Focus 3 or Focus III is the third studio album from the Dutch rock band Focus, released in 1972 on Sire Records. It is the first and only double album released by the band. Focus 3 peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart. The album spawned one single; "Sylvia" reached number four in the UK and number 33 in the US.
"Round Goes the Gossip" is a jazz fusion piece with a center section featuring Thijs van Leer singing an extract from Virgil's Aeneid (printed on the back of the album in Latin and English; the topic: rumor). "Love Remembered" is a classical guitar ballad by Jan Akkerman with van Leer on flute, eventually backed by the rest of the band towards the song's conclusion. "Sylvia" is a pop song written with Baroque classical harmony and counterpoint, and performed with rock arrangements. "Carnival Fugue" borrows from J. S. Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier" before venturing into cool jazz territory, then culminates in a rock finale with piccolo improvisations and a hint of Calypso rhythms on guitar. "Focus III", another classical song with rock arrangements, contrasts slow, minor key verses with lively, major key choruses (with a few un-credited measures from Petula Clark's "Don't Sleep in the Subway"), before a segue into jazz fusion with "Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!", featuring extended solos on flute and guitar. "Anonymous II" is a classical theme performed in a jazz rock context with each member of the band soloing at different points. "Elspeth of Nottingham" is a reworking of Jan Akkerman's "Minstrel/Farmer's Dance" from his Profile LP, evoking the British countryside of the Renaissance with lute, recorder, and animal sounds (the chirping of birds, the lowing of cows). "House of the King" was recorded in 1970 as a single, and was featured on the vinyl pressings of Focus 3, but not the CD release (it is featured with the first album). Penned by Jan Akkerman who plays acoustic and electric guitars, with the rest of the band on flute, bass, drums, and handclaps, "House of the King" closely resembles British folk rock in general and Jethro Tull in particular. The song's rhythmic interest is heightened by the absence of a quarter note at the end of selected verses, and features an instrospective bridge with Akkerman soloing on electric guitar before resuming its lively folk-inspired chorus.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 1969 by Thijs van Leer. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history. Since 2011 it has comprised van Leer on vocals, keyboards, and flute, Pierre van der Linden on drums, Bobby Jacobs on bass, and Menno Gootjes on guitar.
Formed of members of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair, Focus gained popularity following the success of Focus II (1971) which contained the hit single "Hocus Pocus". Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974). Following their break up in 1978, Focus reunited in 1985, 1990, and 1999 before reforming in 2002. They continue to tour and release albums.
In 2010, "Hocus Pocus" was used as the theme for Nike's 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future which renewed interest in the band.
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A17C
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