The scene in the Netherlands has been quite a massive treat
for Prog Rock fans to sink in their hands with of looking at some of the
overlooked bands that never got any achievement in the states and were ahead of
their time. But they received cult status and word of mouth status from bands like;
Focus, Golden Earring, Alquin, Earth and Fire, and Canterbury’s twist with
Supersister. But from the outskirts in the European country, is one of the most
overlooked and obscure bands to come out of that area filling with Symphonic
and Pomp Rock in the ‘70s and that is Kayak.
Formed in 1972, this five-piece band came out of Hilversum
by Ton Scherpenzeel and the late great Pim Koopman, played in various band
before forming Kayak. Alongside Scherpenzeel and Koopman, there was also Max
Werner on lead vocals and percussion, Cees Van Leeuwen on Bass, and Johan
Slager on Guitar and together, they would create something that supernatural,
thrilling, and captivating beyond the listener’s imagination.
And their first two albums, See See the Sun and their sole
self-titled second album, re-mastered by the people at Esoteric and a
well-researched liner note done by Wouter Bessels, contributor for the Dutch
Progressive website, Progwereld, who’s done the Earth and Fire, Machiavel, and
Alquin catalog to name a few, has done a spectacular job doing investigating
about Kayak’s music about how they came to be and marking the 40th
anniversary of their formation. Still, since they began, Kayak’s music still
freshens and crystallizes the structures like no other.
See See The Sun, their first album, originally released in
1973 on the Harvest label which was home to Barclay James Harvest , Edgar
Broughton Band, and Pink Floyd, starts off with the sonic driven introduction
of finding your dreams on Reason For It All.
Featuring a concerto like intro done by Scherpenzel on the piano while
Slager’s heavy guitar chords is right in your ear as if he’s paying tribute to
Steve Howe as Max Werner’s vocals is right behind you telling a story and then
it becomes this classical orientation in the midsection to come jumping at you
with its homage to the Fragile-era from Yes.
The heartfelt ballad on writing a song with Lyrics, has its
touching elements, mellotron and romantic positions that tells you that writing
the first letter in the alphabet is not always easy as Cees Van Leeuwen comes
in to shine with his Rickenbacker on doing some thumping bass lines as Pim
Koopman takes over the vocals dealing with the mystical and greek mythology on
a ship to the crew members and who you can trust and getting out of the sinking
boat in this mini humoristic opera drama on Mouldy Wood.
Elsewhere, Lovely Luna is a moody and spacey haunted folk
tale about a dream which resembles Ramases Glass Top Coffin-era with some
wonderful acoustic minor chords and mellotron touches as Pin’s vocals has this
spooky double-tracked vocalization, but then it turns into a dramatic rocking punch
filled with sinister guitar lines, swooping synths, mourning organ and soaring
background vocalizations and then back into the Gothic Folk finale. Hope for a
Life is a pre-AOR powder keg on who it’s hard to tell the truth and thinking on
what is right and what is wrong.
The haunting and disturbing fairytale on Ballet of the
Cripple, which is about a one-legged ballerina, feels like something straight out
of a short story of the Weird Science and Fantasy comic books in the 1950s. But
the piece has some cathedral organ mellowing atmosphere, carousel music gone
wrong, and structures of 10cc’s The Original Soundtrack-era and PFM’s Storia Di
Un Minuto in there as well with a terrifying view on how its messed up it to
sell millions and adoring its showcase.
Forever is a Lonely Thought offers a gentle folk ballad
turned into a space-age elevated beauty while the bouncy vicious attitude of
Mammoth featuring a Barrel Organ which was unexpected for a band to use a
street instrument that was used for a small animal like a monkey for example, to do tricks
and would make attention for audience to see what they would do, here it’s a weird
and fun track. And while the stirring finale of the title track featuring an
accordion in which they used for the ballad Wintertime, has a very fantasy
musical element in there as the bonus track for their single, To Write a Book,
contains parts of early Genesis, Gentle Giant, and King Crimson.
Kayak’s sole self-titled second album, which original title was,
His Master’s Noise, but rejected by EMI in London, released in 1974, saw the
band going into the waters of the mainstream, but staying true to their
roots. Still carrying the elements of their
first album that echo the Progressive-Pop and Rock sounds, it was more
science-fiction and mellowing at times to feel that you are in a world of the
unknown.
But with a lot of the orchestral sounds still in there that
resemble the Irish Symphonic band, Fruupp that could have been a trademark with
Kayak’s music on Mountain Too Rough and the fiery opener, Alibi showing the
band going into more of an AOR (Album Orientated Rock) approach. Serenades
seems like it was recorded in 1980 and resembles Queen and Rush working
together on Permanent Waves while the 6-minute epic, Trust in the Machine shows
Kayak going into a Space Rock adventure into the solar system and across the
milky way.
The bonus track, which are the A & B sides of the singles, are quite fun. You have the ‘70s Glam Rock
humor in there with the foot-stomping single We Are Not Amused about an evil computer
trying to take over the world, but it’s taken down by its followers who felt
they were ratted in by the machine itself as Give It a Name is another
whimsical tune. This one is very interesting: dealing with the contracts and
how the music business wants a hit commercial single with a touch of calypsos
and has a Jazzy and Soul feel on how you can get trapped in the scenery with no
way out.
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