The actual length of this song is almost 7 minutes and is much slower. Due to the format of the Midnight Special they were asked to cut the song to 4 minutes. The band didn't want to cut the song short, so they sped it up to nearly twice as fast. Needless to say, it showcases the talent and musicianship of Focus. They got a standing ovation for the performance, which was not common for the show.
I saw them in 1972 and a brilliant night it was. They only had a limited amount of time live on air they were asked to reduce it they said sod that and they speeded it up to get it all in. Edit roughly 7 minute song in 4 1/2 🙂
Fun fact: Thijs Van Leer played flute on the album Into the Electric Castle by Ayreon…he also played flute live with Ayreon for the Electric Castle Live shows.
The presenter was Gladys Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", an American singer, songwriter, actress. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, recording hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten. She's from Atlanta.
This is how pure musicians can take a 7-minute song and cram it into 4 minutes. Brilliant. And the shredding cannot be overlooked. You just will not hear a better song with yodeling.
Bonkers brilliance. All top musicians and what many people don’t know is that ‘the normal version’ is roughly 7 minutes and twice as slow. They only got 4 minutes and the rest is history. If you listen again ‘focus’ on 1 of the musicians. The guitar player, Jan Akkerman, was voted best one in the world in 1973. You know which other gods play the strings that year ?
LOL. We all have had no words for decades. I remember when this came out and me and my brother listening to it and trying to figure out what the hell we just listened to.
Jan the guitarist was an inspiration and highly rated by Queen guitarist Brian May..and voted number 1 guitarist by melody maker music magazine in the early 70,s ..the vocalist had amazing range..what a wonderful group of musicians..
Never ceases to amaze me. No reactor seems to know the back story of this performance. You get 3 minutes to do a 5 minute song, so you speed it up and get this amazing rendition of a classic.
For 1973,the guitar solos were incredible. The vocals were also amazing, and the band was tight. You should check out the band "Mahogany Rush for a really influential and incredible guitarist "Frank Marino"
I was lucky enough to be born at a time when musical directions were changing, inventiveness was key, and no two bands sounded the same. Beatles and Beach Boys, Led zeppelin and Sabbath, Yes and ELP. And of course Focus. They all rewrote the rules and it was great to be in the middle of those days that shall never be repeated.
As a young Dutch girl I had just started going to high school when this was a big hit in the Netherlands and I assumed there would be similar pop music around the world. I only later found out how unique and brilliant these guys actually were, they were way ahead of their time. Someone described it as 'organized chaos' and that is exactly what it is, they want to convey a feeling using music & sound and they are clearly having a lot of fun doing it. Jan Akkerman was voted world's best guitarist in the UK that same year and he produced a few solo albums and Thijs van Leer (vocals/organ/flute) had a long career playing the flute. I still have 2 of his albums, mostly modern classical, on vinyl. For me the best song Focus ever made was called 'Sylvia' from the Moving Waves album, you can find it here on UA-cam. Look it up. That song gives me a feeling of nostalgia, end of my childhood, first boyfriend etc. Things old ladies reminisce about. Nice to see your reaction and enthusiasm, thanks!
Yeah awesome song!! Ehm have you ever heard of Anneke van Giersbergen? The inspiration of Floor to sing in a band. Anneke does and has done SO MUCH. The Gathering - Travel, TG25 Doornroosje ❤️🥰
I saw them in 1972, 2015 and 2022!. Thijs van Leer ( flute and organ) and drummer Pierre van der Linden are still playing…more than 50 years!!!? Guitarist Jan Akkerman has a solocarrière. Bassguitarist Bert Ruiter died last year. All great players. About two month again a concert of Focus and I have tickets 😊😊 Greetings from the Netherlands
You went through all the proper stages of bewilderment, my friend. 😂😂 If I'm not mistaken, this was the only standing ovation in the history of The Midnight Special. Great reaction!
Makes us Dutch proud. I remember buying as teenager a compilation album, Dutch Masters, and they were. Jan Akkerman still performing regularly, awesome to see and hear him play. Last few years there have been a few shows by Focus (with organ player Thijs van Leer and again Pierre van der Linden) posted on UA-cam. In the seventies, Thijs van Leer recorded a few albums with the orchestra of director Rogier van Otterloo, with both classical music (Bach, Fauré) as well as orchestrations of two Focus songs, titled Focus I and Focus II. You will like also the Focus hit song Sylvia.
