KANSAS

With every bone in my body, I should be giving this album a much lower rating. I got this at the tail end of my extreme interest in Kansas, a time of which I've heard so many Kansas albums that I wanted a break from them (of which I've been granted). It's very good, but I think there's a good reason why this album is the last of Kansas's I plan on listening to for some time.

If you've heard any other Kansas album from their prog period before, you expect a mixture of shorter hard rock songs with longer prog-type epics puking with keyboards and quasi- intellectual stories/statements. KANSAS started that trend, so if you go in a chronological context in discovering Kansas, this will be the best thing they ever recorded. However, with me, I heard KANSAS fifth after other classics like LEFTOVERTURE and SONG FOR AMERICA, and I feel that this album is like the other two that I mentioned, only more awkward in the prog.

I never have known Kansas to really ''rock out'' in their epics; in fact, there's many an epic in their catalogue where guitars sound almost nonexistant. Here, we get ''Death of Mother Nature Suite'', an eight minute thing that is infested with guitar licks, heavy ones mind you. Musically, it's very strong because of this aspect, but the lyrics kind of ruin it as they come off as hokey to me.

There's more strength in the shorter songs than the longer ones IMO. ''Can I Tell You'' and ''Belexes'' really bring out the best of Kansas's sound and ''The Pilgrimage'' isn't too shabby of a country-bar-rock song. The only shorter song that I gripe about is the predictable ballad in ''Lonely Wind'', so static and sleepy. To go back to epic speed, ''Mariabronn'' isn't too bad but ''Apercu'' sounds too overblown for my liking; there's little of ''Apercu'' that stimulates the mind or gets me excited at all.

Ah, what the hey, it's Kansas in full prog force. What progster could resist the tricky violin lines, swamps of Hammond organ and long winded pieces?

Last words: Yaaaaaay!!!

I’m always interested in trivia and symbolism, so here’s a little of both for this album. First, the orchestra that accompanies Kansas on this album is none other than the Washburn University Symphony. Washburn was founded as Lincoln College at the end of the American Civil War; the land the school occupies was donated by John Ritchie, an abolitionist who, along with the more well-known John Brown, helped African-American slaves escape from the Deep South during that Civil War. He later donated land for the Monroe School in Topeka, the segregated secondary school that became the battleground for the now-famous ‘Brown v. Board of Education’, a Supreme Court case that provided for free and equal public education in the United States right about the same time Kerry Livgren began his elementary education in Topeka, Kansas. John Brown of course is the subject of the painting known as "Tragic Prelude", the seminal figure who graces the cover of Kansas’ debut album, and the same painting that hangs in the rotunda of the Kansas state capital building. So enough of trivia.

As for this 2-disc live CD, it’s an interesting collection that covers quite the breadth of the band’s career. Several tracks are no-brainers, including the instantly-recognizable hits “Point of Know Return”, “Song for America”, “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry on Wayward Son”. Others are more surprising inclusions, especially the instrumental “Musicatto” from the band’s otherwise forgettable 1986 release ‘Power’; and the cheesy 1983 AOR single “Fight Fire with Fire”. Other than that song though every tune on the album fits quite well here, and kudos to the band for reaching back in their catalog for a few songs that don’t get played much in concert or appear often on their many other compilations and live recordings.

Of particular note are “On the Other Side”, the opening number from the band’s 1979 album ‘Monolith’ which if I’m not mistaken finally went platinum (1,000,000 sales) nearly fifteen years after its release. Fortunately this one comes early in the concert before Steve Walsh’s voice inevitably starts to give way, and as a result this is one of the highlights of the album. It is followed by another unusual but welcome choice, a montage of “Ghosts” and “Rainmaker” from 1988’s ‘In the Spirit of Things’, the last album of the band’s to reach the Billboard Top-200 charts. Walsh has said many times this is his favorite Kansas album, and you have to wonder today if it would have made more of an impression had RCA not buried it behind the bubble-gum and bouncy hips of teen idol Tiffany with her retro covers including "I Think We're Alone Now" (Tommy James & the Shondells) and “I Saw Her Standing There” (the Beatles).

One of my favorite Kansas songs “Cheyenne Anthem” gets a very decent treatment with bassist Billy Greer and I believe violinist David Ragsdale as well helping out with vocals. The band plays out the entire original closing crescendos which I’ve always liked, so that’s a nice touch.

