''Close to the Fire'' is the 9th studio album by Dutch

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

, released in 2000. It was a comeback album, the first since their split in 1982. The line-up was almost the same as the one that recorded the album ''

Royal Bed Bouncer ''Royal Bed Bouncer'' is the third album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, released in 1975. Their progressive approach from the first two albums was mixed with a more basic pop/rock sound. Nine of the ten songs were written by Ton Scherpenz ...

'' in 1975. Only guitarist

Johan Slager Johan Slager (born 8 June 1946, Amsterdam) is a Dutch musician best known as the original guitarist of rock band Kayak. He co-founded the band along with Ton Scherpenzeel, Pim Koopman, and Max Werner in 1972. He left the band in 1982 after nine ...

was not involved. He was replaced by Rob Winter. By 1997, Kayak founder members

Ton Scherpenzeel Ton Scherpenzeel (born 6 August 1952) is a Dutch keyboardist, composer, lyricist, and founding member of progressive rock band Kayak, together with Pim Koopman and Max Werner whom he met whilst at the Hilversum Muziek Lyceum (Hilversum College o ...

and

Pim Koopman Wilhelmus Frederikus "Pim" Koopman (11 March 1953 – 23 November 2009) was a Dutch musician best known as the drummer and percussionist of rock band Kayak. Biography Born in Hilversum, Koopman co-founded Kayak in 1972, along with Ton Sche ...

decided to work on new material. They had no name for their project yet, and it was not their intention to release the songs as Kayak. Apart from Scherpenzeel and Koopman, no former Kayak members were involved at this stage. Lead singer on the demo versions was Alex Toonen, from Dutch

band "For Absent Friends". Record companies were not immediately interested, and the songs were not developed further. Then, original Kayak singer

Max Werner Max Werner (born 29 December 1953 in Hilversum) is a Dutch vocalist, musician, and drummer. He was the lead singer, drummer, and percussionist of the progressive art rock band Kayak. In 1972, Werner co-founded the band along with keyboardist ...

offered to have a go at the demo's. With his vocal sound the songs got a genuine Kayak feel, and it was decided to release the songs as the new Kayak album. The album was relatively successful, reaching # 54 in the Dutch album top-100 and staying in that top-100 for 6 weeks.Dutch Charts
/ref> More important was that media and fans were interested in the band again. Scherpenzeel and Koopman decided to continue the 'new' Kayak. Max Werner left after a short tour in 2000. The last song on the album is a newly recorded version of "Ruthless Queen", Kayak's biggest hit from 1978. Lead vocalist on the new version is

Syb van der Ploeg Syb van der Ploeg (born 15 June 1966) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. Career He was the lead vocalist for the song "Ruthless Queen" released in the 2000 album '' Close to the Fire'' by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. In 2000, he a ...

. He was lead-singer of Dutch band "De Kast". Members of that band were big Kayak fans, and in 1999 De Kast asked Kayak to join them in a TV-special. That was one of the things that encouraged Kayak to reunite. Apart from Syb van der Ploeg, Kast-members Sytze Broersma and Peter van der Ploeg also play on "Ruthless Queen". The song "Full Circle" has a guitar solo by

Andrew Latimer Andrew Latimer (born 17 May 1949) is an English musician and composer. He is a founding member of the progressive rock band Camel and the only member who has been with them since their formation in 1971. Best known as a guitarist and singer, L ...

, leader of the British

band

Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

. Ton Scherpenzeel played in Camel, though not constantly, from 1984 until 2003.

Track listing

# "Close To the Fire" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 8:11 # "When Hearts Grow Cold" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 3:08 # "Dream Child" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 3:30 # "Frozen Flame" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 6:34 # "Forever" - 4:48 (Koopman) # "Worlds Apart" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 5:12 # "Crusader" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 4:39 # "Two Wrongs (Don't Make A Right)" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 3:35 # "Anybody's Child" - 5:01 (Koopman) # "Here Today" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 3:34 # "Just A Matter Of Time" - 3:34 (Koopman) # "Full Circle" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 5:55 # "Ruthless Queen (new version)" (Scherpenzeel/Linders) - 5:00 Bonus tracks on Japanese CD release: # "Cried For Love" (Scherpenzeel) - 3:23 # "Love Lies" (Scherpenzeel) - 3:42

Members

- keyboards, backing vocals, accordion *

- drums, backing vocals *

- lead and backing vocals, percussion *

Bert Veldkamp Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

- bass guitar * Rob Winter - guitars, backing vocals

Guest musicians

- guitar on "Full Circle" *

- lead vocal on "Ruthless Queen" * Sytze Broersma - backing vocals on "Ruthless Queen" * Peter van der Ploeg - acoustic guitar on "Ruthless Queen" *

Annet Visser Annet may refer to: Arts and media * Lord Thomas and Fair Annet, an English folk ballad * '' Anett Futatabi'', a 1993 video game * '' Aldri annet enn bråk'', a 1954 Norwegian film People * Armand Annet * Peter Annet * Annet (given name), includ ...

- flute, recorder * Femmes Vattaal - percussion * Lorre Trytten - violin on "Full Circle" * Arthur Polini - additional vocals (miscredited as "Arthur van Pol") * Holger Schwedt - additional percussion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Close To The Fire 2000 albums Kayak (band) albums