Have to say, the Dutch have a way of producing amazing musicians... Jan Akkerman, the guitarist is really good too (though most people put their attention Thijs).
First time that I heard it I loved it and that was a slower speed, but this sped up version to fill a 4min time slot without cutting anything out just shows their artistry.
Ayreon - Amazing Flight (Electric Castle Live And Other Tales) Its the typical Ayreon brilliance in a song with a strong focus influence (in the last part) AND Thijs van Leer (flutist - keyboardist you just saw, now nearly 70) comes on stage and playes a flute solo.... Best of all worlds!
As a previous reply said it was sped up to nearly twice the speed to fit it in. It’s an awesome song by an amazing Dutch band from the 70s, I watched your review and your head was going crazy at the same speed. Hilarious. You should watch yourself back. Loved every second ❤❤❤❤❤❤
I've seen EVERY reaction to this video. Your's is hands down the best !! At the beginning you were like "what the hell' ?? Then it infected you and you were hooked !!
Top Dutch band in the 70s. Seen them several times and always they blew me away. Great musicians all the way. This song, originally over 6 1/2 minutes played on speed it seems.
For a different flavor of Focus, listen to their song "Sylvia." My favorite from their catalogue, it is one of the simplest songs ever consisting of little more than a single, short guitar riff of a few chords repeated over and over for the whole song. Yet that riff is so compellingly, hauntingly beautiful that it never gets old or boring. I could listen to it all day. Here it is: ua-cam.com/video/MleJ5FfdKEI/v-deo.html
When this song came out we were godsmacked. So fun and just crazy was a great party song but was never at this tempo. Came out of a jam session once he started yodelling the band wanted it in.
Great Reaction and THanks for playing the tape to the very end so we could see that they were the first band to get a standing ovation on The Midnight Special Show. It makes me feel old as I saw them perform this 1970 hit,51 years ago in South East London in 1972 and to make me feel even older(though I feel great at 69) a Football hero of mine has just died suddenly and we were born within one month of each other in 1954 and I remember on my first holiday abroad, again, in 1972 that all the Girls that I was trying to chat up were in love with this Guy who was Trevor Francis and The UK's first million-pound footballer and, apparently, he was very fit. R.I.P.
DUDE!!! I'm 61 years old and This song BLEW-UP the Radio in 1973!!! You MUST do the Album Version Next!!! It's Much Longer and Cleaner! It's Also Slower, because they only had a Short time to Perform LIVE!!! Here's the Info> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(song)
long live Jan Akkerman. He outplayed the Claptons, Blackmores, Pages, Allmans and etc of that time. He was frontrunning with his brilliant technique and different approach.
It was called 'Alternative Rock' or 'Experimental Rock' or 'Progressive Rock' in the early 70s. It was popular in northern Europe centered around Amsterdam.
I said it in other reaction vids, but i`ll say it again. Brian May`s reaction ( Yes, that Brian May, and it`s on youtube) : About Jan Akkerman ( guitar), i tried, and i failed.
Give the song Taboo from Santana 3 (the studio version from the 3rd album, not the live version) a try. Santana had just hired the 17 years young Neal Schon. Neal plays the 2nd solo in the song and what he does at that young age is amazing.
You are digging in a lot of rabbit holes buddy. This is I think the pinnacle of prog rock with crazy musical abilities. Putting six minutes into 4 because it's the format. And do not mis a note! Just think about that. Keep digging my friend and rock on!
This performance is so epic. Twice as fast as the original to make it in the time they were given by the show. My dad loves Thijs van Leer (the guy 'singing' and playing flute). I think he still has a couple flute vinyl records of him.
Hey man, 73 years hippie from the Netherlands (FLOOR, SIMON, AYREON & FOCUS country) reporting in: Yes, we had a music scene in the the early 70s also ... I'm so proud of all of them ... Shine on and keep up the good work ... 🤘
Didn't think I'd know it, but it's been played on UK radio before, not often but I definitely heard it before, and I suppose at over 7 mins makes a good emergency toilet break song 😂
Basically this song was a joke a few years ago and was not necessarily intended to be released on the album. the rest you know and you could see the performance. If you are curious to know more about this group I strongly recommend other titles which can give you a better idea of the talent of the eclecticism and the musicality of this group. For example a piece called questions-answers answers questions, Anonymous 2 either album version or live the third piece, eruption 👍
Totally incredible musicians.....I laughed at this the first time I saw it as a kid....but soon realised they are truly "brilliant " musicians......to carry this off live....wow
It's like, let's throw everything at it, jazz flute, tick, whistling, tick, yodeling, tick. Then they went, what else can we put in it. Free style scat! Yep let's stick that in there too and finish it all off with some epic rock.