Walsh’s voice starts getting rough around this point in the concert though, so much of the rest of the album suffers a bit from his strained singing. This is particularly noticeable on “Miracles Out of Nowhere” which was a trademark Walsh screamer back in the days when he could nail the high ones. Here he lays off almost all of those, which makes for better singing but causes the song to lose a bit of the power it carried back in the day. Time passes I suppose.

The rest of the album is a bit more predictable and more instrument-centric, which is likely because Phil Ehart, who I’m sure sequenced the album, knew Walsh would be wearing down after the strenuous first half. “Icarus II” followed by the original Icarus span a quarter- century of the band’s discography but fit well together both thematically and musically. “The Wall” is a crowd-pleaser that doesn’t push Walsh too far and highlights the band’s outstanding ability to meld rock, melody and progressive music into a tight package. This is followed by the obligatory and totally predictable encores “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry on Wayward Son”, and although that would be it for them at most concerts, they return for one more number, a jam session centered on the opening track from 1975’s ‘Song for America’ – “Down the Road”, one of the better co-written Walsh/Livgren tunes from the group’s early years.

Speaking of Livgren, he makes the short drive from his Berryton farm just outside Topeka to join the band on-stage, along with former guitarist Steve Morse from the band’s 80s albums. Both are stellar and add depth to an already impressive sound.

I can’t say there’s anything new or even particularly noteworthy here, but all in all this is a very solid offering from the band in celebration of their 35th anniversary. Hardcore fans will likely nitpick about the song selection, but for a band with a catalog as vast as Kansas it would be very hard to come up with just two hours of music that wouldn’t leave someone disappointed, so I won’t bother getting into that discussion.

The DVD is next up in my listening queue, but this one is well worth picking up for both fans of the band and prog fans in general who appreciate an extremely well-produced live album that showcases the showmanship and consummate professionalism of one of the United States’ true musical treasures – Kansas. Long may they Carry On. Four stars.

peace

Given the atrocious original cover art for this compilation, it's no wonder the record label decided to change it. The track selection is a queer one, though, with the two biggest hits naturally included, but most everything else are songs that even some casual Kansas fans might not recognize. Those who know and love Kansas can attest that that can be a good thing and a bad thing. In this case, it's decidedly both. Included are "On the Other Side," "Can I Tell You," and "What's on My Mind," three excellent short tracks. Then there's "It Takes a Woman's Love (to Make a Man)" and "Two Cent Worth," two songs from the band's third album which are really the worst of the bunch. With the exception of "Child of Innocence" and "Dust in the Wind," all of these songs are chronologically the first of their respective albums- a curious and rather haphazard choice. The glorious second album is passed over entirely, and none of Kerry Livgren's greatest masterpieces are included. I can't say I would recommend this compilation to anyone, really, even if the songs are all generally good, primarily because it would only serve to cement the commonly-asserted canard that Kansas is merely an arena rock band playing nothing more intricate than Styx or Journey.

I've never been a KANSAS fan but out of all their albums this is my favourite.I find three of the last four tracks here pure magic but the first four very average.So after listening to it i'm always thinking "That was great !" when in fact only the last half of it is what i'd call excellent. "Can I Tell You" hits the ground running,vocals come in quickly.The violin is all over this one.Guitar before 2 1/2 minutes then the organ joins the fray. "Bringing It Back" features lots of piano with violin coming in around a minute. "Lonely Wind" opens with violin and piano as reserved vocals arrive in this ballad-like tune. "Belexes" is a rocker,i do like the vocals here.A little drum action 4 minutes in. "Journey From Mariabronn" is led by piano and violin early.Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in.Guitar after 3 1/2 minutes as the drums pound.Violin follows.Great tune. "The Pilgrimage" builds until the vocals kick in.My least favourite of the last four. "Apercu" is led by violin, then we get a calm before a minute as reserved vocals come in.Outstanding sound when it gets fuller.An instrumental interlude after 5 minutes where the guys stretch out. Nice aggressive sound with guitar after 9 minutes.It blends into "Death Of Mother Nature Suite".It settles right down quickly as reserved vocals come in.It kicks back in as contrasts continue.I like the guitar 6 minutes in as he lights it up. 3.5 stars and a great start to their careers.

