SONG FOR AMERICA

Kansas's second album continues the progressive trend established in the first album, as well as their inclination for more bluesy, rocking tunes. But this is arguably the band's most progressive album, containing three songs over eight minutes in length.

I usually subdivide the album into two halves based on the types of songs. Firstly, you have your plain old rockers in 'Down the Road,' 'Lonely Street' and 'The Devil Game.' The first two are just plain rock songs with a southern tang, and aren't really prog at all. The third also has a rocking inflection, but frequents the use of keyboards and time signature changes throughout.

The real stars of this album are the three longer songs, 'Song For America,' 'Lamplight Symphony,' and 'Incomudro.'

The first is a symphonic masterpiece which has a plethora of strong melodies which flow beautifully into the next, yielding a complex and diverse structure. There is plenty of keyboard action in this one as well, be it synth, organ, or piano.

The second is slightly more vocal based, often in a down-tempo and gentle manner. The song does pick up tempo in the instrumental section starting halfway through, which features some violin and no shortage of keyboard.

The third is pretty similar to the other two, and is pretty consistent throughout. Most of it is up-tempo and rocking, with plenty of fun melodies and keyboard use, especially the one that starts at five minutes.

While this album has some of the band's most progressive songs, it also has some plain old rockers which aren't exactly my taste, meaning the album is a tad inconsistent. But the songs that are prog are some of the proggiest stuff Kansas has ever done, and they by themselves make this a very solid album.

7/10