One of the funniest but best songs we’ve heard on the channel! Thanks everyone who suggested it! Be sure to like/ subscribe if this made you happy! Rock on everyone! Also, don’t be shy to shoot us a message on instagram if you want to just say hello! (link in description) 🤟💛🔥🤘
I have seen Focus LIVE 2 times, in 2014 and 2018. Thijs van Leer is a genius musician. He was 25 years old back then, now he’s 72 years old. I’m a HUGE fan. See my channel for a info video avout Focus soon.
Know the song since it wa brought out and didn't care for it much. Today I discovered this version and I loooove it. Thijs van Leer on speed is awesome.
This is what literally happened ….. the were asked to cut their song short because of commercials. Focus declined and just decided to play the song double speed. The woman introducing the band was the one and only Gladys Knight!
Jan Akkerman was voted best guitarist alive in 1973. The show slot was only 4 minutes for an 8 minute song. They refused to be censored and thus, played it in double time.
This is actually the broadcast version. The Midnight Special channel has the unabridged version which adds an extra two minutes (second yodel chorus and extended yodel chorus).
I love seeing people's response to hearing this song for the first time. This version was played quite a bit faster than the studio original, in order to fit it in between commercials on The Midnight Special (this episode hosted by Gladys Knight). This is one more example of just how diverse popular music was in the 70's, especially when contrasted with music today. Can you imagine Focus appearing on "The X Factor"? Neither can I. Would any record company offer them a contract today? Nope. Focus was never as big in America as in Europe, but those of us who knew about them loved them well. Their music ranged from mellow and smooth to the kind of frantic mania you've heard here. Jan Akkerman is widely hailed as one of the best guitarists nobody's ever heard of. If you'd like to check out more Focus, I recommend "Sylvia", "Focus II", the sequence "House of the King/Anonymus", and, for a long conceptual piece, "Hamburger Concerto". In addition to the cover versions listed below, "Hocus Pocus" was also covered by guitar shredder Gary Hoey in 1993.
I love that you didn't pause the video but let it play out and then commented . Every one else pausing every minute and thereby missing the flow , and sometimes the meaning
"What is this?" To answer your question, S.: technically, this is what's called a "rondo", which is a style of instrumental music characterized by a principal theme (or "refrain") -- in this case, the rock-chord riffs -- which alternates with one or more contrasting themes, or "episodes", which in this case would be the yodeling, whistling, and flute sections. It's often used in classical music, but not particularly common in pop or rock, which is one reason why "Hocus Pocus" stands out so much. I'm not aware of any other band ever releasing a cover version of this -- and I think you'd have to be some combination of very brave, very crazy, and/or very inebriated to even attempt it. :-D The album version is similar, in that it contains all of the same elements -- it has the yodeling, the flute, the whistling, and the lead guitarist's warp-speed shredding through the refrains -- but the overall performance is longer by a couple of minutes, and the tempo isn't quite so frenzied. As others have noted, the band was told they only had about four minutes to perform what would normally be a 7-minute song, and rather than cut any of the key bits out, they just dialed everything up to '11' and played it as fast as they possibly could. :D
I once read an interview with the band and the band said that this song was born out of a jam session. Thijs Van Leer (the keyboardist/flautist/yodeller) started yodelling and the rest of the band laughed but said "that sounds good. keep it in".
Actually, yes there is. Helloween did a version and I saw Ginger Wildheart do this and segue it it with Sylvia (Focus's other big hit) at an acoustic show back in the dy.
First time visitor to your channel. I am truly impressed with the bonding experience the two of you have over music. I wish that I had a son with whom I could share the music of my generation. Bless the two of you in your journey. I was very familiar with the song, which is unlike any other top 10 hit that I have ever heard. It reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1973. The combination of hard rock and yodeling, whistling, flute playing and eefing brings a smile to my face every time that I hear it.
I remember watching this live on the Midnight Special and it cracked me up! They performed it extra fast because they only gave them a couple minutes! My granddaughter loves this one!
Hocus Pocus is a novelty track. The album it comes from Moving Waves (1971) was one of the best prog rock albums of the early 70s I recommend you give it a listen.
Hoi Peter . Focus is still playing. Thijs van Leer in action, great to sea. Of course other members in the band…but the drummer and Thijs still playing. Een paar jaar geleden nog gezien…geweldig .
Never seen this channel before. Came here to see people react to this song. The son’s reaction is epic. And to see this father-son combo is awesome. Not to get too deep or personal, but I never had it. Great dad! Keep it up!!!! Awesome dad!!! And, to the son… appreciate him. One of the best dad-son vids I’ve seen on TH-cam. The crazy, lunatic music video doesn’t even matter. You two are awesome.
