DEVICE - VOICE - DRUM (DVD)

I grew up with the band - not physically but spiritually - through the streams of excellent music produced by their albums. My first introduction was sometime in 1976 when I heard Incomudro at the first time. It blew me away. Since then, I kept collecting their albums. As colleague collaborator Martin Vengadesan did put in his views about Song For America album : "It's been said that Kansas was a formulaic band that mixed a boogie-woogie sensibility with rapid-fire violin playing and touches of Yes and Genesis influenced synths." - I fully agree with him on depicting the kind of Kansas music. Unlike in Peru where Kansas is not a popular band as mentioned by colleague collaborator Iván Melgar Morey , the band has been so popular in my country even the small city of Madiun (East Java, Indonesia) where I lived during my childhood and teenage. It might be due to our local band God Bless did a lot of cover version (on stage) for Kansas. I even watched God Bless covered Carry On Wayward Son perfectly in Jakarta sometime in 1977.

With all of the above background, you know how I feel the first time when I watched this DVD of their live act June 15, 2002. Having been for years listening to their music and watched the cover band, now I can watch the real thing! WOW!!! I was so much engrained with the perception of "old man playing violin" in my mind due to many covers of the band showing that image (debut album, Leftoverture, boxed set 2 CDs) and the fact that violin is the band's most characteristic. When the band shows up on stage with their classic "Belexes" my adrenalin exploded and astonished with the appearance of five classic-rockers on stage! It's a rocking nuance man .! Steve Walsh at the right side (from audience view) with his Kurzweil keyboard and excellent singing. Yes he has lost some of his unique high notes but the quality of his voice is excellent. He rocks! Robby Steinhardt with his violin standing at front stage. Richard Williams is close to his position followed with Billy Greer. At the drum stools is the producer and mastermind of this concert, Phil Ehart, located at center back of the stage. Out of five band members only Richard Williams has short hair.

I watched the DVD again last night (it's probably my 7th spin since` I purchased) and I really enjoy watching this DVD as some of the band's legendary tracks were performed excellently. I could not let myself just sitting on the couch when Icarus was performed. I grabbed the CD and opened the sleeve notes to find the lyrics and sang along with the band. Robby's rapid-fire violin was really stunning when he performed Song for America. Important to notice is Phil Ehart drumming - it's so dynamic with great movement of his hands holding drum sticks and beating the snare and tom. With his age, I'm amazed that he still plays his drum wonderfully and it's an attracting point of the show, I think. Howlin' at the Moon - second part of Magnum Opus from Leftoverture album was played flawlessly and served as an intro part to the next melodic tune The Wall. Richard Williams played his opening guitar part excellently also guitar solo. He moved closer to the front when he did his guitar solo.

The Preacher was performed with the help of church choirs at the back of the stage using blue uniform. My favorite classic track Journey from Mariabronn was performed through middle section with great solo drumming by Phil Ehart. Robby showed his virtuosity with his violin work throughout the song, played in alternate with rapid finger punching keyboard of Steve Walsh. I really admire Steve on his ability in doing his keyboard and at the same time singing. The band also used real string section when they performed Dust in the Wind.

Cheyenne Anthem was performed with Robby taking the first lyrical verse continued with Steve Walsh on second verse onwards. It's a great combination of vocals. The other tracks were truly legendary ones: Child of Innocence, Miracles Out of Nowhere, Point of Know Return, Portriat/Pinnacle. It's a regret that Pinnacle was only performed partially to conclude Portrait that represents Kerry Livgren admiration to scientist. This was actually end of the show. After the show, the band mingled with the crowd who asked the band to play some more. The band finally agreed to do an encore: Fight Fire With Fire, Play the Game Tonight, and the FM radio top hit: Carry on Wayward Son.

In summary, this is an excellent live video collection of a legendary progressive and classic rock band. For those who favor - not necessarily die hard fan of - the band must have this in their collection. It's a 4 ½ out of 5 stars rating overall. Sound quality of the DVD is excellent. The downside is the picture quality which is worse than laser disc quality. But, I don't want to penalize the band with picture quality issue as I see the band from the perspective of their excellent performance. Highly recommended! Keep your passion for prog!

