Kansas

[KevShmev]

  at Kansas having a song called We're Not Alone Anymore.  Too bad they didn't hook up with Toto to record it.   Pretty good song, though; I'll probably spend a buck on it at amazon or iTunes.

Taking in the View wasn't bad, but not something I can see listening to again.

[King Postwhore]

The lack of violin I agree with but they were killer live on the Power tour.

[pogoowner]

I find Power much more enjoyable ITSOT.  Sometimes Bob Ezrin misses with bands and that's how I felt about ITSOT.

Kev, check out We're Not Alone Anymore & Taking In The View.

ITSOT certainly has its issues. It has pop songs from outside writers that bother me too, but the highs are higher for me. Steve Walsh also uses a much more varied approach for his vocals, which kind of reminds me of his two later solo albums. At this point he's pretty fully transitioned into the raspier stage of his career (from what I understand, his drug/alcohol use was still pretty out of control at this point), but he still has range, at least in the studio.

Speaking of Steve Walsh's 80's work, I can't stand how his Streets studio albums sound, but I like the King Biscuit Flower Hour album quite a bit. The live performance has a much harder edge.

[bl5150]

I'm not the biggest Kansas fan, Power is my favourite album by them which probably says it all. I've played this new one several times this week and really like it. I'm a sucker for violin and there's tons of it on here. Singer is excellent.
Up there with the best of the year for me.

Finally got around to this one.  Good album.   I thought the first half was quality but lacking some edge , but that the second half lifted it from being good to very good with still some room to grow on me.  And I rarely say that these days - or listen to an album a 2nd time immediately , which I did with this one.   I can tell that there's some added depth there which may reveal itself over time.

The singer sounds a LOT like Elefante which isn't a bad thing.

[Podaar]

We saw Kansas last night and I was shocked out how awesome they still are, especially since it's nearly a cover band now. Check out this set list. *spoilers if you're going to their show soon*

I expected quite a few songs from The Prelude Implicit (which is great) but I was shocked to get the oldies (which I won't discuss for fear of spoilers).

A few thoughts:
    - I thought Ronnie Platt was terrific. Yes, he's not Steve Walsh circa 1978, but he's way closer than Steve has been for a very, very long time. The timbre of his voice is close enough to not be distracting to the music and he has a great stage presence.
    - I assumed Zak Rizvi would be superfluous but they used him to harmonize or unison with the violin passages as well as play rhythm. He also took the majority of the Livgren leads during the older music.
    - David Ragsdale is awesome! Harmonizing while playing the violin, whipping out his guitar to rock out, even busting a smokin' lead during What's On My Mind. I really enjoyed his performance.

If you're a Kansas fan and have been hesitating to see the current incarnation, I highly encourage you to go see them live. They had great energy (except for maybe Rich, but he's quite old now) and they really got the geriatric crowd to their feet. Oh, and buy the new album, it's really good.

[King Postwhore]

Damn.  What a setlist!

[Orbert]

Wow, good to hear!  I've been thinking about the new album.  I just might have to.

[hefdaddy42]

Wow, good to hear!  I've been thinking about the new album.  I just might have to.

You don't have the new album?

You should get it.  It's really good.

Also, that's a hell of a setlist!

[Podaar]

Speaking of The Prelude Implicit, Hef, have you given any thought to adding it to the discography thread?

[hefdaddy42]

Speaking of The Prelude Implicit, Hef, have you given any thought to adding it to the discography thread?

A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day!

[Podaar]

Fine, sheesh.

 A simple, "I'm going out of town with my wife, asshole." Would have sufficed.

[hefdaddy42]

That's what I meant.

Love you, man.

[Podaar]

 

[LudwigVan]

I was at an ice rink the other day and a group of pubescent teenage girls started to harmonize on the chorus, "I was soaring ever higher!"  That took me aback.  I guess that's how you know you've attained god-tier status as a classic rock band.

[TheAtliator]

Just saying...

GO SEE THE CURRENT KANSAS TOUR YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.


Just bring a mop so they don't get mad when the show is over and your mind is splattered on the walls. (And/Or your heart.)

[bobs23]

Saw the show the other night. I was pleasantly surprised at how good they sounded. Although I saw a very strange thing happen, after Carry On Wayward Son a good number of people left.

[Samsara]

I got into Kansas because of LudwigVan, but I am very conflicted about this.

On one hand, I applaud Kansas for trotting out Leftoverture for fans who never got to see it, but still are supporting their new music (The Prelude Implicit) on the tour as well. It seems like they understand, more than some other bands, the importance of noting important musical anniversaries, and still staying relevant by putting an emphasis on newer material as well.

On the other hand, I've been really hesitant to give Kansas post-Livgren, and now, post-Walsh any listens. It makes me a bit hypocritical to say that, as I pushed really hard when Queensryche lost DeGarmo, and then lost Tate, to embrace the newer lineups. But as time has gone on, I've realized that it really isn't the same band, and I enjoy it much, much less. So I don't really want to give a Walsh and Livgren-less Kansas a shot, even if I do know that Ronnie Platt fronting them makes them a better live act.