For anyone who has only ever seen this dumb live version, they need to check out the original album versions. Or anything they did from their appearance on the Old Grey Whistle Test TV programme. They are an amazing group and extremely talented musicians. Their second Album Focus II (known mostly as Moving Waves in the UK) was a brilliant set and a couple of tracks were released as singles and did well in the UK (broke them into the big time here). The Album got to No.2 in the UK Charts. The "b" side was one single track, called "Eruption", 29 minutes -ish long. In 1972 they did their first UK tour, supporting artists like Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis, David Bowie, Status Quo, Wishbone Ash etc. They also did smaller venues where they were the Headliners. They played at the 11th National Jazz, Blues, Folk & Rock Festival in Reading. I saw them live (my first ever Live concert of any band) on Saturday 11th January 1973 at Bracknell Sports Centre. FANTASTIC first ever concert for me. They played the whole of "Eruption" as well as their hits. 29 minutes with them going on and off stage as each musician performed their Solo parts (one hell of a Drum Solo). Unforgettable night. Both this Track and the FULL Album "Moving Waves" are available on You Tube if you search for Focus, it will give you a much better handle on what the group is like than this bastardised version. AND guess what, Floor Jansen is not the first Dutch Artist to conquer the UK, it was these guys 😉😁
There are compilations of people reacting to this song. My favorite way some people react is to just go with it which is exactly how you reacted 😊 That was great 😂❤
Hahaha!!! They played you, or not? This is a 7minutes long song. But, for this TV show, they told them that they had just 4 minutes. So they had to do it faster. Good reaction!! Thanks. Greettings from Argentina. Sorry for my English
I have a love/hate relationship with this performance. On the one hand, it's obviously a fantastic performance. On the other hand, I loved the album version, and this speeded up version almost turns it into a joke. Maybe it was always meant that way, but I never thought of it as anything other than a unique, cool song. I wish they had shortened it, rather than speeded it up.
I am always a bit saddened, by this song being the only Focus song being reacted to. Their discography is full of so many better songs, longer pieces, beautiful melodies, incredible playing, just as much intensity as this song, yet it is as if none of that exists on UA-cam. Listen to Eruption, as just one example of something substantially better than Hocus Pocus. Oh well, at least they get some level of notoriety.
This Band is not from America. They are from Switzerland, or Bavaria or something. They are funny for sure, but just watching the musicianship of these guys is amazing. That guitar player is so well accomplished, and the others are top shelf as well.
I have a small ravens jersey on my wall just out of frame. O's stuff i dont really have yet. Lol i was a washington redskins fan but when they changed the name they lost me. So not a Ravens fan.
And I forgot the three sisters Ogene ( the name is to remember their mothers brood-type) the mother died sadly way to young. But they sing so increddebly together. Also in “ the beste zangers. Check out the song ‘ sing’. They play this game . That when onze of them is singing the hold their hand up. So you can see who is singing. It’s magical. Sounds strange but you will like them a lot.
These are some serious musicians, but when they were told they wouldn't be given enough time to play their song correctly ... they said "F that!" Gotta love a band with integrity. There are other versions that are not as frantic and insane, but this stays a classic because they played it note of note at double-speed. Thijs and Jan did a lot of great music together, then got into a major disagreement and from what I've heard, not made up since. It's a shame because they were amazing together and wrote incredible stuff. They were forefathers of the genius that has come out of the Netherlands, and Thijs still does his thing, just a bit slower these days.
Finally you react to this hocus pocus "song" . Asked for it many times . Just fun😀💙🤘💪💥💯. I also recomment Ten Years After with the song i'm going home live at Woodstock
So the album cut is at 6:41 When they appeared on Midnight special, they were asked to cut the song down to 4 minutes. Rather than do that, they instead doubled the tempo to make the song fit in the 4 minutes they had. Once that was accomplished no reason to go back, every time they played live they doubled the tempo. BTW, Jan Ackerman was considered by many the best guitarist in the world at that time and he absolutely shreds it here.
Please react to a Dutch band called Golden Earring doing a song called Radar Love. Another great rock song from the 70s
O yeah
naturally ... also totally forgot about radar love ... shame on me !!!
In 1973 guitar player Jan Akkerman was voted Best Guitarist in the World by readers of the UK magazine Melody Maker.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(song)
The actual length of this song is almost 7 minutes and is much slower. Due to the format of the Midnight Special they were asked to cut the song to 4 minutes. The band didn't want to cut the song short, so they sped it up to nearly twice as fast. Needless to say, it showcases the talent and musicianship of Focus. They got a standing ovation for the performance, which was not common for the show.
shredding before shredding was a thing
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(song)
I saw them in 1972 and a brilliant night it was. They only had a limited amount of time live on air they were asked to reduce it they said sod that and they speeded it up to get it all in.
Edit roughly 7 minute song in 4 1/2 🙂
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(song)
Fun fact: Thijs Van Leer played flute on the album Into the Electric Castle by Ayreon…he also played flute live with Ayreon for the Electric Castle Live shows.
The presenter was Gladys Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", an American singer, songwriter, actress. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, recording hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten.
She's from Atlanta.
This is how pure musicians can take a 7-minute song and cram it into 4 minutes. Brilliant. And the shredding cannot be overlooked. You just will not hear a better song with yodeling.
Bonkers brilliance.
All top musicians and what many people don’t know is that ‘the normal version’ is roughly 7 minutes and twice as slow. They only got 4 minutes and the rest is history.
If you listen again ‘focus’ on 1 of the musicians.
The guitar player, Jan Akkerman, was voted best one in the world in 1973. You know which other gods play the strings that year ?
LOL. We all have had no words for decades. I remember when this came out and me and my brother listening to it and trying to figure out what the hell we just listened to.
Jan the guitarist was an inspiration and highly rated by Queen guitarist Brian May..and voted number 1 guitarist by melody maker music magazine in the early 70,s ..the vocalist had amazing range..what a wonderful group of musicians..
The guitarist of Focus, Jan Akkerman, has a big big fan in Brian May of Queen. He loved this song when it came out in the UK.
Love 'm both 🎸👑🔥
Never ceases to amaze me. No reactor seems to know the back story of this performance. You get 3 minutes to do a 5 minute song, so you speed it up and get this amazing rendition of a classic.
Watch the keyboard player Thijs van Leer play the flute in the Ayreon track Amazing flight from into the electric Castle live❤
For 1973,the guitar solos were incredible. The vocals were also amazing, and the band was tight.
You should check out the band "Mahogany Rush for a really influential and incredible guitarist "Frank Marino"
The lead guitar player is Jan Akkerman, the father of Tim Akkerman, Tim was in the same show with Floor Jansen in Beste Zangers in the Netherlands 🇳🇱
Iam dutch and so proud of them. Now you must listen toTobacco road live Edgar and Johnny winter. Just mind blowing.
I was lucky enough to be born at a time when musical directions were changing, inventiveness was key, and no two bands sounded the same. Beatles and Beach Boys, Led zeppelin and Sabbath, Yes and ELP. And of course Focus. They all rewrote the rules and it was great to be in the middle of those days that shall never be repeated.
As a young Dutch girl I had just started going to high school when this was a big hit in the Netherlands and I assumed there would be similar pop music around the world. I only later found out how unique and brilliant these guys actually were, they were way ahead of their time. Someone described it as 'organized chaos' and that is exactly what it is, they want to convey a feeling using music & sound and they are clearly having a lot of fun doing it. Jan Akkerman was voted world's best guitarist in the UK that same year and he produced a few solo albums and Thijs van Leer (vocals/organ/flute) had a long career playing the flute. I still have 2 of his albums, mostly modern classical, on vinyl. For me the best song Focus ever made was called 'Sylvia' from the Moving Waves album, you can find it here on UA-cam. Look it up. That song gives me a feeling of nostalgia, end of my childhood, first boyfriend etc. Things old ladies reminisce about. Nice to see your reaction and enthusiasm, thanks!
Yeah awesome song!!
Ehm have you ever heard of Anneke van Giersbergen? The inspiration of Floor to sing in a band. Anneke does and has done SO MUCH.
