Doug doing a bong rip to Focus is one the greatest things i've ever seen... if he had done this in the church.... *EXPLODE*

Yayyy! Thijs is my dad and his band Focus is CURRENTLY touring in the UK. Yes. Still rocking at 73! Thank you Dough for this fantastic and highly entertaining review. I'll forward it to Thijs right away, sure he'll enjoy it!

When this tune first came out, everyone was "WHAT THE HELL????" And then "Play it again! That's cool as hell!"

This song was originally done as a warm up for their performances and the audience loved it so much the demand became huge for them to put it on their album, so they did.

The guitarist, Jan Akkerman, is extremely underrated. He is also a classical guitarist who plays the lute..which is a notoriously hard instrument to play. He studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory when he was younger..

Apparently, legend has it that, for the live version, the band were only given a limited time slot which wasn't enough enough to do the whole song at the original tempo. So, being unwilling to play a shortened version, they just played it as fast as they could to fit it onto the time available.

A classical composer who says y’all and rips the bong to a banger, fucking subbed!

The three guitar runs are the cleanest, most imaginative and technically perfect in the history of music. Jan was voted "Greatest Living Guitarist" by Melody Maker Magazine in 1972

“I didn’t even know this existed”. Not only does it exist, but it was a fairly major hit on the radio in the early ‘70’s. It was definitely a different time back then.

"I can't believe this exists"... The perfect reaction. They are an incredible band and this track brings back so many memories. You can't hear this and not smile.

The live version is the most amazing rendition I've ever heard. Love it.

When you said "I didn't know this existed", my heart was very sad. It means that millions of people have missed out on this incredible song (from my youth). The studio version had huge airplay in the 70s. We head-banged & danced like maniacs! The vocals were a language of their own, no translation needed. Many decades later, I saw Bobby McFerrin in concert, he also used vocal percussion, etc. Thanks for the bong hits, and for saying "y'all"...excellent review.

So... within the first minute or so we got an explosive minor-key RnR, a drum solo, a yodelling section and A5 soprano singing.... wtf this is amazing!

Being Dutch, I have to fly the flag for this one. Brian May (Queen) rates Jan Akkerman as one of the best guitarists ,definitely of that era. The reason for the fast live version is time restraints in the 70's. Songs were 3 and a little bit long and they had to try and fit 7 minutes into that. They literally did a time warp

It's just fun watching super skilled musicians rock out while clearly having fun themselves.

I believe there is a version of this song that may make your brain explode. A television show they went on only allowed a short time for them and rather than cut it they sped it up perfectly. Mind blowing craziness!

Are we going to ignore the EXCEPTIONALLY good recording for that day and age?

The reason the live version was so fast was that Midnight Special only allowed just over 4 minutes for the performance and asked the bank to cut the track to fit, but the band decided to speed the whole performance up and see how much of the song they could fit into the time allowed, hence the manic nature of the performance, I think that if used in conjunction with the studio version it is a great bit of fun, but some purists don't like the TV version

5:15 to 5:35 greatest 20 seconds of youtube I've ever seen

I love it. Taking a bong hit on this song is needed to fully engage. And honestly this song is exactly what music is all about. Self expression and having fun.

Focus is one the best underrated prog bands. Doug listen to the whole album and then check out Hamburger Concerto. Great stuff.

For those of us who grew up with this music, it is fun to watch Doug react to this music 40 - 50 years later. This particular clip is priceless! Bravo.

The highlights in my mind: "My pants aren't tight enough to hit that note" "Pretty weird so far" oh. Just wait my friend. "I can't believe this exists" and "how did I not know about it" - my reaction back when I happened upon it 😂

Being American, we will forgive you not to know this amazing band from the early 70´s. The guitar player is actually one of the best from these times, as well as the flute player. But I enjoy your surprises to the crazy stuff that is going on in this song. Welcome to Focus.

Hope it’s live version, from ‘73, as the manic pace and facial expressions of lead singer add to my enjoyment of the song. But studio version is solid as well 🙂

Been listening to this for 50 years and it still knocks me out every time I hear it.

WOW...I have heard this song a couple of hundred times in my life. I have NEVER heard this live version. As a hard rock and metal head I absolutely love this live version. Great job Focus!!!

