Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Kayak "Seventeen"

Welcome back fellow progheads!  Once again we find ourselves in The Closet Concert Arena continuing the search for all things prog.  What better way to follow up a trip to Ireland than refueling the Concert Closet and setting the GPS for the Netherlands?  This week we change tempo, mood, time zone, and decibel level as I take you my faithful followers to Hilversum in North Holland to check in with Kayak.



Kayak has been around for over 40 years yet managed to stay low under the radar--at least in the United States.  Kayak recently signed on with InsideOut Music and released album number
17-- appropriately titled "Seventeen" last week.  Hopefully  this will get them the exposure they deserve stateside and help them internationally as well.  For a band to have survived in any way, shape, or form for this long is no small feat and a milestone to be recognized. Alright already, enough talk...let's plug in those headphones and drop the stylus...

The album opens brightly enough with a tune called "Somebody."  Bart Schwertmann's vocals are complemented ever so perfectly with guitar and keyboard work that rides a wave designed to crash over your ears like ocean breakers taking down a surfer.  I pick up top notes of Crack the Sky and The Neal Morse Band as the music seems to cascade from the headphones, splattering the canvas with colors that Salvador Dahli would appreciate...

Perusing the playlist, I decide to check out a track called "Ripples on the Water."  A bit more serene than the prior offering as the opening piano bleeds gently into acoustic guitar that walks almost mystically right through the garden.  An instrumental piece, the music flows as delicately as tupelo honey, clinging to your ears as it drips slowly down.  The acoustic guitar leaves aromatics of Al DiMeola in the air, especially when the tempo picks up (just a bit).  Kayak goes deep with this cut; you can almost smell the freshness of the sunrise coming up over the lake while you're lying in the tall grass...

Liner Notes...Holland 1972; Kayak comes to life when founders Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman come together.  Originally playing with different bands, the duo brought other musicians into the fold and started what would become a journey through five decades and counting.  Of course the story includes bumps in the road and an 18 year hiatus...Kayak signed off from 1981 until regrouping in 1999.  At that time Ton (sans Pim) brought Kayak back together with the addition of a second vocalist and new guitarist; another short-lived experience.  Flash ahead to the present and Kayak has signed with InsideOut Music for the release of "Seventeen," the band's 17th studio record (one for each bird on the cover).

The current line-up is keyboardist/composer Ton Scherpenzeel--the only original member from the band's inception, along with Bart Schwertmann on vocals, Marcel Singor on guitar, Kristoffer Gildenlow on bass, and Collin Leijenaar on drums.  Camel guitarist Andy Latimer makes an appearance on the album too...



Learn more about Kayak, a band 46 years in the making, at Kayak Online as well as the InsideOut Music website Kayak InsideOut.  You can purchase "Seventeen" at either site along with their previous albums and check out other bands that make up the progressive stable at  InsideOut.  All of Kayak's music is also available online at Kayak Amazon  and for Apple aficionados at
Kayak iTunes.  The band has a Facebook page Kayak FB for keeping up with tour dates, videos, news, info, and the like.  Immerse yourself in all things Kayak...

One final slice of the buffet and it is a melodic piece called "Love, Sail Away."  Ton's keyboards share center stage with Bart's vocal talents as the canvas begins to fill with enlightening colors...hues that blaze a short trail of wonderment.  Echoes of Spock's Beard and Transatlantic flash through the headphones (which should come as no surprise), coupled with shots of Supertramp.  Kayak's journey through the prog garden has taken many twists and turns, all the while staying in the "currently on someone's playlist" section.

Offered up as a teaser of sorts to get you more in the mood to make a purchase, I bring you "Feathers and Tar."  Once again Kayak parades across the prog garden kicking up dirt and having a good time.  While Ton's strong keyboards seem to be a hallmark of their music, Kayak is not afraid to throw a good guitar riff at your auditory canals either...this is a band that enjoys life in the prog garden, so while you're here have a good time yourself...


And there goes another seven days in the prog garden fellow progheads; time well spent indeed.  Kayak picked up right where they left off as Ton put together a solid line-up to continue the 17 albums-and-counting tradition.  The prog garden is thriving as 2018 starts out of the gate.  Kayak is but a part of what is promising to be a bumper crop here in the prog garden.  With their new album available, now is a great time to add to your prog music library.

Which makes this a great time to add to the frequent flyer miles logged by The Closet Concert Arena.  The search for all things prog starts the next leg of a seemingly never ending journey...until next time...

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