The Gathering - Travel, TG25 Doornroosje ❤️🥰
I saw them in 1972, 2015 and 2022!. Thijs van Leer ( flute and organ) and drummer Pierre van der Linden are still playing…more than 50 years!!!? Guitarist Jan Akkerman has a solocarrière. Bassguitarist Bert Ruiter died last year. All great players. About two month again a concert of Focus and I have tickets 😊😊 Greetings from the Netherlands
Thijs van Leer, my musical hero and still going strong. Jan Akkerman on guitar inspired many (famous) guitarists throughout the years.
The expression on your face was classic!😂
You went through all the proper stages of bewilderment, my friend. 😂😂 If I'm not mistaken, this was the only standing ovation in the history of The Midnight Special. Great reaction!
Any Rory Gallagher song live is worth watching but Shadow Play at Montreux in 1979 is something else
the drummer is killin it with a small kit
I was duly impressed with them when I first saw them in 71.
Well we hade always fun. Good music and good stuff. 🤣🇮🇹🇧🇪🇪🇺
Makes us Dutch proud. I remember buying as teenager a compilation album, Dutch Masters, and they were. Jan Akkerman still performing regularly, awesome to see and hear him play. Last few years there have been a few shows by Focus (with organ player Thijs van Leer and again Pierre van der Linden) posted on UA-cam. In the seventies, Thijs van Leer recorded a few albums with the orchestra of director Rogier van Otterloo, with both classical music (Bach, Fauré) as well as orchestrations of two Focus songs, titled Focus I and Focus II. You will like also the Focus hit song Sylvia.
About one minute in, I wondered if you still thought you might have heard it.😁🤣😂
That's the feeling when you get if you racing at the Autobahn in Germany!! With love from The Netherlands.
Incredible musicianship here, but 1st time around, we were all saying, "WHAT?!" - same as you. Thanks for your reaction.
Have to say, the Dutch have a way of producing amazing musicians...
Jan Akkerman, the guitarist is really good too (though most people put their attention Thijs).
First time that I heard it I loved it and that was a slower speed, but this sped up version to fill a 4min time slot without cutting anything out just shows their artistry.
You should Go to see him he's still touring .they blew the roof off the longest guitar solo I ever heard
Ayreon - Amazing Flight (Electric Castle Live And Other Tales) Its the typical Ayreon brilliance in a song with a strong focus influence (in the last part) AND Thijs van Leer (flutist - keyboardist you just saw, now nearly 70) comes on stage and playes a flute solo.... Best of all worlds!
O love this music ! Original music and very criative melody. !
That reaction was everything I hoped for and more🤣🤣🤣🤣 Outstanding Dan🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
As a previous reply said it was sped up to nearly twice the speed to fit it in. It’s an awesome song by an amazing Dutch band from the 70s, I watched your review and your head was going crazy at the same speed. Hilarious. You should watch yourself back. Loved every second ❤❤❤❤❤❤
This was on the radio quite a bit when I was a kid in the 70’s. Much slower version though. Great song !! Brilliant !!
I've seen EVERY reaction to this video. Your's is hands down the best !! At the beginning you were like "what the hell' ?? Then it infected you and you were hooked !!
Top Dutch band in the 70s. Seen them several times and always they blew me away.
Great musicians all the way.
This song, originally over 6 1/2 minutes played on speed it seems.
For a different flavor of Focus, listen to their song "Sylvia." My favorite from their catalogue, it is one of the simplest songs ever consisting of little more than a single, short guitar riff of a few chords repeated over and over for the whole song. Yet that riff is so compellingly, hauntingly beautiful that it never gets old or boring. I could listen to it all day. Here it is: ua-cam.com/video/MleJ5FfdKEI/v-deo.html
When this song came out we were godsmacked. So fun and just crazy was a great party song but was never at this tempo. Came out of a jam session once he started yodelling the band wanted it in.
I love seeing such a positive reaction!
Thanks! By far one of the best reactions I've seen to this song!! I would LOVE to see your reaction to Frankenstein by the Edgar Winter Group.
Much love Snow! I will check that song out. I don't know when I will get to it but stay tuned i can get to it within the new batch of videos hopefully
Great Reaction and THanks for playing the tape to the very end so we could see that they were the first band to get a standing ovation on The Midnight Special Show.
It makes me feel old as I saw them perform this 1970 hit,51 years ago in South East London in 1972 and to make me feel even older(though I feel great at 69) a Football hero of mine has just died suddenly and we were born within one month of each other in 1954 and I remember on my first holiday abroad, again, in 1972 that all the Girls that I was trying to chat
up were in love with this Guy who was Trevor Francis and The UK's first million-pound footballer and, apparently, he was very fit. R.I.P.
