Kayak were one of the most melodic and accessible bands symphonic prog produced, and a mainstay of the Dutch scene. Led by keyboardist and songwriter Ton Scherpenzeel, they married genuine progressive ambition to hook-filled songwriting and gorgeous vocal harmonies across a classic 1970s run and a fruitful reunion era. Here is our fellow fan’s ranking of a selection of their albums.

The short version

For the heart of Kayak, start with Royal Bed Bouncer, See See the Sun, Phantom of the Night, Starlight Dancer and Nostradamus. Between them they hold the band’s classic peaks and its grandest reunion statement. The full ranking is below.

Melodic Dutch symphonic prog

Scherpenzeel — later also of Camel — built Kayak around strong songs and rich harmonies, landing somewhere between prog and polished melodic rock. That accessibility won them hits at home and a wide audience, even as they reached for ambitious concept works and full-blown rock operas. Some prog purists find them a touch too smooth; others treasure exactly that gift for melody. Either way, they were a pillar of the rich Dutch scene that also gave us Focus and Earth and Fire. A note on the catalogue: it is large, and the nine albums here are a selection spanning 1973 to 2021.

How we ranked them

This is one fan’s order, weighing songwriting, ambition and craft across the classic years and the reunion era. The facts are accurate; the order is a starting point for the debate — and with a band this tuneful, every listener will have their own favourites.

The essential five

At the top sits Royal Bed Bouncer (1975), widely held as their classic-era peak — the fullest meeting of their melodic gifts and progressive ambition. The debut See See the Sun (1973) is a fresh, assured beginning, and Phantom of the Night (1979) carries their best-loved song, the soaring “Ruthless Queen”. Starlight Dancer (1977) is a melodic high point of the late-1970s run, while Nostradamus (2005) is the sprawling reunion-era rock opera that proved their ambition had only grown.

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Reliably great

The next tier is rewarding too. Seventeen (2018) — aptly numbered — is a strong, confident album from the band’s later years, and the self-titled Kayak (1974) is a fine early record that deepened the partnership at the band’s heart.

For completists

Two albums sit lower. Merlin (1981) is the ambitious concept piece that closed the classic era, intriguing but more uneven than the peaks around it, and Out of This World (2021) is a likeable recent set that lacks the spark of their finest. Both reward the devoted more than the newcomer.

A selection, in order

A selection of the catalogue, 1973–2021, in chronological order — with many more albums beyond it. Click through to the full write-up on any record.

Where to start

Begin with Royal Bed Bouncer — the album where everything Kayak did best comes together. From there, Phantom of the Night offers the hit “Ruthless Queen” and their most accessible side, while See See the Sun captures the young band’s first burst of promise.

Prefer to own them? Find these on Amazon: Royal Bed Bouncer · Phantom of the Night · See See the Sun

The players

Kayak were built around keyboardist and songwriter Ton Scherpenzeel, the band’s constant and chief creative force, whose melodic, classically tinged writing defined their sound from the start. Alongside him stood drummer Pim Koopman, a co-founder and, with Scherpenzeel, one of the band’s two principal early songwriters, who played with Kayak from its beginnings until his death in 2009. A succession of fine singers — and players such as guitarist Johan Slager and early vocalist Max Werner — gave the band its rich, harmony-laden voice across the decades.

Why they still matter

Kayak proved that progressive rock could be warm, tuneful and immediate without surrendering its ambition — a melodic counterweight to the genre’s more austere side. As a cornerstone of the Dutch scene, alongside Focus and Earth and Fire, they showed how much beauty a great song could carry — and their best work still rewards a listen decades on.

Go deeper

Keep exploring: read about the best Kayak songs, see every Kayak album in order, find your way in with our where-to-start-with-Kayak guide, or dig up the most underrated Kayak albums. You can also place them in the bigger picture with our list of the best progressive rock albums of all time.

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