Tuesday 1 June 2010

Kayak - Kayakoustic Live (2007)

Tracklist:
1. See See the Sun (intro)
2. What's in a Name
3. Only You and I Know
4. Anne
5. Threesome
6. Hold Me Forever
7. (You're So) Bizarre
8. Land on the Water
9. First Signs of Spring
10. Daughter or Son
11. Want You to be Mine
12. Ivory Dance
13. The Fate of Man
14. See See the Sun
15. Royal Bed Bouncer [*]
16. When Hearts Grow Cold [*]
17. Act of Despair [*]
18. Chance for a Lifetime [*]

The First Real Kayak Live Album – 7,8/10

After the frustrations of the financial problems concerning a possible second leg of the Nostradamus tour, Kayak decided to take it easy and do an acoustic tour with many old hits that have not been played in the tours of the rock operas. This album introduces the new bassist Jan van Olffen, who does a good job playing his instrument. Vocalist Bert Heerink has left the band and is now fully replaced by Edward Reekers, the man who sung “Ruthless Queen” in 1978.

In a way this is the first real Kayak live album. That title was something the band gave to 2001’s Chance for a LIVEtime, but with all those cuts and edits it could’ve easily been Eyewitness II. Kayakoustic features less edits and has got true speeches and words of thanks. Apart from that it’s got the greatest tracklist, featuring a lot of uncommon tunes from both the 70s and the 00s. It even goes as far to add a guitar solo, or at least a solo song by guitarist Joost Vergoossen, called “Threesome”, which serves as a beautiful intro to “Hold Me Forever”, now sung by Cindy Oudshoorn, who decided to become a permanent Kayak member after the last rock opera. As the name of the album might suggest, it’s all acoustic. Shows in the tour featured one half entirely acoustic, and the other half entirely electric. This album features half a concert, with four bonus tracks from the electric half including great surprises such as “Royal Bed Bouncer”. I am also very glad to see “Land on the Water”, “(You’re So) Bizarre” and “First Signs of Spring” on the acoustic side. All of them are true album tracks and true gems, and I’m glad Kayak decided they deserved to be played live twenty years after they were written. Another great surprise is the inclusion “Ivory Dance”, originally an instrumental b-side to “Phantom of the Night”. When b-sides get a live version, anything is possible. Perhaps a bit of a downside to this album is the sound quality. Everything sounds perfect, except Rob Vunderink, he is a lot softer than the other vocalists. Actually the whole backing vocal-section can use a bit of an overhaul.

You see, I don’t need a Freddie Mercury type frontman to make my live albums enjoyable; I just don’t fancy too much edits. This album features the necessary edits, but still maintains its live ambience by keeping some speeches intact and by letting the vocalists thank the audience for their applause. These are two necessities live albums should have, and this one has both. If you need a live album by this band, then it’s this one I’ll recommend, even though it’s acoustic.

Highlights: “Threesome/Hold Me Forever”, “Land on the Water” and “Ivory Dance”.

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