Madness man INSANE man love it lolololol
DUDE!!! I'm 61 years old and This song BLEW-UP the Radio in 1973!!! You MUST do the Album Version Next!!! It's Much Longer and Cleaner! It's Also Slower, because they only had a Short time to Perform LIVE!!! Here's the Info> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(song)
Top tune & top reaction next Jethro Tull -My God (1970 live at the Isle of Wight)
long live Jan Akkerman. He outplayed the Claptons, Blackmores, Pages, Allmans and etc of that time. He was frontrunning with his brilliant technique and different approach.
It was called 'Alternative Rock' or 'Experimental Rock' or 'Progressive Rock' in the early 70s. It was popular in northern Europe centered around Amsterdam.
I said it in other reaction vids, but i`ll say it again. Brian May`s reaction ( Yes, that Brian May, and it`s on youtube) : About Jan Akkerman ( guitar), i tried, and i failed.
Jan Akkerman was THE best guitar player at the time. Thijs van Leer was a visionary, kind of like Frank Zappa... Love everything from FOCUS.
Give the song Taboo from Santana 3 (the studio version from the 3rd album, not the live version) a try. Santana had just hired the 17 years young Neal Schon. Neal plays the 2nd solo in the song and what he does at that young age is amazing.
You are digging in a lot of rabbit holes buddy. This is I think the pinnacle of prog rock with crazy musical abilities. Putting six minutes into 4 because it's the format. And do not mis a note! Just think about that. Keep digging my friend and rock on!
yepp true
WTF? yet WOW! at the same time. That was nuts HAHA
This performance is so epic. Twice as fast as the original to make it in the time they were given by the show. My dad loves Thijs van Leer (the guy 'singing' and playing flute). I think he still has a couple flute vinyl records of him.
Hey man, 73 years hippie from the Netherlands (FLOOR, SIMON, AYREON & FOCUS country) reporting in: Yes, we had a music scene in the the early 70s also ... I'm so proud of all of them ... Shine on and keep up the good work ... 🤘
And don’t forget Golden Earring, Radar Love is 50 years old!
Didn't think I'd know it, but it's been played on UK radio before, not often but I definitely heard it before, and I suppose at over 7 mins makes a good emergency toilet break song 😂
Basically this song was a joke a few years ago and was not necessarily intended to be released on the album. the rest you know and you could see the performance. If you are curious to know more about this group I strongly recommend other titles which can give you a better idea of the talent of the eclecticism and the musicality of this group. For example a piece called questions-answers answers questions, Anonymous 2 either album version or live the third piece, eruption 👍
Totally incredible musicians.....I laughed at this the first time I saw it as a kid....but soon realised they are truly "brilliant " musicians......to carry this off live....wow
It's like, let's throw everything at it, jazz flute, tick, whistling, tick, yodeling, tick. Then they went, what else can we put in it. Free style scat! Yep let's stick that in there too and finish it all off with some epic rock.
I had so much fun watching your reaction!!!
House of the King by Focus is personal fav
For anyone who has only ever seen this dumb live version, they need to check out the original album versions. Or anything they did from their appearance on the Old Grey Whistle Test TV programme. They are an amazing group and extremely talented musicians. Their second Album Focus II (known mostly as Moving Waves in the UK) was a brilliant set and a couple of tracks were released as singles and did well in the UK (broke them into the big time here). The Album got to No.2 in the UK Charts. The "b" side was one single track, called "Eruption", 29 minutes -ish long. In 1972 they did their first UK tour, supporting artists like Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis, David Bowie, Status Quo, Wishbone Ash etc. They also did smaller venues where they were the Headliners. They played at the 11th National Jazz, Blues, Folk & Rock Festival in Reading. I saw them live (my first ever Live concert of any band) on Saturday 11th January 1973 at Bracknell Sports Centre. FANTASTIC first ever concert for me. They played the whole of "Eruption" as well as their hits. 29 minutes with them going on and off stage as each musician performed their Solo parts (one hell of a Drum Solo). Unforgettable night. Both this Track and the FULL Album "Moving Waves" are available on You Tube if you search for Focus, it will give you a much better handle on what the group is like than this bastardised version. AND guess what, Floor Jansen is not the first Dutch Artist to conquer the UK, it was these guys 😉😁
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(song)
There are compilations of people reacting to this song. My favorite way some people react is to just go with it which is exactly how you reacted 😊 That was great 😂❤
Again the dutch greatest artists
Oh my gosh! That was so much fun! Got to hear more from this band!
