DRASTIC MEASURES

I remember vividly buying the cassette version of this album when it was released in 1983, I spun it once and then I put the cassette on the shelf and never touched it anymore. Why? It was enough for me to get disappointed with the previous album "Vinyl Confessions" where the music did not seem to match the standard of Kansas music I knew at that time. This album has gone even worse than the previous one as the music is almost all of them straight forward with bare prog elements. I have no problem with Elefante's vocal quality and it's not the major issue. I also a bit disappointed with the fact that Robby Steinhardt left the band for unknown reason.

That's my reason for not liking the band, which was mostly caused by the band itself - an internal problem. The other reason was external in nature: the year was a death year for prog as many prog bands went pop and / or new wave. And, in that year there was a band who stood tall, telling the world that "prog is alive!". The band was MARILLION! Practically I was listening to "Script for A Jester's Tear" everyday and never realize that there was a "Drastic Measures" album by Kansas that I should respect because Kansas was legendary prog band.

"Drastic Measures" might sound good for those who never heard Kansas music before, even though I doubt it. The music itself does not seem to flow naturally from one track to another of in fact from one passage to another in the same track. There is no major hit like "Chasing Shadows" of previous album. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)