MONOLITH

Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh don't have a good relationship anymore, and that leads Kansas to a decay. Monolith is not a bad album in any way, but it's the worst Kansas made up to that point and it comes right after their best album ever, so it's doomed to be remembered as an even worst album than it actually is.
Let's do a track-by-track review:

1. On the Other Side - a Kansas classic
A very promising start! This is a really great song that reminds me of The Wall from Leftoverture. Every aspect of it is great, the slow and the fast parts, the vocals and the melodies, the solos too. A true Kansas classic that was recognized as such by the band only during the last 15 years, when they made it a semi-regular part of their live setlist.

2. People of the South Wind
A radio friendly tune that was released as the album's first single. A pop song, almost disco, it could easily be a Chicago piece! While the music is uplifting, the lyrics are about the sufferings of the native American tribe "Kansa", the tribe that Kansas state was named after. They were also known as the "People of the South wind", hence the title of the song. Well the song is absolutely good, but it's not a classic.

3. Angels Have Fallen - a Kansas classic - best song of the album - my favorite song of the album - most Prog song of the album - most underrated song of the album
Fantastic, majestic, an instant classic! Seriously progressive, with time and dynamic changes allover the place, it's a movie-like song that truly fascinates the spirit! Kansas played it live only during the album's support tour in 1979 and never again, which is a shame. One of the best "obscure" Kansas songs in existence. This one is for Monolith what The Pinnacle is for Masque: arguably the best song of the album!

4. How My Soul Cries Out for You
Oh, what's going on here? A very strange experiment by Kansas, a "nervous" piece with musical influences from English prog bands, it could very well be a Yes or an ELO song. I don't know if it's good or not but it's definitely very interesting and unexpected, be sure to pay attention!

5. A Glimpse of Home
Another religious song by Kerry, and a very nice one! The bombastic intro sounds like ELP and the rest of the song is a quality rocker that I believe should be edited and released as a single. It lacks the "it" factor to be a classic, but it's pretty good.

6. Away from You
Nothing very special here. A pop song with folk elements, it doesn't sound bad but it's rather forgettable, especially compared to the higher Kansas standards.

7. Stay Out of Trouble - worst song of the album
RNB influences on that one, it seems like Kansas try to play each song in a different style on that album. It's OK, it has it's moments, but we expect more from Kansas. It could be a minute shorter too, no need for 4 minutes on that one.

8. Reason to Be
The second single of the album, it's a ballad and it seems like it tries to capitalize on the success of Dust In The Wind from the previous album. Well, it is not of the same quality... The keyboards are nice and Steve's voice is beautiful, but the "it" factor is absent once more. Bad choice for a single release and not the best option to close the album.

RATING:
Pretty close to Masque, but if you compare their songs 1vs1 Masque wins without a doubt. Monolith is on the 3 stars spectrum but closer to 2,5.