Comments for Kayak, Merlin

The first half of this album is comprised of a fine suite of five songs that run together and tell the story of Merlin, based, I would say, on the Mary Stewart trilogy told from that character`s point of view. The sound ranges between piano based ballads and symphonic rock, with sinuous guitar solos and lots of keyboard hooks from Ton Scherpenzeel, who soon after joined Camel. Edward Reekers voice is similar in range and tone to Chris Rainbow (of APP), although he sometimes verges on qualities that recall Jon Anderson or even Fish. I have heard this album described as "disappointing" but have to totally disagree with this statement, unless they were meaning the almost totally banal (with the exception of the last track) second side, rather than the assured, slick first side. Obviously, the band felt real inspiration with the material for the first side: this suite of songs flows seamlessly together, with some string, horn and vocal supplementation to further fill out the sound. It tells the myth of Merlin without ever getting sidetracked into the lives of other characters and, if Merlin singing in such a high voice seems unusual, then imagining the Stewart realisation of this archetypal figure helps. The cover artwork is inexcusably boring, featuring just the name of the band and album and it`s a shame that they didn`t make a whole progressive album, but overall it`s still well worth consideration for fans of Arthurian stuff. (Ian C. Thomas)

first heard this album about 10+ years ago when mum used to play it. I then didnt hear it again for a long time, and its still to this day, a fantastic album that contains some of the best song ive heard, being a fan of things fantasy and magical i can really connect with the songs. first 5 songs are about merlin, tintagle castle and all things based on king arther. the other 5 are still great songs, but not connected to merlin etc etc. well worth buying and i would recomend it to anyone that is into fantasy and king arthers realm and all that stuff.