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Review 6 (Amazon 2)
(Simon) Second solo release - For Focus devotees this is perhaps Akkerman's finest solo effort as he makes use of many the same characteristics one would find on Focus recordings. There is a nice mix of classical, folk and rock pieces here including some work with small orchestral arrangements that all work splendidly. Akkerman's guitar work is tasteful and passionate throughout. This is a wonderful recording well worth owning
(Gavin Wilson) A glory from the progressive era - Back in 1973, rock guitarist Jan Akkerman temporarily put down his electric guitar, took up the lute, and raided the 400-year-old back-catalogue of lutenists such as John Dowland and Anthonie Holborne.
Such things just don't seem to happen any more. Jazz musicians such as Keith Jarrett extend their repertoire by delving into the Baroque era, but I don't know how many of today's rock musicians have the interest or capability to do likewise, even if their record companies were interested.
I have to say that the styles in this album are so varied that, even at the height of the 70s progressive era, it probably sunk with very little trace. There are solo lute pieces, lute with orchestral backing (the low points of the album for me - too Wakeman-esque), rock and jazz rock. For me, the solo lute pieces are the highlights and a total joy, and I will certainly buy several more lute / John Dowland CDs. It's sad that Akkerman didn't record an album entirely of lute songs, but I can imagine that his record company insisted on including some rock tunes to attract the Focus fans.
I should add that if you like this, you will almost certainly enjoy the ECM CD, 'In Darkness Let me Dwell', dedicated to John Dowland tunes.
(Trevor Nash) Creative beautiful music - A fabulous recording showing great versatility of the artist and variety for the listener. Something pleasant and interesting for quieter times, late nights etc, but quality music not muzak. I bought this on recommendation comments and was not sorry, well worthwhile.
(Chazz Hamilton) Jan Akkerman! - I have loved & appreciated Jan's work since I first heard him with Focus, over 40 years ago. This album, to me, is timeless. For any fans of seminal Progressive/classical/jazz/world guitar music, this is one of the recordings that defined the genre. Please, just buy it. And listen, and listen, and listen again ... Peace!
(A K Gee)
Focus on Jan - I believe this is the first solo album for this Focus band member. For those familiar with Focus, this cd is a must have. The sound quality is very good, better than the vinyl version I bought back in the seventies!
Review 5 (Amazon 1)
(Anonymus) A whole lotta lute - Focus were burning up the world charts, band colleague van Leer was turning out rather wishywashy solo flute stuff and selling well, the youthful Akkerman ego was in overdrive ... what to do but swish him off to New York for his own "I am a serious artiste oh yes" album - dig the manicured Messianic cover! - and let him get stuck into some classical lute stuff. And very nice too, though Akkerman playing a lute is like Merlene Ottey running in clogs - give the man a geetar, please. And in fact the stand out tracks are guitar based - Javeh, a dark & moody acoustic thing, semi-improvised apparently, and extremely haunting, and the long "suite" - choke on that, Thijs! - Lammy, celebrating Akkerman's girlfriend at the time - the foxy chick on the inside cover - with choirs and all sorts of things and a central acoustic & orchestral melodic burst that is simply heart-lifting. The Akkerman career has been an odd journey since the dizzy days of Tabernakel and the lute is rarely dusted off these days but the music he makes continues to be some of the most fascinating around.
(Richard Sewell) A bit hit 'n' miss in terms of solo lute music - JA's Rainbow concert encore on You-tube introduced me to the world of lute music (and there are 2 tracks from Tabernakel which can be viewed on his website). That being said, having heard quite a bit of lute music since then, I found this to be a rather odd combination of great and not so great music. The first track is a version of Dowland's fantasia (the same as the Rainbow concert encore), but spoilt by the additional instrumentation which overpowers the lute. Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 feature solo lute, sometimes played with IMO too much force on the strings (perhaps this is typical of guitarists who then go on to play lute: Julian Bream is also wont to do this, although not to the same degree). These caveats aside, the choice of pieces is very good, and it's worth checking out seeing how lutenists like Nigel North tackle them. As regards the non-lute pieces, they're, well, OK (yes, I was and still am a fan of Focus). In this respect, the album is typical of the unevenness of 70's albums in terms of musical quality. In many ways JA helped to bring the lute in from the cold in the 70's (in a similar way to Sting's more recent activity), for which praise is due, but if you want to hear absolutely top-class lute music, explore elsewhere afterwards.
(Bruce Langridge) A classic in places - I wonder if Jan Akkerman had got a bit carried away with his cult status when he made this. A messianic cover, choral parts of Lammy (the album's epic piece) that sound they are heralding the king, a bizarre version of Focus's House of the King and a serious helping of unfashionable lute. When I bought this album in the mid 1970s I thought of Akkerman as some kind of messianic music figure and kind of went along with it. Now ... well, I still love the album and although I always liked Jan's lute playing, I probably would have preferred more of the experimentation of Javeh, the acoustic/orchestrated stand out track for me. Lammy is also great, especially the electric guitar work that follows on the breathtaking style of Fresh Air from the Profile album.
(D Lewis) A mixture of the unexpected and simply ... mixed - Not sure what to make of this album, moments of brilliance, moments of crass .... If you're looking for Focus type material from Jan - forget this album. If you want chill out, quiet soothing - forget that too because it rises and falls, it quirks and grates, it pleases and maddens all at the same time, sometimes in the same track. Its not classical, its not classical Focus even, it is classical introspective, self indulgent 70s music, but Lammy is b****y good all the same.
Review 4 Jon Davis
Jon Davis (on the reissue)
In Focus, Jan Akkerman was one of the most interesting and distinctive rock guitarists of the 70s, and with this solo album, originally released in 1973, he showed an amazing range. Six of the ten tracks are performances of Renaissance pieces for solo lute (by Dowland, Morley, Holborne and others), and Akkerman plays them with great flair and energy. The other tracks range from slightly rocked-up orchestrations of lute pieces (“Britannia" by John Dowland) to revised versions of Focus tunes (“House of the King” featuring Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice) to full-on progressive epic of “Lammy”, a multipart suite for lute and guitar (acoustic and electric) with small orchestra, choir, rhythm section and harpsichord. Akkerman’s partner for the bulk of the album is George Flynn, responsible for keyboards, orchestrations, conducting and co-arranging. There is some truly stellar playing here, such as the acoustic guitar workout on “Javeh” backed by harpsichord and chamber orchestra, in a decidedly non-Renaissance style, which provides a foreshadowing of “Lammy” to come. The suite starts with a distorted organ trading chords with a choir, then moves into an atmospheric section that builds into a jam with a sitar-like guitar solo. Other sections follow, recapping earlier ideas and breaking new ground, making for fourteen minutes of wonderfully inventive music. While the music is in general pretty serious, the lightness of the solo lute pieces offsets the bombast of the choral sections perfectly. It’s great to see this old favourite available on CD – it’s truly a gem.
20141031
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