The Kansas Discography Thread - THAT'S ALL, FOLKS (For Now)

[Podaar]

Right now I'm having my first listen ever.

 

*runs off to Amazon*

[Orbert]

As I mentioned upthread, I had this one on my iPod from years ago, but I don't think I'd ever listened to it.

I had no idea that this was basically the original Kansas lineup, complete with awesome new songs by Kerry Livgren.  As I was listening to it, it seemed like a worthy follow-up to Freaks of Nature.  They're really getting that old-school Kansas sound down.  Man, that other singer even sounds like he could be Robbie, 20 years older.  Steve even sounds a little better (but still pretty ragged).

Then I find out it is Robbie, it is the original lineup (plus one), and the songs are great because Kerry wrote them.  Whoa.  That explains a lot.

The musical nods to the original "Icarus" are well done.  Very nice.  Also, "When the World was Young" has a riff in it that reminds me of "Sparks of the Tempest" (I think it was), and then they actually quote "Magnum Opus".  I thought that that was kinda cool, but if they'd included one more "by the way, this is the original band, you know" it would've been too much.  Thankfully, they knew when to stop.

I agree with the review and all the comments thus far.  Great stuff!  And a damned shame that Magna Carta left this hidden gem to gather dust.  As with Freaks of Nature, I had no idea that Kansas was Kansas again, and this time even moreso!  Oh well, if you're gonna go out, go out on a high note, and this is certainly one.  If this is to be the last Kansas album, I'm glad that they came back to the original band and the original sound.

[Jaq]

I hadn't given Kansas much thought since seeing them back in '89 or so. I wasn't aware of most of the albums covered here until much later, in fact. I saw this in a local Best Buy and for who knows what reason I picked it up. I turned it over, saw the line up listed on the back, and bought it on the spot. And it was well worth the purchase. I actually rate it ahead of the debut and alongside Point of Know Return when comparing it to the first five. That Magna Carta did nothing with it is a fucking shame, because in terms of quality I can't think of a better "comeback" album than this. Just bloody awesome.

[KevShmev]

Somewhere to Elsewhere is utterly fantastic. Walsh's singing is a little rough around the edges at times, but by and large, the overall songwriting on here is as great as just about any other Kansas album (sans Leftoverture). 

Grand Fun Alley is a clunker, but everything else is a major winner. 

Distant Vision stands as one of the best Kansas songs ever.

I can't say Icarus II is as awesome as the first, but it is still pretty great, and despite that rough spot by Walsh near the beginning - "I was dreaming of HOME and the life I led."

The Coming Dawn, Myriad and Look at the Time are major favorites of mine as well.

I absolutely love the laid back nature of Byzantium.  Put that song on one of the classic albums and it'd be talked about in absolutely glowing terms.

Great, great album.

[hefdaddy42]

Just wanted to pop back in here and say again how awesome this album is.  I love it to death, and hate that there was never a follow-up.

[Podaar]

My CD is due to arrive today. I'm really looking forward to sitting back in my easy chair and really getting to know this album!

My one listen was on Spotify while doing computer work and I was blown away in a few spots. I'm anticipating there will be much more to love when I get to have a more intimate listen.

[hefdaddy42]

My CD is due to arrive today. I'm really looking forward to sitting back in my easy chair and really getting to know this album!

My one listen was on Spotify while doing computer work and I was blown away in a few spots. I'm anticipating there will be much more to love when I get to have a more intimate listen.

[hefdaddy42]

DUST IN THE WIND (2001)



1.   Miracles Out of Nowhere
2.   Paradox
3.   One Big Sky
4.   T.O. Witcher
5.   Dust in the Wind
6.   The Preacher
7.   Point of Know Return
8.   House on Fire
9.   Carry On Wayward Son
10.   All I Wanted
11.   Magnum Opus (Howlin’ at the Moon)
12.   The Wall

This is a live release.  It is the same performance that was recorded on King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas, but with the songs in a different order.  So, if you have the earlier release, you don’t need this.

Silly record company tricks.

[King Postwhore]

Never bought it.

[hefdaddy42]

I would be upset with you if you had.

[hefdaddy42]

“The Light” (2001)

While Somewhere to Elsewhere remains, to date, the last full album from Kansas, it wasn’t the last piece of music.  That would be this song – “The Light”.