Progressively yours,

GW - Review #311

I remember before buying this DVD, all the thoughts running through my head. I was wondering what it would be like with no Kerry Livgren and also if Steve Walsh could still cut it on stage.Never seeing them live before I almost ran home to put it on!

Well now after watching it over one hundred times I can honestly say this is in my top five DVD´s of all time! A lot of people complained about the grainy image, but I had read before that they used film to avoid a glossy image, so I was prepared! Filmed in Atlanta 2002, the quite small audience were made up of strictly hard core Kansas fans. If you look at the audience you can see young and old faces from all walks of life.

They open up with "Belexes" and from the word go you can see this is going to special. I was doubtful if Steve Walsh could still hit those high notes. His voice isn´t what it used to be in the 70`s, but then again they are all in their fifties now! To my joy I found he still has that passion and emotion when he sings. The moment he leaves his keyboards to pick up the mic he gives it all he has and sings from his soul. "Icarus 2" and "Icurus" follow after each other, both giving me goosebumps. It´s that emotion of voice and Robbie Steinhardt´s violin that makes "Icarus 2" such a classic. The way Robbie closes his eyes and gets that sweet sad sound out of his instrument is just beautiful. " Icarus" follows with a great performance by Walsh. I noted a young guy sitting quite close to the stage playing air drums and singing out loud with Steve which is great to watch! Their Prog masterpiece "Song for America" comes across perfectly with Billy Greer helping out on backing vocals. After Steve Walsh does his wolf howl in "Howling at the moon" they break into "The Wall" Although Kerry Livgren wrote the song, Walsh looks like he is truly into the lyrics and delivers a heart felt performance. Then it´s time to kick back a bit and rock, "The Preacher" sees the band backed by a gospel choir and this seems to lift up everyone´s spirits. It´s also evident that the band are enjoying themselves. "Journey from Mariabronn" is a standout for me just to watch Phil Ehart´s incredible performance during this song. He makes it all look so easy and his sticks are a blur of drumming wizardry. This DVD lets us know what an absolutely underrated drummer he actually is. He is one of the top (if not the top!) progressive drummers, Incredible performance! For "Dust in the wind" they have four female violinists accompanying the band. This is probably their biggest hit, so a concert without this song would be unthinkable. After this reflective song they do "Cheyenne Anthem" where Robbie Steinhardt takes over lead vocals (only in the beginning) He almost looks some Biblical character with the stagelights lighting up his wild hair all colours of the rainbow! Steve takes over the vocals halfway into the song and then there is an amazing jam section that lets you know why this band is so highly regarded. Steinhardt also sings "Child of Innocence" and lets the audience know that you are never too old to rock. During "Miracles out of nowhere" the band vanishes for a few seconds and we see some amazing amination in sync with the actual song. This is very well done how they change from the band to the amination and back again.(You will really have to see this part to get the idea!) "Point of Know Return" gets the audience in a more upbeat mood and they even start rocking in the aisles during "Portrait" which strangely has a section of "The Pinnacle" in the song! Two songs from the Elefante era are up next "Fight fire with fire" and "Play the game tonight. Despite being quite commercial hits these two songs sound great live. The camera zooms in on a few people dancing and clapping along! The show ends with the immortal "Carry On Wayward Son" with an acoustic introduction by Richard Williams.

On all the studio recordings (with Kerry) this was a six man band. How they managed to do songs like "Song for America" and "Icurus" as just a five man band is an absolute miracle! a big extra cheer to Walsh and Williams for filling in all the parts from an absent Livgren.

An absolutely fantastic DVD!!

In 1994, I bought Kansas` "Live at the Whisky" live album, which was recorded and released in 1992. I still liked the sound of the band in that CD, but Steve Walsh`s voice sounded very damaged, and it was the only thing which disappointed me from the CD. But I read that Walsh`s voice was recovered in recent years, so when I watched this "Device Voice Drum" concert I could see that it was true. Walsh sings very well the songs in this DVD.