I bought this cheap, discount bargain bin CD because I wanted desperately and couldn't find the album that was effectively responsible for getting me into progressive rock: Live at the Whiskey, which I had borrowed from a friend and unfortunately had to return. The fact that the magnificent "Miracles Out of Nowhere" was on this disc was good enough for me at the time. That said, this is not an album one needs to try to obtain if one can acquire the actual album this compilation was taken from, a product many consider inferior for many reasons. Unfortunately, the tracks are out of order, and a few of them are missing, not the least of which is the powerful, heavy metal version of "Mysteries and Mayhem." Due to the performance and the set list itself, which I find full of fire and spunk even if Steve Walsh was loaded off his ass, I can't give this the lowest rating- there's a lot of fantastic music here, even if some greedy corporation got a hold of it, made it worse than it was, and offered no liner notes or anything additional. Get it if it is cheap, Live at the Whiskey is unavailable, and Kansas is of interest- otherwise, pass it by.

I almost feel as though albums from this BMG line of compilations, with their ludicrously deceptive headline of "Extended Versions," shouldn't exist except for the glimmer of hope that someone will catch one of these for two or three bucks in the discount bargain bin at a drug store or a gas station and find something beyond the radio hits that would be the impetus for their further appreciation. However, when the label releases material from what is in essence one of the most lackluster performances of the band, from a tour supporting one of their most lackluster albums, that hope isn't held very high. The music comes from the King Biscuit Flower Hour show, a decent performance, but instead of being "extended," the tracks are truncated and rearranged for reasons that can only make sense to a crew with money on their minds and with no appreciation for artistic decisions or accuracy. The performance was mediocre enough to begin with, and then to take that, cut it down, rearrange it, and then package it as "Extended Versions" is just laughable- I would not even recommend this disc to those new to Kansas- save the few bucks and put it toward a real album.

Kansas' debut album is very strong ( for debut). And it's even stronger, when we are looking on it from historical point of vieiw: they were very pioneers in American prog of that time.

The sound is a bit unusual, I can name it as "plain". It's not a question of sound engineering of time, but more unusual arrangement ( in comparence with european bands). More rhythmic, than later jobs, it has visiable proto-AOR, hard-rock, even country elements. But at the same time it is concentrated prog-rock, with heavy keyboards ( sometimes remind Uriah Heep) and original use ov violin ( I think somewhere very deep it's coming from bluegrass and country, not philarmonig string section).

Bigger part of album are original and bright compositions with very competent musicanship. This album is attractive prog work without any historical contest as well. Still not at the level of "Leftoverture"and "Point Of Know Return " , it's really stronger than all after '77 albums. And as for debut is very high mark, believe me!

It was about time

Many bands have released compilation albums with a Symphony Orchestra with different results, some good, some terrible, but the logic choice to attempt this is KANSAS, being that the massive use of violin and fluid Symphonic arrangements, makes the idea of enhancing the Classical approach of their music with an orchestra a logical choice.

It's also important to notice that they did it in the right moment, the band had suffered the terrible Elefante years when they lost a huge part of their fanbase (as well as Walsh and Steinhardt), and only with "Freaks of Nature" started to recover the lost path, so they needed their 70's glorious stuff in a new costume to rescue the interest of the people in the band, and "Always Never the Same" fulfilled the purpose, the voice spread and people knew that Steve and Robbie were back and playing good old stuff with a couple of new songs, so the mood was prepared to accept them again something that consolidated two years later with the release of "Somewhere to Elsewhere".

Now, going to the album I must say that the orchestration is absolutely tasteful they avoid long artificial intros and codas like in "Days of Future Passed" because KANSAS doesn't require it, while THE MOODY BLUES had to create a Symphonic atmosphere on POP tracks, KKANSAS material is Symphonic enough "per se" and the London Symphony Orchestra is there to enhance the already existing atmosphere, adding only what is necessary-

The band had to make the songs a bit slower in order to adapt a more complete sound, and tame a bit the usually frenetic performances of Phil Ehart and Rich Williams, in other words they sacrificed the hard edge for a more Classical approach.

Some people are surprised by the abrupt start of "Eleanor Rigby", but that's the best option they had, the orchestra could work in the body of the song and allow the band to start it as a Rock song.