In 2001, Robert Berry put together a project called The December People.  This was a collection of rock/prog musicians assembled to produce Christmas songs.  But the theme was that each song would be in the style of a certain rock/prog act.  So there are traditional Christmas songs such as “Carol of the Bells”, “Silent Night”, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”, “What Child is This?”, and so on, as if performed by, say, Yes, or Pink Floyd, or Queen, or Kansas, etc.

One of the musicians involved in the project was Steve Walsh, and he was so excited about it that he wrote a new Christmas song titled “The Light”.  (Kerry Livgren was also part of the project, but he didn’t help write this song.)  He decided it should be a Kansas song, and so the band recorded it, and it was included on the December People’s debut album Sounds Like Christmas as the last track – kind of a bonus.

I do not own the original CD – I have a copy given to me by a former friend.  I would encourage anyone that likes Christmas music to try to track it down, because the album as a whole is really cool.

As for “The Light”?  It’s OK.  Nothing to write home about, but it’s neat to hear.  Here it is, listen for yourself.

[King Postwhore]

I would be upset with you if you had.

 

I've always stayed away from repackaging of Greatest Hits except for remasters with added songs.

[hefdaddy42]

I would be upset with you if you had.

 

I've always stayed away from repackaging of Greatest Hits except for remasters with added songs.

Well, you are going to be disappointed with some of the rest of this discography.

Check out "The Light" and tell me what you think!

[Orbert]

Wow, that was... okay.  A kind of generic modern Christmas tune.  Definitely sounds like Kansas, and not bad, but not something I'd go out of my way to hear.

[hefdaddy42]

Wow, that was... okay.  A kind of generic modern Christmas tune.  Definitely sounds like Kansas, and not bad, but not something I'd go out of my way to hear.

Yeah.  I normally forget about until Christmas every year.  Which is natural, I suppose.

[King Postwhore]

I would be upset with you if you had.

 

I've always stayed away from repackaging of Greatest Hits except for remasters with added songs.

Well, you are going to be disappointed with some of the rest of this discography.

Check out "The Light" and tell me what you think!

Yeah.  Middle of the road song.  I would never buy it.

[hefdaddy42]

Again, while this song is just kind of meh, I would recommend any prog fan who likes Christmas music to buy the album.

[Podaar]

I love Christmas music, especially when bands I enjoy bring something new to the table. My favorite is Jethro Tull / Christmas Album, but this tune...just doesn't sound good to me. I'd hesitate to add it to my Christmas collection. I'll try to find the album though.

[edit] I just picked it up off of Amazon for $11.04 with free Prime delivery. The Carol of the Bells teaser convinced me. [/edit]

[hefdaddy42]

I love Christmas music, especially when bands I enjoy bring something new to the table. My favorite is Jethro Tull / Christmas Album, but this tune...just doesn't sound good to me. I'd hesitate to add it to my Christmas collection. I'll try to find the album though.

[edit] I just picked it up off of Amazon for $11.04 with free Prime delivery. The Carol of the Bells teaser convinced me. [/edit]

Yeah, get it for the rest of the album, not for the Kansas song.

[hefdaddy42]

DEVICE-VOICE- DRUM (2002)



1.   Intro                  1:26
2.   Belexes/Lightning Hand            6:43
3.   Icarus II                  7:12
4.   Icarus-Borne on Wings of Steel         6:27
5.   Song for America            9:27
6.   Howlin’ at the Moon            2:00
7.   The Wall               5:43
8.   The Preacher               4:18
9.   Journey From Mariabronn         9:17
10.   Dust in the Wind            4:26
11.   Cheyenne Anthem            7:19
12.   Child of Innocence            4:54
13.   Miracles Out of Nowhere         6:36
14.   Point of Know Return            3:17
15.   Portrait (He Knew)/The Pinnacle      8:08
16.   Fight Fire With Fire            3:19
17.   Play the Game Tonight            3:49
18.   Carry on Wayward Son            7:21   
   
This is a live project that the band recorded in an intimate setting in their new “hometown” of Atlanta, Georgia in 2002.  The lineup for this event was a five-piece, with Ehart on drums, Walsh on lead vocals and keys, Williams on guitar, Greer on bass and background vocals, and Steinhardt on violin and background vocals.

By this time, most of the band is in their late 40s to early 50s, but for the most part, you’d never know it.  There are some great musical performances on this recording.  The only drawback, as has become common with latter-day Kansas live performances, is Walsh’s voice.  But it isn’t awful; it’s more that he struggles to hit certain notes that he used to hit effortlessly.  He can still hit most of them, it is just a strain.  For me, the worst vocal performance is on “The Wall” (which sucks, since it is one of my favorite Kansas songs); it’s not that he can’t hit the notes, he is just all over the place as far as his personal choices in phrasing and timing.  But hey.

