Point of Know Return was the follow-up to Leftoverture and released just the next year. Steve Walsh had gotten over his writer's block and contributed to more of the writing on this album. Just about everyone knows their song Carry On Wayward Son. But this album contains the two other songs that even non-fans will be familiar with. Everyone knows Dust in the Wind (it's even become fairly popular in pop culture), and to a lesser extent, the opening title track of the album, Point of Know Return. Point of Know Return is a play on "point of no return". Like Leftoverture, it is a tongue-in-cheek album title, though the album's songs are more serious than the album title might let on. At 10 songs, it's also the album with the largest number of songs so far. Even so, I would say there's not a bad song in the bunch.
The album starts off with Point of Know Return, a strong opener that begins with the entire band full-bore. The cover art for the album is a ship falling off the edge of the earth (which is sort of a myth that people used to believe this; even in the time of the ancient Greeks, it was widely accepted the earth is spherical. In fact, Eratosthenes was able to accurately calculate the circumference of the earth over 2,000 years ago). The song plays into this theme, being about a sailing crew and all the dangers associated with sailing the ocean including the possible danger of sailing off the edge of the world and passing the "point of no return" to where you won't be able to turn back. According to the liner notes of the remastered edition, there was no real reason the band spelled the title "know" instead of "no". It was simply at the suggestion of their manager, Budd Carr. The band thought it was funny and would mess with people's minds.
Next is Paradox, a song that keeps up the momentum established by Point of Know Return with a blazing organ intro. The song itself returns to the familiar Kansas theme of searching, a paradox being a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well-founded or true. This song explores the paradox of having "seen it all", and yet believing there must be more. Of course, Livgren's conversion was still a couple of years away, but this is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' well-known argument from desire, that since all natural desires have fulfillments, if we have a desire which nothing in this world can satisfy, it follows we were made for another world. Livgren seems to have found the fulfillment of that desire now.
Coming up third we have The Spider, a short instrumental tune. It's really more of a keyboard feature between Walsh and Livgren, with changing time signatures and virtuosic playing. The piece is in constant movement, evoking mental images of a spider moving around on its eight legs, movement which has always been kind of creepy to many people, myself included.
After that, we have Portrait (He Knew), a song written about Albert Einstein. The song is not just about how brilliant Einstein was, but the fact that his intellect had reached a higher plane than anyone else's, a true visionary who could see into the future. After Livgren became a Christian and Kansas split up for the first time in the 80s, Livgren would go on to form another band called AD. In 1988, for that band's Prime Mover album, Livgren updated this song and called it Portrait II, adapting the words to be about Christ.
Next is Closet Chronicles, the first of only two songs on the album to run over five minutes. The song in an allegory of Howard Hughes, an aviator, manufacturer, and movie producer. The song makes allusions to certain facts about his life, such as the singer gazing out the window of the 42nd floor, a reference to the Las Vegas Desert Inn hotel he purchased, and the fact he was a reclusive loner. The music for this song sounds a lot more regal than the other tracks, and is the most progressive-sounding track on the album so far, with the possible exception of The Spider.
The sixth song on the album is Lightning's Hand. This is more of a deep cut, but at least in 2001 for their Device-Voice-Drum live DVD, they performed a portion of it combined with Belexes (from their first album). This song probably rocks the hardest on this album, including a chaotic solo from the electric guitar and synth to reference the chaotic nature of lightning. Lightning's Hand is about the destructive power of lightning and an entity, possibly Thor, who is able to control it. It would make sense for the song to be about Thor, as Thor is a Norse god and the Norse vikings were sailing men who explored other areas by sea. So not only do we have the destructive power of lightning after the dangers of the ocean, but we also have sailing men who fear this god as they respect the ocean.
Now we arrive at Dust in the Wind, probably the most well-known Kansas song. It's driven by acoustic guitar and features a violin solo by Steinhardt after the second verse and chorus. The song was originally written by Kerry Livgren as a picking exercise to learn fingerpicking on the guitar, but his wife liked the melody so much she encouraged Livgren to write lyrics for it and take it to the band. They accepted it and it was recorded on the album. The lyrics were inspired by Livgren's reading of Indian poetry and convey a sense of the emptiness of life, how humans are insignificant considering the surrounding universe and the fact that we live only a brief time compared to "the earth and sky".
Sparks of the Tempest comes in next. This one is another heavy rocker, being driven by crunchy electric guitar. This is a song about totalitarianism, broadly, or communism, more narrowly. It was written after Livgren read George Orwell's 1984, which you can tell from such lines as "Big Brother is watching and he likes what he sees/A world for the taking when he's ready to squeeze". Other lines, such as "they mold you and shape you", and "the less that you know the more you fall into place" evoke their warning about communism.
Nobody's Home comes in as the penultimate song, and the music is kind of deceiving. The music fits the theme of the song but the lyrics are probably the most progressive-y lyrics Livgren has written, as progressive rock songs usually contain science fiction lyrics. This song is about a friendly extraterrestrial who visits earth, only to find mankind extinct because of being devastated by nuclear war. So literally "nobody's home". I say the music is kind of deceptive because in songs with a science fiction theme, you usually expect a lot of weird synth sound effects and things like that, but this one is basically a straight ahead dirge for mankind from the perspective of this extraterrestrial, complete with piano in the high register to underscore the somber third verse: "No requiem was ever sung, no elegy was read/No monument was carved in stone in memory of the dead".
The last song on the album is Hopelessly Human, the longest song on the album which closes the album with a fantastic progressive rock tune. The meaning of this one is obscure. He talks about the "brainstorm of youth" being a strange aberration. Perhaps the meaning of the song is now that he's older, reflecting upon his youth has helped him to see things that he couldn't see now that he's older without taking that into account.
Point of Know Return is an excellent album, from start to finish. With Leftoverture, it was one of their best-selling albums which didn't focus so much on familiar lyrical territory and instead had a bit more lyrical diversity, even finding inspiration in real life people.
Album: Point of Know Return (1977)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums, chimes, chain-driven gong, timpani, percussion
Dave Hope -- bass, autogyro
Kerry Livgren -- electric and acoustic guitars, piano, clavinet, synthesizers, Rinaldo whistling machine, percussion
Robby Steinhardt -- violin, viola, Faucen lap cello, vocals
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, celeste, vibes, Peabody chromatic inverter, synthesizers, vocals, percussion
Rich Williams -- electric and acoustic guitars, Benis bow pedal
Track list:
01. *Point of Know Return (3:11) --Walsh, Ehart, Steinhardt
02. Paradox (3:51) -- Livgren, Walsh
03. The Spider (2:05) -- Walsh
04. *Portrait (He Knew) (4:37) -- Livgren, Walsh
05. Closet Chronicles (6:30) -- Walsh, Livgren
06. Lightning's Hand (4:24) -- Walsh, Livgren
07. *Dust in the Wind (3:26) -- Livgren
08. Sparks of the Tempest (4:15) -- Livgren, Walsh
09. Nobody's Home (4:40) -- Livgren, Walsh
10. Hopelessly Human (7:08) -- Livgren
* denotes a single
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Studio Album Review: Leftoverture by Kansas
Leftoverture is one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded. The band really struck gold when they recorded and released it. At this time, Steve Walsh was having writer's block, so the album is largely a Livgren-penned affair, with Walsh co-writing three of the eight songs (with the rest of the band also receiving songwriting credits on the last song). This album continues many of the themes from Masque but offers a more hopeful outlook than that album did.
