POINT OF KNOW RETURN

What can be said? This record is about as close to prog/classic rock perfection as you can get. Beautiful, swirling hook-filled melodies, provocative storyline lyrics, and strong compositional structure fill these grooves from start to finish. No filler material here, folks! And with none of that modern day Dream Theatre mentality..."we're all music institute graduates and we're going to show you how incredibly talented we are with all sorts of unnecessary riffs, runs, and licks!" But I digress...Kansas was always able to pull off musical complexity without the pretensions. It always seemed so effortless, and that's what makes their music so special. Music for your mind that even found a home on radio. They didn't just write songs, they crafted them, from the ground up. You can hear their unique style and sound that improved with each album and peaked with P.O.K.R. The title track has a great bridge with Steve Walshs' soaring vocals coupled with Robbie Steinhardts' urgent violin melody that still sends chills down my spine. Drummer Phil Eharts' style shines thru on "The Spider", with its manic rythm leading a band trying to keep up. Slower, moodier pieces like "Closet Chronicles" and "Nobody's Home" share equal billing with rockers like "Lightning's Hand" and "Sparks of the Tempest." But the album's centerpiece is the final track "Hopelessly Human." A typically melancholy masterpiece that builds and swells with great hooks, melodies, and lyrics until it crashes down at the end, wrapping up with a repeat of the ominous opening melody and leaving the listener wanting more. Well, at least it does for me. All this brilliance courtesy of guitarist and band leader Kerry Livgren. Bottom line: If you're a prog rocker and don't own and love this disc, shame on you!!! Get it, Know it, Love it.