Close to the Fire is the 9th studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, released in 2000.

By 1997, Kayak founder members Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman decided to work on new material.

Lead singer on the demo versions was Alex Toonen, from Dutch progressive rock band "For Absent Friends".

The last song on the album is a newly recorded version of "Ruthless Queen", Kayak's biggest hit from 1978.

The song "Full Circle" has a guitar solo by Andrew Latimer, leader of the British progressive rock band Camel.