# Mother Focus
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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Focus
> Source revision: 1259711994
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{{Infobox album
| name = Mother Focus
| type = studio
| artist = [Focus](/source/Focus_(band))
| cover = Focus - Mother Focus.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|1975|10}}
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = [Funk](/source/Funk)[{{cite web
| url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/mother-focus-mw0000741839
| title = Mother Focus
| work = allmusic.com
| accessdate = 2020-05-03
}}]
|rev2 = ''[Christgau's Record Guide](/source/Christgau's_Record_Guide%3A_Rock_Albums_of_the_Seventies)''
|rev2Score = C+[{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies](/source/Christgau's_Record_Guide%3A_Rock_Albums_of_the_Seventies)|publisher=[Ticknor & Fields](/source/Ticknor_%26_Fields)|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: F|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=F&bk=70|accessdate=February 24, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}]
}}
'''''Mother Focus''''' is the fifth studio album by the band [Focus](/source/Focus_(band)), released in 1975 on [Polydor](/source/Polydor) (cat. no. 2310 408) in [Europe](/source/Europe), on [Atco Records](/source/Atco_Records) in [North America](/source/North_America) and on [EMI](/source/EMI) in [Japan](/source/Japan).[{{cite web
| url = https://www.discogs.com/Focus-Mother-Focus/master/54748
| title = Mother Focus
| work = Discogs
| year = 1975
| accessdate = 2020-05-02
| language =
}}]
Some tracks on the album mark a departure from the [progressive rock](/source/progressive_rock) style that dominated the group's prior work, and herald a [funk music](/source/funk_music) style with light jazz and pop at the centre.[ Unlike previous albums, the tracks were also much shorter, the longest being 3:55. Bassist Bert Ruiter provided most of the themes, as van Leer had just recorded a solo album, ''O My Love,'' of his own music, and Jan Akkerman withheld compositions for ''Eli'', his forthcoming album with [Kaz Lux](/source/Kaz_Lux).
The closing track, "Father Bach", is credited as a 'traditional tune', arranged and adopted by [Thijs van Leer](/source/Thijs_van_Leer), but in reality it consists of the opening lines of [J. S. Bach](/source/J._S._Bach)’s ''[St. Matthew Passion](/source/St._Matthew_Passion)''.
== Track listing ==
Track listing of Dutch vinyl release 1975.
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| extra_column = Composer
| title1 = Mother Focus
| extra1 = [Jan Akkerman](/source/Jan_Akkerman), [Bert Ruiter](/source/Bert_Ruiter), [Thijs van Leer](/source/Thijs_van_Leer)
| length1 = 3:03
| title2 = I Need a Bathroom
| extra2 = Ruiter
| length2 = 3:02
| title3 = Bennie Helder
| extra3 = Leer
| length3 = 3:31
| title4 = Soft Vanilla
| extra4 = Ruiter
| length4 = 3:00
| title5 = Hard Vanilla
| extra5 = Ruiter
| length5 = 2:35
| title6 = Tropic Bird
| extra6 = Ruiter
| length6 = 2:42
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| extra_column = Composer
| title1 = Focus IV
| extra1 = van Leer
| length1 = 3:55
| title2 = Someone's Crying … What?
| extra2 = Akkerman
| length2 = 3:18
| title3 = All Together … Oh, That!
| extra3 = Akkerman
| length3 = 3:40
| title4 = No Hang Ups
| extra4 = Paul Stoppelman
| length4 = 2:54
| title5 = My Sweetheart
| extra5 = Akkerman, van Leer
| length5 = 3:35
| title6 = Father Bach
| extra6 = Trad., arr. van Leer
| length6 = 1:30
| total_length = 37:16
}}
=== CD listing ===
Track listing of Japanese release from 16 December 2006.
# "Mother Focus" ([Jan Akkerman](/source/Jan_Akkerman), [Bert Ruiter](/source/Bert_Ruiter), [Thijs van Leer](/source/Thijs_van_Leer)) – 3:04
# "I Need a Bathroom" (Ruiter) – 3:03
# "Bennie Helder" (van Leer) – 3:31
# "Soft Vanilla" (Ruiter) – 3:03
# "Hard Vanilla" (Ruiter) – 2:34
# "Tropical Bird" (Ruiter) – 2:42
# "Focus IV" (van Leer) – 3:56
# "Someone's Crying . . . What?" (Akkerman) – 3:18
# "All Together . . . Oh, That!" (Akkerman) – 3:41
# "No Hang Ups" (Paul Stoppelman) – 2:55
# "My Sweetheart" (Akkerman, van Leer) – 3:36
# "Father Bach" (van Leer) – 1:34
== Personnel ==
;Focus
* [Thijs van Leer](/source/Thijs_van_Leer) – [Hammond organ](/source/Hammond_organ), electric piano, grand piano, [Solina String Ensemble](/source/ARP_String_Ensemble), concert and alto flutes, voices, [synthesizers](/source/synthesizers), [piano](/source/piano), [saxophone](/source/saxophone) on track 1 & 8, [flute](/source/Western_concert_flute), [non-lexical vocables](/source/Non-lexical_vocables_in_music) (track 1)
* [Jan Akkerman](/source/Jan_Akkerman) – [guitar](/source/guitar)
* [Bert Ruiter](/source/Bert_Ruiter) – [bass guitar](/source/bass_guitar), [vocals](/source/singing) (track 2)
* [David Kemper](/source/David_Kemper) – [drums](/source/drum_kit) (all tracks except 10)
* [Colin Allen](/source/Colin_Allen) – [drums](/source/drum_kit) (track 10)
* An unidentified session musician – [percussion](/source/percussion)][{{Cite AV media notes |title=50 Years: Anthology 1970-1976 |last=Bessels |first=Wouter |others=Focus |date=2020 |type=Booklet |publisher=Red Bullet |location=Hilversum }}]
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Chart (1975–1976)
! Peak
position
|-
! scope="row"|Australian Albums ([Kent Music Report](/source/Kent_Music_Report))[{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=115}}]
|align="center"|61
|-
{{albumchart|Norway|17|artist=Focus|album=Hamburger Concerto|access-date=8 January 2023|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{albumchart|UK2|23|date=19750824|access-date=8 January 2023|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{albumchart|Billboard200|152|artist=Focus|access-date=8 January 2023|rowheader=true}}
|}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Focus}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1975 albums
Category:Focus (band) albums
Category:Atco Records albums
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mother Focus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Focus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Focus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.