Focus - Hocus Pocus
This is an incredible song
in the pantheon of classic rock numbers. Focus was a dutch prog-rock band formed in 1969, and didn't achieve serious international success until their 1971 album, "Moving Waves" was released, with it's single, "Hocus Pocus". This song was amazingly heavy and fast, especially for the time, with completely insane vocals and strange instrumentation with the organ tone.
Listen to HOCUS POCUS here.
I first discovered this song through
a cover version by the original Vandals on their album "When in Rome, Do as the Vandals". Their version is super simplified, as I don't think the teenage members could really play Focus' version of the song, but it made me love the guitar line. When I discovered the original, I was blown away. While it's a pretty straight forward song rhythmically, the guitar is super complex in harmony (very proggy tone), with subtle little changes between riffs that repeat. The yodeling vocals are equally incredible, I love the choice of organ behind the yodeling. The build up is equally cool, essentially playing all major chords over a minor scale. It has a really epic, medieval sort of feel to me, something the prog bands of this era used a lot.