The first song is the Kansas song everyone knows. Carry On Wayward Son is just a great all-around rock song. On Masque, the band tried to write a hit song that was in one time signature all the way through. Ironically, the band got their first legitimate hit with this song, which alternates between sections in 4/4 and sections in 12/8. Considering how great a song this is, one might be tempted just to think it was just that: a great rock tune. Some have even speculated this song is about the prodigal son from the Bible. This interpretation is unlikely, as Livgren's conversion was still a few years away. However, if we consider Kansas' output in context, the song is rife with symbolism and becomes easier to understand. Livgren wrote Carry On as a sequel to The Pinnacle, so the song picks up where The Pinnacle left off. The first verse of Carry On begins, "Once I rose above the noise and confusion". The Pinnacle ended with "I stood where no man goes, above the din I rose/Life is amusing though we are losing/Drowned in tears of awe". "Din" means "a loud, confused noise". So Carry On is continuing where The Pinnacle finished by showing what happened after he rose above the din. Carry On could be seen as the third part in a trilogy: Mysteries and Mayhem, The Pinnacle, Carry On Wayward Son. Additionally, Carry On seems to continue some of the imagery from Masque, where Walsh sings "I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high", which could be an allusion to the myth of Icarus, which Livgren used to great effect for a song on the Masque album. So Livgren may still be contemplating death but this time with an added air of hope: "Carry on my wayward son/There'll be peace when you are done", and explaining that "now your life's no longer empty/Surely heaven waits for you".
Next up, we have The Wall, which continues the theme of hope regarding one's inability to escape death and see what waits ahead. The wall is a barrier that the protagonist has erected within himself and prevents him from obtaining peace and happiness. He knows he has to tear it down, so what's keeping him from doing so? In Seeds of Change, Livgren says he believes The Wall and The Pinnacle to be the best lyrics he's ever written (and it's hard to disagree with him). He says the wall was in him, and he didn't have the power to remove this barrier that was keeping him from the joy and harmony he desperately desired.
Third we have What's On My Mind. This one is a straight ahead rocker, and the lyrics are pretty much just a love song about how the relationship he's in has been mutually beneficial: she's made him a better man and they open each other's minds. Writing another love song was undoubtedly due to their label's constant pressure to be more commercially viable as a band, but this song is better than either of the two love songs on Masque. Musically, there's not a whole lot to talk about.
After that we have an absolute masterpiece of a song, Miracles Out of Nowhere. Of all the songs Kansas has ever written, The Pinnacle and Miracles Out of Nowhere are definitely in my top five. This is one of my very favorite songs they've ever done. They return to the overall theme of the album in this one, Livgren's search for spiritual truth. Each verse catches a different phenomenon, the beauty of the dawn, the ravings of a lunatic or visionary, and finally Livgren's sense of futility in his created work. Each phenomenon raises existential questions he struggles to find answers to. This is one of Kansas' more complex songs, including a lengthy instrumental interlude after the second chorus where the band moves into playing a fugue in 7/4 time where the synthesizer, electric guitar, and violin all get a chance to shine, and once the drums come in, the fugue continues but with more time signature changes, which could symbolize Livgren's confusion and the turmoil in his mind.
Fifth, we have Opus Insert. An opus is a composition by a particular composer (so in a work of classical music, if it says, for example, "Op. 16," that would be either the 16th piece that composer composed or perhaps the 16th piece cataloged by the person or organization grouping the music together). So I'm a little puzzled by the name "opus insert". I might guess it's a tongue-in-cheek reference to throwing in a song that is usually considered "filler" because they have an obligation to their label as per their contract. The problem with this theory, however, is that Opus Insert is a good song, certainly not filler, and even considered a classic by some. The solo in this song sounds a bit circus-y, with marching drums by Ehart and Walsh alternating between vibraphone and piano. Lyrically, this song fits the theme of searching that Livgren was well-known for, albeit a bit more optimistic than the material on Masque.
Coming up next we have Questions of My Childhood, a straight-ahead rocker from start to finish but moves to a half-time feel for the bridge. In this one, Livgren reflects on the questions he had as a child and how he hasn't yet found the answers. He believes the answers are out there and the journey will be made easier and more meaningful if he has a companion to share the journey with.
The penultimate song is Cheyenne Anthem. Cheyenne, of course, is a Native American tribe. The song here returns to the themes of Death of Mother Nature Suite and Song for America. In this case, Livgren takes on the voice of a Cheyenne and reflects how they think of nature, that it's not owned by anyone so we ought to share it peacefully. It goes even further, though, to talk about the Indians being attacked and moved by white settlers. The song is primarily a slower song, led by guitar, until the solo starts and it kicks into high gear, before slowing back down for the final verse.
Last we have Magnum Opus, Kansas' first instrumental piece. The piece is in six movements. The second movement has lyrics but the rest is purely instrumental. "Magnum opus" means a large and important work of art, usually used to express the most important work of an artist's career. Maybe the title was meant to express that this was one of their more ambitious works, having to rely primarily on the music to express the meaning. It clocks in at around eight and a half minutes long, so with five movements each one is pretty short.
Leftoverture (a portmanteau of "leftover" and "overture") was Kansas' first big hit as a band, primarily on the strength of Carry On Wayward Son, although this is definitely their best album so far in terms of overall quality of the music. There's another song that is very well-known, even by non-fans, which appears on the next album, another strong one from this band.