They met as hired hands-band for the musical "Hair" in Amsterdam and decided to start by themselves. Jan Akkerman (Guitar) arguably became most famous. "In 1973 Akkerman was voted Best Guitarist in the World by readers of the UK magazine Melody Maker. " so the readers picked him over clapton, page, beck etc.. Listen to Sylvia th-cam.com/video/Ot1AJCiCfgc/w-d-xo.html and House of the King to hear how good they were. Thijs van Leer still plays too he can be seen with Ayeron - Eectric Castle - Valley of the Queens th-cam.com/video/NdNmCwHnciI/w-d-xo.html
Imagine being 11 years old, knowing this song, seeing this LIVE on the Midnight Special, with Gladys Knight introducing them, welcome to adolescence!!!
The normal version is slower, but this show (Midnight Special) was notorious for asking bands to shorten their songs as they just had 3 and a half minutes because of commercials, so Focus did not want to shorten the song so they sped it up inmensely, with this result
I saw this band live back on 1973. This was a great "novelty" song but their catalog of music is amazing classic music inspired progrock. This song basically put them in the One Hit Wonder category however, their composition Hamburger Concerto is a masterpiece.
This song was just fun and funny. It's yodeling lol. I had this album when I was young and remember playing it on.a Soundesign stereo with round speakers, back in early 70s.
The great reaction from son and dad! Their respect for a song made some 40 years ago, makes me happy. Many bands covered this song, but a bit slower. Like in stead of 78 rpm single just the old 45 rpm. Focus was on top of their game. Jan Akkerman acknowledged as the best guitar player around this time. Jan and Thijs in the end could not any longer find a ground to work together and went different musical ways. Jan Akkerman still now as seen as the master of guitar.
Saw this band live back in the day, I was still at school, they were incredible, a real life experience. Thanks for sharing - great funny reaction from both you boys.
So glad you reacted to this! It's such a weird and silly song but so much fun. Whenever I play it to people, they start off thinking its nonsense and then bopping their head by the end. Great video as always, gents :)
'Hocus Pocus' is from the band's second album, 'Moving Waves.' Great first album to listen to! Their first 4 albums are really excellent (and the later albums quite good as well). Here is the link for their composition 'Focus III' ( th-cam.com/video/xCqDZMqd4XY/w-d-xo.html ), from the album 'Focus 3.' Next is 'Tommy' from their 2nd album, 'Moving Waves' ( th-cam.com/video/U_Hpf3rTudQ/w-d-xo.html ). And the last one is their very first hit, 'House of the King' ( th-cam.com/video/4lv8YR68vcA/w-d-xo.html ) from their first album ('Focus Plays Focus'). It's a fun instrumental piece. Btw, love your intro bit (big fan of the Who).
The lyrics so you can sing along Joladadijoladadijoladadijoladadi Joladadijoladadi-jo-o-ooh! Joladadijoladadijoladadijoladadi Joladadijoladadi-jo-o-ooh! Oooooh-oooooh-oooooh-oooooh.. Songwriters: Jan Akkerman / Thijs Van Leer
A German speedmetal band called Helloween covered this song on their album Metal Jukebox. And iron Maiden covered this song just for fun in the studio. Both can be found on TH-cam.
They were FANTASTIC musicians! What a performance of a great song. Apparently they had to cut the song to fit the allotted time slot so they speeded it up. Listen to the album version.
Love love love your reaction. You two are amazing together. Music is so diverse and doesn't have to follow any rules. When it's great it's great. and Focus were and still are great.
"Can you imagine being there in 1973?" Yes actually, this was on our radio station all day. We only really had one that EVERYONE listened to, a pirate radio broadcasted from a ship on the North Sea. Both ship and station were called Veronica.
band members : Vocal ( yodeling , scat singing ,whistling ) , flute and keyboard : Thijs Van Leer Guitar : Jan Akkerman Drum : Pierre van der Linden bass: bert ruiter
Safe to say I backed the right horse in the last poll. lol This is amazing! I love this so much! The crazy, progressive rhythm, the vocalists yodeling and making crazy noises while conjuring a sassy flute out of thin air! This song's a riot! LOL (And didn't know he was part bird! Them some wild whistling! haha) I'm pretty sure at a future cookout, I'm going to hijack my friend's phone and put this sucker on the playlist cue. haha
We loved it too! Hahahahaha part bird! 😂 and yesss if you put it on his playlist, let us know how it went! 🤣 That’s awesome. Great seeing you here as always brian! -S
@@fatherandsonreactions When we get back to having cookouts, I almost certainly will! lol I'll bring play by play reactions with excruciating detail! XD And thanks! Still keeping busy, but will keep stopping by as often as I can! I may have to check out more of this band, if their songs are like this! Haha
Awesome! And that’s great to hear. We love hearing from you in the comments. Especially your long comments haha. And yeah, we really hope this band has other good ones. -S
@@fatherandsonreactions lol thanks. Long comments are a specialty. :P Couldn't with this song though. Like you, I was kind of a loss for words. Haha. It basically speaks for itself. XD
focus are from the netherlands in europe, band founded 1969 ... they are still going ... and their founder and organist (the one with the flute) is still in the band. they are a very innovative progressive jazzrock band. of course hocuspocus is their eternal hit.
