Hocus Pocus by Focus - Live

[Madguitrst]

Was there a rock guitar player who could touch this guy at that time?

[guitfiddle]

Jan was a badass. Proto-shred, IMO. All the elements of shred are there, but not strung together at a zillion mph.

[taez555]

Man, that's a pretty good Gary Hoey cover... ;-)

[xjojox]

Jan was more proto fusion than shred I think. Much jazz phrasing and harmony in his playing. He was also really able to disconnect from theory and rules and come up with really off the wall phrases that just worked. But sometimes he meandered too far and either got lost or maybe just lost me...But he sure could play and was way outside the box at a time when most rockers played (as DiMeola famously observed) with two fingers.

[oxtone]

Was one of our fave songs back in the 70's! Jan was untouchable in those days - he was great! Thanks for sharing this.

[Trebor Renkluaf]

Love the expressions Thijs makes - classic!

[DustyRhodesJr]

What is he playing on that? Some type of Gibson, but the body looks rounder and the fretboard is slanted at the 22nd fret.

[Rod]

I think it was a model he had made for him or was it an L5s? My memory!!!

[Joe Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by Madguitrst

Was there a rock guitar player who could touch this guy at that time?

I lived through that era and that was the worst Focus song by far. They did have some really good and very jazzy stuff.

[Brian D]

That's some crazy stuff.

[dunara]

Wonderful clip. Jan's Les Paul was a Recording (or maybe a Professional?) that he had re-topped. Sadly it was stolen.
Let's hear it too, for drummer Pierre Van Der Linden!

[Jube2550]

The scale run to the sweep around 2:51 is astonishing (as are most of Jan's fills) considering how long ago this was. Wish they had more camera work on his hands though.

I got hooked on this video from another thread and keep coming back to it every now and again. Just insane playing all over from all the band members but that guitar playing is a shred fest in 1973!! That is some precision at blistering tempo, comparative to the original, and they nail it with ease.

[hahavishnu]

Originally Posted by DustyRhodesJr

What is he playing on that? Some type of Gibson, but the body looks rounder and the fretboard is slanted at the 22nd fret.

Framus

[Madguitrst]

Looks like a Hagstrom to me (?)

Whatever it is, Gibson appears to be making a clone of it:

[Neer]

I think the studio version of the song contains one of, if not the best, rock guitar solos ever.