Album: Leftoverture (1976)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums, percussion
Dave Hope -- bass guitar
Kerry Livgren -- electric guitar, piano, clavinet, moog, Oberheim, and ARP synthesizers
Robby Steinhardt -- violin, viola, lead and backing vocals
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, additional synthesizers, vibraphone, lead and backing vocals
Rich Williams -- electric and acoustic guitars
Track list:
1. *Carry On Wayward Son (5:23) -- Livgren
2. The Wall (4:48) -- Livgren, Walsh
3. *What's On My Mind (3:29) -- Livgren
4. Miracles Out of Nowhere (6:27) -- Livgren
5. Opus Insert (4:26) -- Livgren
6. Questions of My Childhood (3:37) -- Walsh, Livgren
7. Cheyenne Anthem (6:53) -- Livgren (Toye LaRocca and Cheryl Norman, children's voices)
8. Magnum Opus (8:26) -- Livgren, Walsh, Williams, Hope, Ehart, Steinhardt
a. Father Padilla Meets the Perfect Gnat
b. Howling at the Moon
c. Man Overboard
d. Industry on Parade
e. Release the Beavers
f. Gnat Attack
* denotes a single
The first song is the Kansas song everyone knows. Carry On Wayward Son is just a great all-around rock song. On Masque, the band tried to write a hit song that was in one time signature all the way through. Ironically, the band got their first legitimate hit with this song, which alternates between sections in 4/4 and sections in 12/8. Considering how great a song this is, one might be tempted just to think it was just that: a great rock tune. Some have even speculated this song is about the prodigal son from the Bible. This interpretation is unlikely, as Livgren's conversion was still a few years away. However, if we consider Kansas' output in context, the song is rife with symbolism and becomes easier to understand. Livgren wrote Carry On as a sequel to The Pinnacle, so the song picks up where The Pinnacle left off. The first verse of Carry On begins, "Once I rose above the noise and confusion". The Pinnacle ended with "I stood where no man goes, above the din I rose/Life is amusing though we are losing/Drowned in tears of awe". "Din" means "a loud, confused noise". So Carry On is continuing where The Pinnacle finished by showing what happened after he rose above the din. Carry On could be seen as the third part in a trilogy: Mysteries and Mayhem, The Pinnacle, Carry On Wayward Son. Additionally, Carry On seems to continue some of the imagery from Masque, where Walsh sings "I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high", which could be an allusion to the myth of Icarus, which Livgren used to great effect for a song on the Masque album. So Livgren may still be contemplating death but this time with an added air of hope: "Carry on my wayward son/There'll be peace when you are done", and explaining that "now your life's no longer empty/Surely heaven waits for you".
Next up, we have The Wall, which continues the theme of hope regarding one's inability to escape death and see what waits ahead. The wall is a barrier that the protagonist has erected within himself and prevents him from obtaining peace and happiness. He knows he has to tear it down, so what's keeping him from doing so? In Seeds of Change, Livgren says he believes The Wall and The Pinnacle to be the best lyrics he's ever written (and it's hard to disagree with him). He says the wall was in him, and he didn't have the power to remove this barrier that was keeping him from the joy and harmony he desperately desired.
Third we have What's On My Mind. This one is a straight ahead rocker, and the lyrics are pretty much just a love song about how the relationship he's in has been mutually beneficial: she's made him a better man and they open each other's minds. Writing another love song was undoubtedly due to their label's constant pressure to be more commercially viable as a band, but this song is better than either of the two love songs on Masque. Musically, there's not a whole lot to talk about.
After that we have an absolute masterpiece of a song, Miracles Out of Nowhere. Of all the songs Kansas has ever written, The Pinnacle and Miracles Out of Nowhere are definitely in my top five. This is one of my very favorite songs they've ever done. They return to the overall theme of the album in this one, Livgren's search for spiritual truth. Each verse catches a different phenomenon, the beauty of the dawn, the ravings of a lunatic or visionary, and finally Livgren's sense of futility in his created work. Each phenomenon raises existential questions he struggles to find answers to. This is one of Kansas' more complex songs, including a lengthy instrumental interlude after the second chorus where the band moves into playing a fugue in 7/4 time where the synthesizer, electric guitar, and violin all get a chance to shine, and once the drums come in, the fugue continues but with more time signature changes, which could symbolize Livgren's confusion and the turmoil in his mind.
Fifth, we have Opus Insert. An opus is a composition by a particular composer (so in a work of classical music, if it says, for example, "Op. 16," that would be either the 16th piece that composer composed or perhaps the 16th piece cataloged by the person or organization grouping the music together). So I'm a little puzzled by the name "opus insert". I might guess it's a tongue-in-cheek reference to throwing in a song that is usually considered "filler" because they have an obligation to their label as per their contract. The problem with this theory, however, is that Opus Insert is a good song, certainly not filler, and even considered a classic by some. The solo in this song sounds a bit circus-y, with marching drums by Ehart and Walsh alternating between vibraphone and piano. Lyrically, this song fits the theme of searching that Livgren was well-known for, albeit a bit more optimistic than the material on Masque.
Coming up next we have Questions of My Childhood, a straight-ahead rocker from start to finish but moves to a half-time feel for the bridge. In this one, Livgren reflects on the questions he had as a child and how he hasn't yet found the answers. He believes the answers are out there and the journey will be made easier and more meaningful if he has a companion to share the journey with.
The penultimate song is Cheyenne Anthem. Cheyenne, of course, is a Native American tribe. The song here returns to the themes of Death of Mother Nature Suite and Song for America. In this case, Livgren takes on the voice of a Cheyenne and reflects how they think of nature, that it's not owned by anyone so we ought to share it peacefully. It goes even further, though, to talk about the Indians being attacked and moved by white settlers. The song is primarily a slower song, led by guitar, until the solo starts and it kicks into high gear, before slowing back down for the final verse.
Last we have Magnum Opus, Kansas' first instrumental piece. The piece is in six movements. The second movement has lyrics but the rest is purely instrumental. "Magnum opus" means a large and important work of art, usually used to express the most important work of an artist's career. Maybe the title was meant to express that this was one of their more ambitious works, having to rely primarily on the music to express the meaning. It clocks in at around eight and a half minutes long, so with five movements each one is pretty short.
Leftoverture (a portmanteau of "leftover" and "overture") was Kansas' first big hit as a band, primarily on the strength of Carry On Wayward Son, although this is definitely their best album so far in terms of overall quality of the music. There's another song that is very well-known, even by non-fans, which appears on the next album, another strong one from this band.
Album: Leftoverture (1976)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums, percussion
Dave Hope -- bass guitar
Kerry Livgren -- electric guitar, piano, clavinet, moog, Oberheim, and ARP synthesizers
Robby Steinhardt -- violin, viola, lead and backing vocals
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, additional synthesizers, vibraphone, lead and backing vocals
Rich Williams -- electric and acoustic guitars
Track list:
1. *Carry On Wayward Son (5:23) -- Livgren
2. The Wall (4:48) -- Livgren, Walsh
3. *What's On My Mind (3:29) -- Livgren
4. Miracles Out of Nowhere (6:27) -- Livgren
5. Opus Insert (4:26) -- Livgren
6. Questions of My Childhood (3:37) -- Walsh, Livgren
7. Cheyenne Anthem (6:53) -- Livgren (Toye LaRocca and Cheryl Norman, children's voices)
8. Magnum Opus (8:26) -- Livgren, Walsh, Williams, Hope, Ehart, Steinhardt
a. Father Padilla Meets the Perfect Gnat
b. Howling at the Moon
c. Man Overboard
d. Industry on Parade
e. Release the Beavers
f. Gnat Attack
* denotes a single
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Studio Album Review: Masque by Kansas
Kansas' third album, Masque, was released in the same year as Song for America, which is almost unheard of today. It was their third album in roughly a year and a half, but as the liner notes of Song for America (remastered) says, this was a particularly prolific time for Kerry Livgren as a songwriter.