A great performance in an age when bands maintained their creativity and record companies accepted that a little bit of crazy could actually be good for music. Sadly, in todays age, record companies don't want originality, they want clones of whatever made the bigest profit last week. Thanks guys, a priceless reaction.
Believe it or not, there are a couple of groups that made a cover of this song, one was Iron Maiden I think, heared a few more, but not ONE can even come close to this version imho!
Midnight Special allowed them 4 minutes to do a 7 minute song. So instead of cutting down the song to fit in the time frame, they played it twice as fast as the original.
@@fatherandsonreactions The story goes that due to time constraints, the band was asked to shorten the song; so they basically played the song at breakneck speed in order to fit it in !!!
My lord, but you aged me big time with this one... I remember very well when this one came out.. first time I saw this live... it is great... but the studio version will blow you away.. LOL... when the vocalist starts his stuff... it is out of this world... the look on both of your faces was priceless.. Thanks you two for doing this... stay safe & stay strong 💜💜
You saw it live? That’s awesome! We might ah e to do the studio at some point although my father already knows it. Thanks Kathy. It’s always great hearing from you. Stay safe and strong as well! 💛 💛 -S
I was 19 when I saw them do this song live at the Winterland Auditorium in San Francisco when they opened for Yes and Poco; in fact, I still have pictures from that concert. It was memorable back then and nostalgic now!
You guys are great together with your reaction! So priceless especially watching your son so shocked, bewildered and amazed. I've heard of Focus In The 80's, but never live until i got a computer. then saw the live version (which came from The Midnight Special). WOW!!!! Yes, I did subscribed, i will be viewing hopefully all of your videos. I have 2 suggestions. 1) Ghost By The late Dan Fogelberg 2) Mirror Reaper By Bell Witch. A dark heavy metal masterpiece. 1 album, 1 song. total length time is close to 90 minutes. if you want to do it in one session, that is fine. otherwise split it in 2 parts. You'll be hearing from me more often..
The studio version of this song lasts six and a half minutes. Gladys Knight could only give them a 4 and a half minute slot on her show. The crammed a 6 min song into a 4 min song. I loved the live fast version. Totally unique and bonkers
My first time visiting your channel and I’m so impressed and I love the bond you two share! The woman is Gladys Knight from Gladys Knight and the Pips. Imagine me as a 16 year old hearing this for the first time …my friends and I lost our minds! We screamed, yelled and jumped up and down! I am still a crazy rocker and head banger! You have a new subscriber!
Thanks gentlemen…so respectful….this was radio music when I was coming up… Midnight Special requires 4 minutes or less, so they played double time. And they’re Dutch….some of that is words,,, singer didn’t speak English And the intro was Gladys Knight….also before both your times… Look her up Gladys Knight and the Pips… To repeat, thanks for not interrupting and respecting the artists
There is no one better than Jan akkerman Jeff Beck is close but that's about it. It's a shame he is so damn underrated and that people keep playing this song when they listen to focus because there are so many great progressive rock songs by Focus that are very complex and detailed and display his skill at blending jazz with Rock and classical I'm telling you he is a freaking genius who never got his due😮
Fun song. they had to shorten the song from 7 min to 5 so it's crazy fast compared to studio version. That lady who introduced them was Glady's Knight. The only standing ovation in the history of Midnight Special.
O.k, Hocus Pocus was a bit of fun for Focus, to really appreciate their musical ability, you have to hear basically any track off 'Moving Waves' (except for the track of the same name!) 'Tommy' being the most incredible, although they didn't actually write this tune, Tom Barlage of the jazz fusion band 'Solution' wrote this beautiful tune. Also, any track from the neo-classical/rock fusion album 'Hamburger Concerto' will be worth a reaction!
A dutch band called Focus with Thijs van Leer (flute/organ) and Jan Akkerman (gitar) has a performance announced by Gladys Knight. Only they have a few minutes to play the song, which normally is slower. So they have to speed it up. They have (so far I know) ten albums or cd's. One of the other funny song is Flower Shower.
@@fatherandsonreactions Thanks Son. I'm Swiss. You may look out for Yello. Yello is a Swiss group and there is a song you may have heard in many movies. Check out: Oh Yeah 😎👍
I’m Dutch, 62 years old and free up with Focus. I saw them live. They were outstanding Good musicians. You both understood Hocus Pocus: have fun, just have fun hearing this beautiful song!
The vocalist (Thijs van Leer) is a classical trained flautist. So the flute is not a surprise. The yodeling and whistling is unique for this song, I think. (But I'm not sure, I don't know all their songs). Other well known songs from them are Sylvia and House of the King. Both are instrumentals. I recently listened to their first album and I really liked the songs "Anonymus" and "Focus" from that album. Both instrumentals, though "Focus" has a shorter vocal version. The studio version of Hocus Pocus is almost 7 minutes long, so they played the live version faster instead of cutting short the song. It also has all the yodeling, whistling and the flute. By the way, the expression on the face of Son when the yodeling started was gold. :P
Old dutch band.🤘🇳🇱😎 guitarist Jan Akkerman was named best guitarist in the world at one time.The piano guy Thijs van Leer playing the flute. This was basicly his main instrument.
The planet's favorite band from now till eternity right? For this US program, they only had five minutes between commercials for this 6 minute 30 song. So they said hell yes, we'll play faster. Check out the original recording too!
But make sure you hear the full studio version which is 6:43 long! The live version is good and funny but the studio version is amazing!! Remember- the full version, not the single edit!!
It was fun to watch. A Dutch band with Jan Akkerman on guitar and Thijs van Leer on everything. I have seen Jan Akkerman live when he played solo, boring blues. The song, Sylvia is good by Focus and the later group, Brainbox. Thank you guys
I had to share this with someone. Maybe to get them to subscribe. 😉. Anyway, this is by far the most interactive video Ethan and Dad have done. Ethan cracks up. Looks confused. Dad is just as flabbergasted. Looks at camera like Huh? I knew original too. Great band but the yodeling? I had company so amused. Didn't know channel existed. Now you got them interested !!😊
One of the funniest but best songs we’ve heard on the channel! Thanks everyone who suggested it! Be sure to like/ subscribe if this made you happy! Rock on everyone! Also, don’t be shy to shoot us a message on instagram if you want to just say hello! (link in description) 🤟💛🔥🤘
I hope you played him the studio version too - you know how much I dislike this live version!
Dave, I haven’t heard the studio but my father knows it! We will definitely do it at some point! -S
M K hahaha you are too funny! I will definitely have to check out your cover! 🤣 And yess the muppets doing Bohemian Rhapsody is hilarious! -S
I have seen Focus LIVE 2 times, in 2014 and 2018. Thijs van Leer is a genius musician. He was 25 years old back then, now he’s 72 years old. I’m a HUGE fan. See my channel for a info video avout Focus soon.
@@doplinger1 For me it is the other way around, live so much better
The kid's face was filled with shock, wonderment, bewilderment and searching for comprehension. You have a cool Dad, buddy.
Lol
Cool primarily because they didn’t interrupt….
They're Dutch, but the lyrics are in Klingon.
Gowron on keyboard.
@@MrBonners
DUDE!
I didn't see it until you pointed it out!
Jan Ackerman the lead guitarist was Brian Mays mentor. He was shedding on the 60s. He was guitars best player in 73.
First standing ovation for you two and from what I understand it was a first standing ovation for the Midnight Special.
What do you do when you have a 6:20 minute song and a 3:30 minute slot in this programme? YOU PLAY IT DOUBLE SPEED!
Know the song since it wa brought out and didn't care for it much. Today I discovered this version and I loooove it. Thijs van Leer on speed is awesome.
This is what literally happened ….. the were asked to cut their song short because of commercials. Focus declined and just decided to play the song double speed.
The woman introducing the band was the one and only Gladys Knight!
@@Richardtv1968 You're absolutely right!!
Jan Akkerman was voted best guitarist alive in 1973. The show slot was only 4 minutes for an 8 minute song. They refused to be censored and thus, played it in double time.
This is actually the broadcast version. The Midnight Special channel has the unabridged version which adds an extra two minutes (second yodel chorus and extended yodel chorus).
I saw this when it 1st aired in '73 & it's unforgettable. A super talented bunch of guys.
I am 69, was 18 back then the first time I got the vinyl of this dutchband Focus. I still keep it and now it's my grandson's. 70's rock never die!!!
I love seeing people's response to hearing this song for the first time. This version was played quite a bit faster than the studio original, in order to fit it in between commercials on The Midnight Special (this episode hosted by Gladys Knight). This is one more example of just how diverse popular music was in the 70's, especially when contrasted with music today. Can you imagine Focus appearing on "The X Factor"? Neither can I. Would any record company offer them a contract today? Nope.
Focus was never as big in America as in Europe, but those of us who knew about them loved them well. Their music ranged from mellow and smooth to the kind of frantic mania you've heard here. Jan Akkerman is widely hailed as one of the best guitarists nobody's ever heard of. If you'd like to check out more Focus, I recommend "Sylvia", "Focus II", the sequence "House of the King/Anonymus", and, for a long conceptual piece, "Hamburger Concerto".
In addition to the cover versions listed below, "Hocus Pocus" was also covered by guitar shredder Gary Hoey in 1993.
I love seeing a father-son bonding moment like this.❤
Thanks Dawn 💛 -S
Born 1968 and Dutch this song I know so well but never thought I see it so much into creation uploads in 2021...GREAT because FOCUS is great...
I love that you didn't pause the video but let it play out and then commented . Every one else pausing every minute and thereby missing the flow , and sometimes the meaning
They had lots of great songs back then. The early 70s was filled with incredible bands like this. It was truly a golden age of music.
