KAYAK
694592
CD
NIGHT VISION
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SONG-BASED (PROG)This followed their superb ‘Close To The Fire’ comeback album in 2001. You get 14 hook laden tracks from the pens of Ton Scherpenzeel & Irene Linders, with keyboard, guitar, bass & drums arrangements to die for, although this one tends to rock a bit more in places. Kayak have existed as a band for almost three decades, so that tells you something about how popular they are in their native Holland! This album, like all their others, provides a good balance between the pop and progressive music fields of play – It’s a quality melodic rock album that straddles the outer edges of the prog genre on the longer pieces, reverting to pure pop on others, and these are the songs tend to be instant qualifiers, where as the longer, ‘progier’ pieces need a play or two to get to grips with, which is as it should be. They are a professional unit that really can ‘play’ - Scherpenzeel’s keyboard talents are endless, creating themes and lead lines that can send shivers down the spine at the turn of a chord. The emphasis is always on melody and solid structure, whether it be a ballad or a rock song, there is always a hook, always a memorable melody line and lyrics that seem to fit perfectly within the feel of the instrumental backings created around them.
Just check out the eight minute opener – an impressive piece of progressive rock entitled ‘Icarus‘, as it soars into action riding on the edge of melodic metal, but a clear vocal and melody line is ever present, plus there is fantastic hook-line in the slower passage in the middle section. This track is similar to the type of material on the magnificent ‘Merlin’ album, with some great synth soloing going on in the mix under a wall of keyboards and tuneful guitar soloing as the piece bows of in dramatic style to close with a reprise of the slower central passage and hook – a grower and a great track! ‘Miracle Man’; follows a similar path the opener, but it’s shorter - It features an ELP style Moog lead that initially blazes the intro into to what can only be described as an anthemic piece of powerful melodic AOR, but keeps its presence well felt throughout as in continues to soar into the heavens during the track’s near five-minute playing time. ‘Cassandra’ is the first ballad, and it’s a first rate one at that, featuring a typically strong Kayak melody line that prevails throughout. The same is true for ‘A Million Years’ - a superbly moving ballad with a great lyric that Pim Koopman again delivers with real passion, symphonic synths, a weeping electric guitar break in the middle and a hook to die for – so what more could an old romantic possibly want? ‘Water For Guns’ opens with an intro shared between Scherpenzeel’s piano and Rob Vunderink’s electric guitar and proceeds into a fast-ish paced AOR song with yet another infectious hook. ‘The Way Of The World’ is a brassy, melodic rock song with strong vocals and strong synth work from Sherpenzeel, backed up by a small, but pretty effective brass section. ‘Hold Me Forever’ is Kayak at their best – There are not too many band’s around that deliver romantic ballads as well as these guys do, and this one features the added textures of a real string section to add to the one-man orchestral symphonic textures provided by Scherpenzeel’s keyboards. ‘Tradition’ is the 2nd of the longer progressive biased cuts – A typical piece of Kayak storytelling played in a similar style to the title track on their brilliant ‘Merlin’ album, with all the superb soaring synth work and band interplay. The track moves through fast powerful passages to more mellow moments with impassioned vocals, it has a strong chorus, tuneful Floydian guitar leads, PFM styled dramatic instrumental interplay and loads of symphonic synthesizers. ‘All Over Again’ is a beautiful love song with a heartfelt vocal leading the way. The chorus is instantaneously memorable and tends to hang around in your head for some time after the track closes – Hey, these guys could show Westlife a thing or two! ‘Life Without Parole’ is basically a guitar lead rock song with a typically catchy chorus, then there’s ‘How’, another of those heartfelt soft anthemic style ballads this band are so good at, with a beautiful mix of mellow, melodic guitar, accordian & keyboards providing a great backdrop to Koopman’s fine vocal treatment. A brilliant ‘whistle’ style synth intro opens ‘Carry On Boy’, a song that seems to evoke a traditional theme involving a soldier. The keyboard melody stays with the song as the backing vocals build the song to the stage where electric guitar takes over the maid melody line – there’s almost an Abba feel to the chorus of this track! ‘Good Riddance’ is a fast-ish synth/guitar-led rocker that is nothing really special, but again it has a strong chorus and there is certainly nothing bad about the song, it’s just not quite as strong as some of the others. ‘Rings Of Saturn’ closes the album and is an instant hit – it sets in your brain as fast as super glue – Just seconds in and the highly infectious synth melody and chorus are firmly stuck in your head, and it is songs like this that epitomise just how good a song writing team Scherpenzeel & Linders really are. You order a Japanese issue of this CD with a bonus track by using order item number: 697826
Weight: 150.00 g
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