Search - Kayak :: Royal Bed Bouncer

Kayak's Masterpiece Stands The Test of Time

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 05/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"25 years after it first came out, the third (and best) album of the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak remains as enjoyable as ever. From the opening sounds of the title track through classics such as Life of Gold and Chance of A Lifetime, each track shows the band at its peak creativity and performance. The 9 bonus tracks are primarily tracks from their first albums "See See The Sun" (tracks 11-12) and second album "Kayak" (tracks 14-15-16), as well as some B sides of various singles. This reissue is a companion piece to a compilation (not available anymore) simply called Kayak (not to be confused with their second album of the same name). These 2 CDs essentially put all of Kayak's materials of the EMI years (their first 3 albums, plus various non-albums singles) out on 2 (separate) CDs. As amply demonstrated by the other reviews on this album, Kayak (era 73-75) is a widely under-recognized progressive rock band and this album shows why. A must for every fan of progressive music!"

Not a Prog Album, Just a Great Album

Peter V. Salsedo | Redwood City, CA United States | 02/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1975, the progressive rock category hardly existed and was defined more in terms of the Rock/Jazz fusion of the time and less in terms of the subsequent New Age, Cybermusic that now defines this category. So even while Kayak may have been one of the early forerunners of Prog and embraced that evolution in subsequent albums, the comparisons with what has ensued really does an injustice to this particular album, which goes far beyond the scope and limitation of any such classification. Comparisons with Kayak's contemporaries of that time such as Yes and ELP derive from comparisons of Kayak's keyboardist, Ton Scherpenzeel, with Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson. But the comparisons end there. A more apt comparison needs to be made to its contemporaries in terms of musical themes and ideas expressed mainly in the lyrics but carried through beautifully in the music. On that score, Kayak was much closer to the pop/rock of Pink Floyd, the Who, and, dare I say, the Beatles. Royal Bed Bouncer is about terrorism (title track), exodus (Chance for a Lifetime) and romance (Life of Gold). It is a humorous and adventurous album. It succeeds in a more concise way of expressing these themes and ideas than does Pete Townsend's "Lifehouse" project or Roger Water's "Amused to Death". But, anyone who is a fan of Terry Gilliam's film "Brazil" would love this album. To be clear, this is not a rock opera, but it has that same quality in the way that concept albums like "Sgt. Peppers" and "Abbey Road" have in terms of evoking a romantic musical imagery and philosophy. In short, it kind of makes you think, perhaps in a profound, but not a complex way, that we do not live in the best of all possible worlds; except maybe when we are listening to music like this."

Not the best prog album but still not bad

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 02/19/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Kayak, along with Earth & Fire, Ekseption, Focus, Alquin, Supersister, Trace, and Finch, is one of the biggest names of Dutch prog. While Royal Bed Bouncer, released in 1975, is not the best prog album I have ever heard, it's not bad either. The music is all quite straightfoward, song-oriented format, so you won't find extended suites, complex time signatures and constant tempo changes. No killer Mellotron passages (the album does have some Mellotron, but it's hardly impressive at all). Or lengthy side length epics. If you want an earful of keyboard, you'll be disappointed as there is little to no solos or keyboards that stick out in general. The music is listenable for the most part, but there's plenty of more pop elements that might turn off the more diehard prog fanatics away. There are a couple of throwaway cuts on the album, but in general it still a worthy album, just that I don't consider it a classic or essential. At least it's not as bad as Kayak's largely uninspired and flat-sounding 1977 album Starlight Dancer. In my opinion, as far as Dutch prog is concerned, Earth & Fire's Song of the Marching Children (1971) and Atlantis (1973), Alquin's Marks (1972) and The Mountain Queen (1973), Focus' Moving Waves (1971), and especially Finch's Glory of the Inner Force (1975) are better albums to try."