Kayak - Merlin (1981)

Tracklist:
1. Merlin
2. Tintagel
3. The Sword in the Stone
4. The King's Enchanter
5. Niniane (Lady of the Lake)
6. Seagull
7. Boogie Heart
8. Now That We've Come This Far
9. Can't Afford to Lose
10. Love's Aglow



A Milestone - 8/10

After two to three substandard albums Kayak delivers Merlin, a return-to-prog record featuring the same lineup as on Phantom of the Night and Periscope Life, how unbelievable it may seem. The first half of the album is led by the story of Merlin, the wizard who guided King Arthur during his reign. For the first time since 1976’s The Last Encore, the band sounds fresh again, and that’s exactly what makes this record stand out. It’s also the final album featuring both female backing vocalists, Irene Linders and Katherine Lapthorn, although the former will remain to write lyrics on later releases. Unfortunately, due to the lack of success at that time for this album, this makes the group’s final full-length release before the reunion in 1999.

We have seen many sides of Kayak, but never a symphonic record with our dearest Edward Reekers on vocals. Therefore the opening track sounds recognizably Kayak, but yet refreshingly new. “Merlin” has this arctic wind intro with Reekers singing the best melodies he has done since he took the vocal duties from Max Werner. After a while the song bursts out into a fast-paced symphonic rocker with heroic melodies and great atmospheric synths. Reekers sounds powerful in the rock verses and for the first time really fascinates me in a rock song. The song also shows the full potential of Kayak’s multiple vocalists. Though they never lent lead vocals to someone else since Pim Koopman left in 1976, they always had backing vocalists. In the break they perform a multi-vocal interplay with great harmonies. “Tintagel” takes the enchanting atmosphere created by the title track even further into a mystic ballad with piano accompaniments. On to a more rock song again with “The Sword in the Stone”, they took some royal melodies and make the listener feel medieval, as if he were living in the medieval ages. “The King’s Enchanter” features more of the catchy melodies and high-quality symphonic music, but the final blow is being given by “Niniane”. An epic end to the sad story of Merlin and King Arthur, depicted by a gentle piano ballad with a stunning reprise of “Merlin”-‘s vocal melodies and a great piano solo by Ton Scherpenzeel. There’s something magic about these five tracks. They belong together as they bear the concept of Merlin the Wizard with them. It’s been a long time since we’ve heard music of this great a quality from Kayak, even though previous albums had good songs.

The second half of the album continues the stuff already heard on Periscope Life, yet is infected with the same freshness of the first half that makes it more worthwhile. “Seagull” is the hitsingle for the album; a yearning ballad with an epic touch. “Boogie Heart” is a relaxing track with a funny hue to it. It’s actually a bit of a hippy song. “Now That We’ve Come This Far” is a ballad with, as usual, great vocals from Reekers and a very epic theme included. This might as well be one of the finest ballads Reekers recorded. There’s a disco-influenced track in “Can’t Afford to Lose”, which might as well be a left-over from Periscope Life, but it’s likeable. Album closer and atmospheric ballad “Love’s Aglow” features Ton Scherpenzeel on lead vocals for the first and last time. His voice has a sound closer to Max Werner than to Reekers, but still sounds different. It’s a bit more hoarse and puffy, yet fits this song perfectly as it goes absorbed in the ongoing atmosphere of the song. It’s a pretty satisfying album closer. The second half is not as good as the first and continues more in the pop-style we’ve already heard on the predecessor. This doesn’t take away that it features some of the more brilliant material of the era of this Kayak lineup.

All in all, Merlin is a true comeback into the symphonic/progressive rock scene and finally features this lineup at its full potential. Unfortunately it’s also the last studio album Kayak would release in the 20th century. The album is however highly recommendable, though very hard to get. Nevertheless I can say it’s worth the trouble to get it.

Strongest tracks: “Merlin”, “Tintagel”, “Niniane” and “Now That We’ve Come This Far”.