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poltr1WOFX-FM -- "The Fox" in Cincinnati -- is having a "One Hit Wonders" weekend. Every few songs, they'll play a classic rock hit from a band that has had only one hit.
While picking up dinner for R, I heard "Pictures of Matchstick Men" by Status Quo, and "Hocus Pocus" by Focus.
It's been years since I've heard that song. They announced the song before they started it (thankfully, they don't talk over records), and once it started, I'm saying, "Yes! Yes!" like a twentysomething rock-and-roll fanboy.
I cranked it up -- not to 11, but loud enough to hear all the nuances and instruments. I'd rather not excite the car's resonant frequencies with the woofers; that could be dangerous to me and annoying to the people around me. (I should mention that I want a motion-detected and turret-mounted EMP pulse cannon for these young yahoos with subwoofers so loud I can hear them -- or feel them -- a mile away.) If I wasn't driving, I would have been playing the air keyboard as well. And they played the long version of the song! Bonus!
Focus is a Dutch band that existed from 1970-78. Progarchives.com calls them "Symphonic progressive rock". I doubt that they had any members in common with another well-known Dutch band, Golden Earring ("Radar Love", "Twilight Zone"). "Hocus Pocus" was released in '73, and probably was an album rock station staple of the time. I inherited the 45 RPM single of the song from my sister's collection, when she left all her albums and singles behind (Unfortunately, they remixed the song for the single, and split it up into two parts.)
As for the song, it's an A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B-A pattern. The A part is a 4-measure guitar riff in A minor that sounds like it's 4-4-3-5 and repeated, ending with a drum solo each time with different effects. The B sections vary, from organ with chanting/yodeling vocals to overblown flute to accordian with whistling and echo to a silly Spike Jones' "Cocktails For Two" like voice.
I got home before the song finished, so I turned off the engine but left the electric power on until the song ended. It took me a few minutes to come down off that musical high.
"Hocus Pocus" rocks! So...what's your favorite rock-and-roll instrumental? It doesn't have to be from a one-hit wonder. Nor does it need to have any airplay.
While picking up dinner for R, I heard "Pictures of Matchstick Men" by Status Quo, and "Hocus Pocus" by Focus.
It's been years since I've heard that song. They announced the song before they started it (thankfully, they don't talk over records), and once it started, I'm saying, "Yes! Yes!" like a twentysomething rock-and-roll fanboy.
I cranked it up -- not to 11, but loud enough to hear all the nuances and instruments. I'd rather not excite the car's resonant frequencies with the woofers; that could be dangerous to me and annoying to the people around me. (I should mention that I want a motion-detected and turret-mounted EMP pulse cannon for these young yahoos with subwoofers so loud I can hear them -- or feel them -- a mile away.) If I wasn't driving, I would have been playing the air keyboard as well. And they played the long version of the song! Bonus!
Focus is a Dutch band that existed from 1970-78. Progarchives.com calls them "Symphonic progressive rock". I doubt that they had any members in common with another well-known Dutch band, Golden Earring ("Radar Love", "Twilight Zone"). "Hocus Pocus" was released in '73, and probably was an album rock station staple of the time. I inherited the 45 RPM single of the song from my sister's collection, when she left all her albums and singles behind (Unfortunately, they remixed the song for the single, and split it up into two parts.)
As for the song, it's an A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B-A pattern. The A part is a 4-measure guitar riff in A minor that sounds like it's 4-4-3-5 and repeated, ending with a drum solo each time with different effects. The B sections vary, from organ with chanting/yodeling vocals to overblown flute to accordian with whistling and echo to a silly Spike Jones' "Cocktails For Two" like voice.
I got home before the song finished, so I turned off the engine but left the electric power on until the song ended. It took me a few minutes to come down off that musical high.
"Hocus Pocus" rocks! So...what's your favorite rock-and-roll instrumental? It doesn't have to be from a one-hit wonder. Nor does it need to have any airplay.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-18 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-19 08:08 am (UTC)