KANSAS

What an absolute banger of an album. Kansas is basically this only american prog band who had some success. While this album wasn't the hit they got later in their career with Leftoverture, I think it's by far their best

Can I Tell You is a fantastic way to start the album. Amazing violin work, and it sets up the sound of this album perfectly (3/3)

Bringing It Back is another piece in a similar style, which even more crazy violin work. (3/3)

Lonely Wind is a ballad, and a damn good one at that. One of the softest piece the band made, a sort of precursor to Dust In The Wind. (4/4)

Belexes is right back into the vibe of the beginning of the album. Great track but not much more than that (3/4)

Journey From Mariabronn is a fantastic track, and their first real prog piece. Crazy keyboard and violin work again (8/8)

The Pilgrimage is the weakest song on the album. It's just not as epic as the others (3/4)

Apercu is RAD. By far the greatest song on the album, and imo the greatest song the band ever did. It's a masterpiece of prog rock. (9/9)

Death Of Mother Nature is technically the end of Apercu, making it a massive 18 min track. I think this part is slightly less amazing than Apercu, but it's still good enough to make the 18 min suite one of the greatest thing this band ever did. (7/8)

TOTAL: 40/43 = 93. Easy 5 stars, a must for everyone

Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope left Kansas to form the christian rock band AD since they shared the same vision about religion. Therefore, the way for Walsh's return opened wide and there is also the addition of the guitar GOD Steve Morse who, obviously, is a totally different guitarist and composer than Kerry Livgren. Billy Greer (Walsh's bandmate in Streets) took over the bass duties and the question was what the outcome would be. Well, it was a bit better than Drastic Measures but not....drastically. The 80s spirit still permeated the album. All I Wanted was the single of the album and it is nothing more than a typical 80s ballad both lyrically and musically which on the other hand makes me wonder why it didn't become a huge success (on side B there was We're Not Alone Anymore, my two least favourite songs of the album). There's also another ballad Can't Cry Anymore which is more or less along the same lines, it just features a decent short instrumental section. Morse brings on the table his impeccable technique which goes always hand in hand with quality and the band makes sure to bring this asset immediately up front with the opener Silhouettes in Disguise. There are a few shreds of the past in the instrumental Musicatto and in Taking in the View and also Secret Service combines nicely the 80s spirit with unexpected Kansas changes on the instrumental section. So here's the uncanny result: although the 80s vibe doesn't sit too well with me, it's an album I somewhat like. Maybe because of my age the 80s are more familiar to my ears and they don't wreck completely the outcome, maybe because Kansas is an extraordinary band and whatever they do, they can do it tastefully. Naturally it is not even close compared to their glorious output in the 70s, but there is some genuine quality for me here.

"Not so bad and definitely non essential" is closer to my view of the album.

There is a slight change of direction on the third album of Kansas. After two knee-deep prog albums, this time there are a couple more accessible songs, succumbing to the pressure of the label to deliver a hit-single. The thing is Kansas is an overly talented band and there is a distinct quality even when it comes to plainer songs. Therefore, even though It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make a Man) possesses this poppy slant, it is a song I have always enjoyed. Things get even better with Two Cents Worth largely due to the awesome lyrics although music-wise things remain mundane. But then Kansas put things in order with the majestic Icarus - Borne on Wings of Steel, an all-time fan favourite and a live staple for a very good reason. Nothing less but absolute perfection. All the World is along the same lines with numerous changes and dotted with wonderful melodies. On Child of Innocence Kerry Livgren revisits Dust in the Wind but only lyric-wise since it's rockier and more complex. One more shot for a hit single by Steve Walsh with the upbeat It's You which - you guessed- it has nothing to do with the typical hit-singles - obviously this is what Kansas thought a hit single might be. Mysteries and Mayhem although it starts out promisingly, it is one of the scarce times that the main melody of the hook and the chorus aren't too strong to maintain my interest. But Kansas left perhaps the best for the end, The Pinnacle which could be, well, the pinnacle of the album. For some reason Icarus.... is the most famous song here, but when you reach the final notes of the Pinnacle, pure bliss will flow through you, it is so gratifying.

I guess that the album rubbed many hard-core fans the wrong way since the band abandoned the pure prog style of the first two albums, but I don't see it this way. The catchier songs are delightful and perhaps they did their bit for the band to carry on. It is highly probable that the band would have to call it a day if it didn't reach a wider audience. But they did - in style, no less.