The first song on the album is It Takes a Woman's Love (to Make a Man). This song is an upbeat opener but not a very strong start to the album. The band can't be faulted -- the reason for the song was their label was on them for a hit single, so this was their attempt to write one for their label: something that was "a little shorter than 12 minutes" that you could tap your feet to and was in the same time signature from beginning to end. Needless to say, it didn't become a hit. The song is just a basic love song about how a man isn't complete without the love of a woman. There's nothing really remarkable about the song. True to Kansas' nature, the great songs are the longer ones.
Up next, we have Two Cents' Worth. The lyrical content of this album tends to be much darker than on the previous albums, dealing with things like death and the inability to find meaning from life (which may have ultimately helped lead to Livgren's later conversion to Christianity). This particular song is upbeat and catchy (certainly better than the first track) and yet the singer talks about how he's been drinking because the seeming emptiness of life has gotten him down. He even seems to bring the listener into his discussion because in the last verse Walsh agrees we may think that he's wrong and he wishes he could see things our way.
Third comes Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel). Like Song for America, this is another one of Kansas' signature songs that they still play live today. This song uses the myth of Icarus as an allegory. Icarus was given wings of feathers that were affixed to his body with wax. He was warned not to fly too close to the sun, yet his sense of freedom while he flew caused him to disregard this warning. He flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and Icarus fell to his death. In this case, "borne on wings of steel" could likely refer to an airplane, and how flying gives a pilot a sense of freedom as he's able to leave the earth. If he lost the wings, the pilot would surely die just as without that sense of freedom Livgren would die, or he would at least feel lost. This song is one of the lengthier songs on this album and has some great musical moments, one of my favorites being the electric guitar adding a distorted melodic counterpoint to the violin, which is playing a descending eighth note figure. Kansas uses the string instruments, including one not usually found in rock bands, to great effect.
Coming up next we have All the World, which is, for the most part, a piano ballad similar to Lonely Wind from Kansas, except in this song the piano occasionally drops out for some heavier guitar or synth to take over. The end of the song has a rare a cappella section. There is also one musical misstep, in my opinion, which is incredibly rare on a Kansas recording. At the end before they move into the a cappella outro, rather than simply have Livgren stop the synth, they actually just fade it out in the mix and it sounds jarring. I wish they would have simply had Livgren stop playing altogether before coming having Walsh come back in with the vocals. But it's a relatively small nitpick in an otherwise strong ballad that breaks into a 7/4 instrumental section which is led by the synth, with brief periods of 3/4 between each musical phrase, leading the synth up to a new set of notes to play while the band plays a new progression of chords. As for the lyrics, it's the most optimistic song on the album. It's basically a petition to humanity to stop living selfishly and to live lives that forgive each other, leaving despair and loneliness behind.
After that we have Child of Innocence, another signature song that still gets played today. This one is primarily a straight-ahead rocker. This song returns to the theme of death and its inescapable reality. The "child of innocence" tends to think that it happens to others and not himself, but the subject of the song, the grim reaper (as is made obvious by lines such as "still you try to flee my blade", a reference to the scythe that the reaper is often imagined to carry), sings this song to the "child of innocence" to tell him to be prepared because he will die one day, too. It's something that happens to everyone and there's no escape.
The next song is It's You, which is another short love song. Listening to this song paired with the first one on this album, you start to realize why Kansas should avoid writing love songs. It's clearly not their forte. This is by far the weakest song on the album, and is trite and cliche, lyrically (e.g. rhyming "Oh, it's you" with "Oh, I'm blue", and other trite lines like "I need you 'cause my life's turning grey"). Definitely one to skip unless you can tolerate it for its short length. It's probably the shortest song ever written by Kansas that wasn't an instrumental.
Mysteries and Mayhem comes up next. This song is about a nightmare the protagonist has regarding a hooded figure in black calling his name, which likely represents death (based on the themes represented throughout this album as a whole). He tries to run from this figure but can't, his legs seemingly much heavier than they usually are (as if they're made of lead). This song is pretty much a straight-ahead rocker with a musical break during the middle which is driven by the distorted electric guitar.
The Pinnacle is the final song, and Mysteries and Mayhem leads right into it. Mysteries and Mayhem allows the song to fade, and then The Pinnacle starts with the same melody that Mysteries and Mayhem ended with, which indicates that they probably envisioned it as the second part of the prior song. I don't know if it was just a limitation of the recording equipment where they couldn't connect the two songs and split it into two tracks or if it was intentional, but based on the same melody, plus the lyric near the end of the prior song, "Mysteries and mayhem from the pinnacle I see", it's pretty strongly implied that The Pinnacle picks up where Mysteries and Mayhem left off. Plus, in both songs, the protagonist sings about bearing "the mark of Cain", which is a Biblical reference to the mark Cain received after murdering his brother, Abel, which God gave to him as an act of mercy, a sign showing that whoever would kill Cain, vengeance would be taken upon that person sevenfold. Most of the songs on this album are great, but of all the songs, this is my absolute favorite. It continues the theme of death, and even the sense of frustration that Livgren felt in his search for religious truth, which he thought unattainable. In his book Seeds of Change, Livgren says he was moving from one philosophy to another and none filled the emptiness he felt. The "jester's promenade" he mentions in the song refers to the "promenade of human religions and philosophies," which started to seem like some insipid joke. This song is very complex musically, and gives almost a sort of medieval feeling, using imagery you usually see in fantasy stories of "the hero" who "breaks his blade" in "conquer[ing] demon foes" while standing "where no goes". It clocks in at almost 10 minutes long but is a marvelous composition from start to finish, and the glorious ending of the song gives me goosebumps every time.
The success of this album, and Kansas' first two albums, was most definitely due to the success of their next two albums. Once the next album was released to the public, the lead single became a smash hit and even fans of rock music who weren't necessarily musicians became enamored of this band.