“I can’t believe this exists” could be the slogan for Focus 😂

After a particularly rough start to the 5th chemo round, this brought me genuine joy. Doug, you RULE!

Moving Waves is a masterpiece, timeless, everlasting, the root of progressive rock. Listen to this albun everytime you can, it's good for your creativity and health as well.

I've been going down the rabbit hole on this channel, and I really needed this laugh today. Thanks Doug!

I prefer the live version of this tune on The Midnight Special; it's significantly faster and more maniacal, but every bit as tight. Plus, I'm old enough to remember seeing that episode of The Midnight Special on it's first airing date, and it was my first exposure to Focus ever. Later that December, The Midnight Special also gave me my first time hearing/seeing Genesis; one of the tunes they did was "Watcher Of The Skies", and I was a Genesis fan from then on. You should sometime do one of your videos on "Watcher of the Skies"...a great progressive rock tune. By the way, the unique vocalizing at about 6 minutes on your Focus "Hocus Pocus" video is an example of "eefing"...yep, it's an actual vocalization technique, that dates back to rural Tennessee about 100 years ago. All the best to you!

Thijs van Leer once said in an interview that "Hocus Pocus" emerged from unplanned jamming. Actually Jan Akkerman had setup his gear, while the other were still busy. He just played something and came up with this rif. Then the other members joined in and so the song came into existence... It became a huge hit back then.

This was a massive hit back in the day. Sylvia was another big hit, with brilliant guitar work by Jan, House of the King the B side. Both worth a listen.

Focus Live at the Rainbow is one of the greatest live albums ever.

9:10 "I can't believe this exists." LOL You're not the only one. 1/8/22, 12:25

Jan is a superb guitarist

Focus is so much more than this novelty hit. Listen to Eruption from Moving Waves. It is steeped in classical references and the musicianship is astonishing.

I love your reactions to this classic Doug. When you took a hit from the bong I nearly fell over, I think that's exactly what I did 35 years ago when I first heard this!

He goes even higher with the vocals in the live version 😳😳😳👍

Jan was shredding long before the term had been invented. Truly an amazing guitarist in every way. Goes from performing classical lute concertos to blues,rock or jazz.

If you watch the live version he yodels, plays the flute, whistles, chokes, stutters, stammers and encourages hamsters to sing along.

I knew the fast version would blow you away as it even speeds up after the flute solo. The musicianship is astounding. My brother introduced this to me when I was 11 & I'm still entertained by it.

I gotta say - this is the best Daily Doug by far! Even though I'm not a musician I always love the professional commentary on scales, what notes, etc. I like how you appreciate all forms of music as do I. Here's to many more Daily Dougs!

Eruption + Hamburger Concerto + Answers Questions are all Focus tracks that I’d be happy to see you look at any of… a band that doesn’t get enough attention

It's fitting that you're smoking up during this. A good way to experience it for the first time. Your facial expressions say it all. I never tire of people seeing/hearing this for the first time.

Halloween and Iron Maiden covering your song, what an honor!

I get so much satisfaction from observing people listen to this for the first time!❤❤❤

Jan Akkerman was just on a different level with his playing, he is unbelievable

Doug, they are still playing live. I saw them in a small music venue in Leeds October 2019. Brilliant. They did a 15 minute version of Hocus Pocus with extended drum and guitar solos. The yodelling is still great although understandably the high notes are left to lead guitar!!

Cut my teeth on this album in 1973. One of my earliest influences and probably my first exposure to jazz/rock. Akkerman was amazing. They considered it a joke.

This is one of my favorite "classic" rock tracks of all times

“I think he’s upset with the person who sold him his shirt.” PRICELESS!

I already got trivia on this piece! Back in the early 70s; when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, every wanna be rock guitarist had to play this opening riff at every audition for every garage band. The opening chords are difficult to play and they change fast. If you could play them like the record it was impressive and you usually got the gig. True to life knowledge from real life and not theoretical from a book.

The music is great. I've known it for 45 years. But the best thing is your joy at this unusual piece of "old" music.

Doug, I've been watching your channel for a little while now and the fact you are jamming to this song, and doing bong rips, makes me an even bigger fan. What a good time this was watching this video.

Jan’s lead guitar playing just blew me away when I started playing guitar. Saw this on TV and watched Jan play guitar. His hands moved up and down the neck like a spider. Never have I seen a guitar played like that. Never get tired of this song.