After five albums, which I believe is not just my opinion but generally are regarded as some of the best in our beloved music, it was time for their first bum note (or should I say album), or, to be more precise, half-bum. The band had released two years ago the monumental Point of Know Return which contains the monster-hit Dust in the Wind that literally everybody has heard once in their life even if they live at the most remoted place in the world. This time the band decided to produce the album themselves and I don't know if the lack of an experienced producer played a role, although I would bet that it was more the pressure of coming up with a song that would draw about an equal response as Dust... did. On this album there are some typical Kansas songs like the opener On the Other Side, A Glimpse of Home, Away From You and Angels Have Fallen (which are also my favourite ones), How My Soul Cries Out For You and Stay Out of Trouble that rock harder but aren't something remarkable, especially the latter which features mainly one and only riff responsing to every line Walsh sings and it becomes somewhat wearisome whereas the former features some interesting theme and time changes and finally the radio-friendly People of the South Wind and Reason to Be which were actually the two singles of the album. People... was the first one, it didn't make an impact and the label figured that Reason to Be (which due to the acoustic guitar drew some parallels with Dust in the Wind although, to my ears, it's closer to The More Fool Me by Genesis - which doesn't belong to their best moments). Strangely enough, I don't consider People... as a bad choice because it balances finely between commerciality and quality, I can clearly see hear it in my mind's ear even at summer night clubs blasting through the speakers, it's so upbeat but still not your every-day radio single. Anyway, the album falls short due to the massive quality of their first five albums or else it isn't that bad and it deserved something better. In restrospect, it was a transitional album to the most commercial and less inspired 80s era that the band would follow.

The debut of Kansas was followed by an extensive tour by the group, hailed by the support of the Kirshner label.However the album was not that succesful and Kansas remained a cult name, despite performing one show over another, eventually building a base of fanatic fans.In 1975 the second album of the group was produced by Jeff Glixman and Wally Gold and was released under the title ''Song for America''.

The short opening track ''Down the Road'' serves well the reason of its existence, a nice rocker with a brutal organ sound and driving grooves, but the rest of the album is the real deal.The two longer tracks ''Song for America'' and ''Incomudro - Hymn to the Atman'' are two of the most impressive compositions written by the band and fantastic examples of 70's US Prog.Rich and complex arrangements with lovely vocal lines and a great sense of melody, offered through textures torn between rockin' madness and inspirations of Classical nature, filled with massive organ and moog synth waves, Steinhardt's powerful violins and the elegant piano interludes of Livgren.'''Lamplight Symphony'' is another winner, having a dramatic mood all the way with synths more in evidence, but always maintaining a rich and emphatic sound full of instrumental activity.''Lonely Street'' releases the well-known Boogie Rock side of Kansas with bluesy guitars, good breaks and a very doomy groove.''The Devil Game'' is a short Hard Prog jewel.Violin, organs and furious rhythmic parts combine in a masterful way to produce a fast track full of changing moods and dynamic solos.

Albums like this make me sad when thinking about people who know Kansas only from ''Dust in the wind''.We're talking about full-blown Progressive Rock here filled with passion, intensity and virtuosity, delivered in very tight and memorable compositions.No less than highly recommended. Symphonic sophomore great second effort, 4.5

Considering that Kansas jumped the pop train and went closer to stuff like AOR later on much like a lot of prog bands did back then, I'm not surprised by the negative reception. And believe me, a part of me wanted to dislike this because of that. But weirdly enough, I actually found this to be mostly decent. The lyrics weren't always up to pare on this one, I admit. But as far as their lesser prog sellout albums go, this one was actually pretty damn catchy. And on top of that, it used its extra room for some more unconventional riffs and melodies in the filler songs. I went into this completely expecting a piece of popy tripe like any Asia album or even Marillion's Holiday in Eden, and I came out with more of what I love about kansas than I expected. Still, I wouldn't even put it in the same league as Masque or Monolith, but it's kinda close. 72 / 100.

I can think of no better way to begin putting down my thoughts on this album than mentioning this fact: Magnus Opus was initially named Leftoverture since its parts were leftovers from soundchecks and the recording sessions for the Masque album and the guys decided to splice them together and come up with a song and eventually they liked the title so much that it was upgraded into an album title. So just think of this: these parts were leftovers! We are talking about tons of inspiration! The album is famous for the opener Carry on Wayward Son alone (which, by the way, was the last one written and it barely made the album!) and here I'd like to make another remark that one can write progressive music that can also strike a chord with people who are not musicians. Of course this goes not only for this song, but The Wall also could fare as well, if it was promoted as such. And aside The Wall it could also be What's on My Mind, Miracles Out of Nowhere....literally the entire album which is melodic, adventurous, it rocks, it oozes with feeling with not a single note to spare and top-notch vocals. It is absolute perfection and a monument in our beloved music. Some dyed-in-the-wool pog fans claim that Kansas gave in to a more radio-friendly sound. There is some truth in it, since Kerry Livren himself (who, incidentally, has written almost the entire album since Steve Walsh was experiencing writer's block) has admitted it by saying that if they hadn't done so, only die-hard collectors would know of them and after that there wouldn't be Kansas any more. But the bottom line is they possessed the musicanship, intelligence and aesthetic to balance all these elements in the most beautiful way.

