Saturday 10 April 2010

Kayak - Starlight Dancer (1977)

Tracklist:
1. Daughter or Son
2. Starlight Dancer
3. Want You To Be Mine
4. Letdown
5. Irene
6. Golddust
7. May
8. Turn the Tide
9. Dead Bird Flies Forever
10. Sweet Revenge
11. Where Do We Go From Here


Take a Step Down – 7,6/10

Alas, the great rhythm section of the previous two albums decided to call it quits and thus drummer and composer Pim Koopman and bassist Bert Veldkamp leave the band, leaving Ton Scherpenzeel the only composer in the band. The new combination of Charles Louis Schouten on drums and Theo de Jong on bass has, though unintended, clearly dismissed the enchanting sound of the previous two albums, yet didn’t give an awful sound in return. Scherpenzeel was still in charge of the songwriting and this guy rarely has bad ideas (with the exception of “Love me Tonight/Get on Board”).

Starlight Dancer is one of the most difficult albums to rate. Though it contains real gems and treats like the title track, “May” and “Dead Bird Flies Forever”, there are those songs that don’t really turn me on, but are quite nice when being played such as “Daughter or Son”, “Turn the Tide” and “Letdown”. At times it sounds as just a random compilation of songs recorded around the same time. Yet a bad album this is not. Those songs I mentioned in the latter group mostly don’t have anything really memorable to keep them going. There is a good theme or two, some enjoyable tunes at the moment of listening, but afterwards, no one remembers them. Quite a “Letdown” that is. Tracks that leave a more memorable impression include the first group. “Starlight Dancer” is easily a classic Kayak song; it begins with a gentle piano intro and vocals but later emerges into a heroic and epic up-tempo symphonic rock song of the likes only Kayak can produce. The same formula is spotted in the brilliant “May”, which I consider even more glorious than the hit “Starlight Dancer”. Kayak also never disappoint in the instrumental tracks, which are few, but really beautiful. “Irene”, dedicated to Scherpenzeel’s wife, is one of the most sensitive and beautiful instrumental tracks I have ever come across. No wonder it’s still a live track in today’s setlist.

Apparently vocalist Max Werner felt sorry for Scherpenzeel having to write all the songs alone, so he wrote one as well. “Golddust” was the result and to be honest I quite like it. It’s a short and swift offbeat track with memorable melodies and great piano accompaniment. The song sounds like Kayak through and through, even though it lacks either Koopman’s or Scherpenzeel’s hand, since it seems there is a different keyboardist playing here. Considering Werner’s composing qualities, it would’ve been nice to hear more of them on Kayak albums. Scherpenzeel doesn’t disappoint either with the funk-influenced “Want You to be Mine”, which also became a hit and a favorite stage track. “Dead Bird Flies Forever” and “Where do we go from Here” are always considered a duo by me. Why I do not know. Both are very epic in sound, slightly reminding to The Last Encore album, which always is a positive song. And there’s of course solid rock track “Sweet Revenge”, which really shows some balls, yet is produced with too poppy a sound, causing it to come alive only on stage, yet the studio version is quite good and blends in nicely with the ballads. As you see the majority of the tracks are still good quality, as Kayak’s albums will always have, yet there are uninspired tracks scattered throughout the album in the shapes of “Daughter or Son”, “Letdown” and “Turn the Tide”. The fact that one of them is the opening song on my version of Starlight Dancer decreases my will to listen to this album.

In short, Starlight Dancer is a good record, but doesn’t live up to Royal Bed Bouncer or The Last Encore, and is slightly more commercial in sound, thereby containing more hits. But, if you are not familiar with Kayak, Starlight Dancer might be more easy to ‘get’, so I guess I would recommend this to those unfamiliar with the band.

Strongest tracks: “May”, “Dead Bird Flies Forever”, “Where do we go from Here”, “Starlight Dancer” and “Irene”.
Weakest tracks: “Daughter or Son”, “Letdown” and “Turn the Tide”.

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