Kansas recently made the decision to part with long time violinist Robbie Steinhardt.  Walsh saying that now they will be f***ing awesome.

I think walsh is missing the true essense of Kansas....KERRY.

The band has slipped significantly ever since he left, and this just weakens the band further.

Proto-Kaw on the other hand has been pumping out top notch music and i thing the Kansas fans are slipping over to Proto-Kaw...

Its hard to believe that a band which was at one time a prog powerhouse has slipped to such depths

I would like to hear if anyone else belives that kerry is one of the most underrated prog artists.

Definitely. I enjoy his music in Proto-Kaw much more than I enjoy Kansas, however, I still need to get my hands on Befor Became After.

He's a great guitarist, I like his style a lot.

 -- Ivan

Kerry Livgren is a great composer.  He has a prolific catalog of a very diverse nature of songs through the years both in groups and solo.  The best thing, according to him, that he hasn't finished recording is a symphonic concept work that he labels a Cantata. Hopefully he will find time to finish it in the next year or two.  He started writing it in 1979.  I know Phil Erhart, Robby Steinhardt and Neal Morse have done work on it and there still is more to go. 

He just put an update about it on his website.  By the way the first little clip you hear when you log on is a song called the Sentinel a song rejected by the rest of Kansas for Somewhere to Elsewhere.

http://www.numavox.com - WWW.numavox.com

The new web site looks pretty good

I listened to clips from "Wait of Glory" and was really impressed. The song "Physic" sounds particularly good

Kerry Livgren is the main author of the greatest Kansas album of the golden era...it's easy to see the embarassing albums made by Kansas when he left!

Freaks of Nature is bad bad bad!!!

ivansfr0st wrote: Definitely. I enjoy his music in Proto-Kaw much more than I enjoy Kansas, however, I still need to get my hands on Before Became After. He's a great guitarist, I like his style a lot.  -- Ivan

IMO, Before Became After is better than The Wait of Glory. Both are excellent, BBA is just a littel better.

With Kerry there were 10 albums of new Kansas material. Without Kerry there were 3 with a couple of songs by Walsh on Always Never the Same. Kerry also contributed Cold Grey Morning to Freaks Of Nature and Wheels to the 1994 Boxset.

 Kerry has also released 4 albums with AD 3 with Proto-Kaw and 5 solo.  22 albums without re releases, compilations or Live albums! That is a pretty good documentation of his work. 

White Feather wrote: I enjoyed the first proto kaw CD more than the latest one BTW and I don`t get into AD very much , In my opinion Kerry`s best works was with Kansas from   74 - 77

I think each in the time frame given are all pretty good.  AD was a solid band in the mid eighties and if the Christian label was not slapped on them you might have heard more of them. The first two CDs Time Line and Art of the State were the best but after that the production went down the drain.  The solo stuff has some great moments and some not so great moments.  I like the new P-K better because it has more of the band members influence on especially bassist Craig Kew and Keyboard player Dan Wright.  I like the use of more flute for color in this one too.

Garion81 wrote: White Feather wrote: I enjoyed the first proto kaw CD more than the latest one BTW and I don`t get into AD very much , In my opinion Kerry`s best works was with Kansas from   74 - 77   I think each in the time frame given are all pretty good.  AD was a solid band in the mid eighties and if the Christian label was not slapped on them you might have heard more of them. The first two CDs Time Line and Art of the State were the best but after that the production went down the drain.  The solo stuff has some great moments and some not so great moments.  I like the new P-K better because it has more of the band members influence on especially bassist Craig Kew and Keyboard player Dan Wright.  I like the use of more flute for color in this one too.

All valid points Garion.  I think AD was pretty good and some of the P-K stuff I've heard is solid (need to hear more though).  I also thought "Cold Grey Morning" might be the best track off Freaks of Nature. However, I got to side with White Feather on this one.  If Kerry starting writing stuff as good as back in the seventies, it would truly be a Miracle Out of Nowhere!

DolphinFan wrote: Garion81 wrote: [QUOTE=White Feather] All valid points Garion.  I think AD was pretty good and some of the P-K stuff I've heard is solid (need to hear more though).  I also thought "Cold Grey Morning" might be the best track off Freaks of Nature. However, I got to side with White Feather on this one.  If Kerry starting writing stuff as good as back in the seventies, it would truly be a Miracle Out of Nowhere!

I suppose you could say that about any composer from the 70's.  I don't hear many of them still even trying anymore. 

Of course it is my opinion but there are styles and genres on the P-K cds I have never heard Kerry venture into before. And I'll put the following songs up against anything he has written with Kansas.  Not better mind you but I can say they are as good as.  Different musicians are playing the music for one and that makes it a bit different.

Alt More Worlds than Known
Leaven
Theophany
Nevermore
When the Rains Come
The Vigil

If you like Cold Grey Morning from FoN you should hear the version on his solo album Collectors Sedition.  That was the CD of music that Kansas rejected for Somewhere to Elsewhere. I think they blew it in several songs.  The Sentinel and The Dragon for sure.