SOMEWHERE TO ELSEWHERE

What can we say for Kansas at this point of their storied career? In 2004 they celebrated their 30th anniversary of their first album and toured the States extensively. Are they and will they ever be the international success they were in the mid 70's? Of course not. Can they still write and play dynamic music similar to what they did in the mid 70's updated to today's standard the answer is yes. This CD proves that. When this CD was put together the listener must also get Kerry Livergrn's Collectors Sedition CD because that is the rest of the material that the rest of the band drew from. Steve Walsh did not contribute songs to this work because he had already committed to a solo work called Glossolalia also on Magna Carta records (plug is given because neither Steve Walsh or Kerry Livgren have their own page here at the time of this review). Had he contributed some of his better songs from that CD I think this album would maybe have been one of the best albums Kansas had done. It is still a very good album. It also could have been better by the band selecting two other songs that ended up on Kerry's Collectors Sedition album (Numavox records). The first called the Sentinel one the finest progressive songs I have heard Kerry record and another called the Dragon which has melodies that are reminiscent of some of the Suppers Ready Genesis days. You could have replaced Skin Tight Blues and Grand Fun Alley with those two and it would have been a better progressive album. Still with Icarus II, which plays like a soundtrack, Myriad and Distant Vision (Which were discussed in other reviews) the album is worth it alone. There is an interesting song called Byzantium which is very different for Kansas. I think it is a great historical overview of the legendary city with the music invoking images in the imagination of what they city was like. My only complaint is that it is too short and some instrumental interlude between the verses would have made this song much better in my opinion. One other thing that was of interest is anyone who buys this CD indirectly contributed to the long overdue World War II memorial in Washington DC inspired by the song Icarus II about a WW2 bomber pilot. This is a long standing tradition with this band to help charities and other worth while causes when they can. Nope, not the 70's masters they once were but this CD grows on you the more you listen. It is worth a four to me considering that is a new millennium CD and considering Kerry Livgren's involvement in Proto-Kaw (Before Became After) This just might be the last studio CD to feature all the original members including Dave Hope.