DRASTIC MEASURES

Little by little, the esscence of Kansas has gone. Exit Walsh and now Steindhart. Can you imagine a Kansas album without violin ? Something like Tull without flute, VDGG without sax or Yes without keys. Like the latter two they did it and like them they produced a very poor album by doing so. Prog times are now long gone and this one is pure FM / AOR oriented. Their worse album so far, with no doubt. Here is a free advise that can save you money : stay away from this one and look for better Kansas records (which is very easy) : you won't regret it.

One of the few good tracks is probably the longest number of this album "Mainstream" : a good hard-rocking tune with good vocals and a great support band. How great it could have been with some violin. Instead, we'll get some marimba... It is by far the best number on this album. A strong composition which would please most Kansas fans.

"Going Through The Motions" is not too bad either. Truely bombastic with loads of keys and a very strong backing band. This is the second "long" number, allowing Kansas to bring a bit of diversity into it. Very pleasant I must say. To be honest I must say that "Don't Take Your Love Away" does not sound too bad either : nice vocal arragements and solid melody. It starts as a gentle rock ballad but turned into a solid rocking number. Same applies to "Andy" : a nice rock ballad trying to match "Dust In The Wind" but quite fails. Too childish, but it is not too bad a break in this ocean of FM sounds.

I really wonder who has chosen the title of this album. "Drastic Measures", right ? By respect for the band I will not k-joke about it, but frankly they should have deserved it !

I remind you again that I am an old Kansas fan having enjoyed the band when it was unknown in Europe (1975) but this has nothing to do with the Kansas I once loved so much. Two stars only for this reason (which is rather subjective, I admit. But I am reluctant to rate a Kansas album only with one star). I can understand that a band needs to evolves, but "Drastic Measures" is rather a devolution. Are we not men ?