Out of Focus' first album does an interesting take on jazz- and blues-inflected progressive rock, with a peculiar German twist on music similar to British prog like Traffic, Jethro Tull, and Gravy Train.
The crack rhythm section propels the music along on repetitive but unusual funk grooves over which guitar, organ, and flute riff and take turns soloing.
Though more song-oriented than later efforts by the group, there are plenty of long instrumental passages with some classic heavy psychedelic guitar burn-up as well as chunky organ chords and airy flute flights to give the music plenty of texture.
Moran Neumuller's gruff voice and awkward English may turn off some listeners, though the dark humor of his lyrics on tracks like "God Save the Queen, Cried Jesus" show a group who's political without getting stuck in the rut of their own dogma.
For many bands, a record as good as Wake Up would be a worthy culmination of effort, though with Out of Focus it was only their launch pad as they continued onward and outward with even better subsequent releases.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | See How a White Negro FliesOut of Focus | Out of Focus | Play | 05:53 | 13 MB | 33 MB |
| 2 | God Save the Queen Cried JesusOut of Focus | Out of Focus | Play | 08:00 | 18 MB | 39 MB |
| 3 | Hey JohnOut of Focus | Out of Focus | Play | 09:17 | 21 MB | 46 MB |
| 4 | No NameOut of Focus | Out of Focus | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 5 | Worlds EndOut of Focus | Out of Focus | Play | 10:01 | 22 MB | 48 MB |
| 6 | Dark, DarkerOut of Focus | Out of Focus | Play | 10:01 | 22 MB | 0 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 36 mins | 185 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remigius Drechsler | Guitar |
| 2 | Hennes Hering | Organ, Piano |
| 3 | Thomas Klemt | Engineer |
| 4 | Mack | Engineer |
| 5 | Moran Neumuller | Flute, Saxophone, Vocals |
| 6 | Out of Focus | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 7 | Jonas Porst | Producer |
| 8 | Matthias Porst | Photography |
| 9 | Mark Powell | Coordination |
| 10 | Vicky Powell | Project Coordinator |
| 11 | Marco Rossi | Liner Notes |
| 12 | Ch. Ruthenberg | Sleeve Illustration |
| 13 | Klaus Spöri | Drums |
| 14 | Stephan Wisheu | Bass |
| 15 | Becky Stewart | Package Design |
| 16 | Ben Wiseman | Digital Remastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |