Focus - At The Rainbow

Released - October 1973

Genre - Progressive Rock

Selected Personnel - Thijs Van Leer (Organ/Flute/Vocals); Jan Akkerman (Guitar); Bert Ruiter (Bass); Pierre Van Der Linden (Drums)

Standout Track - Hocus Pocus

It'll likely be a short review, this, as there's only so much you can say about a live album consisting exclusively of tracks from albums already reviewed elsewhere on the blogs. Also, as I said on my review for David Bowie's stellar Live Santa Monica '72, I'm going to try to avoid including live albums as much as possible except for those that have genuinely left a big impression on me. At The Rainbow is one of those albums. As detailed in my reviews of Focus's other albums up to this point, this weird little Dutch band were a key part of some of my major formative musical experience and, thanks to my stepdad's love of them, were a band I listened to a lot of growing up. When I finally came to revisit them in my teens at uni, I found that a huge number of them were predictably familiar and came back to me quickly, although I was surprised to find that many of them felt ever so slightly different to what I remembered from my youth. As it turns out, this live album is probably the Focus record we listened to the most growing up, because as soon as I got round to listening to it, everything slotted into place and became immediately familiar.

After the success of "Hocus Pocus" and "Sylvia" garnered the band critical acclaim and commercial success, they were able to able to document some of the resulting tour, although initially the immediate plan following Focus 3 was to record another studio album. Unable to agree on the resulting material, the tapes were shelved, later to be released in 1976 as Ship Of Memories. It's probable that those tapes might never have seen the light of day had founding member and guitarist Jan Akkerman not decided to call it a day in 1975, at which point archive recordings on unreleased material from earlier in his time with the band suddenly became things that would be of value to the discerning fan. Still, Akkerman's dissatisfaction with Focus was a while away yet, and despite the shelving of what would become Ship Of Memories, there was still plenty more great new Focus material to be released that still featured him. As an interim measure before they could find a new original project to work on that they could all agree on, they decided to release a live album and At The Rainbow (recorded at London's Rainbow Theatre in 1973) was the result. As it houses pretty much all of my formative opinions and experiences of this under-rated and brilliant band, it's an album that's been close to my heart for a long time, and is also a brilliant showcase for Focus at the peak of their powers.

Pruning a concise eight-track running order from a longer show (some songs which would have been great to hear a live recording of, like "Anonymus Two" and "House Of The King," had to be cut to fit the running time), Focus were able to present for the first time an album consisting of absolutely no filler or redundant material, just great song after great song. Starting with the double whammy of the majestic "Focus III" segueing into the breathless jam of "Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!" is an inspired choice, and saving the hit singles until the very end also makes the album into an expertly-paced waiting game. There's something about a live performance of these songs, too, that makes them come alive far more than on their studio recordings, which isn't always the case with live albums. Some songs really benefit from the cleanliness and precision of a live recording, while some benefit from the atmosphere and energy of a live setting. The delirious jazz fusion jams of Focus naturally sit in the latter category (and both times I've been lucky enough to see Focus live they've more than proven their amazing instrumental prowess and their ability to play off a crowd, none more so than Thijs Van Leer himself in his brilliantly ludicrous call-and-response games with the audience). There are certain moments, like Van Leer's organ solo on "Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!" that feel more urgent and exciting than on the studio recordings, and it's difficult, in fact, to find a moment anywhere on At The Rainbow that's inferior to its studio counterpart (though I still swear that Akkerman plays a duff note on "Sylvia," something you'd think they could clean up in the studio, but perhaps it's the ultimate testament to the energy of a live performance).

"Hocus Pocus" and "Sylvia" are easily the two best moments on record, not just because they're the best songs anyway, but because of the way the band cannily know how to play with an audience's expectations with them, using the intros of both songs to play with new ideas and tease a crowd that knows what's coming anyway. In his crunching intro to "Hocus Pocus," Akkerman teasingly plays almost anything but the actual familiar heavy rock riff of the song familiar to even the casual fan, only introducing the riff proper at the last possible moment having had his fun. "Sylvia," too, is rendered a little different in its intro, given an almost Philadephia soul-styled funk sound via Akkerman's punchy intro. Lastly, you have to hand it to Van Leer for finding the most innovative and fun way of doing the obligatory band introductions ever recorded, incorporating each band member musically during a sung hiatus in the midst of "Hocus Pocus."

Ultimately, while it won't do much to amaze anybody already familiar with the studio versions of these songs, it's perhaps the perfect place to be introduced to Focus as it presents them in their element with no fluff or filler, and showcases more urgent and exciting versions of these songs than can be found elsewhere. Genuinely one of the best live albums out there.

Track Listing:

1. Focus III (Thijs Van Leer)

2. Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers! (Jan Akkerman & Bert Ruiter)

3. Focus II (Thijs Van Leer)

4. Eruption (Tom Barlage & Thijs Van Leer)

5. Hocus Pocus (Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer)

6. Sylvia (Thijs Van Leer)

7. Hocus Pocus (Reprise) (Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer)