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Kansas - Kansas [2004 30th Anniversary Remaster] (1974)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Review by Richard Thompson, Amazon.com:

This is KANSAS's debut album. Now, I have to admit, I did not grow up listening to this album. My interest in KANSAS's music came a little later, after hearing such classics as Carry On Wayward Son and Dust in the Wind on the radio as a youth. Even though I owned Leftoverture (1976) and liked it very much, I never had the interest to go back and explore the band's back-catalog. Now, fast-forward 25 years. As a middle-aged adult who still has a big interest in music, I begin to replace many of my old first issue CD's purchased in the 80's with newly "remastered" versions.

After purchasing Leftoverture and Point of Know Return and being amazed at the new sound quality (plus bonus Live tracks!) It began a renewed interest in the music of KANSAS. Also, I had slowly generated much more of an interest in Progressive Rock, which I now understand KANSAS to be a participant in. Eventually I purchased their debut, and boy, was I surprised by the great songs that I had never heard before. Songs played with the energy of a young band hungry for success.

The album starts off with the actual song that got Kansas their first record deal, Can I Tell You. This early track, written by two-thirds of the band, is the song that Don Kirshner was so impressed with, he dispatched his VP to get a first-hand look at the band out in the Midwestern plains of Kansas. Once Wally Gold came back to New York, he recommended Kirshner sign the band, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The outstanding Prog related tracks begin about halfway thru with Belexes. Then comes a Journey From Mariabronn, a definitely Prog-length epic, clocking in at almost 8 minutes. These more complex and intricate songs keep coming with The Pilgrimage and the dual song, one-two punch of Apercu and Death Of Mother Nature Suite, which were usually played back to back Live just as they are presented on the album, flowing into one another almost as if they were simply two parts of one song (for a combination of 17 ½ minutes of brilliant songwriting). And let's not forget the great musicianship of the players. The members of Kansas were all veterans of former bands, and had a lot of experience playing before coming together as the band Kansas. That combined with the fantastic vocals of lead singer Steve Walsh, good harmonizing between Walsh, Dave Hope (bass) and Robby Steinhardt (violin), great keyboard playing between Walsh and the multi-talented Kerry Livgren (organ, piano, Moog synthesizer, lead guitar, and vocals), you have a very unique and talented outfit.

This 2004 EPIC/Legacy release has an additional bonus track consisting of a "Live" version of Bringing It Back, recorded at the Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio in 1975 (previously unreleased). Like many live tracks, it stretches the once 3 ½ minute song out to over 9 minutes of musical pleasure.

Review by Vitaly Menshikov, ProgressoR:

I first heard their famous (platinum) albums "Leftoverture" and "Point of Know Return" both on one cassette. Then I told my friends just for fun: "Kansas... it is somewhere in England". And really, for many years, I have never heard a band from America that could sound so English! After these Kansas's albums I bought "Monolith", and later, through "Song for America", on to "Masque", their second and weakest work, in my opinion, in the '70s, and then I stopped, mistakenly. Thereby, my now favourite and their best, I think, album was unknown for me for years. Even now, reading so many rock books, articles and reviews, I see that this incredible debut passes up to now in most cases unnoticed or underestimated.

In the first two songs an absolute ruler is Robbie Steinhardt's violin. Later, I haven't heard from him such fantastic virtuosity together with inventiveness! Deeply impressed by his technical level, I forgot for some time my favourite masterly violinist Jan Luc Ponty. Can I Tell You and Bringing It Back quite resemble each other stylistically and structurally with their fast energetic tempo and scores of incredible rapid violin solos crossing all the theme, including vocals lines. And if Bringing It Back is just a cover version, it was excellently rearranged in the same stylistics as Can I Tell You.

Lonely Wind, the third track, is the first prog-ballad on the album. Mostly vocals-based, this songcontains, however, some interesting gentle arrangements from keyboards and cello. And starting from Belexes and going till the end over the rest tracks we can hear all and even more components that two years later would make "Leftoverture" platinum.

If the first two tracks are so astonishing with a rare virtuosity, on Belexes and Journey from Mariabrown the band shows all what true progressive rock is all about. Fast guitar themes are very unexpectedly changed by melancholy, introduced by piano and violin, and the two lead vocalists are demonstrating various moods, ranging from optimistic to dramatically desperate. On the whole, the band simply incredibly balances between open rockish, sometimes even metal, structures and classical pieces. I already need to say that, unlike slightly polished "Leftoverture", "Kansas" contains three very different phases, of two songs each, separated by two prog-ballads.

So, the second lyrical drawing line between the three so different battlefields of progressive rock is the track named The Pilgrimage. Of course, this one is quite related to its partner in making the truce, and is made in the same vein of prog-ballad with fine non-aggressive arrangements.

Apercu and The Death of Mother Nature Suite, going together without pause, are a real prototype to "Magnum Opus" from "Leftoverture". That very first long epic composition from Kansas remains up to now my favourite from them at all, and, surely, this is their most progressive thing ever. It is very profound and at the same time beautiful, full of all kinds of elements of progressive rock, with an exceptional variety of forms of its manifestations, when such different genres as pure progressive metal and pure classic music are not simply in a pleasant neighbourhood, but effectively intertwine.

Summary. It's a very rare case, when the debut album of a great band is their best work ever, though, of course, Kansas has other gems in their collection-discography as the mentioned "Leftoverture", and also "Point of Know Return", not counting simply good albums like "Monolith" or their latest "Freaks of Nature". Nevertheless, no one of them can surpass "Kansas", for it was the triumph of the debut on which the main thing was already played, and the way was shown...

Tracklisting:

1. Can I tell you (3:32)

2. Bringing it back (3:33)

3. Lonely wind (4:17)

4. Belexes (4:24)

5. Journey from Mariabronn (7:58)

6. The pilgrimage (3:43)

7. Apercu (9:36)

8. Death of Mother Nature suite (7:58)

9. Bringing It Back (Live)[bonus] (9:41)

Total Time: 54:42

Line-Up:

- Phil Ehart / drums

- Dave Hope / bass, backing vocals

- Kerry Livgren / lead & Rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards

- Robbie Steinhardt / violin, lead vocals

- Steve Walsh / lead vocals, organ, piano, congas

- Rich Williams / lead guitar

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Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123