Never heard of them....great. please do more
Hahaha!!! They played you, or not? This is a 7minutes long song. But, for this TV show, they told them that they had just 4 minutes. So they had to do it faster. Good reaction!! Thanks. Greettings from Argentina. Sorry for my English
Had the 8 track . Sounded great in my car on my quad deck.
Genius!Genius!
BTW - " SYLVIA " or " HOUSE OF THE KING " are worth a listen 👍
Bit of a crazy tune but awesome and what a great year the year i was born great reaction Daniel
Imagine, this was half a century ago!
i turned 12 in 1970, had some great music in my teen years
I have a love/hate relationship with this performance. On the one hand, it's obviously a fantastic performance. On the other hand, I loved the album version, and this speeded up version almost turns it into a joke. Maybe it was always meant that way, but I never thought of it as anything other than a unique, cool song. I wish they had shortened it, rather than speeded it up.
I am always a bit saddened, by this song being the only Focus song being reacted to.
Their discography is full of so many better songs, longer pieces, beautiful melodies, incredible playing, just as much intensity as this song, yet it is as if none of that exists on UA-cam.
Listen to Eruption, as just one example of something substantially better than Hocus Pocus.
Oh well, at least they get some level of notoriety.
This Band is not from America. They are from Switzerland, or Bavaria or something. They are funny for sure, but just watching the musicianship of these guys is amazing. That guitar player is so well accomplished, and the others are top shelf as well.
They are from the Netherlands, so Dutch!
😂😂😂 we were kids when this came out and it was just as funny back then ❤
Next Level intersection of brilliance .
All of them are great but i wish i had a video with the camera just on Jon Akerman's fingers
Got to see them live in the 70’s , great show, dude where’s your Oriole and Ravens stuff on that wall
I have a small ravens jersey on my wall just out of frame. O's stuff i dont really have yet. Lol i was a washington redskins fan but when they changed the name they lost me. So not a Ravens fan.
this was an experience!
100%
Focus, also a Dutch band. Check more dutch bands like Di-rect, Kensington, Racoon, Within Temptation etc…
And I forgot the three sisters Ogene ( the name is to remember their mothers brood-type) the mother died sadly way to young. But they sing so increddebly together. Also in “ the beste zangers. Check out the song ‘ sing’. They play this game . That when onze of them is singing the hold their hand up. So you can see who is singing. It’s magical. Sounds strange but you will like them a lot.
please listen to the original... and more of their great songs
Great reaction !!
Great Reaction!!
Bonkers track
Plse try 'Sylvia' also from Focus, outstanding, but more 'normal'
These are some serious musicians, but when they were told they wouldn't be given enough time to play their song correctly ... they said "F that!" Gotta love a band with integrity. There are other versions that are not as frantic and insane, but this stays a classic because they played it note of note at double-speed. Thijs and Jan did a lot of great music together, then got into a major disagreement and from what I've heard, not made up since. It's a shame because they were amazing together and wrote incredible stuff. They were forefathers of the genius that has come out of the Netherlands, and Thijs still does his thing, just a bit slower these days.
That track was actually used in the robot cop remake... when he was taking on robot soldiers in training
love it.
Finally you react to this hocus pocus "song" . Asked for it many times . Just fun😀💙🤘💪💥💯. I also recomment Ten Years After with the song i'm going home live at Woodstock
As Rick James once said, Cocaines a hell of a drug.
And for all those years, I thought I was singing the wrong words!🤣 Next? Rainbow, Mistreated live Munich 77 🙏🏻
So the album cut is at 6:41 When they appeared on Midnight special, they were asked to cut the song down to 4 minutes. Rather than do that, they instead doubled the tempo to make the song fit in the 4 minutes they had. Once that was accomplished no reason to go back, every time they played live they doubled the tempo. BTW, Jan Ackerman was considered by many the best guitarist in the world at that time and he absolutely shreds it here.
Remember Wix? - That was a shaort but intense one ;)
Lemmy eat yer heart out , 😂...... sick..
for comparison, I would suggest listening to the studio version