LIVE 2019

Kayak is a Dutch symphonic / crossover prog group originating from the seventies. Founder Ton Scherpenzeel (keyboards, composer) was left but nothing but the Kayak legacy, after co-founder Pim Koopman had died in 2009 and the steady line-up until 2015 had all but dispersed into different projects. But then the tables were turned for Scherpenzeel; in 2018 the well-received album 'Seventeen' was released on InsideOut music with a completely new line-up. The band now reinvigorated, it got booked (by Glassville Music) for better venues than before and listening to this simply stellar album it isn't hard to see why.

This is a classic rock / prog concert. It has that musical flair of Queen, that symphonic hardrock of Saga, the heart crushing guitar leads of Camel and that unmatched harmonic and melodic song-writing by Kayak. Though the often gentle and classical influenced keyboards of Scherpenzeel are still the basis for the songs, he is now accompanied with this amazing band that almost outplays him. Guitarist Marcel Singor enhances every melody he touches with his thick lucid guitar tone and adds melodic hardrock finesse and splendor to all the songs. Bassist Kristoffer Gildenlow (former Pain of Salvation) became a fulltime member for the tour, he needs no further introduction. As much I may personally admire the guitar playing of Marcel Singor, he can't help being unable to outshine the newly introduced lead vocalist Bart Schwertman. His performance is worth studying for aspiring vocalists; his immense skill, endurance, variety and sense of style is unmatched by any prog concert I know of. The material ranges from mid-seventies symphonic prog, hardrock, modern symphonic, art pop to rockmusical - songs already sung by three different types of vocalists before him. Yet he finds a common feel to tie everything together in a strong-willed, heartfelt and - above all - festive classic rock vibe.

This 2019 version of Kayak simply crushes some of the original versions of songs like 'Daphne', 'Still My Heart Cries For You', 'Alibi', 'Irene' and 'Starlight Dancer'. On top of it the band produces a stellar version of the band's greatest hit 'Ruthless Queen'. The material of 'Seventeen' sounds significantly better than on the record as well and the albums two mini-epics 'La Peregrina' and 'Cracks' shine brightly here.

With an amazing energy, a strong recording sound and an almost perfect two hour long set-list Kayak delivers what must be one of the best live albums of modern progressive rock. I enjoy it as much as Arena's ''Live & Life'. An essential album for fans of symphonic prog, classic (art)rock and neo-progressive.

To try and put together a potted history including all the details of what has happened to this band over the years is a task beyond me, but let's just say that since their inception back in 1972 they have been one of the most important progressive rock bands in the Dutch scene. Keyboard player and composer Ton Scherpenzeel had basically given up on bringing Kayak back together again but decided to start afresh with a new line-up and in 2017 they released 'Seventeen' which reached #6 in the Dutch charts, their highest placing since 1980. This led to some tours with a line- up of Bart Schwertman (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, percussion), Marcel Singor (guitar, vocals), Kristoffer Gildenlöw (bass, vocals) and returning drummer Hans Eijkenaar. They recorded some of the dates, and the original idea was to make a live album available just to fans on their next tour with The Flower Kings, but after that was shelved a decision was made to have it available through their website instead. I have the version which has been released as part of the wonderful True Music Guide series (#17), which is an A5 booklet containing an interview and photos, but as this was a limited edition I am not sure if it is still available.

Anyway, it is all about the music, and this double CD set lasts nearly two hours, yet it flies by. Here we have a band who may only have got together for the tour, yet the name has a long history and the crowd know all the songs and are there for a great time, and of course the band reacts to that. Schwertman and Singor are new names to me, but they are more than up for the job. Scherpenzeel is at the helm, which given he wrote or co-wrote virtually all the 22 songs on display is no surprise, and with a strong rhythm section it allows Schwertman and Singor to really relax into their roles. Singor is a very powerful guitarist, and if this band had been formed 20 years later than they had, then they would be discussed as neo prog as certainly in the live environment that is how their material comes across. Hard rock, melodic rock, progressive rock all combines together to create music which is dynamic, forceful and plain great fun.

Schwertman may have been an unknown before joining the band in time for the last album, but he is at home with the old material as he is with the new and is a singer with plenty of range and emotion. Let us all hope that Scherpenzeel fully recovers from his heart attack, and that this band can again get back into the studio and then onto the stage as nearly fifty years down the road, Kayak still have a great deal to offer the prog world.