The band, despite being a quintet without the additional keyboards and guitars of songwriter Kerry Livgren, still plays very good. Robbie Steinhardt still plays very well, and his violin`s sound and playing is very good, really improving a lot the sound of the band. Drummer Phil Ehart`s playing is powerful, less "Prog" in style than in the `70s, but being at the centre of the band`s sound. Rich Williams`role as the only lead guitarist on stage has made that he plays even with more energy than years before. The interaction of his guitar playing with Steinhardt`s violin is very good. Bassist Bill Greer is very good too, also singing very well. Steinhardt sings less than in previous years. He originally sang "Carry On Wayward Son", but the song is sung since several years ago only by Walsh. Walsh is a good keyboard player, but I think that he really needs in some songs the support of an additional keyboard player, because singing and playing the keyboards in some Kansas`songs at the same time is not very easy, IMO. It is clear for me mainly in "The Wall", because this song was originally played on the keyboards by Livgren, who played arpeggios on the keyboards in some verses. Walsh plays "The Wall" without the arpeggios in some parts of the song. But despite this, the band plays this song very well.

One curious thing in this DVD is the inclusion of two songs from the two albums which the band recorded with John Elefante as singer/keyboard player, with in this concert both songs being sung by Walsh. Walsh does a very good job in these two songs.

The inclusion of a Gospel Choir in "The Preacher" is very good. The singers gave a lot of power to the song, a "Heavy Rock Gospel Song", IMO.

The recording and mixing of the sound is very good, and I also can say that the camera angles are very good too.

I recommend this DVD because the band played the songs very well, with Walsh singing very well too as he did in the seventies.

This product was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia with a relatively small crowd; I remember living in Georgia at the time and that I was wanting to go (it was around the time of my birthday), but I couldn't afford to do so. I consider it a lost opportunity. It was some consolation to be able to have in my possession the DVD of this show (and later on, the CD), as I would get to watch over and over again what I had missed out on. As expected, the music is fantastic, with some pieces that just blew my mind that they would play (like "Journey from Mariabronn"). With the picture in place, though, one gets the privilege of seeing these fine men do what they love to do, with passion and in spite of age. One gets the see the glorious choir on "The Preacher," and one can see the candlelit intimacy of "Dust in the Wind." In addition, the crowd seems overwhelmed with such an intimate show, almost as much a part of it as the band itself. I do consider the picture to be slightly grainier than it probably could be, but this is a fascinating look at a splendid band, in the prime of their golden years, so to speak- brilliant.

When I heard thaht Kansas had released a live DVD I just went to the store right away and bought it without even bothering to know what was all about. After all, to see Kansas live was - up till tenn - something very hard to happen specially if you´re living outside the usual live circuit where you can actually go to their concerts (which is my and my compatriots case). Device-Voice-Drum, however, is not really a dream come true affair like Nightwish´s From Whishes To Eternity or IQ´s Forever Live, just to name two. It´s not bad at all either. It has positive and negative points.

On the positive side: they are in great form, the setlist has some fantastic, complex songs they play like it was a child´s play. The sound is wonderful, very well balanced and clear. They respect the original arrangements and the few novelties work very well (like the added strings on Dust In the Wind). The lightning and stage are also very good. And, boy, do those guys like to play! You can see in their eyes that they just love it! The inclusion of two Elefante-era AOR hit singles are a treat for fans, even if they are in a medley format. The vocal parts are stunning, they know how to reproduce those studio harmonies with cirurgical precision (they gained an extra punch with Billy Greer´s help).

On the negative side: the video images are not the best, a bit dark and grainy. Nothing too bad, but could be better. Walsh´s vocals are not the same anymore: the guy who once had one of the most beautiful voices ever in rock music now struggles to hit some high notes. The years of heavy drinking and drugs has taken their toll. And yet, he is still a fine singer and delivers a good perfomance overall. And I was too pissed when I realized they don´t play the whole Pinnacle, but only a small instrumental portion of it. They could have played it all, as it is one of Kansas best songs ever. They could have also dropped Howling At The Moon and The Preacher, but otherwise the repertoire is fantastic. The public is a bit too quiet for a live concert too, isn´t it? And, to top it all, I miss Kerry Livgren on the stage.

