Kansas, America's answer to the English progressive rock of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes, is back in business. Not only is the band gearing up for a summer tour, the Legacy/Epic label has released three albums from the early '80s on CD for the first time.
"Audio Visions," "Vinyl Confessions" and "Drastic Measures" take their place in the current Kansas CD catalog that includes the triple-platinum best-sellers "Left-overture" and "Point of Know Return."While these three albums are a Kansas collector's dream (fans who still have these on vinyl may want to snatch them up to complete their CD collection), the major style changes under way at the time of their first release show how the band diverged from the more popular sound of the '70s.
- "Audio Visions," originally released in 1980, is the last album featuring the classic Kansas lineup - Kerry Livgren (guitars & keyboards), Steve Walsh (keyboards & vocals), Rich Williams (guitars), Robby Steinhardt (violins & vocals), Dave Hope (bass) and Phil Ehart (drums). And consequently, it's the best of this later bunch.
Crisp recordings of the band's progressive "Relentless," the Top 40 violin-laden hit "Hold On" and the symphonic "No One Together" sit well with such raging rants as "Loner," "Don't Open Your Eyes" and the experimental ballad "Back Door."
The album is rich in dynamics. With the straightforward boom of Walsh's "Got to Rock On" and Livgren's apocalyptic "Curtain of Iron" - fans will tell you Livgren was the philosopher of the band - "Audio Visions" provided a fitting swan song for Walsh, who left after the album's tour . . . only to return some six years later.
- "Vinyl Confessions," originally released in 1982, began the band's demise, although it included some good arrangements and lyrics. The album marks keyboardist/vocalist John Elefante's debut. The band's overall style changed to accommodate the newcomer.
The album isn't that bad, but for hard-core Kansas fans it was the end of an era. That put a lot of pressure on Elefante. Walsh was known for his energetic and sometimes athletic performances (vocal and otherwise). Elefante was an eloquent performer, but while he really sparkled vocally on his original tunes - such as "Right Away" and "Face It," both co-written with his brother Dino - he only adequately covered Walsh's tunes live.
Still, "Vinyl Confessions" does have its moments. The Top 20 single "Play the Game Tonight" carried on Livgren's philosophy and Steinhardt's violin crescendos. But the song wasn't as dynamically brisk as earlier Kansas tunes.
Though the Elefantes shined on "Chasing Shadows," which musically could be considered "Dust in the Wind" Part II, the siblings' lyrical content was quite different from Livgren's.
Fans familiar with the band's Christian undertones and mystical mythology as in early songs like "The Portrait (He Knew)," "Lightning's Hand," "Lamplight Symphony" and "Icarus - Borne on Wings of Steel," among others - noticed the Elefantes appeared more interested in shallower metaphors and allegories.
"Chasing Shadows," though spackled with lyrics of inner-soul searching, is about being a "player in the band" or life. And "Face It" is about nurturing a relationship that's gone bad.
"Vinyl Confessions," though it peaked at No. 16, mildly shocked fans. Even some of Livgren's tunes were lackluster. "Diamonds and Pearls" and the heavy syncopation of "Fair Exchange" sounded like mere doodles when put up against the broad arrangements of "The Wall" and "Journey From Maria-bronn."
The best songs, musically and lyrically, on "Vinyl Confessions" include the drive of "Borderline," the intricate "Crossfire" and mind-opening "Windows."
- "Drastic Measures" isn't really a Kansas album. Stylistically and lyrically, it's like it was created by a whole different band.
Steinhardt's strings are absent in the 1983 Kansas - he left after the "Confessions" tour - and Liv-gren's songs and arrangements sound more reclusive and soulless. In fact, of the album's nine songs, only three were written by Livgren. The other six were penned by one or more of the Elefantes - and there are no author collaborations. Did the Elefantes muscle their way into Kansas and use the band's name as a vehicle for their own interests?
Yes or no, some fans were surprised to hear an almost "heavy metal" sound blast through their stereos. The opening guitar riff from the single "Fight Fire With Fire" (written by the Elefante sibs) brings to mind Foreigner's "Urgent," and a lick from the Livgren-penned "Mainstream" was some-what mirrored by the metal band Ratt on "Lack of Communication" in 1984.
John Elefante's "Andi" rips off the repeat line of "Little Drummer Boy" and new-wave technology swirls in the Elefante brothers' "Going Through the Motions."
"Incident On a Bridge," written by Livgren, is just a regular pop-rock tune that sounds a lot like Queen's "Best Friend." And leave it to the man to come up with the song title that sums up what actually happened with this release - "End of the Age."
"Drastic Measures" loses the crisp Kansas sound and is one of the band's worst.
RATINGS: four stars (* * * * ), excellent; three stars (* * * ), good; two stars (* * ), fair; one star (* ), poor, with 1/2 representing a higher, intermediate grade.