Kayak - Phantom of the Night (1978)

Tracklist:
1. Keep the Change
2. Winning Ways
3. Daphne
4. Journey Through Time
5. Phantom of the Night
6. Crime of Passion
7. The Poet and the One Man Band
8. Ruthless Queen
9. No Man's Land
10. First Signs of Spring



Commercial Success Strikes Once Again – 6,5/10

Phantom of the Night is the album to mark a lot of changes concerning both the band and its success. The entire rhythm section has been renewed once again and so has the vocal section; this is the first lineup that would hold on for more than just two albums. With their first release they marked their big breakthrough in the USA with top-5 hit “Ruthless Queen”. Kayak has never succeeded in making a truly bad album, so when they went commercial, they still did it with style. Though not as great as their previous works, they still delivered an album that would top most other commercial albums, yet I don’t believe the current lineup is showing their full potential here.

As said before this album again features changes in the lineup. Vocalist Max Werner suddenly didn’t like his voice anymore and wanted to drum instead. He only sings lead vocals on “No Man’s Land” here. Together with Ton Scherpenzeel’s little brother Peter Scherpenzeel on bass he takes care of the rhythm section. Who’s to sing now? Edward Reekers was promoted from Kayak-fan to Kayak-vocalist and no matter what you say, wow that man can sing! He is totally different from Werner, having a more accessible and less raw voice. His range is impressive and the sound he emits is beautiful. He was the right man for the charts. The backing vocals have been enforced with two ladies, Irene Linders, Ton’s wife, and Katherine Lapthorn, Peter’s wife, resulting in a whole different Kayak sound. All these changes, a more accessible vocalist and a female backing choir, are destructive to the trademark Kayak sound, yet it creates a new sound. Phantom of the Night is a lot more polished, very smooth and very accessible. The only problem is: since when is Kayak accessible? And that’s where this record goes wrong. Though this album made them tour in the USA, they disappointed the progressive rock fans.

It’s all clearly visible with opening song “Keep the Change”. Though it’s a nice song to hear, there is nothing to recognize here. Werner’s voice, the classic Scherpenzeel compositions; it’s all gone. They are truly going mainstream, releasing such hits like “Ruthless Queen” and the title track. Supposed rock tracks like “Winning Ways” have become polished and smooth, resulting in a poppy track. There are some recognizable Kayak themes in “Journey Through Time” and “Crime of Passion”, but they are not executed like in the past. “No Man’s Land” is the sole track to fully sound like the old Kayak, mainly due to the absence of Reekers and the female backing vocals. Since it’s Werner singing here it sounds mostly like a leftover from the Starlight Dancer sessions. Reekers soon seems to shine mostly in the gentle tracks. Ballads like the title track, “Ruthless Queen” and “First Signs of Spring” rely mostly on his voice, but do sound very nice. He has a truly enchanting voice at those ballads, but does less good a job on the more ‘active’ songs like “Keep the Change” or “Winning Ways”. There he is just the singer, not a notable one. The compilation of these tracks sounds good, but not great and do not leave you hungry for more. There are however two standouts.

Every album has their classics, and so does Phantom of the Night. The first you’ll come across is “Daphne”. Lyrically based around the myth of Apollo and Daphne, it has this classic epic formula: it begins gently with gentle pianos and the vocals, which by the way are excellent here, and soon becomes faster and shows Reekers at his full potential. In structure and style it’s a bit of a copy of “Starlight Dancer”, but certainly stands its own. The second classic would be “The Poet and the One Man Band”. It’s quite a strange song with a poppy ambience, but has this special touch to it: a bit of a mix between pop and funk with its fair share of prog. The neat synth solo near the end finishes it with style. And that’s another good thing about the album. How slick the production and the songs might be, Kayak still has solos. They still have songs with substance and that is why this album is not bad. They might have pursued a direction I’d rather not have them pursue, but they do it with style.

All in all, Phantom of the Night is very different from older Kayak albums. The main change would of course be the switch of vocalists. The album sounds quite slick in both sound and production, but that’s probably why the mainstream embraced this album. If you are new to Kayak I guess I could recommend this album, if you are a pop fan. If you prefer progressive rock then check out masterpieces such as Royal Bed Bouncer or The Last Encore.

Strongest tracks: “Daphne”, “The Poet and the One Man Band” and “No Man’s Land”.
Weakest tracks: “Winning Ways” and “Journey Through Time”.