A track that I wanted to listen with an orchestra was "Dust in the Wind", normally I press the skip button because the track has saturated me, but the new arrangements made their most popular song sound fresh and original.

Another high point is in "Song for America", being that the strings are played in a lower volume than the horns and flutes, allowing Robbie Steinhardt to be almost a soloist without affecting the essence of the song

The only track I don't like too much is my favourite KANSAS song "Miracles Out of Nowhere", being that the orchestra kills the natural atmosphere and they sacrifice the Rock essence , which is an integral part of the melody.

Despite the´obvious vocal problems of Steve Walsh, "Always Never the Same" is a very good album and an interesting experiment that we will see again on October 13 when their new Symphonic CVD is released.

My rating would be 3.5 stars, but being that this is impossible in Prog Archives, will go with 4.

When I joined Prog Archives several years ago, used to read the harsh criticism made by some reviewers towards KANSAS and got really angry, time has passed and I simply laugh, it's true they don't sound like GENESIS or YES, because they are from United States of America, and not from a big metropolis, they are from a state where Country music and Hard Rock are the general rule, so it's understandable that they mix elements of their own background with Symphonic Prog to create a different and unique sound.

But is even funnier when people complain about their USA musical roots that make them unique, this is the same people who shout "clones" when a band sounds remotely similar to a Prog icon, in other words people protest if a band is influenced by another one and protest if they are unique, as I always said, the worst enemy of Prog is the Prog fan.

"Masque" is usually criticized because of "It Takes a Woman Love (To Make a Man), people shout POP or AOR. for God's sake, this is pure Blues oriented Rock with hardly any POP connection. But what people don't notice or care about is the subtle organ in the vein of early Proggers and the killer guitar. Surely we are not talking about one of the best KANSAS track, but it's a solid song from a USA band, if you want versatility you need different sounds and the Topeka guys have never been afraid of variety.

"Two Cents Worth"is a forgotten KANSAS track, sounds unusual because is not exclusively a Livegren song, but a collaboration with Steve Walsh, again STEVE adds that bluesy soul but taking care of adding the complex elements with the keys, complementing Steinhardt's violin, reminds me a bit of DOOBIE BROTHERS but much ore elaborate.

Now, those who want pure Prog, will enjoy "Icarus - Borne in the Wings of Steel", one of the timeless masterpieces of the band, full of radical changes linked by the organ, violin and guitar in such a way that sound fluid and coherent, but overall, the excellent drumming of Phil Ehart who makes even the most complex songs sound natural and easy, there's not a flaw, a patch, a wrong note every section leads perfectly to the next one, the work of a real band.

The heartbreaking "All the World" adds the perfect doze of melody and drama, a tortured song in which the leading violin melts with Steve's vocals and the majestic choirs to create a special atmosphere that leads from sensibility to nostalgia. Never understood why this song was forgotten by the band.

"Child of Innocence" is a minor KANSAS classic, even though the band gives priority to the Hard elements, the Symphonic support and structure are always present, the vocals shared by Robbie and Steve are delightful, while Steinhardt is vibrant and aggressive, Walsh is melodic and calmed, another great team work.

As a breath between two solemn Prog tracks "It's You" provides the necessary relief, but don't mistake it for a simple song, the frenetic violin keyboard organ interplay is fantastic, the band exploits the two minutes presenting an elaborate but fun track.

"Mysteries and Mayhem" is a typical KANSAS song, as usual they allow Steinhardt to take the lead but each and every member of the band has something to say, when it's bot the breathtaking organ, the hard guitar of Rick Williams add the rocking elements, and the balance is kept by Hope and Ehart, one of the most solid rhythm sections in Prog.

The album ends with "The Pinnacle", an epic in the purest style of Kansas, where they blend the classical sensibilities of Robbie and Steve with Williams Rock side, the structure is simply delightful and always surprising. It's amazing how nothing can be predicted but after listening everything is coherent and logic.

Even when they jam, every note is in it's place, it takes a great talent to achieve this, specially with an ever changing song a fantastic closer.

The real problem is how to rate the album, I don't believe it's in the level of the two previous releases and much less of "Leftoverture", but still is a transcendental album of one the most notorious icons of Progressive Rock that deserves credit.

Lets face it, when the first peak of Symphonic Prog in Europe was ending, Kansas was still growing and taking good care of offering a fresh and original sound without sacrificing quality, and that deserves at least 4 stars.

