About the band: Kayak is a Dutch progressive rock band formed in 1972, and still going strong after a time-out from 1982 until 1999. Their singles and albums sold well in the Netherlands, but they made little impact internationally. A pity, because they are my favourite Dutch band. Kayak currently have seven songs in my list of about 200 best pop/rock songs of all time.
About the song: the legend of Merlin became the subject of two albums by the Dutch group Kayak. The first album from 1981, entitled Merlin, dedicated one side to this subject, the later album from 2003 (Merlin - Bard of the Unseen) took the original five songs (re-recorded), and added seven more. Both albums contain the ballad Tintagel, named after the castle that plays such an important role in the story. As good as he original was, it is the later version that I like even better by virtue of its beautiful orchestral introduction, before the story of Arthur's birth, and Merlin's role in it, enfolds. Run time 2:50.
