Photo by Christophe Vico
Cleopatra’s groundbreaking series of Melanie reissues and new releases continues with one of the most legendary, but also unexpected, collaborations in her long career.
In May 1988, Melanie was invited to open the annual Internationale Chansonweek in Leiden, Netherlands, and initially intended performing with a scratch band of local musicians. At the next-to-last-minute, however, all concerned agreed that the band was not working out.
Enter, then, Jan Akkerman – widely regarded among the greatest guitarists the Netherlands had ever produced, and best-known for the years he spent with Focus, the long-running Dutch prog act whose worldwide hits included a string of groundbreaking albums and the still-sensational “Hocus Pocus.”
They rehearsed at a friend’s house for a couple of hours on the day before the show, before Akkerman introduced one of his own friends, Santana percussionist Santana, Raul Rekow, and that was the trio that took the Chansonweek stage for a dynamic set that ranged across both old Melanie favorites and material from her latest album, and still found room for Akkerman and Rekow to improvise a fabulous instrumental of their own.
“I knew [Jan’s] music,” Melanie said last year, recalling how her husband and producer Peter Schekeryk was a fan of Focus “back in the day. I was, too, but it was Peter who would bring the albums home, and we’d sit there listening to these amazing musicians, making the most incredible music.
“And suddenly, there I was on stage with one of them, playing my songs! I kept thinking I ought to pinch myself, but I didn’t because it felt so good.”
Melanie In Focus is the first ever release of this performance, the CD and vinyl both alive with all the magic that fans of both Melanie and Akkerman have come to expect. With sleeve art that captures the spirit of Focus’s own albums, it is a must-listen for everyone who has ever been touched by the two artists’ music, and confirmation of something else Melanie said last year.
She was recalling how some of her favorite musical moments were those when she was able to surprise her fans. A song, a joke, a hairstyle… “I really enjoyed the looks on their faces, or the sound of their voices,” she explained. “I’ve seen so many artists who just play their set or record their songs and you know exactly what you’re going to get from them. I never wanted people to say that about me.”
This, however, was the night when she surprised even herself.
- DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/melaniejanakkerman_infocus
- CD/VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=melanie+jan+akkerman&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
Track listing
- Beautiful People
- Chosen Few
- What Have They Done To The Rain (CD bonus track)
- Bon Appetite (CD bonus track)
- Jan Akkerman/Raoul Rico instrumental
- Every Breath of the Way
- Working Legend
- Loving The Boy Next Door
- Can’t Do It When I’m Not In Love
- Together Alone
- Private Parts
- Prematurely Grey (CD bonus track)
- What Have They Done To My Song, Ma
- Tuning My Guitar
- Lay Down
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