Monday 31 May 2010

Kayak - Nostradamus - The Fate of Man (2005)

Tracklist:
1. The Secret Study 1
2. Overture
3. Friend of the Stars 1
4. Celestial Science
5. The Student
6. Dance of Death 1
7. Fresh Air, Running Water, Rose Pills
8. The Monk's Comment 1
9. Seekers of Truth 1
10. Dance of Death 2
11. Save my Wife
12. The Monk's Comment 2
13. Pagan's Paradise
14. The Inquisition
15. The Wandering Years
16. The Monk's Comment 3
17. If History Was Mine Alone
18. Friend of the Stars 2

1. A Man With Remarkable Talents
2. Settle Down
3. The Monk's Comment 4
4. The Flying Squadron
5. Dance of Mirrors
6. A Royal Invitation
7. A Cruel Death + The Monk's Comment 5
8. Tell Me All
9. The Tournament
10. The Golden Cage
11. Seekers of Truth 2
12. Living in Two Realities
13. Act of Despair
14. The Secret Study 2
15. The Centuries
16. (You Won't Find Me) Alive at Sunrise
17. Friend of the Stars 3
18. Epilogue - The Fate of Man

From Rock Opera to Musical... – 6,8/10

I always like to think of Nostradamus as a rock opera gone out of hand; Scherpenzeel and Koopman’s enthusiasm that took the project too far. The success of Merlin – Bard of the Unseen probably caused them to go this far. They released another concept album; a double album. And this time it’s not 14 tracks of sheer brilliance, this time it’s 36 tracks with lots of tracks containing just some storytelling. A limited edition containing 12 tracks (or so) has also been released, for those who can’t stand musicals... maybe I should take a look at that.

The problem with this musical is not that it’s boring or badly composed; it’s just overlong. I love concept albums, but the problem with each and every single one of them is the unity as an album, thus making it almost impossible to single out standout tracks, since they’re all part of the album. At the time of release, I couldn’t really grasp this album. I have less trouble with it now, but it won’t be one of my favorites. There is a very large role-playing aspect to the album; Rob Vunderink takes care of all the enemies of Nostradamus; Bert Heerink plays Nostradamus; Cindy Oudshoorn (again) sings as Nostradamus’ second wife Anne Ponsarde; Monique van de Ster will star as the queen of France Catherine de Medici; Syb van de Ploeg plays the part of Jules Cesar Scaliger, Nostradamus’ friend and later enemy; and we see a returning Edward Reekers as a monk who comments on the story from heaven and is the storyteller. Apart from that, there are a few backing vocalists and Bert Veldkamp left the band so Ton Scherpenzeel plays bass here. Not that it matters; I hardly noticed Veldkamp’s bass playing anyway.

The first CD starts off quite fresh, but soon becomes dull and uninspired, with a few exceptions. The musical is introduced with “The Secret Study”, featuring Edward Reekers on vocals for the very first time since 1981. “Friend of the Stars 1” is the true entrance of the cast with each party introducing themselves a bit in a verse in a cheery ode to Nostradamus. The atmospheric “Celestial Science”, which contains a great melodic guitar solo by Joost Vergoossen, begins in the youth of our seer and the uplifting pace in “The Student” with Vunderink on vocals promise us a nice journey. Both “Dances of Death” feature depressing and slow signs of the plague entering the city, but are oh so tempting to skip. The beginning of “Fresh Air, Running Water, Rose Pills” features organ and lead guitar, and soon evolves in a melodic and slightly epic rocker to show how Nostradamus thinks the plague must be fought. A few chit-chats by Reekers later Van de Ploeg makes his entrance in “Seekers of Truth 1”, whose instrumental theme sounds like a rip-off of ABBA’s “Supertrouper”. The song itself sounds more straightforward rock than others, but ends up without having anyone impressed. “Save my Wife” is a highlight of the first CD, being a sad piano ballad where Nostradamus’ first wife and children have died. Heerink portrays the man and his situation expertly; he sounds as if he’s almost crying, and that works contagiously. “Pagan’s Paradise” is an uplifting introduction to queen Catherine de Medici disguised in a synth-rock track with slight resemblance to “The King’s Enchanter”. Then “The Inquisition” features a nice Hammond riff and verses, but blows everything with lacking originality in the chorus and an annoying Gregorian chant in the break. The rest of this album is not worth mentioning or listening; they don’t get stuck in your head anyway.

The second CD also begins strongly and gets weaker. “A Man with Remarkable Talents” sounds like an 80s disco track with Vunderink really starring as a vocalist. Nostradamus gets married again in the romantic duet of “Settle Down”, a piano ballad with an epic touch and a wonderful guitar solo. “The Flying Squadron” increases the pace with a touch of up-tempo rock. Highlight here would be the instrumental “Dance of Mirrors”, featuring a violin in the main theme, a driving rhythm on the drums and a disarming theme. “A Royal Invitation” shows the quality of Kayak’s ballads and “Tell Me All” takes it all back to rock ‘n roll, though beginning with a piano intro. An instrumental depiction of battle later we have a great power ballad in “The Golden Cage” with Van de Ster shining on vocals. Later songs really focus on the pathos and are increasingly depressing. Better tracks are the classic Kayak ballad “Act of Despair”, classic mostly due to the familiar vocals of Edward Reekers, and the instrumental “The Centuries” with its uncommon rhythm and time signature. Tracks like “Living in Two Realities” tend to rock but just sound like one chaotic mess, partly good because that’s probably what Nostradamus’ head is like at that time in the story, but partly bad because it really lacks any hooks. The “Epilogue – The Fate of Man” is a good closing track, though I find it wanting to be as good as 2003’s “Avalon”, while it doesn’t even come close.

There you have it. I see this album does not work as an album. If performed as a musical, which Kayak did, it could be great and unforgettable, but as an album it bores halfway and just is too long. I never liked listening to musical CDs anyway, and this is a musical only performed for one year and without a DVD performance... If all we have of this musical is this album, then the memory WILL fade away. Recommended to advanced Kayak fans.

Strongest moments: “Save my Wife”, “The Golden Cage” and “Act of Despair”.
Weakest moments: “Dance of Death”, “The Inquisition”, “The Wandering Years” and “The Tournament”.

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