Album: Masque (1975)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums, moog drum, assorted percussion
Dave Hope -- bass guitar
Kerry Livgren -- lead and rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, clavinet, moog and ARP synthesizers
Robby Steinhardt -- violin and vocals
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, clavinet, moog synthesizer, congas, and vocals
Rich Williams -- lead and rhythm guitar
Track list:
1. *It Takes a Woman's Love (to Make a Man) (3:09) -- Walsh (saxophone by Lon Price)
2. Two Cents' Worth (3:09) -- Livgren, Walsh
3. Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel) (6:02) -- Livgren
4. All the World (7:12) -- Walsh, Steinhardt
5. Child of Innocence (4:34) -- Livgren
6. It's You (2:33) -- Walsh
7. Mysteries and Mayhem (4:18) -- Walsh, Livgren
8. The Pinnacle (9:34) -- Livgren
* denotes a single
The first song on the album is It Takes a Woman's Love (to Make a Man). This song is an upbeat opener but not a very strong start to the album. The band can't be faulted -- the reason for the song was their label was on them for a hit single, so this was their attempt to write one for their label: something that was "a little shorter than 12 minutes" that you could tap your feet to and was in the same time signature from beginning to end. Needless to say, it didn't become a hit. The song is just a basic love song about how a man isn't complete without the love of a woman. There's nothing really remarkable about the song. True to Kansas' nature, the great songs are the longer ones.
Up next, we have Two Cents' Worth. The lyrical content of this album tends to be much darker than on the previous albums, dealing with things like death and the inability to find meaning from life (which may have ultimately helped lead to Livgren's later conversion to Christianity). This particular song is upbeat and catchy (certainly better than the first track) and yet the singer talks about how he's been drinking because the seeming emptiness of life has gotten him down. He even seems to bring the listener into his discussion because in the last verse Walsh agrees we may think that he's wrong and he wishes he could see things our way.
Third comes Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel). Like Song for America, this is another one of Kansas' signature songs that they still play live today. This song uses the myth of Icarus as an allegory. Icarus was given wings of feathers that were affixed to his body with wax. He was warned not to fly too close to the sun, yet his sense of freedom while he flew caused him to disregard this warning. He flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and Icarus fell to his death. In this case, "borne on wings of steel" could likely refer to an airplane, and how flying gives a pilot a sense of freedom as he's able to leave the earth. If he lost the wings, the pilot would surely die just as without that sense of freedom Livgren would die, or he would at least feel lost. This song is one of the lengthier songs on this album and has some great musical moments, one of my favorites being the electric guitar adding a distorted melodic counterpoint to the violin, which is playing a descending eighth note figure. Kansas uses the string instruments, including one not usually found in rock bands, to great effect.
Coming up next we have All the World, which is, for the most part, a piano ballad similar to Lonely Wind from Kansas, except in this song the piano occasionally drops out for some heavier guitar or synth to take over. The end of the song has a rare a cappella section. There is also one musical misstep, in my opinion, which is incredibly rare on a Kansas recording. At the end before they move into the a cappella outro, rather than simply have Livgren stop the synth, they actually just fade it out in the mix and it sounds jarring. I wish they would have simply had Livgren stop playing altogether before coming having Walsh come back in with the vocals. But it's a relatively small nitpick in an otherwise strong ballad that breaks into a 7/4 instrumental section which is led by the synth, with brief periods of 3/4 between each musical phrase, leading the synth up to a new set of notes to play while the band plays a new progression of chords. As for the lyrics, it's the most optimistic song on the album. It's basically a petition to humanity to stop living selfishly and to live lives that forgive each other, leaving despair and loneliness behind.
After that we have Child of Innocence, another signature song that still gets played today. This one is primarily a straight-ahead rocker. This song returns to the theme of death and its inescapable reality. The "child of innocence" tends to think that it happens to others and not himself, but the subject of the song, the grim reaper (as is made obvious by lines such as "still you try to flee my blade", a reference to the scythe that the reaper is often imagined to carry), sings this song to the "child of innocence" to tell him to be prepared because he will die one day, too. It's something that happens to everyone and there's no escape.
The next song is It's You, which is another short love song. Listening to this song paired with the first one on this album, you start to realize why Kansas should avoid writing love songs. It's clearly not their forte. This is by far the weakest song on the album, and is trite and cliche, lyrically (e.g. rhyming "Oh, it's you" with "Oh, I'm blue", and other trite lines like "I need you 'cause my life's turning grey"). Definitely one to skip unless you can tolerate it for its short length. It's probably the shortest song ever written by Kansas that wasn't an instrumental.
Mysteries and Mayhem comes up next. This song is about a nightmare the protagonist has regarding a hooded figure in black calling his name, which likely represents death (based on the themes represented throughout this album as a whole). He tries to run from this figure but can't, his legs seemingly much heavier than they usually are (as if they're made of lead). This song is pretty much a straight-ahead rocker with a musical break during the middle which is driven by the distorted electric guitar.
The Pinnacle is the final song, and Mysteries and Mayhem leads right into it. Mysteries and Mayhem allows the song to fade, and then The Pinnacle starts with the same melody that Mysteries and Mayhem ended with, which indicates that they probably envisioned it as the second part of the prior song. I don't know if it was just a limitation of the recording equipment where they couldn't connect the two songs and split it into two tracks or if it was intentional, but based on the same melody, plus the lyric near the end of the prior song, "Mysteries and mayhem from the pinnacle I see", it's pretty strongly implied that The Pinnacle picks up where Mysteries and Mayhem left off. Plus, in both songs, the protagonist sings about bearing "the mark of Cain", which is a Biblical reference to the mark Cain received after murdering his brother, Abel, which God gave to him as an act of mercy, a sign showing that whoever would kill Cain, vengeance would be taken upon that person sevenfold. Most of the songs on this album are great, but of all the songs, this is my absolute favorite. It continues the theme of death, and even the sense of frustration that Livgren felt in his search for religious truth, which he thought unattainable. In his book Seeds of Change, Livgren says he was moving from one philosophy to another and none filled the emptiness he felt. The "jester's promenade" he mentions in the song refers to the "promenade of human religions and philosophies," which started to seem like some insipid joke. This song is very complex musically, and gives almost a sort of medieval feeling, using imagery you usually see in fantasy stories of "the hero" who "breaks his blade" in "conquer[ing] demon foes" while standing "where no goes". It clocks in at almost 10 minutes long but is a marvelous composition from start to finish, and the glorious ending of the song gives me goosebumps every time.
The success of this album, and Kansas' first two albums, was most definitely due to the success of their next two albums. Once the next album was released to the public, the lead single became a smash hit and even fans of rock music who weren't necessarily musicians became enamored of this band.