Overall, this is outstanding.  Things to note: “The Preacher” features a gospel choir singing with the band.  That is really cool.  Also, “Dust in the Wind” features Greer assisting on guitar, and a string quartet in the background, playing a variation on the arrangement from Always Never the Same, with candles all around the stage.  Pretty cool.  Not to mention the presence of older songs like “Song for America”, “Belexes”, and “Journey From Mariabronn”.  Sweet.

It is available on CD and DVD, and I recommend it.  But the whole thing (DVD) is on youtube, as well.

[KevShmev]

I find both Kansas live DVDs they released in the 21st century to be difficult to watch thanks to Walsh's voice now.  His misuse of it over the years has destroyed it, and hearing him struggle to sing what should be even easier parts takes away any enjoyment I could get from the music being played so well.  What a shame that such a great and talented singer had no regard for his own talent to where he took such terrible care of it over the years. 

[hefdaddy42]

I find both Kansas live DVDs they released in the 21st century to be difficult to watch thanks to Walsh's voice now.  His misuse of it over the years has destroyed it, and hearing him struggle to sing what should be even easier parts takes away any enjoyment I could get from the music being played so well.  What a shame that such a great and talented singer had no regard for his own talent to where he took such terrible care of it over the years. 

It's definitely a shame, and like I said, he is the clear weak point.  But it isn't unwatchable or unlistenable to me.

[King Postwhore]

It was around this time I stooped buying their product.

[hefdaddy42]

It was around this time I stooped buying their product.

How do you stoop buying something?

[King Postwhore]

For me personally Hef, if bands stop making new music, I stop buying releases of items I already have even though it may be livEven. I've bought a few things but stopped here with Kansas.

[hefdaddy42]

....

[King Postwhore]

Fixed. Lol

[Counselor of Prog]

I try to push SW's voice to the background of the mix and enjoy the musicianship for what it is.  Great DVD as well as double live album. 

[hefdaddy42]

THE ULTIMATE KANSAS (2002)



Disc One:

1.   Carry On Wayward Son
2.   Song for America
3.   The Wall
4.   Lonely Street
5.   Journey From Mariabronn
6.   Child of Innocence
7.   Mysteries and Mayhem
8.   The Pinnacle
9.   Bringing It Back
10.   Down The Road
11.   What’s on my Mind
12.   Death of Mother Nature Suite

Disc Two:

1.   Point of Know Return
2.   Cheyenne Anthem
3.   Fight Fire With Fire
4.   Dust in the Wind
5.   Hold On
6.   No One Together
7.   Play the Game Tonight
8.   Closet Chronicles
9.   Sparks of the Tempest
10.   Portrait (He Knew)
11.   On the Other Side
12.   People of the South Wind
13.   A Glimpse of Home
14.   Magnum Opus

This is another label-produced compilation/greatest hits-style collection.  This one focuses on the original Kirshner era of the band (from Kansas all the way to the last album before the band broke up, Drastic Measures).  If you have to have a collection, and this is the only one you have access to, then you should get it, I guess.  Otherwise, I would recommend it only to collector/completists.  No live versions, demos, or otherwise rare tracks, only studio versions of the songs.

Pretty cool album cover, though.

[Orbert]

It looks like a good collection.  More of a "best of" than "greatest hits", which I generally prefer.

[hefdaddy42]

It looks like a good collection.  More of a "best of" than "greatest hits", which I generally prefer.

Same here.

[hefdaddy42]

GREATEST HITS LIVE (2003)



1.   Magnum Opus (Howlin’ at the Moon)
2.   One Big Sky
3.   Paradox
4.   Point of Know Return
5.   The Wall
6.   All I Wanted
7.   T.O. Witcher
8.   Dust in the Wind
9.   Miracles Out of Nowhere
10.   The Preacher
11.   House on Fire
12.   Carry On Wayward Son

This is a re-title and re-release of the 1998 live release King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas.  So, yeah.

[hefdaddy42]

Wow, hard to believe no one gives a fuck about that one.

lol

[Podaar]

 

[chaossystem]

Wow, hard to believe no one gives a fuck about that one.

lol

I actually liked the King Biscuit show in it's original form.

Sucks that they had to try to re-sell to everyone, instead of releasing a newer concert, such as from the Freaks of Nature tour, or Somewhere to Elsewhere, or Always Never the Same.