Iam from the Netherlands,you no Golden Earing,allso a verry populair Dutch band
"What is this?" To answer your question, S.: technically, this is what's called a "rondo", which is a style of instrumental music characterized by a principal theme (or "refrain") -- in this case, the rock-chord riffs -- which alternates with one or more contrasting themes, or "episodes", which in this case would be the yodeling, whistling, and flute sections. It's often used in classical music, but not particularly common in pop or rock, which is one reason why "Hocus Pocus" stands out so much.
I'm not aware of any other band ever releasing a cover version of this -- and I think you'd have to be some combination of very brave, very crazy, and/or very inebriated to even attempt it. :-D
The album version is similar, in that it contains all of the same elements -- it has the yodeling, the flute, the whistling, and the lead guitarist's warp-speed shredding through the refrains -- but the overall performance is longer by a couple of minutes, and the tempo isn't quite so frenzied. As others have noted, the band was told they only had about four minutes to perform what would normally be a 7-minute song, and rather than cut any of the key bits out, they just dialed everything up to '11' and played it as fast as they possibly could. :D
Have a listen to Helloweens version that's good as covers go!
I once read an interview with the band and the band said that this song was born out of a jam session. Thijs Van Leer (the keyboardist/flautist/yodeller) started yodelling and the rest of the band laughed but said "that sounds good. keep it in".
"Has a band ever been able to cover this?"
What a great question!
Actually, yes there is. Helloween did a version and I saw Ginger Wildheart do this and segue it it with Sylvia (Focus's other big hit) at an acoustic show back in the dy.
@@hrothgar64 Iron Maiden did, and Marillion too.
you can't...there's no guitar player able to do this, jan akkerman is one of the few that can play anything..
First time visitor to your channel. I am truly impressed with the bonding experience the two of you have over music. I wish that I had a son with whom I could share the music of my generation. Bless the two of you in your journey.
I was very familiar with the song, which is unlike any other top 10 hit that I have ever heard. It reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1973. The combination of hard rock and yodeling, whistling, flute playing and eefing brings a smile to my face every time that I hear it.
The first standing ovation at the Midnight special 👍👍
First and only, I believe.
The "woman" that introduced them was Gladys Knight. Focus is an incredible band. I've got pretty much all their stuff.
I remember watching this live on the Midnight Special and it cracked me up! They performed it extra fast because they only gave them a couple minutes! My granddaughter loves this one!
Focus was one of our best bands in those days. It still is Dutch music History!
We don’t doubt that at all! -S
Hocus Pocus is a novelty track. The album it comes from Moving Waves (1971) was one of the best prog rock albums of the early 70s I recommend you give it a listen.
Hoi Peter . Focus is still playing. Thijs van Leer in action, great to sea. Of course other members in the band…but the drummer and Thijs still playing. Een paar jaar geleden nog gezien…geweldig .
You guys are very fun. This is how i reacted to the song lol. You have a good dad.
Thank you Josh! Welcome to the channel! We both appreciate that a lot. -Ethan
False. The full 6+ minute version is available on YT.
Never seen this channel before. Came here to see people react to this song. The son’s reaction is epic. And to see this father-son combo is awesome. Not to get too deep or personal, but I never had it. Great dad! Keep it up!!!! Awesome dad!!! And, to the son… appreciate him. One of the best dad-son vids I’ve seen on TH-cam. The crazy, lunatic music video doesn’t even matter. You two are awesome.
They met as hired hands-band for the musical "Hair" in Amsterdam and decided to start by themselves. Jan Akkerman (Guitar) arguably became most famous. "In 1973 Akkerman was voted Best Guitarist in the World by readers of the UK magazine Melody Maker. " so the readers picked him over clapton, page, beck etc.. Listen to Sylvia th-cam.com/video/Ot1AJCiCfgc/w-d-xo.html and House of the King to hear how good they were. Thijs van Leer still plays too he can be seen with Ayeron - Eectric Castle - Valley of the Queens th-cam.com/video/NdNmCwHnciI/w-d-xo.html
Last time I saw Thijs and friends playing in Dordrecht Netherlands 2017, they were still going strong and energic....
Imagine being 11 years old, knowing this song, seeing this LIVE on the Midnight Special, with Gladys Knight introducing them, welcome to adolescence!!!
The normal version is slower, but this show (Midnight Special) was notorious for asking bands to shorten their songs as they just had 3 and a half minutes because of commercials, so Focus did not want to shorten the song so they sped it up inmensely, with this result
False. The full 6+ minute version is out there.
@@johnd5931The Midnight Special TH-cam channel has it.
I just lOVE Jan’s face melting guitar work. He is so insanely good.
You’re right haha! -Ethan
Yes I saw that too... lol
I saw this band live back on 1973. This was a great "novelty" song but their catalog of music is amazing classic music inspired progrock.
