Mother Focus

Mother Focus is the fifth studio album by the band Focus, released in 1975 on Polydor (cat. no. 2310 408) in Europe, on Atco Records in North America and on EMI in Japan.[3]

Mother Focus
Studio album by
Focus
ReleasedOctober 1975 (1975-10)
GenreFunk rock, jazz fusion, progressive rock
Length37:14
LabelPolydor, Atco
ProducerFocus
Focus chronology
Hamburger Concerto
(1974)		 Mother Focus
(1975)		 Ship of Memories
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic.[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[2]

Some tracks on the album mark a departure from the progressive rock style that dominated the group's prior work, and herald a funk music style with light jazz and pop at the centre.[1] Unlike previous albums, the tracks were also much shorter, the longest being 3:55. Bassist Bert Ruiter provided most of the themes, as van Leer had just recorded a solo album, O My Love, of his own music, and Jan Akkerman withheld compositions for Eli, his forthcoming album with Kaz Lux.

The closing track, "Father Bach", is credited as a 'traditional tune', arranged and adopted by Thijs van Leer, but in reality it consists of the opening lines of J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

Track listing

Track listing of Dutch vinyl release 1975.

Side one
No.TitleComposerLength
1."Mother Focus"Jan Akkerman, Bert Ruiter, Thijs van Leer3:03
2."I Need a Bathroom"Ruiter3:02
3."Bennie Helder"Leer3:31
4."Soft Vanilla"Ruiter3:00
5."Hard Vanilla"Ruiter2:35
6."Tropic Bird"Ruiter2:42
Side two
No.TitleComposerLength
1."Focus IV"Akkerman, van Leer3:55
2."Someone's Crying … What?"Akkerman3:18
3."All Together … Oh, That!"Akkerman3:40
4."No Hang Ups"Paul Stoppelman2:54
5."My Sweetheart"Akkerman, van Leer3:35
6."Father Bach"Trad., arr. van Leer1:30
Total length:37:16

CD listing

Track listing of Japanese release from 16 December 2006.

  1. "Mother Focus" (Jan Akkerman, Bert Ruiter, Thijs van Leer) – 3:04
  2. "I Need a Bathroom" (Ruiter) – 3:03
  3. "Bennie Helder" (van Leer) – 3:31
  4. "Soft Vanilla" (Ruiter) – 3:03
  5. "Hard Vanilla" (Ruiter) – 2:34
  6. "Tropical Bird" (Ruiter) – 2:42
  7. "Focus IV" (van Leer) – 3:56
  8. "Someone's Crying . . . What?" (Akkerman) – 3:18
  9. "All Together . . . Oh, That!" (Akkerman) – 3:41
  10. "No Hang Ups" (Paul Stoppelman) – 2:55
  11. "My Sweetheart" (Akkerman, van Leer) – 3:36
  12. "Father Bach" (van Leer) – 1:34

Personnel
Focus

Charts
Chart (1975-1976) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[5] 61
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[6] 17
UK Albums (OCC)[7] 23
US Billboard 200[8] 152

References
  1. "Mother Focus". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. "Mother Focus". Discogs. 1975. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  4. Bessels, Wouter (2020). 50 Years: Anthology 1970-1976 (Booklet). Focus. Hilversum: Red Bullet.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 115. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. "Norwegiancharts.com – Focus – Hamburger Concerto". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  7. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  8. "Focus Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
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