This is where the saga officially begins

We're in 1974, in the UK Progressive Rock had grown from a local fashion to a serious genre that was developing beyond proportions, but still USA was more or less immune to that fever, it's true that people in North America listened the iconic British bands, but it was hard to find a real representative band from this country that played an autochthonous form of Prog that included their local characteristics and blended them with the Symphonic sound so popular on those days.

Probably people would expect a band from a big city to start USA's Prog history, but it was in the centre of the tornado corridor, in Topeka - Kansas, where Country music rules that a group of talented musicians dared to blend Hard Rock and Symphonic Prog but with an extra ingredient that nobody would had expected, Country music.

From the ashes of "White Clover" and "Saratoga", Kansas was born in 1971 and disbanded temporally in 1972 just to resurrect in 1974 when they were ready to take the musical scenario by assault with their unique sound and the novelty of using a violin as central instrument along with the keyboards, unlike most bands of the era.

It's true that their sound was not yet completely developed, they sounded more like a violin guided Hard Rock band, rather than a full Prog band, but the seeds of what KANSAS would become are present in their eponymous debut.

The album starts with "Can I Tell You", a frenetic song with Robby's violin leading the band by the hand through some sort of orchestral Hard Rock, but with Rich Williams adding guitar riffs in the vein of DEEP PURPLE or any famous band of that era, while Steve Walsh proved he was a powerful Hammond keyboardist and a strong lead vocalist and that human metronome called Phil Ehart keeping the time as a Swiss watch.

"Bring it Back" is an odd song, some sort of Blues with a complex arrangement, Robby Steinhardt proves he can be a second lead vocalist with his hard rocking voice while keeping the Progressive elements alive in his wild violin.

It's important not to forget Kerry Livegren, who's main responsibility is in composition but plays the role of a wild card, adding extra guitar and keyboard when necessary and of course Dave Hope, the perfect support for Phil Ehart.

If the album is the starting point of KANSAS career, "Lonely Wind" is the first evidence of a Symphonic band that besides rocking as professionals, are able to create incredible Symphonic melodies with piano and guitar, an extraordinarily beautiful melody that presents a versatile band.

Now is the time for one of he best tracks in KANSA history, "Belexes" is the point when they really notice what they are able of, the band creates an extremely complex structure with every characteristic of what we know as Progressive Rock, the changes are simply breathtaking and Steve shines both in keyboards plus vocals. Last week I saw the band in Lima, and he song sounds as fresh as 35 years ago. The amazing characteristic of this album is that they seem to grow from song to song,if "Belexes" was a 100% frantic Prog song, "Journey From Mariabronn"is a delightful Symphonic track with all the elements that would make of KANSAS the most authentic USA band. Even when the structure and arrangements are extremely elaborate, the band never forgets the melodic essence of their music, sad, nostalgic but at the same time vibrant and original, a perfect masterpiece. "The Pilgrimage" is an unusual song even for early KANSAS, after an extended jazzy intro, the band jumps into some kind of electric Country music in which they let their roots see the light, the combination between almost Psychedelic Hammond C3 (If I'm not wrong) and the country fiddle is surprising for anybody, not what they will attempt later, but a nice experiment.

With "Apercu" we return to Prog Melodic territory, Robbie takes the band on his back with his violin while Steve and Kerry add oneiric keyboard passages, not a particularly complex song, but it's clear that the bad is reaching maturity from the start, the majestic and dramatic sound so characteristic of the Topeka guys can be listened all along the track.

So..What else do they need to close an excellent album? Maybe a short epic? Yes, that's what we receive with the fantastic "Mother Nature Suite", an 8 minutes track in which KANSAS finds their definite sound, absolutely orchestral and Symphonic with Hard Rock fugues and extremely complex structure with a Steve Walsh singing at his peak, there's nothing else we can ask to consider "Kansas" a superb album, something unusual in an official debut.

Would love to rate "Kansas" with 5 stars, because this guys showed love and respect for Prog, but dared to be different to all the rest, the addition of North American musical genres to pristine Symphonic is something only a handful of musicians have achieved with such success.

But, I believe KANSAS has superior albums like "Song for America" or "Leftoverture", so will control my enthusiasm and rate it with 4 solid stars.