This song basically put them in the One Hit Wonder category however, their composition Hamburger Concerto is a masterpiece.
This song was just fun and funny. It's yodeling lol. I had this album when I was young and remember playing it on.a Soundesign stereo with round speakers, back in early 70s.
Your son's reaction when the yodeling started was absolutely priceless!! 😆 I love father and son reactions! Keep it up!
The great reaction from son and dad! Their respect for a song made some 40 years ago, makes me happy. Many bands covered this song, but a bit slower. Like in stead of 78 rpm single just the old 45 rpm. Focus was on top of their game. Jan Akkerman acknowledged as the best guitar player around this time. Jan and Thijs in the end could not any longer find a ground to work together and went different musical ways. Jan Akkerman still now as seen as the master of guitar.
This was one of the most quirky and bizarre but fantastic tunes I've ever heard 😅
Saw this band live back in the day, I was still at school, they were incredible, a real life experience. Thanks for sharing - great funny reaction from both you boys.
One of the best guitarists ever!!! Jan Akkerman is an absolute genius, all of them are brilliant musicians
So glad you reacted to this! It's such a weird and silly song but so much fun. Whenever I play it to people, they start off thinking its nonsense and then bopping their head by the end. Great video as always, gents :)
Thanks Ben! Always great seeing you here. Yeah it’s such a great song. Can’t believe we didn’t react to this sooner! -S
'Back in the day' Europe was a hot bed for experimental rock bands. Netherlands, Germany, all the East Block.
It was covered in the 80s by Gary Howie. He did a great job, but this is so original it can't be topped.
Also covered by Iron Maiden and Merillion...
'Hocus Pocus' is from the band's second album, 'Moving Waves.' Great first album to listen to! Their first 4 albums are really excellent (and the later albums quite good as well). Here is the link for their composition 'Focus III' ( th-cam.com/video/xCqDZMqd4XY/w-d-xo.html ), from the album 'Focus 3.' Next is 'Tommy' from their 2nd album, 'Moving Waves' ( th-cam.com/video/U_Hpf3rTudQ/w-d-xo.html ). And the last one is their very first hit, 'House of the King' ( th-cam.com/video/4lv8YR68vcA/w-d-xo.html ) from their first album ('Focus Plays Focus'). It's a fun instrumental piece. Btw, love your intro bit (big fan of the Who).
Thanks for the reaction, I remember buying this album when I was 17, it blew me away. Thanks for reminding me.
The lyrics so you can sing along
Joladadijoladadijoladadijoladadi
Joladadijoladadi-jo-o-ooh!
Joladadijoladadijoladadijoladadi
Joladadijoladadi-jo-o-ooh!
Oooooh-oooooh-oooooh-oooooh..
Songwriters: Jan Akkerman / Thijs Van Leer
A German speedmetal band called Helloween covered this song on their album Metal Jukebox. And iron Maiden covered this song just for fun in the studio. Both can be found on TH-cam.
They were FANTASTIC musicians! What a performance of a great song. Apparently they had to cut the song to fit the allotted time slot so they speeded it up. Listen to the album version.
hey this version is great. them speeding up the aong was an amazing decision.
It was fun seeing you guys. Check out Ram Jam's "Black Betty".
Thanks Gabby! We’ve done that one 👍 -Ethan
thanks
Love love love your reaction. You two are amazing together. Music is so diverse and doesn't have to follow any rules. When it's great it's great. and Focus were and still are great.
Well said! Music doesn’t need any rules. And thanks for the compliment! -S
Subscribed! You guys are great! Love seeing people appreciating all music! The song is awesome, the yodeling was a hook that made it unique.
Thanks Lori! Great to hear people are enjoying our videos. It means a lot to us. -S
Heard the radio version. Never heard this live version and I'm loving it!
The Live Version had to fit into the 3:30 time slot. That is the reason it's so crazy fast xD but Im not sure what I like more :D
"Can you imagine being there in 1973?"
Yes actually, this was on our radio station all day.
We only really had one that EVERYONE listened to, a pirate radio broadcasted from a ship on the North Sea.
Both ship and station were called Veronica.
I had the same reaction to the start haha 😯😦😧😮😲🤩🤩🤩
The guitarist name is Jan Ackerman. He became the most famous member of the band. Plays guitar work. They were Dutch.
Their album Focus 3 is an absolute masterpiece
band members :
Vocal ( yodeling , scat singing ,whistling ) , flute and keyboard : Thijs Van Leer
Guitar : Jan Akkerman
Drum : Pierre van der Linden
bass: bert ruiter
Thanks you :)
Safe to say I backed the right horse in the last poll. lol This is amazing! I love this so much! The crazy, progressive rhythm, the vocalists yodeling and making crazy noises while conjuring a sassy flute out of thin air! This song's a riot! LOL (And didn't know he was part bird! Them some wild whistling! haha)
I'm pretty sure at a future cookout, I'm going to hijack my friend's phone and put this sucker on the playlist cue. haha
We loved it too! Hahahahaha part bird! 😂 and yesss if you put it on his playlist, let us know how it went! 🤣 That’s awesome. Great seeing you here as always brian! -S
@@fatherandsonreactions When we get back to having cookouts, I almost certainly will! lol I'll bring play by play reactions with excruciating detail! XD
And thanks! Still keeping busy, but will keep stopping by as often as I can! I may have to check out more of this band, if their songs are like this! Haha
Awesome! And that’s great to hear. We love hearing from you in the comments. Especially your long comments haha. And yeah, we really hope this band has other good ones. -S
@@fatherandsonreactions lol thanks. Long comments are a specialty. :P
Couldn't with this song though. Like you, I was kind of a loss for words. Haha. It basically speaks for itself. XD
Hahaha I definitely get it. It definitely speaks for itself -S
There's no great genius without a touch of madness
👍 -S
And a tad of cocaine 😂😂
focus are from the netherlands in europe, band founded 1969 ... they are still going ... and their founder and organist (the one with the flute) is still in the band. they are a very innovative progressive jazzrock band. of course hocuspocus is their eternal hit.
I went to a Focus concert here in Brazil some years ago. And I got a seat right in front of the singer. It was fantastic.
Must have been amazing ! Did they do this song ? Larry
I was almost 15 and sitting in front of the tube watching this! Blew my mind
Great!Thank you for posting!
A great performance in an age when bands maintained their creativity and record companies accepted that a little bit of crazy could actually be good for music. Sadly, in todays age, record companies don't want originality, they want clones of whatever made the bigest profit last week. Thanks guys, a priceless reaction.
Believe it or not, there are a couple of groups that made a cover of this song, one was Iron Maiden I think, heared a few more, but not ONE can even come close to this version imho!
There was another Dutch band back then called Cargo who were also incredibly good. A jam band extraordinaire.
At first glance this sounds goofy, but when you take the time to look more deeply, there is a lot of proficiency in the performance from all of them.
You’re definitely right! -S
@@fatherandsonreactions How could you doubt me! 😉
We could never ! -S
Midnight Special allowed them 4 minutes to do a 7 minute song. So instead of cutting down the song to fit in the time frame, they played it twice as fast as the original.
Still amazes me how they managed to do this at twice the normal speed to fit it on tv. Always loved it though!
best reaction EVER !!!!!
Thanks J.C A!! That means a lot to us! -S
@@fatherandsonreactions The story goes that due to time constraints, the band was asked to shorten the song; so they basically played the song at breakneck speed in order to fit it in !!!
Wow that’s impressive! -S
YESSS!!!! 🙌🏻🔥
😁😁😁 -S
Magic . . .Only magic!!!
Definitely! -S
Saw them live in the late 1970s they were amazing, you should check out Sylvia by the band or House of the king.
My lord, but you aged me big time with this one... I remember very well when this one came out.. first time I saw this live... it is great... but the studio version will blow you away.. LOL... when the vocalist starts his stuff... it is out of this world... the look on both of your faces was priceless.. Thanks you two for doing this... stay safe & stay strong 💜💜
You saw it live? That’s awesome! We might ah e to do the studio at some point although my father already knows it. Thanks Kathy. It’s always great hearing from you. Stay safe and strong as well! 💛 💛 -S
I was 19 when I saw them do this song live at the Winterland Auditorium in San Francisco when they opened for Yes and Poco; in fact, I still have pictures from that concert. It was memorable back then and nostalgic now!
You have to hear the studio version: make sure you pick the extended cut!
You guys are great together with your reaction! So priceless especially watching your son so shocked, bewildered and amazed. I've heard of Focus In The 80's, but never live until i got a computer. then saw the live version (which came from The Midnight Special). WOW!!!! Yes, I did subscribed, i will be viewing hopefully all of your videos. I have 2 suggestions. 1) Ghost By The late Dan Fogelberg 2) Mirror Reaper By Bell Witch. A dark heavy metal masterpiece. 1 album, 1 song. total length time is close to 90 minutes. if you want to do it in one session, that is fine. otherwise split it in 2 parts. You'll be hearing from me more often..
What a great reaction video. Watching the dad watch the son is the best.
Thank you so much! This song definitely shocked me! Glad you enjoyed! -S
Love your reaction dad and son
The studio version of this song lasts six and a half minutes. Gladys Knight could only give them a 4 and a half minute slot on her show. The crammed a 6 min song into a 4 min song. I loved the live fast version. Totally unique and bonkers
My first time visiting your channel and I’m so impressed and I love the bond you two share! The woman is Gladys Knight from Gladys Knight and the Pips. Imagine me as a 16 year old hearing this for the first time …my friends and I lost our minds! We screamed, yelled and jumped up and down! I am still a crazy rocker and head banger! You have a new subscriber!
thank you and welcome to the channel! -Ethan
Thanks gentlemen…so respectful….this was radio music when I was coming up…
Midnight Special requires 4 minutes or less, so they played double time.
