alternate versions are included on this set.
Focus 11 is the thirteenth studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released in November 2018 on in and Out of Focus Records. It is their first album to feature bassist Udo Pannekeet, who replaced Bobby Jacobs in 2016.
Apocalypse & Chill is the sixth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Delain. It was released on 7 February 2020 via Napalm Records.