Kansas, the band that combined prodigious symphonic structures with raspy hard rock elements in the seventies with great originality and success, had changed course thousands of kilometres ago and was persistently heading down the paths of eighties AOR, Its melodic variants and the occasional undisguised nod to commercial pop temptations, which found on the road the anodyne "Drastic Measures" and, to a lesser extent, the dreary "Power", a pair of albums that were harshly criticised by the general public and surely with good reasons.

"In the Spirit of Things" (1986), the Americans' eleventh album, tries to add a little more content and instrumental substance to their proposal, managing at times to structure interesting passages such as the melancholic and plaintive "Ghost" with Steve Morse's hurtful guitar solo, the power ballad "Inside on Me", and the hard rocking and festive "The Preacher". But on the other hand, the melodic and soft tracks sound overproduced and saturated with arrangements, like "Once in a Lifetime", "Stand Beside Me"', or "I Counted on Love".

And though long gone are Kerry Livgren's intricate, brainy compositions and Steinhardt's unmistakable violin (definitely no longer the Kansas of the seventies), there is a plausible search in the dusty progressive archives that timidly manifest themselves in the orchestral and emotive "Rainmaker" and its ecclesiastical choruses, in the brief and beautiful acoustic interlude "T. O. Witcher", and in the portentous "Bells of Saint James", shaping the best moments of the album.

"In the Spirit of Things" is probably the best work of the eighties by Kansas, which, given the material released in those years, does not represent a major merit.

2.5/3 stars

From the band with hits such as "carry on my wayward son" and "Dust in the wind" this is the genesis of their discography that gave them their iconic symphonic sound. The album starts off with side 1 including short and sweet songs such as "can I tell you" and 'bringing it back" Where the album's epic tracks start is with "the journey from Mariabronn" the track that concludes the first side. The 2nd second side is nothing short of glorious with Robbie steinhardts violin filling the symphonic aura of the band giving them the title of a symphonic prog band. The Pilligrimage is a good song but in my opinion its filler for the last 2 songs. "Apercu" and "Death of Mother Nature suite" are two excellently crafted songs that finish off the album perfectly and truly start the career of the band we know as Kansas. to conclude my review I would like to recommend anyone the recording at the Agora ballroom in Cleveland Ohio of the song bringing it back its a bonus to enjoy. I would love to also note the brilliant artwork Kansas chose for their debut album cover, it is of the civil war some may say hero but some say murderer John brown. Being a history buff this hits home because of the irony in this is that John brown set a violent escapade across Kansas in 1856. The bands choice of artwork is notable to say the least. other than that this album is a great start to their discography and it gives them the formula they use for albums in the future.

After the departures of Kerry Livgren, Robby Steinhard and Dave Hope following the failed "Drastic Measures" of 1983, it seemed that the Kansas story had come to an end. But it wasn't. Steve Walsh, after the discreet success of his band 'Streets', got back in touch with Rich Williams and they decided to reformulate Kansas, together with the surviving drummer Phil Ehart and the newly incorporated Billy Greer on bass and the excellent guitarist Steve Morse sharing labours with Williams. And this revived American phoenix releases "Power" (1986), their tenth album.

Knowing Walsh's predilection for direct and accessible developments over elaborate structures, "Power" does not differ much in its approach from "Drastic Measures", and hence the AOR leanings of radio targets dominate the overall mood of the album, as with "Silouhette in Desguise", the resilient "Power", the proactive "We're Not Alone Anymore", or the intense "Three Pretenders", tracks where the most remarkable thing ends up being the freshness of Morse's guitar accompaniment.

The soft rock of the mournful ballad "Al I Wanted" and the orchestrated grandiloquence of the closing "Can't Cry Anymore" seem very insubstantial, and only the correct instrumental "Musicatto" with Phil Ehart's progressive seventies drum rolls and the beautiful arpeggiated acoustic guitars of the sweet "Taking In The View", escape from common places. That's it, and it tastes like very little again.

2/2.5 stars