Hocus Pocus Box

I initially saw this box set advertised late last year. I put off and put off buying it as I already had several of the CD's contained in it and some on vinyl too. However last week I finally decided to make the purchase - what a wise choice. It was delivered within three days (excellent service) and the sound quality is brilliant. All for about £2.50 each!!! I actually went onto Amazon today to price each of the CD's in the box set if I were to buy them individually - the price came to almost £190!!! The box set cost me just over £33 - must be one of the best bargains of all time. My vinyl copies of Focus Con Proby, Mother Focus, Ship of Memories and Focus 3 can now have a well deserved rest!!! I am also delighted to finally have a copy of the Thijs van Leer/Jan Akkerman album, which was enclosed. I've been looking for this for ages. It really is an incredible piece of work. All in all the box set is a tremendous investment for someone who's been a fan of Focus since the early days and is still astounded by the musical skill of all of the band members - particularly Thijs van Leer, the mainstay of the band since day one and a hugely gifted musician and composer. Buy it - you won't be disappointed.

Ok, first off, this is a brilliant price for just about everything Focus have put out on LP/CD. But it could have been better. First whinge is the time listings for the Jan Akkerman/Thijs Van Leer cd. Track 5 is listed as being 10.47 and track 7 as 7.30. However, actual playing time is 18.53 and 16.14 respectively. Admittedly the sleeve notes tell us this, so why the mistake? Next, Hamburger concerto. The sleeve lists the usual tracks but the cd and booklet add an extra track, Early Birth. Again, why the mistake? The track is a very different take of Birth, but it unfortunately fades out just as Jan Akkerman starts laying down some tasty guitar. Why couldn't we hear all of it? Finally, why bother with the Greatest Hits CD when everything on it is already in the box? A rarities set or maybe an extra live show would have been far better! Maybe I'm nitpicking considering the price - let's not forget the music is, for the most part, pretty damn good!!

This Package is an absolute bargain, I wanted to buy about five Focus albums (The first four and Ship Of Memories) which would have roughly cost the same as the 13 CD's in this box set so the choice was a no brainier.Suffice to say I am am pleased with the albums I wanted and there is much good material on the other albums, Focus Con Proby deserves a special mention as it is a better album than you would expect it to be, however strange it may seem that PJ Proby is singing on some of the tracks.Focus did lose their magic after the original band dissolved and lost a lot of their originality, but they did set the bar incredibly high

This box includes the body of work of the Dutch band Focus, plus an album reseleased under the Jan Akkerman & Thijs van Leer moniker. Once the albums are all included, I think that the Hocus Pocus (best of Focus) is superfluous. The covers are poor, but it happens the same with the cover of the individual cds . The sound is ok, the booklet is acceptable. Could this edition be better? Yes, but, for this price, could you ask for more? Love it!

Like a lot of Focus fans back in the day, I was hooked after their performance on Old Grey Whistle Test. They were a refreshing and innovative, often self indulgent prog band, their musicianship was up there with the best. Other than the obvious Hocus Pocus and Sylvia on the radio I hadn't listened to them for years, although I have seen Jan Akkerman live a few times, but he only touches the odd medley from his Focus years. I bought this box set on a bit of a whim, but I have no regrets, there is some wonderful music throughout and at under £3 per CD it is worth every penny. Sit back and enjoy, I certainly did.

I had forgotten just how innovative Focus were. This Box set has replaced some old tapes and a few CDs (Which I will be giving to a friend, to spread the word about Focus). I was lucky enough to see Focus in the 1970's and this brings back so many memories.The recording quality is quite good, given how old the original analogue recordings are. It helps if you have a sub-woofer to boost the bass though. (A not uncommon problem with old analogue to digital recordings)All in all, a wonderful purchase and excellent value

My, what a long time its been for all the Focus albums to eventually be released together. This box collects everything in one box including the rare Focus con Proby album. The booklet is quite good although there are some inaccuracies. Sound quality is adequate although no obvious re-mastering evident. I had all the early albums on vinyl and it was great to hear them again after so long. This is probably the best Focus box since the incredibly expensive Japanese one of some time ago.

The full collection up to the 2012 release, probably the best of CD was unnecessary as All songs were on their original discs. It would have been a better idea to have unreleased music or different versions ( if there was any). Great music at a reasonable price.