Album: Masque (1975)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums, moog drum, assorted percussion
Dave Hope -- bass guitar
Kerry Livgren -- lead and rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, clavinet, moog and ARP synthesizers
Robby Steinhardt -- violin and vocals
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, clavinet, moog synthesizer, congas, and vocals
Rich Williams -- lead and rhythm guitar
Track list:
1. *It Takes a Woman's Love (to Make a Man) (3:09) -- Walsh (saxophone by Lon Price)
2. Two Cents' Worth (3:09) -- Livgren, Walsh
3. Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel) (6:02) -- Livgren
4. All the World (7:12) -- Walsh, Steinhardt
5. Child of Innocence (4:34) -- Livgren
6. It's You (2:33) -- Walsh
7. Mysteries and Mayhem (4:18) -- Walsh, Livgren
8. The Pinnacle (9:34) -- Livgren
* denotes a single
Monday, May 11, 2020
Studio Album Review: Song for America by Kansas
Kansas's second album, Song for America, was recorded and released not long after their first. They had to make a living with their music, so songs for the second album were essentially written on the road. The songs on this album are also a lot more polished than the songs from the first, which was, for the most part, a lot more raw because the songs were each recorded in one take.
The album starts off with Down the Road, a song in the same vein as Can I Tell You, a blazing straight-ahead rocker. This is a song about a man who tries to get rich quick but ends up getting involved with the wrong crowd. Now he wants to "get out of town" without being killed by a loan shark. It's a real fun song despite the somewhat heavy lyrics. Near the middle of the song the band erupts into a sort of hoedown-esque solo, with the violin playing more of a fiddle style and some folks clapping their hands while Robby Steinhardt's hands fly across the violin. This is by far the shortest song on the album.
Next we come to Song for America. The topic of the song is just as the title suggests: it's an ode to America. The liner notes of the remastered edition mentions that Livgren wrote the song while he was in an airplane, looking down at the country and musing over "our relatively young nation and how unique we are." Before the song finishes, however, it returns to the themes established in the Death of Mother Nature Suite and laments the damage that humans have done to this majestic land. At just over 10 minutes long, this song isn't even the longest on the record. The music is just as majestic as you expect a song about the beauty and grandeur of America to be. This was also the only single on the album and they really took a meat cleaver to it. They condensed a 10 minute song down to just three minutes. It's more egregious than the radio single version of Meat Loaf's I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That). To anyone familiar with the full album version, the radio edit is pretty jarring. Just about everyone knows Carry On Wayward Son, but Song for America was really Kansas' first signature song.
After that we have Lamplight Symphony. As great as Song for America is, this is probably my favorite song on the album. It tells a tale of an old man whose wife recently died. He pines away for her, wishing he could bring her back. But suddenly the ghost of his wife appears to comfort him and tell him that one day soon they'll be reunited. This song is more mystical than the previous one and the music is more mystical to match, with sustained strings and organ to add an air of mystery to the verses, and a portion where the bass leads the movement of the song to express the fearful wonder of seeing his dead wife appear. Then the music fades as the apparition does, leaving him alone to ponder the message his wife brought.
Coming up next we have Lonely Street, a bluesy song in 11/8 time, which moves to 12/8 for the choruses. The lyrics are a bit heavier than even Down the Road. In this case, the protagonist is a man who walks up and down a street, looking for a man who robbed and raped his girlfriend/wife, and the shady characters he meets on his journey. The verses being in 11/8 is pretty unique. I don't listen to enough blues to know if there are other songs in this time signature, but it definitely adds a bit of interest to the song.
The second-to-last song is The Devil Game. They raise allusions to the Christian concept of the devil, referring to him as Lucifer and Satan, which are some of his names in Christianity. But as to whether or not they are referring to the literal devil is anyone's guess. It could simply be a song warning against being bad, because those who live an evil life will fall in the end. This is another raucous rocker that isn't extremely lengthy but still clocks in at over five minutes long.
Finally, we have Incomudro-Hymn to the Atman. A hymn is a song, usually religions, that expresses adoration to something or someone. "Atman" is a term in Hinduism which essentially refers to the immortal soul. I haven't been able to find a meaning for "incomudro", so perhaps it is a word that Livgren made up while coming up with a title for this song. In his autobiography Seeds of Change, Livgren says this song sums up the syncretistic approach he took to religion, combining elements of Hinduism with Zen Buddhism. This is Kansas' longest track they've ever recorded. A couple of noteworthy things: First, Phil Ehart has a drum solo near the middle of the song, and during a violin solo, the song takes on a "waltzy" feel, where the song is played in a feel of one large beat per measure, but instead of being in 3/4, as waltzes usually are, this was in 4/4 but played as if in one beat per minute. Non-musicians probably won't care much about that but I thought it was pretty interesting.
This album, as a whole, sounds better than their first, which was a lot more rushed although still excellently performed. Despite how great this album is, it would still be a couple more albums before they found worldwide fame. But with this album, they really solidified their staying power.
Album: Song for America (1975)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums, glockenspiel, moog drum, gong
Dave Hope -- bass guitar
Kerry Livgren -- lead and rhythm guitars, piano, ARP and moog synthesizers, ARP strings
Robby Steinhardt -- lead vocal, vocals, violin
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, scat and lead vocals, ARP and moog synthesizers
Rich Williams -- acoustic and electric guitars, lead and rhythm guitars
Track list:
1. Down the Road (3:44) -- Walsh, Livgren (handclaps by Food Alright and the Wines)
2. *Song for America (10:03) -- Livgren
3. Lamplight Symphony (8:14) -- Livgren
4. Lonely Street (5:43) -- Walsh, Hope, Williams, Ehart
5. The Devil Game (5:04) -- Walsh, Hope
6. Incomudro-Hymn to the Atman (12:13) -- Livgren
* denotes a single
The album starts off with Down the Road, a song in the same vein as Can I Tell You, a blazing straight-ahead rocker. This is a song about a man who tries to get rich quick but ends up getting involved with the wrong crowd. Now he wants to "get out of town" without being killed by a loan shark. It's a real fun song despite the somewhat heavy lyrics. Near the middle of the song the band erupts into a sort of hoedown-esque solo, with the violin playing more of a fiddle style and some folks clapping their hands while Robby Steinhardt's hands fly across the violin. This is by far the shortest song on the album.
Next we come to Song for America. The topic of the song is just as the title suggests: it's an ode to America. The liner notes of the remastered edition mentions that Livgren wrote the song while he was in an airplane, looking down at the country and musing over "our relatively young nation and how unique we are." Before the song finishes, however, it returns to the themes established in the Death of Mother Nature Suite and laments the damage that humans have done to this majestic land. At just over 10 minutes long, this song isn't even the longest on the record. The music is just as majestic as you expect a song about the beauty and grandeur of America to be. This was also the only single on the album and they really took a meat cleaver to it. They condensed a 10 minute song down to just three minutes. It's more egregious than the radio single version of Meat Loaf's I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That). To anyone familiar with the full album version, the radio edit is pretty jarring. Just about everyone knows Carry On Wayward Son, but Song for America was really Kansas' first signature song.