Until the recently 30 year anniversary video, this was the only official live document of the band and it is a must have for any Kansas fan. You may wish Kerry Livgren would be on it (no chance!) and the setlist won´t ever totally satisfy everybody, but those guys can put on a good show! Not real ideal due the flaws I pointed out above, but Device-Voice-Drum is still is very good. 4 stars.

3.5 stars really!!!

One thing most detractors must recognize is that few prog dinosaurs managed to survive the way Kansas did. With the possible exception of Yes, they're the only group that never really stopped and still today manage to pull together for their DVD an excellent historic line-up, with only Livgren missing, and they managed to live through some disastrous times, holding on to their career and a faithful public in the US. Of course, since the mid-90's, things got a little simpler with the advent of prog as an organized subculture, even allowing the band to tour Europe a few times, sometimes headlining with other bands , such as Styx. With original members Ehart, Walsh and Steinhardt, the group has long-time members Williams and Greer with them, making it a near-perfect incarnation, in the light of Livgren's continuing absence. In French: les absents ont toujours tort.

While the band is obviously relying on their classic 70's repertoire, we must say two things: 1- their loud prog rock has aged fairly well and many 90's US bands have kept their typical sound alive and 2- Kansas has not been afraid to modernize their music somewhat, and I'm not talking of Walsh's older keyboards waltzing into the cellar. The set list presented at the Atlanta venue is obviously aiming at pleasing the fans, but is also holding a few semi- surprise, including two tacks from the debut album and pulling the odd one from their disastrous 80's, but let's face it, most are waiting for the Leftoverture and Know Return tracks and get a vitaminated complement with SFA and Masques selection that soothes.

With a strange device at the back of the group's stage and this historic line-up, Kansas' bet (so they call it in the bonus features) was a fairly safe to win, but convincing cringey old knuckleheads like me was a bit more of a challenge. The fact that I finally rented this DVD some seven years after its release shows that they've succeeded halfway: If they return to Europe, I'll consider going to see them in concert, if they come within 100 miles from where I am. BTW: between Yes and Kansas, you can feel more honesty from the latter, but I still prefer the former's music.

Playing the game tonight!

I have three different live videos by Kansas (and a couple of live albums as well) and they are indeed a fantastic live band (though, I have never seen them live in real life). Device Voice Drum is a very good concert DVD, but it is hardly perfect. I globally prefer the more recent Kansas DVD release, There's Know Place Like Home which I rated with the full five stars (a rating I don't use a lot and reserve strictly for the most exceptional of releases). Inevitably, I will compare the two DVDs in this review.

One major difference between the two DVDs is Steve Walsh's vocal performance. It is not quite as it should be here! His voice shows considerable strain and he often seems to be unaware of which notes he will be able to hit and not. And some he simply cannot hit which seems to surprise him more than once. He will probably never be entirely back to his old self again, but if you compare the present performance with the There's Know Place Like Home performance, the difference is striking! On the latter he is much more wise and restrained and he does not try to do any vocal acrobatics he cannot mange to succeed in doing.

Robbie Steinhardt is in many ways the star of the show on Device Voice Drum. His lead vocals on Cheyenne Anthem is remarkably good and his violin is as wonderful as always. Phil Ehart and Rich Williams are as good as ever on drums and guitars respectively and Billy Greer does a fine job on the bass. However, while Kansas is traditionally a six piece band, they are only a five piece here, and there is, I feel, something missing here. On There's Know Place Like Home this is remedied by an orchestra and some guest performers like Kerry Livgren and Steve Morse.

Another difference between the present show and the one featured on There's Know Place Like Home is the type of place they perform in and, most importantly, the audience reaction. The band performs here in a small club. The audience seems to sit extremely close to the band, indeed it looks like the audience is almost on the stage! While a close relation to audience is usually a great thing, the audience here seem not to be particularly enthusiastic. Compared with the amazing audience reaction on the There's Know Place Like Home show where the band (deservedly!) gets a standing ovation after virtually every song, the audience here is very quiet and restrained.

