MONOLITH

Kansas

Symphonic Prog

3.26 | 451 ratings

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I know that very few Kansas fans would agree with me but, IMHO, the band's best period goes from Masque to Audio-Visions (included). So Monolith is on my list.

Let's state it clearly, though : there is not one song here that I would include in my personal Kansas anthology. I could easily find ten or even fifteen songs on other albums that would come first. The only real standout track that was recorded during the Monolith sessions, "No One Together", was left aside and finally released on "Audio- Visions".

Still, I do love this album, maybe in an unrational way, because this is pure Kansas all along, showcasing the different facets of the band.

In order of appearance, you get a classical Kansas sounding tune ("On the Other Side"), a short and poppy/groovy number ("People of the South Wind"), a melancholic ballad with heavy parts ("Angels have Fallen"), a hard rock piece with a nice drum solo ("How my Soul cries out for You"), a pompous but gorgeous mini-epic ("Glimpse of Home"), an uplifting light rocker ("Away from You"), the usual heavy blues/rock ("Stay out of Trouble") and finally a semi-acoustic ballad in the vein of "Dust in the Wind" ("Reason to Be").

At the exception of "Stay out of Trouble", which is very well executed but in a musical style that is not my cup of tea, and "Reason to Be", which I find a little bit cheesy, everything here is highly enjoyable to my ears.

Of course, as often with Kansas, you are allowed to consider that they are just "too much" : too dramatic, too bombastic, too affected . But if you can get over this "too much" factor, or simply don't care about it, you will see that this album holds the promises of its beautiful art cover.

To summarize, Monolith is not a masterpiece by any means but this is another brilliant star in Kansas discography. And speaking of stars, it is worth four on my personal scale.

Bupie | 4/5 | 2007-4-26

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