Dutch prog rock legends Focus will celebrate their 50th anniversary with the release of Focus 50, a 3CD/Blu-Ray package to be released on April 30 through In Focus Records distributed by Cherry Red Records.
The Coronavirus pandemic forced Focus to postpone their anniversary celebrations from 2020 and Focus 50 will herald a year of celebration which will culminate in the release of a brand new studio album in early 2022.
At the heart of the Focus 50 package are 2CDs and Blu-Ray of Focus Live In Rio, a concert recorded in Nitteroi, Rio de Janeiro, in 2017. The concert features music from across the history of the band from Focus 1 and House Of The King, on their very first album, through the classics Hocus Pocus, Sylvia and Focus III to Song For Eva which was first released in 2017.
Focus 50 also includes a bonus CD Completely Focused with the classic Focus tracks numbered 1 through 12 re-recorded by the current Focus line-up of Thijs van Leer (keyboard, flute and vocals), Pierre van der Linden (drums), Menno Gootjes (guitar) and Udo Pannekeet (bass). These were recorded during the lockdown period and mixed by Pannekeet.
The discs are accompanied by a booklet with notes by the band, their long serving engineer Geert Scheijgrond and South American tour promoter Marcel Castro with whom Focus have had a long relationship and who brought together the recording of the show in Rio. The booklet also features photos from the Rio concert showing life on the road with Focus together with personal photos from touring and in the studio.