So here's my Focus story. Saw them live at a local college gymnasium around 1971-72 (hardwood floors, omg). One thing that can't be appreciated from the album was the IMMENSE VOLUME that they played at. Jan Akkerman with a gorgeous black Les Paul Fretless Wonder running through 2 Marshall stacks cranked to 11. I think Hocus Pocus was the encore and it was played at ear-splitting levels. What fun!!!

Focus were such a crazy band and we loved them in the 1970's just brilliant and bonkers, loved it!

This band was one of the best in the Progressive era. Nothing else like it at the time, and some real musicianship (which was also lacking at that time).

Things I never thought I'd see on youtube: A Doctor of music hit a bong while listening to Hocus Locus by Focus

"Eruption" from this album is a masterpiece!

Much of the music you're hearing for the first time, Mr. H., is what I grew up with. Completely delightful to hear your reactions and analysis.

I still remember finding this on KZfaq when I was like 17. I was teaching myself guitar and I had to learn it immediately. The riff was so cool, and Akkerman's solo is still one of my all time favourites.

I enjoyed this very much, although it's a pity in the "Focus live"-part you talked through almost every Jan Akkerman solo because you reacted to every Thijs van Leer intervention. So you missed a lot of brilliant stuff Jan played there.

Can't believe a guy with a grey beard has never heard of this amazing band!

A friend turned me on to Focus in 71 and loved it, all these years later, still great! The Orig. is the Best, still. Cheers!

Doug, thank you a thousand times over for featuring this band. They very rarely get the credit they so richly deserve. I think if you listen to all of the album Moving Waves, you'll here moments of grand creativity. Very beautiful.

This was such a wonderul era of musical creativity. I'm always finding hidden gems of songs and artists that the early 70s has squirrelled away.

On April 7, 1973 I saw Focus at Winterland in S. F., as the 2nd of two opening bands for Yes's 'Close To The Edge" tour...the opening band was Poco. Looking back, it now seems like an unbelievable lineup. But at the time it was one of many great concert lineups at Winterland arranged/produced by Bill Graham. Needless to say most everyone in the audience had been "timing" their hallucinogens to be peaking when Yes arrived on stage...And just as Focus was coming on, so were we. Nothing quite prepares one for the joyful and mind blowing experience we had that evening! I'll never forget it. BTW - These concerts, in the early '70s, happened during my "experimental" college years, well before I met my lovely wife Sandy. Peace and Love to all!

when I saw their performance, then in the last part, I immediately fell in love with what creativity and talent this eccentric is.

I remeber hearing this on the Dutch and Belgian radio stations back when I was a kid in the early '70s... boy, does that bring back memories!

Can you imagine that such a song was a hit? things were so much wider, possibilities. Focus 2 aka "Moving waves", and "focus 3" are amazing good albums.

Nicko's first Maiden lead vocal :) Hope he gets suitably paid :) Check out " House of the King " by Focus. It was used as a TV theme in the UK, fits perfectly :)

Ahaha, "herbal friend" This song is best enjoyed after a few tokes, I agree.

Have seen 99% of all the reactions Hocus Pocus but this was the best from all of them..Thx for this upload

Other iconic hipie song is Frankenstein of the Edgar Winter Group. I fully recomend it.

When this would come on the radio when I was a kid, which was quite frequent, I would jump around like crazy and play air guitar to this and of course sing the yodel. This was on the radio many times a day during the early to mid-70s. ☺ still love it

Hi Doug. Today I attended a Focus concert in The Netherlands, where the band was founded. After fifty (!) years still touring the globe. Vocalist Thijs van Leer (75 years old) and drummer Pierre van der Linden (76 years old) of the original line-up, performed just as powerful as they did in the seventies, including the astonishing jodeling parts! Former Focus guitarist Jan Akkerman was in 1973 voted 'best guitar player of the word' by the british music magazine Melody Maker. Todays line-up: Thijs van Leer: organ/flute/vocals, Pierre van der Linden: Drums, Menno Gootjes: guitar, Udo Pannekeet: Bass.

Doug, I love how you just ENJOY the music, no matter what it is, which was what my generation was all about.

Plenty more Focus from the 1970s to go at, Doug! Including some absolute epics, and some you may recognise. And of course "Sylvia". But this was one of "the" albums you HAD to own in the early 1970s, as a young male here in the UK. Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman... unique! Great band!

