OUT OF FOCUS — Out Of Focus (1971-2004) Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

On their eponymous second album, Out of Focus further develop their progressive jazz-rock sound, at the same time pushing in other directions as well. The rhythm section is still as upbeat and funky as ever, with those repetitive but odd rhythm patterns. There is now more sax in the mix, as well as the flute riffing, guitar wails, and chunky organ chords, with each instrument allowed ample soloing and no instrument over-dominant. If anything, this one dispenses with some of the heavy rock sound to get closer to the jazz influences. They slow down the pace on the strange folk song "It's Your Life" as well as the even stranger "Blue Sunday Morning" with its airy flute, church organ, and bizarre song narration. Lyrics are even sharper, whether ripping into the banality of television or the hypocrisy of religion, with the dark-edged humor more firmly in place. On the suite "Fly Bird Fly"/"Television Program," the group veers from soft to full in-your-face intensity while staying on a bouncy riff. On long tracks like this one and "Whispering," they throw a lot of variation over repetitive grooves to create mesmerizing jams that are both incredibly loose and far more focused than the average jam band. Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1    What Can A Poor Boy Do (But To Be A Streetfighting Man)    5:54
2    It's Your Life    4:31
3    Whispering    13:35
4    Blue Sunday Morning    8:21
5    Fly Bird Fly    5:09
6    Television Program    11:47
Credits :
Bass – Stephan Wisheu
Composed By, Arranged By, Producer – Out Of Focus
Drums, Percussion – Klaus Spöri
Guitar – Remigius Drechsler
Organ, Piano – Hennes Hering
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Lead Vocals – Moran Neumüller 

OUT OF FOCUS — Wake Up! (1971-2010) RM | Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Focus' first album does an interesting take on jazz- and blues-inflected progressive rock, with a peculiar German twist on music similar to British prog like Traffic, Jethro Tull, and Gravy Train. The crack rhythm section propels the music along on repetitive but unusual funk grooves over which guitar, organ, and flute riff and take turns soloing. Though more song-oriented than later efforts by the group, there are plenty of long instrumental passages with some classic heavy psychedelic guitar burn-up as well as chunky organ chords and airy flute flights to give the music plenty of texture. Moran Neumuller's gruff voice and awkward English may turn off some listeners, though the dark humor of his lyrics on tracks like "God Save the Queen, Cried Jesus" show a group who's political without getting stuck in the rut of their own dogma. For many bands, a record as good as Wake Up would be a worthy culmination of effort, though with Out of Focus it was only their launch pad as they continued onward and outward with even better subsequent releases. Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1    See How A White Negro Flies    5:49
2    God Save The Queen, Cried Jesus    7:31
3    Hey John    9:39
4    No Name    3:07
5    World's End    9:56
6    Dark, Darker    11:40
Credits :
Bass – Stephan Wisheu
Composed By [All Compositions], Arranged By [Arrangements], Written-By – Out Of Focus
Drums – Klaus Spöri
Guitar – Remigius Drechsler
Organ, Piano – Hennes Hering
Saxophone, Flute, Lead Vocals [Lead Vocal] – Moran Neumüller

OUT OF FOCUS — Four Letter Monday Afternoon (1972-1992) RM | 2xCD | Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Out of Focus' third album was their magnum opus, where all the stops are pulled out and the group, with the addition of a horn section and bongos, was at their most inventive. As a natural progression from the earlier two records, Four Letter Monday Afternoon has even longer instrumental sections, as well as far more variety. The double album opens with the sidelong track "L.S.B.," which is either a misspelling of LSD or stands for "Love S Burning." This track starts off with an imposing martial beat before evolving into a more typical funk groove with over-the-top brass, before this collapses into a brief bit of free jazz and explosions, then a pastoral flute solo, and then more of the powerfully swinging jazz-rock. "Tsajama" goes more in a Magma direction, with weird vocal chanting and an intense bass-driven sound, whereas "Black Cards" is more wistful, with bleak lyrics and haunted flute. Of the only two short tracks, "Where Have You Been" is a bitter folk song, with a far more sparse instrumentation of acoustic guitar and not much else, and the CD bonus cut, "When I'm Sleeping," is the only slightly conventional song on the album. The second CD (sides three and four of the original album) contains the three parts of a single piece, "Huchen 55," each segued to the next by a multi-tracked flute solo. This mostly instrumental improvisation is all over the place as the group gets even more free-form than usual. Though the less-focused "Huchen 55" is not quite as strong as much of the material on the first disc, it is still a compelling piece with some fascinating parts. Four Letter Monday Afternoon was an ambitious project and it succeeds wonderfully. Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist 1 :
1    L.S.B.    17:37
2    When I'm Sleeping    4:04
3    Tsajama    9:23
4    Black Cards    9:38
5    Where Have You Been    5:35
Tracklist 2 :
1    Huchen 55, A    9:19
2    Huchen 55, B    14:32
3    Huchen 55, C    24:18
Credits :
Acoustic Guitar [A-Gitarre], Backing Vocals [Begleitgesang] – Peter Dechant
Baritone Saxophone [Bariton-], Alto Saxophone – Ingo Schmid-Neuhaus
Bass Guitar – Stepen Wisheu
Bongos [Bangos] – Grand Roman Langhans
Composed By, Arranged By, Producer [Produziert Von] – Out Of Focus
Drums – Klaus Spöri
Electric Guitar [E-Gitarre], Acoustic Guitar [A-Gitarre], Stylophone [Stylophon], Backing Vocals [Begleitgesang], Concert Flute [Querflöte], Tenor Saxophone, Recorder – Remigius Drechsler
Organ – Michael Thatcher
Organ, Piano – Hennes Hering
Soprano Saxophone, Vocals – Moran Neumüller
Trombone [Posaune] – Hermann Breuer
Trumpet – Jimmy Polivka

OUT OF FOCUS — Not Too Late (1974-2000) Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded in early 1974, and finally released in 1999, Not Too Late finds Out of Focus moving even further from their progressive rock roots and into progressive jazz fusion, with mostly long instrumentals, fluid rhythms, and a greater reliance on the horns. The lineup is slightly different, with the addition of an extra guitarist and saxophonist and no organ, a distinct feature on earlier records by the group. The dueling saxophones get quite complex, especially on "X," even as the rhythm section pumps out complex jazz-funk grooves similar to previous works by the band. For a bit of diversity, there is the short track "The Way I Know Her," a pastoral folk piece with acoustic guitars and flute, that perhaps reflects the musicians' move from the city of Munich to the countryside. Otherwise, from the McLaughlin-styled guitar fusion of "Y" to the crunchy rhythm workout that ends "Spanish Lines" to the wild opener "That's Very Easy," Out of Focus is in top form. Not Too Late does not venture as far into experimentation as Four Letter Monday Afternoon, and the vocal tracks, "That's Very Easy" and "The Way I Know Her," are lighter and less biting than earlier Out of Focus songs, though Neumuller's singing does flow more with the music. However, this one is still an exceptional record, full of the creative Krautrock jamming for which Out of Focus is known, and the band neither falls back on the same old sound, nor do they compromise their sound for commercial appeal. Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1    That's Very Easy 9:04
Written-By – Moran Neumüller
2    X 10:57
Written-By – R. Drechsler
3    The Way I Know Her 3:36
Written-By – Moran Neumüller
4    Y 7:51
Written-By – R. Drechsler
5    Spanish Lines 9:11
Written-By – Moran Neumüller
Credits :
Baritone Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Ingo Schmid-Neuhaus
Bass Guitar – Stephan Wisheu
Drums – Klaus Spöri
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Remigius Drechsler, Wolfgang Göhringer
Painting – Evelyn Drechsler
Vocals, Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Moran Neumüller

OUT OF FOCUS — Rat Roads (1972-2002) Three Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

When Out of Focus recorded "Four letter Monday afternoon" (Kuckuck 2640101) in 1972, a number of tracks remained unreleased as they simply did not fit anymore on the double LP. Here they are, thanks to the master tapes which have survived 30 years without harm. Quite jazzy, full of improvisations and with a guest brass section. The sometimes strenuous and demanding music is rather difficult to digest, but interested parties will find this highly appealing. The rights to this publication have been obtained from the artists. Kuckuck owner Eckart Rahn had advanced the money for the recording at the time, but Out of Focus had paid him back so that the rights returned to them. Around the time of the CD release, a full-length version of "Rat roads" with the same cover artwork appeared on vinyl as an LP (Tripkick 006). GOD
Tracklist :
1    I'd Like To Be Free    7:15
 Written-By – Moran Neumüller / R. Drechsler
2    Table Talk    12:03
Written-By – Moran Neumüller / R. Drechsler
3    Rat Roads    5:16
Written-By – Moran Neumüller / R. Drechsler
4    Fallen Apples    2:18
Written-By – R. Drechsler
5    Straight Ahead    4:39
Written-By – R. Drechsler
6    Tell Me What I'm Thinking Of    3:58
Written-By – Moran Neumüller / R. Drechsler
7    Climax    12:47
Written-By – Moran Neumüller / R. Drechsler
8    Kitchen Blues    0:31
 Written-By – Moran Neumüller
9    Good-Bye Honey    0:59
Written-By – R. Drechsler
Credits :
Acoustic Guitar – Peter Dechant (pistas: 2, 3, 5, 7)
Baritone Saxophone – Ingo Schmid-Neuhaus (pistas: 1 to 4, 7)
Bass Guitar – Stephan Wiesheu (pistas: 1 to 3, 5 to 7, 9)
Bongos – Grand Roman Langhans (pistas: 1)
Drums – Klaus Spöri (pistas: 1 to 3, 5 to 7, 9)
Electric Guitar – Remigius Drechsler (pistas: 1 to 7, 9)
Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Hermann Breuer (pistas: 3), Michael Thatcher (pistas: 2, 5)
Electric Organ [Hammond Organ], Electric Piano – Hennes Hering (pistas: 1, 6)
Painting – Evelyn Drechsler, Evelyn Schmidl
Soprano Saxophone [Soprano], Flute – Moran (pistas: 2)
Tenor Saxophone – Moran Neumüller (pistas: 1 to 3, 6 to 8)
Trombone – Hermann Breuer (pistas: 1, 2, 7)
Trumpet – Jimmy Polivka (pistas: 1 to 3, 5, 7)
Vocals – Moran Neumüller (pistas: 1, 6)

OUT OF FOCUS — Palermo 1972 (1972-2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Focus from Munich released three LPs during their lifetime. Their last one was a double LP which was done after they had toured in Italy, a musical journey which had been sponsored by the Goethe Institute. The gigs had been recorded on an expensive Revox A 77 tape recorder. As it turned out afterwards every now and then a channel hadn’t worked. Fortunately at their best gig, on Friday 5/26/1972 in Palermo, Sicily, the tape recorder worked fine. Thus, you can hear a progressive rock gig with flute and sax. It tends to be quite jazzy like their double LP done shortly after. Thanks to Remigius Drechsler who worked on the tapes for months you can hear the gig in the best quality possible. The diary which was held by Moran provides the reader of the booklet with as much details as possible especially to this gig. GOD
Tracklist :
1    Whispering 10:15
Written-By – Out Of Focus
2    Cafe Stiletto 13:10
Written-By – R. Drechsler
3    I Want To See Your Face No More 12:32
Written-By – Moran
4    Where Is Your Home Town 8:56
Written-By – Moran, R. Drechsler
5    Fly Bird Fly / Television Program 20:35
Written-By – Out Of Focus
6    I'm Kissing Right 10:38
Written-By – Moran, R. Drechsler
Credits :
Bass – Stephan Wiesheu
Drums – Klaus Spöri
Flute, Saxophone, Vocals – Moran
Guitar – Remigius Drechsler
Keyboards – Hennes Hering
Recorded By [Aufgenommen Von] – Stephan Sattelmeier