I have three opportunities in September to see them, in cities fairly close to me (they played a year or two ago two blocks from my office, but I didn't go). Part of me wants to, but the other part just doesn't.

It'd be like going to see Dream Theater perform Images and Words without JP and JLB. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'm not hating on Kansas' decision to do what they are doing. I just don't know if I could enjoy it as much as I would like to. I love Livgren era Kansas, and bought the special edition Miracles Out of Nowhere package from the band when it came out. Sure there are classic members still in the band (Rich and Phil) and longtime guys like Billy and David. But I just don't know.

Gah.

I probably should have seen them when Walsh was still in the band, and I just didn't do it.

[Podaar]

My take is; the current band sounds way better and is magnitudes more engaging than the 2005 band that had Robby, Steve, Phil, Rich and Billy (the last time I saw them). So yeah, I get your reluctance, AnybodyListening.net (and I thought my handle was cumbersome) but you are really missing out on a great time. Oh, and the new album is awesome, so there is that.

[hefdaddy42]

You're overthinking it.

This is the best version of the band since the group assembled for Somewhere to Elsewhere in 2000.  Walsh had been a shadow of his former self for, well, a really long time, and he is the one that prevented the band from writing and releasing new material for the last 17 years.

Everyone that WANTS to be in Kansas is in Kansas right now.

And yes, there is that hypocritical QR thing.

Go see them.

[Samsara]

My take is; the current band sounds way better and is magnitudes more engaging than the 2005 band that had Robby, Steve, Phil, Rich and Billy (the last time I saw them). So yeah, I get your reluctance, AnybodyListening.net (and I thought my handle was cumbersome) but you are really missing out on a great time. Oh, and the new album is awesome, so there is that.

My handle is obnoxious. I should change it back to what it used to be. LOL. Yeah, I need to give the new record a spin...

You're overthinking it.

This is the best version of the band since the group assembled for Somewhere to Elsewhere in 2000.  Walsh had been a shadow of his former self for, well, a really long time, and he is the one that prevented the band from writing and releasing new material for the last 17 years.

Everyone that WANTS to be in Kansas is in Kansas right now.

And yes, there is that hypocritical QR thing.

Go see them.

Me? Overthink something? 

Somewhere to Elsewhere had Livgren and Walsh, which is why I picked it up (and love it). I didn't realize Walsh was the holdup on releasing new music (I do not follow them that closely). Like I said, I'm still conflicted. But the fact you guys love what they are doing may sway me. Is the new record worth picking up?

[hefdaddy42]

YES.  It's fantastic.

[Samsara]

Ok. Will check it out. If I dig it, I'll put September on the calendar for one of those dates to see them.

[hefdaddy42]

 

Also, welcome back, old user name. 

[Podaar]

Is that what happened? That freaked me out for a couple of minutes. 

[Samsara]

Also, welcome back, old user name. 

Time to reclaim.

Hey Podaar, you convinced me to go back. lol

[King Postwhore]

Watch out, he'll get you to drop your pants as well that devil.


I also agree how good the new album is.  You can always tell when a band puts the effort into an album.  I'm interested in the new Styx album just as I was for the new Kansas.

[hefdaddy42]

I'm interested in the new Styx album just as I was for the new Kansas.

Same here, although to a lesser extent.  Which is not a knock on Styx, they are great.  I've just always been a bigger fan of Kansas.

[pogoowner]

I've seen Kansas many times, and they were great shows, but I can tell just from Youtube that this current lineup puts on the best show anyone's seen from them in a long, long time.

[KevShmev]

Honestly, as much I love the classic Kansas stuff, as well as Somewhere to Elsewhere and Freaks of Nature, I have little urge to check this new album out. The two songs they released early both sounded okay, but nothing that made me want to listen again.  I'm sure I'll hear it eventually, but I won't go out of my way.

It took me nearly a year to hear the new album, but I finally got around to it!

Overall, a solid effort.  A few skippers, the majority being songs that sounded solid when listening but left no impression on me, and then a few good ones that I will add to my master Kansas playlist:

Voyage of Eight Eighteen
Section 60
Oh Shenandoah

I like those three quite a bit.  I doubt any of the rest will get spins with me in the future.

[King Postwhore]

Voyage of Eight Eighteen is the best song on the album.  It's a solid album.  I like it a bit more than you Kev.

[Sycsa]

https://youtu.be/W0mEnKSSvsc
WTF am I listening to? It's like the autotune from hell went to hell, came back, then went to hell again.

[AngelBack]

https://youtu.be/W0mEnKSSvsc
WTF am I listening to? It's like the autotune from hell went to hell, came back, then went to hell again.

That was horrible...does Casio make autotune equipment?

[Chris Hinton]

That's so bad.  I saw them live on the last tour and they sounded amazing, not sure why they would be so obvious about it.

[Sycsa]

It's indeed live and beyond.

[Orbert]

I started listening to it, was disgusted that they still use the piped-in intro because they can't pull off the three-part harmonies live, realized that I was apparently still listening because I was waiting to hear something that would disgust me even further, closed the window.  Life's too short to listen to bad stuff on purpose.