After that we have Lamplight Symphony. As great as Song for America is, this is probably my favorite song on the album. It tells a tale of an old man whose wife recently died. He pines away for her, wishing he could bring her back. But suddenly the ghost of his wife appears to comfort him and tell him that one day soon they'll be reunited. This song is more mystical than the previous one and the music is more mystical to match, with sustained strings and organ to add an air of mystery to the verses, and a portion where the bass leads the movement of the song to express the fearful wonder of seeing his dead wife appear. Then the music fades as the apparition does, leaving him alone to ponder the message his wife brought.
Coming up next we have Lonely Street, a bluesy song in 11/8 time, which moves to 12/8 for the choruses. The lyrics are a bit heavier than even Down the Road. In this case, the protagonist is a man who walks up and down a street, looking for a man who robbed and raped his girlfriend/wife, and the shady characters he meets on his journey. The verses being in 11/8 is pretty unique. I don't listen to enough blues to know if there are other songs in this time signature, but it definitely adds a bit of interest to the song.
The second-to-last song is The Devil Game. They raise allusions to the Christian concept of the devil, referring to him as Lucifer and Satan, which are some of his names in Christianity. But as to whether or not they are referring to the literal devil is anyone's guess. It could simply be a song warning against being bad, because those who live an evil life will fall in the end. This is another raucous rocker that isn't extremely lengthy but still clocks in at over five minutes long.
Finally, we have Incomudro-Hymn to the Atman. A hymn is a song, usually religions, that expresses adoration to something or someone. "Atman" is a term in Hinduism which essentially refers to the immortal soul. I haven't been able to find a meaning for "incomudro", so perhaps it is a word that Livgren made up while coming up with a title for this song. In his autobiography Seeds of Change, Livgren says this song sums up the syncretistic approach he took to religion, combining elements of Hinduism with Zen Buddhism. This is Kansas' longest track they've ever recorded. A couple of noteworthy things: First, Phil Ehart has a drum solo near the middle of the song, and during a violin solo, the song takes on a "waltzy" feel, where the song is played in a feel of one large beat per measure, but instead of being in 3/4, as waltzes usually are, this was in 4/4 but played as if in one beat per minute. Non-musicians probably won't care much about that but I thought it was pretty interesting.
This album, as a whole, sounds better than their first, which was a lot more rushed although still excellently performed. Despite how great this album is, it would still be a couple more albums before they found worldwide fame. But with this album, they really solidified their staying power.
Album: Song for America (1975)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums, glockenspiel, moog drum, gong
Dave Hope -- bass guitar
Kerry Livgren -- lead and rhythm guitars, piano, ARP and moog synthesizers, ARP strings
Robby Steinhardt -- lead vocal, vocals, violin
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, scat and lead vocals, ARP and moog synthesizers
Rich Williams -- acoustic and electric guitars, lead and rhythm guitars
Track list:
1. Down the Road (3:44) -- Walsh, Livgren (handclaps by Food Alright and the Wines)
2. *Song for America (10:03) -- Livgren
3. Lamplight Symphony (8:14) -- Livgren
4. Lonely Street (5:43) -- Walsh, Hope, Williams, Ehart
5. The Devil Game (5:04) -- Walsh, Hope
6. Incomudro-Hymn to the Atman (12:13) -- Livgren
* denotes a single
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Studio Album Review: Kansas by Kansas
Kansas is the eponymous debut album by progressive hard rock band Kansas. To record their first album, this iteration of Kansas was brought together from two separate projects: Kerry Livgren, from an earlier iteration of Kansas, and White Clover, a rock and blues band. The material on the album is a combination of material from both groups. You'll notice a lack of love songs. Early on, the band told Rolling Stone that they avoided writing love songs because everything that can be said about love has already been said. Of course, they would relax this rule on later albums.
The album starts with Can I Tell You, a short blazing rocker about freedom and making sure you appreciate it when you have it. According to the liner notes on the remastered album, this was the song that got the label interested in signing the band. There's only one verse in this song. It's sung three times with a lengthy instrumental section between the second and third verses. It sets the mood of what you can expect from Kansas: while their songs usually contain lyrics, and these lyrics are often intellectual and sometimes mystical, it's the music and the musicality of the band that really sets them apart. Even though unusual in a hard rock band, the violin is certainly not an afterthought. It carries the music through most of the instrumental before the guitar and organ trade solos, backed by a great rhythm section in Dave Hope and Phil Ehart, the latter being probably the most underrated drummer in rock music.
Next we hear Bringing it Back, a cover of a song by J.J. Cale about a man in jail reminiscing about getting caught bringing drugs back across the border from Mexico. Kansas really puts their own spin on it, playing the song a lot faster than the original. I had no idea it was a cover until recently, it sounds so much like they could have written it. Steve Walsh's piano playing really shines on this song.
After that we get Lonely Wind, a piano ballad written by Steve Walsh. It's a nice song, and the violin just soars in the intro and the solo. The meaning of this song has always been kind of obscure to me. Most of the interpretations I found on-line are that this is a song about a man who goes out into nature to commune with God. This doesn't sound plausible as the band is well known in its early incarnation for exploring various religious faiths, especially eastern religions, although the song does contain the lyric "Sometimes he seems to be the only one beside me/Who can feel the Lord's breath all around him", so who knows? Maybe it's correct. They wouldn't become a Christian band until the early 80's and Steve Walsh left the band after Livgren's and Hope's conversion because their lyrics had become too Christian. Another interpretation I found took a more literal approach: the protagonist is a man without friends who finds comfort in the wind as his only companion. As for me, I've always thought about it as a man who has been unable to find love but can find solace in the arms of a friend, which can make the pain of loneliness more bearable. At any rate, it's a nice ballad but I wouldn't consider it among the best songs on the album.
Next up is Belexes, a song that is inspired by the pseudo-Asian sound of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot, an opera about an Asian man who wants to marry a princess, but must answer three riddles on pain of beheading if he answers incorrectly. As far as I can tell, it's inspired by the music, not the story. Livgren was fond of making up words for the titles of his songs, and this is one such example. Belexes doesn't mean anything, it's just a word that came to him when he was thinking of a title (according to his book, Seeds of Change). The meaning of the lyrics seems a little obscure, but it appears, at its heart, to be a song about making sure you make wise decisions. Despite what others may say about your future, it's ultimately up to you to choose how best to proceed. After bringing it down a bit with Lonely Wind, Belexes kicks it back into high gear with a general swing feel at a fast pace.
