DRASTIC MEASURES

Iconic violinist Robby Steinhardt quits the band and is not replaced, thus Kansas has no violinist for the first time ever! Kerry Livgren writes only 3 songs, John Elefante takes creative control with 6 songs to his and his brother's Dino credit, and new producer Neil Kernon changes the sound of the band towards hard rock/synth-pop. After all that, how good of an album is Drastic Measures?
Let's do a track-by-track review:

1. Fight Fire with Fire - a Kansas classic - best song of the album - my favorite song of the album
Probably my favorite pop rocker Kansas released in the 80s! It's infectious riff and unforgettable chorus made it a concert mainstay for the band, their 11th most performed song overall and 2nd amongst their 80s songs ("Hold On" is 1st). An obvious choice for a Single release, it reached #58 on Billboard (much lower than expected) and was supported by a music video that stands out as the best Kansas ever released. Overall, a sublime way to kick-start the album!

2. Everybody's My Friend
The second Single of the album, and the second song supported by a music video. It's a song by Elefante about himself, and how everyone seemed to be interested in him after he joined Kansas and became a "rock star", while they previously ignored him. Not a strange thing to happen if you ask me, considering Kansas was his first band! Anyway, the song is an uplifting pop tune that leaves a pleasant feeling, but it's not nearly as inspired or significant as "Fight Fire with Fire". Go check the music video though, it's bizarre but it contains wrestlers and I'm a big wrestling fan, so I enjoy it!

3. Mainstream - most underrated song of the album
OK, this is one of the most difficult songs to explain. It's a mainstream rocker that attacks the mainstream, with a lengthy prog synth section in the middle and over 6:30 long! Are you confused? So am I! Is the song great? After three listenings I'm still not sure! I'm sure it's one of the most special Kansas songs though, one you should listen carefully and think about its lyrics in comparison to what was actually happening to Kansas back then. It's almost poetic!

4. Andi - most special Kansas lyrics
Α song about Childhood Gender Nonconformity. MIND BLOWING. "She wants to be a lady, can anyone see that she's trapped inside a little boy's body? She's waiting for the dream of her life, to be a lady, that's all she wants to be". Those are some lyrics! Crazy facts: The LGBT initialism would begin being used in 1988 and not until the 1990s within the movement did gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people gain equal respect (source: Wikipedia). Yet, Kansas release a related song in 1983!!! Lyrics-wise, this is definitely the most special song in their career. It's a great shame the music sounds like a strange cover of the "Little Drummer Boy", condemning the song to obscurity...

5. Going Through the Motions - a Kansas classic - most Prog song of the album
Alan Parsons Project meets Toto in this very rich tune, the most prog thing Kansas offered on that album! Unforgettable keyboard riff and sound, beautiful guitar solo, flawless drumming, remarkable structure that needs more than three or four listenings to even begin to assimilate. A truly deserving Kansas classic, one of their greatest "deep cuts" out there, as underrated as "Mainstream". I'm already halfway through the album and truly can't understand the very low rating this album has here in Prog Archives!

6. Get Rich
It's sound screams Toto influence from miles away. Although it is interesting and intriguing at first, it's not great after all. Kudos for the arrangements and production though, A Class!

7. Don't Take Your Love Away - worst song of the album
A typical AOR power ballad, millions of songs like that exist out there. It's OK, but it doesn't give you a single reason to care more about it.

8. End of the Age
Religious rock by Kerry Livgren, it tries but does not deliver. A rather forgettable song, second worse after "Don't Take Your Love Away".

9. Incident on a Bridge
Religious rock by Kerry Livgren again, better than the previous one but still nothing great for Kansas standards. Not the best choice to close the album, last song should be as great as the opener! "Going Through the Motions" or "Mainstream" would be a much better option.

RATING:
Tracks 1-3-4-5 are worthy of Kansas (for different reasons each), tracks 2 and 6 are good, tracks 7-8-9 are forgettable. After listening to track 5 I wrote "I'm already halfway through the album and truly can't understand the very low rating this album has here in Prog Archives!"; I would soon realize, it's obvious people expect higher average quality from a Kansas considering their work thus far. I'm trying to fit the album into the 3 stars spectrum but there must be a classification, I can't give 3 stars constantly just because an album has some quality moments while it's a clear step behind other 3 stars albums of mine. 2.5 stars is the rating for it, we are not allowed to halves, so 2.