POWER

Kerry Livgren is finally out to pursue the Christian rock career he wanted, and he takes Dave Hope with him. John Elefante leaves too, pursuing a career in Christian rock as a writer/producer and occasional performer. Iconic Kansas Vocalist Steve Walsh returns along with his bandmate in Streets Billy Greer on the bass, and guitar hero Steve Morse (he later joined Deep Purple) fills the huge Livgren gap. So 2 new members, 1 returning, 2 remaining, second record without violinist. How good can this album be? Let's do a track-by-track review:

1. Silhouettes in Disguise
The front cover is indicative of the sound, as this is the most industrial Kansas have ever sound! The classic Livgren-Walsh composing duo is replaced with Morse-Walsh and this is the first taste of their collaboration. The intro has a very distinct 80s hard rock/AOR sound, the whole song is uplifting and enjoyable, but not special.

2. Power
Tardemark 80s arena rock, with differences in production it could be a song by Whitesnake, Jefferson Starship, Foreigner... you know what I mean. It's good, it's fun, it's the logical choice for a Single, it was indeed released as one, but it was not backed up with a video! That poor choice by MCA condemned the song to a much lower Billboard position than it could reach and prevented it from becoming a hit as it sounds like. It's not great but it deserves more recognition and airplay; an underrated song.

3. All I Wanted
A Single that reached #19 on Billboard, the 3rd highest ever by the band! It's just a simplistic radio friendly love song, but I guess it was catchy enough for it to become a hit, even without significant promotion my MCA. I don't connect with it, especially as I keep in mind that we're talking about freakin' Kansas over here, the band that released almighty albums like Point of Know Return less than 10 years ago!

4. Secret Service - a Kansas classic - most Prog song of the album
Four different songwriters here, but Morse has to be the main one since this one sounds very close to some Deep Purple tunes from his era! Great song with tasteful prog elements, very memorable chorus, wise vocal lines, intriguing lyrics. By very far the most interesting song thus far! Why didn't they release it as a Single and why did they play it live only a handful of times?! It really is beyond me, we have a very-very good tune here and a truly underrated one!

5. We're Not Alone Anymore - worst song of the album
Fast rocker that demonstrates some of Morse's guitar skills, but nothing else significant. A rather forgettable song.

6. Musicatto
An instrumental Kansas used many times as their live concerts intro, it's a keyboard-driven prog piece that could work well as an intro of a sports team too. Good job by Morse-Walsh here, that's a fun track!

7. Taking In the View
Ahhhh classic Kansas sound! What a nostalgic song... A quiet, acoustic tune with beautiful melodies and tender vocals by Walsh, like only he can sing! The bittersweet lyrics are a perfect fit for it, too. This is the second stand-out song of the album after "Secret Service"!

8. Three Pretenders - a Kansas classic - best song of the album - my favorite song of the album - most underrated song of the album
Oh boy! What a great AOR song, that would easily be a hit if it was released by Journey! Best riff of the album, sublime arrangements, unforgettable vocal lines and a fantastic chorus! The travesty? It was not released as a Single even though it has "hit" written allover it, and it was never played live by the band. NEVER. Zero times!!! I don't know how much more underrated a song can be. Is this the most underrated of Kansas' entire discography? Possibly!

9. Tomb 19
A mainstream 80s rocker with the well known quiet verse-powerful chorus combo. The lyrics are about a sacred tomb that the tomb raider should be very careful of; Walsh could be inspired by movies like Indiana Jones on that one. An enjoyable song but not significant.

A 10. Can't Cry Anymore (The Producers cover)
A great ballad nonetheless, and a classic performance by Walsh who tears us apart with his tremendous vocals. A highlight of the album, it can't be considered a Kansas classic though, since it's a cover. One more thing: who on earth thought it was a great idea to release a bloody cover as the third Single of the album while having "Secret Service" and "Three Pretenders" available?! It didn't even chart, of course it didn't! Those MCA guys did a terrible job promoting this album...

RATING:
Tracks 2-4-8-7 are Kansas worthy, tracks 6-10 are good, tracks 1-3-5-9 are not special. Power is better than it's predecessor, but worse than any other Kansas album thus far. Considering Kansas' classic standards, it's in the 2 stars spectrum.