Phantom Rhythm

This 1996 album picks up where Dancing the Blues left off three years earlier, with producer John Porter and most of the same studio cast. There's more of a New Orleans flavor this time, with barrelhouse pianist Jon Cleary contributing a couple of originals to go with such classics as Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" and Fats Domino's "Let the Four Winds Blow." Bonnie Raitt and a full vocal chorus help kick "I Need Your Loving" into overdrive. Mahal's one original is the tender, acoustic country-sounding "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes".

Starlight Dancer (1977). Like fellow proggers Genesis, the late '70s saw Kayak make an abrupt shift to glossy but thin radio-friendly pop. Though Koopman remains as a lyricist and arranger, the rhythm section has been replaced by the quite conventional bassist Charles Schouten and drummer Theo DeJong. The ostinato bass and hi-hat on "I Want You to Be Mine," for one, smell strongly of a discothèque. "Ballad for a Lost Friend" shows an increasing predilection for Queen-like bombast by the guitarist, though it and "Still My Heart Cries for You" do revive some of the band's old aggressive sense of dynamics. But more typical is the bland closing instrumental "Irene." There's a certain coldness to the proceedings, and the band's virtuosity has been watered down for easy digestion. Though not a bad album on its own merits, it's likely to alienate fans of their early work…