PHANTOM OF THE NIGHT

This is my first foray into Kayak and also incidentally into writing a review. I was talking to a friend last week and somehow Ruthless Queen came up. So this week I thought I would give this album a listen. Turns out I have now listened to the album probably 6 or 7 times, so clearly there is something to this album that sticks.

The first impression is how much this album sounds like late '70s Camel, in particular Breathless. Phantom of the Night and Breathless were also recorded and released around the same months in 1978, so the similarities are quite coincidental. But It is probably no surprise that Ton Scherpenzeel (the principal composer) ended up working with Andy Latimer at Camel from the early '80s onwards.

The order of the songs in Apple Music is different from the listing on ProgArchives and from that I can gather is the same order on how the album was released in The Netherlands on vinyl. I think the order on vinyl makes sense musically (Winning ways, Keep the Change, Ruthless Queen, Crime of Passion, First Signs of Spring, Daphne, The Poet and the One Man Band, No Man's Land, Journey Through Time, Phantom of the Night).

There are two sides to the songs on the album. There quite a few basic pop/rock songs, such as Winning Ways (quite nice), Keep the Change (very middle of the road), Crime of Passion (passable), The Poet and the One Man Band (shades of Down on the Farm), No Man's Land (very simple). If these were the only songs on the album, then it would be a forgettable experience.

Luckily the others rescue this album from obscurity. Ruthless Queen, First of Springs, and Phantom of the Night are great songs, but perhaps not the most progressive in song structure. Daphne and Journey Through Time are the most progressive songs on the album and the latter song nicely segues into and Phantom of the Night as the closer. All these songs are well composed and each offers something interesting, if not overly progressive.

I read on Wikipedia that Ton Scherpenzeel was unhappy with the mixing of the album and that the recording was plagued with issues in the then new studio. On this remaster I am happy to say that the sonic quality leaves very little to be desired. The musicianship is of a very high quality and also the vocals of both Edward Reekers and the backing female vocalists sound great. Definitely pleasing to the ear to listen to.

I have doubted whether to award 3 or 4 stars as I think it deserves more than 3 stars for the five best songs, but ultimately landed on 3 as the most appropriate rating. Well worth a listen if you like Camel from Breathless onwards.