PHANTOM OF THE NIGHT

This is the first Kayak record I've ever listened to, and it won't be the last. Going into this blindly as I did, my heart sank when I saw the band photo; they looked like Abba's extended family (must be a palindromic problem). But I see with my ears when it comes to music, and the dutiful organ came back with a different report. It told me of a progressive pop band that could hold its own with the masters of that sometimes maligned genre: Supertramp, 10cc, ELO, Alan Parsons Project and the softer late '70s entries from Gentle Giant and Camel. [I'm listening to "Journey Through Time" right now (my favorite track on the album) and there's almost a Hackettsian mad glee about the whole thing.] It's strictly second-tier stuff, but if you're already buying works by Tony Banks or Anthony Phillips, by all means venture into the world of Kayak. The elegiac "Phantom of the Night" or the tuneful "The Poet And The One Man Band" (trust me, it's better than it sounds) are highlights, but Phantom of the Night is rarely less than engaging. The melodies from Ton Scherpenzeel are ingratiating, not brilliant; the guitar work from Johan Slager has a Latimer-like quality to it; Edward (he's better than he sounds) Reekers has a stout but sympathetic voice. Put it all together and you've got a progressive pop band that resides somewhere between Genesis and Supertramp without touching them. I'm happy with this record right now. If I find that Kayak gets deeper, so much the better. If they don't, they've still achieved something here.