And they’re Dutch….some of that is words,,, singer didn’t speak English
And the intro was Gladys Knight….also before both your times…
Look her up Gladys Knight and the Pips…
To repeat, thanks for not interrupting and respecting the artists
There is no one better than Jan akkerman Jeff Beck is close but that's about it. It's a shame he is so damn underrated and that people keep playing this song when they listen to focus because there are so many great progressive rock songs by Focus that are very complex and detailed and display his skill at blending jazz with Rock and classical I'm telling you he is a freaking genius who never got his due😮
Fun song. they had to shorten the song from 7 min to 5 so it's crazy fast compared to studio version. That lady who introduced them was Glady's Knight. The only standing ovation in the history of Midnight Special.
The song was invented by the guitar-player Jan Akkerman, he made the riff and from than on it is musical history.
True musical talent very tight.
O.k, Hocus Pocus was a bit of fun for Focus, to really appreciate their musical ability, you have to hear basically any track off 'Moving Waves' (except for the track of the same name!) 'Tommy' being the most incredible, although they didn't actually write this tune, Tom Barlage of the jazz fusion band 'Solution' wrote this beautiful tune. Also, any track from the neo-classical/rock fusion album 'Hamburger Concerto' will be worth a reaction!
A dutch band called Focus with Thijs van Leer (flute/organ) and Jan Akkerman (gitar) has a performance announced by Gladys Knight. Only they have a few minutes to play the song, which normally is slower. So they have to speed it up. They have (so far I know) ten albums or cd's. One of the other funny song is Flower Shower.
False. The unedited version is over 6 minutes long.
I did not know that! Wow! Thanks to Father and Son I learned something completely new! Thank you both for your great reactions!
Glad you enjoyed and learned something new! It’s great seeing people explore new music with us! -S
@@fatherandsonreactions Thanks Son. I'm Swiss. You may look out for Yello. Yello is a Swiss group and there is a song you may have heard in many movies. Check out: Oh Yeah 😎👍
i´m so glad you loved this. i´ve been suggesting for months ... haha
Haha ! We are glad you are happy. We will be sure to provide many more reactions that will make you smile 😊-S
@@fatherandsonreactions then do MAKE ME SMILE by chicago 😊
Sylvia was a big hit for them in the UK back in the day.
I’m Dutch, 62 years old and free up with Focus. I saw them live.
They were outstanding Good musicians.
You both understood Hocus Pocus: have fun, just have fun hearing this beautiful song!
They (Thijs and friends but w/o Jan) showed up again in Dordrecht in 2017..
The vocalist (Thijs van Leer) is a classical trained flautist. So the flute is not a surprise. The yodeling and whistling is unique for this song, I think. (But I'm not sure, I don't know all their songs). Other well known songs from them are Sylvia and House of the King. Both are instrumentals. I recently listened to their first album and I really liked the songs "Anonymus" and "Focus" from that album. Both instrumentals, though "Focus" has a shorter vocal version.
The studio version of Hocus Pocus is almost 7 minutes long, so they played the live version faster instead of cutting short the song. It also has all the yodeling, whistling and the flute.
By the way, the expression on the face of Son when the yodeling started was gold. :P
Old dutch band.🤘🇳🇱😎 guitarist Jan Akkerman was named best guitarist in the world at one time.The piano guy Thijs van Leer playing the flute. This was basicly his main instrument.
Wow! Have never seen this one live. I won't get this one out of my head the rest of the day. lol
Hahah neither will I! Definitely a 10/10 performance! -S
Dutch rock paradise❤️🎼🌟
There’s an album version and an extended version. Both are on You Tube.
The planet's favorite band from now till eternity right? For this US program, they only had five minutes between commercials for this 6 minute 30 song. So they said hell yes, we'll play faster. Check out the original recording too!
But make sure you hear the full studio version which is 6:43 long! The live version is good and funny but the studio version is amazing!! Remember- the full version, not the single edit!!
1973:
But ,shredding is not a thing!
Jan Akkerman(guitar):
It is now!
It was fun to watch. A Dutch band with Jan Akkerman on guitar and Thijs van Leer on everything. I have seen Jan Akkerman live when he played solo, boring blues. The song, Sylvia is good by Focus and the later group, Brainbox. Thank you guys
I had to share this with someone. Maybe to get them to subscribe. 😉. Anyway, this is by far the most interactive video Ethan and Dad have done. Ethan cracks up. Looks confused. Dad is just as flabbergasted. Looks at camera like Huh? I knew original too. Great band but the yodeling? I had company so amused. Didn't know channel existed. Now you got them interested !!😊
Aww thank you so much Cheryl!!! That means so much to us. Hope you’re doing well! -Ethan
that man is crazy, lol, great performance!
Definitely! -S
The song is a banger. The space alien on keyboard and ...lyrics (?) Was great
Best song ever !!!
love your reaction to this
Best reaction !!!❤