Never get tired of seeing reactions to what I call the "drunk and high yodeling leprechaun rock opera"..... especially when it's a reaction by someone as musically knowledgeable as Doug. Glad you enjoyed. Glad you watched the live version of Focus playing the song so you can see the facial expressions of the singer.... priceless.

I grew up in the 70s and this was such a part of my life. Your dad is an amazing man and one of my hero’s

This takes me back to my misspent youth back in the 70's and into the 80's. You always knew when this song was played on the stereo at a party that the party was getting good. I like the cover by Helloween and by Iron Maiden. It was sad that they had to speed it up for "The Midnight Special" but they had to fit the time constraints of the show. The fortunate thing about being on The Midnight Special was that it got them exposure to people that might not have heard them. THat show was so good because so many people got to see groups and artist that they liked and those that they didn't know, and got to see them perform live. No lipsync back then.

I remember listening to this when it came out. It grows on you the more you hear it. Just rifs, solos and yodeling. 😂

Saw them in 1973. Crazy wild show. They did the whole album, we wanted more after the encode so they repeated the first two songs from the album over again. Spencer Davis Group opened. The band and the audience where in outer space that night.

I believe the flute sound is achieved by the player vocalising the notes he's playing on the flute. Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull is one of many exponents of this type of playing.

The best version of "Hocus Pocus" is from the "Live at the Rainbow" album. It's BREATHTAKING! (LITERALLY so, as at one point Thijs van Leer yodels for almost A FULL MINUTE, and don't ask me how he breathed!) But seriously, that's not the best of Focus. The very best is "Hamburger Concerto" (it's about actual hamburger patties, with "movements" titled "Rare" and "Well Done", and the cover is the name of the record in the form of a diner neon sign). AMAZING musicianship! No yodelling, but Thijs does redefine the meaning of "vocalese" in several sections, and Jan Akkerman is at his best (and that's saying a lot when it comes to a guitar legend like him!). You should also check their solo albums, especially Jan Akkerman's ever-changing moods over the years. Thijs is also a renowned classical flutist and I suggest you have a listen to "Introspection 3", for example.

Nice fact: readers of Melody Maker in 1973 chose Jan Akkerman as the best guitarist in the world.

I have to hand it to you Doug. That really was one of your best videos to date. I had the best time watching your reactions to that song. I knew you wouldn't believe what you were hearing. Focus is a criminally underrated band. Who are just put down as a 1 hit wonder and to a degree it is not wrong. But within Europe they have been well known for DECADES. I applaud you sir for your open-mindedness. Don't let my user name fool you, I listen to a lot of different types of music. Cheers from Scotland.

I am SO glad you got to experience this song!! It's definitely from before my time, but I fell in love with it from the first time I heard it.

So many FANTASTIC tracks from this band. From the Hamburger Concerto to Sylvia, they were fabulous. I saw them at least three times and they were great. Anyone remember Fanfare for Europe?

Focus is an amazing band! 1000 people have reacted to this song. It’s their Circus number. But They have so much more. Fabolous musicians! Check out first 5 tracks off the next album Focus 3, or their Magnus opus Hamburger Concerto! And that’s just a start.

You NEED to dive into Focus. They were one of the prog pioneers… the rawness of the recordings is also a beautiful thing as well

Well done you reacted to the live version. That were crazy stuff. Amazing performance and amazing reaction doug. Im your fan from brazil

This is probably the best review I have ever seen or heard from Doug - my hats off to you!

Focus are still gigging and still releasing amazing music, Doug. They do play the States every so often, have done several Cruises to the Edge. You gotta see the force of nature that is Thijs van Leer!

Glad for you, Doug, that you finally heard this song. It was HUGE in the early '70s.

I wasn't expecting that rip......and honestly, it was perhaps the most epic I've seen - perfectly timed. Worth noting that Jan was a phenomenal player - sweeps and blistering scale fragments in the very early 70s!

Hi Doug, I have been enjoying your videos for a while. You caught my attention with your analysis of ELP tracks. In fact I was present at the last performance of ELP at the High Voltage Festival in London 2010. At the same festival I've seen Focus live ... with only Thijs van Leer as the original member. I grew up listening these and other progressive rock bands. Thanks for the memories and reactions. Please continue doing this.