THE ABSENCE OF PRESENCE

I have been a massive Kansas fan since their beginnings. I can still remember putting on the first album on my turntable as a 17 year old closing my eyes and letting "Journey From Mariabronn" take me on a journey along with "Apercu" and "Belexes." I was hooked quickly and all the way through "Point Of No Return" they dazzled. As I pointed out in my past review of "Monolith", there is that time when a band starts drying up and losing its creative edge and that album was the start of the decline.

Don't get me wrong, that record, "Audio Visions" and Vinyl Confessions" had some good moments but not the caliber of their first 5 albums. "Drastic Measures" was too drastic and after Steve Walsh returned, his 3 albums were really lacking but since the songwriter who really defined Kansas was missing along with Robbie's voice and violin, it just isn't Kansas.

Fast forward to 2014, Walsh having had serious voice issues for many years and lacking desire retired as he had reached the end of his rope and I cannot blame him. He was the reason that no new studio albums had been released since 2000's reunion "Somewhere To Elsewhere" which honestly was a disappointment to me but maybe my expectations were too high. According to Rich Williams, Steve didn't see why they should record and as Rich stated if one person doesn't want to record you cannot do it.

So when Steve left this opened the door to "Prelude Implicit" in 2016. I had expected to not hear Kansas and wondered why they would do an album but I was pleasantly surprised by it. It was a pretty decent album but not spectacular. Rich had also stated that they weren't just a bunch "of old farts" doing one last gasp; they intended to record another album after "Prelude." So when they decided to go back into the studio I thought we would see something similar to that album.

Hold the press!! Oh, Em, Gee!!! I was in shock hearing this album as it rolled through the tracks. No, not every song is a zinger but no Kansas album hits on every single tune. I am a firm believer that you cannot recreate a band that has lost so many key members. But what happens when you only recruit people who are excellent and proficient musicians who love Kansas? You get "The Absence Of Presence."

I have always liked Ragsdale and he fits Robbie's shoes on the violin very well and he Billy Greer have been part of Kansas a lot longer than Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren were. The sound is classic Kansas at its best and no other group of that era sounds closer to the original than this set of guys.

So after babbling on about all this, what about the tracks? The title track starts out very well and the vocal harmonies work well. "Throwing Mountains" tears it up great and with the solos in the middle it kept me surprised. After you hear a band their songs become predictable and there are less surprise hooks but this album has many. "Propulsion 1" is one of my favorite tracks not just on the album but in the Kansas library. This one screams classic! It is a great kicking instrumental. "Circus Of Illusion" has a few surprises on it as well. The start of "Animals On A roof" reminds me of something on "Leftoverture" and it is also a strong track. The final track, "The Song the River Sang" was a great way to end this jewel and is my favorite vocal track.

My only issue with the band is the lack of a clear second vocalist like Robbie. Greer does a good job but the wider range would be better. But if that is the worst part, I can live with it. I cannot imagine these guys following this up with anything better but I could never have guessed this would be so good. They only have Ehart and Williams from the glory days and they aren't really songwriters. Brislin, Rizvi & Platt wrote this music and it is obvious they have that Kansas blood. The instrumentation is amazing and nothing less than astounding. Phil's drumming never ever is anything less than stellar.

This album has so many great moments that I have to rank it just behind their first 5 albums. I liked it better than "Monolith" and "Audio Visions" and that is saying a lot! Sadly Rizvi dropped out after the tour and Kansas really does better with a dedicated 2nd guitarist and he did some great solos. Rich Williams is a great guitarist but solos are not his strong suit and Ragsdale is just a rhythm player. They have lost one of their songwriters so if they do another one hopefully they hang onto Brislin and Platt and add a new lead guitarist.

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