NIGHT VISION

Surprisingly, Kayak returned in the new millennium after a long absence from the music industry, with the excellent album Close To The Fire. Night Vision followed this great come- back album. Comparing the two, Close To The Fire wins out by a wide margin. However, this does not mean that Night Vision is a bad album. Not at all! Like on Close To The Fire, we find here a collection of well written and melodic songs with several progressive aspects. These aspects are not omnipresent, however, and are most strongly felt on a few songs. Overall, this is towards the Prog Pop side of things.

The sound of 00's Kayak is quite different from that of 70's Kayak, but on this album there are somewhat stronger musical connections to early Kayak than was the case on Close To the Fire, which I think had a more Neo-Progrogressive sound to it. The similarities with 70's Kayak is most apparent in the Supertramp-like moments on some songs. Other bands that you might compare this music to are Alan Parsons Project, Asia, Camel, 80's Kansas and perhaps Barclay James Harvest. The balance between rockers and ballads tilts somewhat towards the ballady side. Some people would probaly find at least some of the lyrics a bit cheesy and surypy. But there are some good rockier moments as well with good guitar work.

The Celtic influences that were present on Close To The Fire are absent here, but at least one song is quite folky, Carry On Boy. This song has very nice harmony vocals. The opening track, Icarus, is the longest, most progressive and best track of the album. Like the title-track on Close To The Fire, I immediately liked Icarus upon hearing it the first time. But it can hardly compete with the excellent Close To The Fire.

If you like Kayak, Night Vision is a worthy addition to your collection. But it is hardly essential!

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