An Incomplete Guide To Kayaking: Part 2
Posted on | April 20, 2008 at 12:08 pm | Comments Off
This is a continuation of my series of blog entries on the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak.
Phase 2: Prog Pop (1975-1977)
Royal Bed Bouncer
The first album in Kayak Phase 2, which I call their “Prog Pop” phase was their third album overall, Royal Bed Bouncer. The band lineup was pretty much the same as on the previous two albums, the only difference being the replacement of Cees van Leeuwen on bass with Bert Veldkamp. (Kayak has gone through a lot of bass players, and I’m probably not going to mention whenever there’s a new one.)
Even though the lineup didn’t change much, the music underwent a drastic shift in direction. The tracks were now shorter, punchier, and poppier, and they were songs. Max Werner grew into his own as a vocalist and his voice now started to match the material. Ton’s piano, always an integral part of the Kayak sound, also came into its own and gave a wide-stage dimension to the ballads as well as the rockers. Best of all, there’s some gorgeous melodies and catchy hooks.
The leadoff/title track “Royal Bed Bouncer” starts things off in an appropriately bouncy fashion, telling the fast-paced tale of a man with a strange occupation:
Who’s gotta bounce on his bed each night?
Looking for knives or some dynamite?
Only me – royal bed bouncer
Royal, royal bed bouncer
It’s a fast tempo song with at least three major hooks. And some hokey background vocals with the band saying “Royyyyal?” and laughing. It’s a good way to start off the album. Cool piano solo too.
“Life of Gold” follows – it starts off as a pretty solo piano/vocal ballad and then balloons up into a hook-filled showcase as more and more instruments are added to the mix. “Only you by my side…”
“You’re So Bizarre” is kind of a waltz, complete with trumpets. Again, it brings the hooks. Next is “Bury The World” which reminds me most of the kind of thing that appeared on the first two more-proggy albums. It’s a bit slow and unfocused for me, though the guitar riff is kind of nice.
“Chance For A Lifetime” was the biggest hit from the album. It has the Kayakians burrowing into some light-hearted science fiction territory with the story of a spaceship leaving Earth carrying the last survivors of a dying planet. I’m not being saracastic about the light-heartedness:
I’ll be your captain leader hero saint guide and king
The one who had this brilliant idea
I’ll be happy to accept all medals
For having saved all millions following me
We’ll sail the second Ark, tickets are cheap
You can alway choose a window seat if you wish
Let other people snicker, silly fools
When they come to grip with nature’s rules
We’ll be gone
Max Werner sings all this with the perfect mixture of gravity and silliness. This song is the first one that hits the Kayak formula that I most love. It’s fast-paced and starts out with a raucous synth riff that triggers all those endorphins in my brain. The guitar really comes into its own here – tasty fills and leads. And there’s a proggy instrumental section with harpischords and shit. This is Kayak playing to its strengths. It also shows how integral a part guitarist Johan Slager is, even when the guitar is not out in front. He’s a tasteful player who really rocks out when he needs to, and is the epitome of the “Kayak sound”.
“If This Is Your Welcome” starts off fast with a guitar solo playing over a bed of piano. And then it calms down into something of a ballad for the vocal sections. Inspired drumming and some melodic vocal hooks, especially in the break:
Long ago I held the key to your hearts and broke them all
I had the energy, time was on my side
Could I foresee I’d need you so?
It’s a melancholy song but I like it a lot.
“Moments of Joy” is another song that starts off as a ballad with a nice piano hook and then adds more instruments. The vocal line follows the piano notes a little too closely, which makes me lose some interest. The repeated piano hook in the outro salvages the song a lot. “Patricia Anglaia” is a short “instrumental” that starts off with some wordless vocals and pianos. Sounds like something you’d hear at a Parisian cafe.
“Said No Word” is the longest song on the album and has a lot of proggy touches to it, especially the instrumental section that starts off the song and repeats occasionally during it. It’s a decent melding of the pop/prog sides of the band, but it doesn’t have the hooks that some of the other songs have. Those instrumental sections are cool though.
“My Heart Never Changed” ends the album proper on another ballad-y note. It’s a short song with solo piano at the beginning. No drums or guitars on this one, but lots of strings and synths and woodwinds and plaintive vocals. It ends the album on a very low-key, depressing note.
As I said before, the CD contains a number of bonus tracks, most of which were songs from the first two albums. However, there’s also a weird little b-side called “Give It A Name”, which has a lot of talking, and what singing there is doesn’t sound like Max. In the liner notes, Ton says “The b-side Give It A Name is a joke, really. In it, we ridiculized the way many critics write their reviews – we got our fair share of that”. The music is quirky but not real interesting. For completists only.
There’s also a demo of an instrumental song called “Bulldozer” which has some nice riffs but is ultimately forgettable.
Favorite Songs: Chance For A Lifetime, If This Is Your Welcome, Royal Bed Bouncer, Life Of Gold, You’re So Bizarre.
Next: Phase 2, Part 2: The Last Encore.
Latre.