Search - Kayak :: Chance for a Live Time

Peak performance from Kayak

Surjorimba Suroto | Jakarta, Indonesia | 05/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, they may not be young anymore but Kayak still rocks! Came with their latest formation, live during Close to the Fire tour, old memories regains. The sound production is superb and the mixing is quite good. Ton's keyboard and piano playing is as beautiful as always. The others played well and very supportive. Almost 1/3 of the CD came from their latest CD and what surprises me was the song Merlin. This song never lost its magic.The new vocalist (ex Vandenberg) has a rock voice. On some tracks his voice wasn't appropriate with some Kayak songs, which we knew has lovely melodies and lyrics. Of course he's no Edward Reekers or Max Werner. Perhaps this is the only weakness in this formation and performance recording. Some songs were slowed down a bit and I really need to adapt to get the right mood and feeling.I really hope Kayak won't stop at this point. Usually old bands just reunited, made one album, several performances, and then died again. I would love to hear another one or two new albums from Kayak. Overall this live album (which is the first live album on CD. Eyewitness is not a true live album) is very recommended. Especially if you grown up with Kayak songs in the past and longed to hear the songs that brings memories back."

This time, is it live, or is it Memorex?

eveoflove | North York, Ontario Canada | 05/31/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Made in EU in 2001, Serial# PROCD-2027, Playing Time 86:09KAYAK re-united after an almost 20 year absence to record "Close To The Fire" back in 2000; this 2-disc set was recorded during that tour, which introduces a new vocalist (Bert Heerink) and a second guitarist (Rob Vunderink).Though many believe that 1981's "Eyewitness" was recorded in concert, it wasn't: the crowd noises were added in the studio to give the record a "live feel"; a CD version is available without the overdubs.CFALT is impeccably recorded, and the performances are adequate, but not outstanding; then again, the magic of KAYAK relies on the writing skills of keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel and, on occasion, drummer Pim Koopman. The material performed covers tracks from their first album, "See See The Sun", all the way to their latest studio album, with perhaps too much emphasis on the latter (7 of the 18 tracks).Still, it presents a good retrospective of their material, but it will please the novice more than the longtime fan: the vocals aren't as efficient, the versions are a bit subdued, causing some disappointment compared to the original studio recordings. The total duration is somewhat short for a 2-disc set, but if you're avidly waiting for a follow-up to CTTF, this will make a fine pacifier."