Focus

Flute-based prog — pioneered by the likes of Traffic and Jethro Tull — reached a satisfying level of refinement in the capable hands of Dutch outfit Focus, formed in Amsterdam in 1969 around the considerable skills of classically trained pianist/flautist Thijs van Leer. If you know "House of the King" — found on debut album In and Out of Focus— only from its use as the theme for Saxondale, take time here to discover other pearls, like the bizarre yodel 'n' axe jam "Hocus Pocus". The fellows of Focus straddle the rock/classcial divide like colossi, in Next Steps.

When rock meets harpsichord, the results are sometimes spectacular, and "Early Birth" — from the ambitious 1974 release Hamburger Concerto — is a case in point. The track was written by outlandishly skilled guitarist Jan Akkerman, a key component of the first-phase Focus machine who would depart the group in '76 on the eve of a U.K. tour. The band continued post-Akkerman, most recently recording Focus 9/New Skin with founder van Leer still at the helm.

Over four decades, the still-active Focus — led by the talismanic Thijs van Leer — has taken on several guises and multiple lineup shuffles, but the band is perhaps best remembered for the triumphs of early incarnations, especially those featuring Jan Akkerman on guitar — Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson owns a guitar signed by Akkerman, which offers a fair gauge of the esteem in which he is held by old-school prog-heads and connoisseurs. There have been few singles in the history of rock, we dare venture, to match the craft and unhinged abandon of "Hocus Pocus", the inspired loon-on-the-hill that jigs proudly, insanely on the peak of this fascinating collection.