Another difference, which is a minor one, is the set list. It is quite similar on the two DVDs I'm comparing, but I generally prefer the one on There's Know Place Like Home over the present one. Most of the songs on Device Voice Drum are very appropriate choices and constitute some of the band's all time best songs like Song For America, Cheyenne Anthem, Icarus, Carry On Wayward Son, The Wall and Point Of Know Return, etc. The eternal Dust In The Wind is, of course, also performed but what on earth is Walsh doing with his voice in the beginning of the song?! A great classic song, but not the greatest performance of it, I'm afraid. A couple of the songs here are perhaps less appropriate choices. I particularly think of The Preacher which is one of the least good songs from the In The Spirit Of Things album from the late 80's. In this song they have a guest appearance by a Gospel choir!

In favour of the present DVD, I should say that Journey from Mariabronn is a fantastic song that is not present on There's Know Place Like Home and the Device Voice Drum version of Cheyenne Anthem is better due to the presence of Robbie Steinhardt (who is not on There's Know Place Like Home).

Having one of these two DVDs is essential, but having both is only for fans. Needless to add, I recommend There's Know Place Like Home (as well as the classic live album Two For The Show) over the present Kansas DVD. But Device Voice Drum is, despite some flaws, still a very good live video release and thus a very worthy addition to a Prog collection.

My first Kansas concert. Quite good to be honest, but there are moments when I don't feel so comfortable. Performance is very good, but seeing it for the first time, I was confused by Richard Williams staying in the back for the most of the time. Steve W (not Wonder) still keeps his well suited voice, however I have to say that this is my biggest problem here - songs sang differently from albums, when he's trying to perform them in a new way. This wouldn't be bad normally, but some of these tries fails (for me). Robbie gets a lot of attention, he and his wild violin. He is also the most furiously playing member (except Walsh who is jumping and behaving frantically, I quite like that after all). Billy therefore gets attention too (both on stage and in songs, because a lot of them have interesting bass parts). Tracklist is taken mostly from "Golden era" (70's) with well balanced placing.

4(+), the brightest moment would probably be Song For America (unique approach to this sound, but there are many good ones.

Finaly I've puted my hand on this one, wanted for many years, so this month I've puted in my DVD and the ride begun...... Recorded in Atlanta in 2002 , Kansas is captured here in a great form, great performance by this awesome band, even all members are in age over 50 they've done a great job here. A real solid live set here, each piece is wisely chosen to give a spectaculat concert. With a relatively small crowd, Kansas manage to bring with a fantastic show here, each musician dekivers the best, specially I like a lot the performance of Phil Ehart, after so many years on the road and touring still very precice and very confident on what he das. What I like here aswell is that the band doesn't bring together with the music , the tones of lightning and special effects, is just them and strictly necesar lights, a good thing if you ask me. They had here a great list, they cover almost entire career 'till then , even the most unsuccesful albums from early '80's, couple of pieces, left aside are Monolith, Audio Visions and Power, the rest from each album somthing to offer. Excellent Song for America here, the fabulous Howlin' at the Moon, Portriat/Pinnacle or Icarus are brilliantly puted in this context. What else, a great DVD , that needs for sure 4 stars. Great band, great albums, they are one of the most influencial bands ever in prog rock zone and not only. Respect

This is a fantastic live video from Kansas. The quality is exceptional and the playing is as tight as always, which is to be expected from Kansas. The song selection here is great, including some of their hits as well as the best of their more progressive compositions. Steve Walsh's voice is a little bit rough by this time, but he still does his best and it shows. Aside from the music, the sound and video quality is incredible and the camera shots are superb. I'd have to recommend this to any big fan of Kansas, and is a fantastic gift any fan of progressive rock in general.

If we had some good video of the Two For The Show period that would probably be deserving the 5 stars and by comparison this one might get 4, but in it's absence this 2002 video is the closest you can get to the classic Kansas at their best (the 35th anniversary 'There's Know Place Like Home' is outstanding and better produced but we see an older band without Robby Steinhardt). After the turbulent period of the 80's and 90's (both in terms of line-up and musically), Kansas were back to please their old prog fans. Unfortunately Kerry Livgren did not join and this takes some depth away from the music and makes for a busy Steve Walsh. Dave Hope was already long gone but Billy Greer was an excellent replacement providing good support on backing vocals as well. Walsh voice is a bit harsh on the high notes but better than in previous years and one can only admire his dedication and commitment.

Performed in an intimate atmosphere at the Earthlink Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, I really envy the fortunate people who attended this gig. The track list includes many of the proggiest songs of the band, with only two of their more AOR tracks 'Fight Fire With Fire' and 'Play The Game Tonight', both played in the encore. The concert starts with an impressive row: 'Belexes', 'Icarus II', 'Icarus', 'Song For America', the short intro 'Howling At The Moon' (no, unfortunately we don't get the full 'Magnum Opus') and 'The Wall', all of them performed with impressive musicianship and tightness.

'The Preacher' from the Steve Morse era is performed with the support of a large gospel choir and although not a particularly proggy song it offers a pleasing and uplifting interlude in the show.

Back to the proggiest material with the exceptional 'Journey From Mariabronn'. Seeing one of my favourite drummers Phil Ehart is one of the big incentives of this video, his use of the bass drums and snare was one of the best around.

'Dust In The Wind' although already heard ad nauseam is here nicely performed with the support of a strings quartet, Billy Greer supports Rich Williams with an acoustic guitar, and Robby Steinhardt confirms how good a rock violinist he was.

Another energetic prog row with 'Cheyenne Anthem', 'Child Of Innocence' and 'Miracles Out Of Nowhere' with great vocal interplays between Walsh and Steinhardt. During 'Miracles' we have the funny Animusic computer animation driven by MIDI data of the actual music.

The main set ends with the classics 'Point Of Know Return' and 'Portrait' (with the outro of 'The Pinnacle') with yet another drumming masterclass by Phil Ehart and excellent interplays of guitar and violin.

The band returns for the encores, the more AOR-ish Elefante-era 'Fight Fire With Fire' and 'Play The Game Tonight', and finally the obligatory 'Carry On Wayward Son'.

The filming quality and takes direction are good and all the band members get enough coverage. Overall an excellent concert by an excellent band.

I am not sure how many years I have been a Kansas fan, but it has for quite a long time. Of course, one problem with liking an American band is that if they are not immensely popular then it can be a major problem getting them to tour over here, and there is little chance that they will ever be shown on UK television. Now even for a band that has released three albums that have sold in excess of seven million copies it can be an issue so I was more than pleased to be able to play this DVD and for the first time ever see Kansas in concert.

The line-up may not be the absolute classic, but with Steve Walsh, Phil Ehart, Robby Steinhardt and Richard Williams all there at the beginning and 'new boy' Billy Greer having been there for some years it would seem churlish to complain. Jeff Glixman was again roped in to mix the album and DVD sound and from its' initial conception this DVD was designed to be something special. Instead of just being a standard 'in concert' film the band decided that this had to be a special event. The theatre was chosen carefully, and they play on the floor with the seats rising above them on three sides ? but this means that they are on the same level and in touching distance of the fans in the front seats, and as they were all rabid Kansas fans it gives a heightened atmosphere.

The songs were chosen from throughout their career, so they were performing some numbers that hadn't been played live for some time, which the crowd certainly appreciated. There is a lot of energy being transmitted by both audience and band, and Kansas certainly seem to feed on this and use it to produce a stunning performance from "Belexes" to the classic "Carry On Wayward Son". Steve Walsh is often stood behind the keyboards but when the opportunity arises he has the microphone in hand and is pushing to be the rock frontman, while Robby Steinhardt can be gentle and reflective, lost in the music that he is producing on violin, or totally animated in driving the band on. But Kansas not only has two fine singers in Robby and Steve but also in bassist Billy Greer who not only provides harmonies throughout but some lead lines such as on "Fight Fire With Fire". Rich is very much the understated guitarist, happy to be at the back, just coming forward when his guitar is at the forefront of proceedings while Phil is always playing the part of musical director from behind the drum kit.

It is a great performance, and one that all Kansas fans will want to watch time and again. But add to that the interviews and extra pieces on the DVD and the viewer gets more of an insight of what Kansas is all about.

Originally appeared in Feedback #73, Jun 03