After this we get Journey from Mariabronn, a song inspired by Herman Hesse's novel Narcissus and Goldmund, a story of a man, Goldmund, who is at a Catholic monastery and forms a close bond with his teacher, Narcissus. Goldmund meets a Gypsy woman who seduces him, causing him to decide he was never meant to be a monk. So he searches Germany in search of the meaning of life. The book appears to be heavily influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of the Apollonian and Dionysian spirit, as well as Jung's union of polar opposites. I have not read this book myself, but you can read the synopsis and explication of the general themes at the Wikipedia page. As for the musicality, this is one of the most progressive songs on the album. Just the key signatures, alone, are varied, moving from 10/4, to 7/8, to 6/8, to 4/4, and others. Despite how fast the song is, it still clocks in at almost eight minutes long.
The Pilgrimage comes next, another song with a swing feel though it's even more bluesy than Belexes was. There are even some elements of southern rock you can hear from the violin during the solo. The guitar gets a chance to shine during the solo, and the keyboard is evident throughout the verses and turnarounds. It's not clear from the lyrics what kind of pilgrimage Kansas is singing about, but considering how great the musicians are, you're happy just to be taking the journey.
The penultimate song is Apercu, a word which may be unfamiliar to you (as it was to me), but it simply means "an immediate impression", or "insight". Again, the insight the song is talking about is not very clear from the lyrics, but then again the vision that the protagonist is seeking is still hazy and concealed by "the mists of time", so perhaps the listener is meant to be as in the dark as the protagonist. It is worth noting, however, that one reviewer I found said the song is about reincarnation (e.g. talking about how we've "done this all before"). This is a song that shifts from quiet and introspective during the verses to big and bombastic during the choruses. All of the instruments are heard clearly throughout the song. Kansas is not the kind of band to just feature one instrument but often has very complex arrangements that requires extraordinary skill from each player. That's no more evident than on this song and Journey to Mariabronn.
Apercu leads right into Death of Mother Nature Suite, a song that outright condemns humanity's destruction of the environment set to an eight minute rock epic. This one has more esoteric elements than the others, incorporating a lengthy violin solo over sustained organ and wailing from the vocalists. The song is definitely a strong closer, if a bit heavy-handed in its message.
Overall, Kansas is an excellent debut album from a band that would become world-famous but would also have its ups and downs. This album, like all of Kansas' albums, is worth checking out. To fans of classical music like me, there's a lot to love from Kansas' progressive output. And for fans of hard rock (also like me), there's much to love in their more straight ahead rock offerings.
Album: Kansas (1974)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums
Dave Hope -- bass guitar, vocals
Kerry Livgren -- Lead and rhythm guitar, piano, organ, moog synthesizer, vocals
Robby Steinhardt -- violin, lead vocals and harmony
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, congas, lead vocals and harmony
Rich Williams -- guitar
Track list:
1. *Can I Tell You (3:32) -- Williams, Walsh, Ehart, Hope
2. *Bringing it Back (3:32) -- J.J. Cale
3. Lonely Wind (4:17) -- Walsh (additional harmony by Jay Siegel of The Tokens)
4. Belexes (4:24) -- Livgren
5. Journey from Mariabronn (7:56) -- Livgren, Walsh
6. The Pilgrimage (3:43) -- Livgren, Walsh
7. Apercu (9:36) -- Livgren, Walsh
8. Death of Mother Nature Suite (7:53) -- Livgren
* denotes a single
The album starts with Can I Tell You, a short blazing rocker about freedom and making sure you appreciate it when you have it. According to the liner notes on the remastered album, this was the song that got the label interested in signing the band. There's only one verse in this song. It's sung three times with a lengthy instrumental section between the second and third verses. It sets the mood of what you can expect from Kansas: while their songs usually contain lyrics, and these lyrics are often intellectual and sometimes mystical, it's the music and the musicality of the band that really sets them apart. Even though unusual in a hard rock band, the violin is certainly not an afterthought. It carries the music through most of the instrumental before the guitar and organ trade solos, backed by a great rhythm section in Dave Hope and Phil Ehart, the latter being probably the most underrated drummer in rock music.
Next we hear Bringing it Back, a cover of a song by J.J. Cale about a man in jail reminiscing about getting caught bringing drugs back across the border from Mexico. Kansas really puts their own spin on it, playing the song a lot faster than the original. I had no idea it was a cover until recently, it sounds so much like they could have written it. Steve Walsh's piano playing really shines on this song.
After that we get Lonely Wind, a piano ballad written by Steve Walsh. It's a nice song, and the violin just soars in the intro and the solo. The meaning of this song has always been kind of obscure to me. Most of the interpretations I found on-line are that this is a song about a man who goes out into nature to commune with God. This doesn't sound plausible as the band is well known in its early incarnation for exploring various religious faiths, especially eastern religions, although the song does contain the lyric "Sometimes he seems to be the only one beside me/Who can feel the Lord's breath all around him", so who knows? Maybe it's correct. They wouldn't become a Christian band until the early 80's and Steve Walsh left the band after Livgren's and Hope's conversion because their lyrics had become too Christian. Another interpretation I found took a more literal approach: the protagonist is a man without friends who finds comfort in the wind as his only companion. As for me, I've always thought about it as a man who has been unable to find love but can find solace in the arms of a friend, which can make the pain of loneliness more bearable. At any rate, it's a nice ballad but I wouldn't consider it among the best songs on the album.
Next up is Belexes, a song that is inspired by the pseudo-Asian sound of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot, an opera about an Asian man who wants to marry a princess, but must answer three riddles on pain of beheading if he answers incorrectly. As far as I can tell, it's inspired by the music, not the story. Livgren was fond of making up words for the titles of his songs, and this is one such example. Belexes doesn't mean anything, it's just a word that came to him when he was thinking of a title (according to his book, Seeds of Change). The meaning of the lyrics seems a little obscure, but it appears, at its heart, to be a song about making sure you make wise decisions. Despite what others may say about your future, it's ultimately up to you to choose how best to proceed. After bringing it down a bit with Lonely Wind, Belexes kicks it back into high gear with a general swing feel at a fast pace.
After this we get Journey from Mariabronn, a song inspired by Herman Hesse's novel Narcissus and Goldmund, a story of a man, Goldmund, who is at a Catholic monastery and forms a close bond with his teacher, Narcissus. Goldmund meets a Gypsy woman who seduces him, causing him to decide he was never meant to be a monk. So he searches Germany in search of the meaning of life. The book appears to be heavily influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of the Apollonian and Dionysian spirit, as well as Jung's union of polar opposites. I have not read this book myself, but you can read the synopsis and explication of the general themes at the Wikipedia page. As for the musicality, this is one of the most progressive songs on the album. Just the key signatures, alone, are varied, moving from 10/4, to 7/8, to 6/8, to 4/4, and others. Despite how fast the song is, it still clocks in at almost eight minutes long.
The Pilgrimage comes next, another song with a swing feel though it's even more bluesy than Belexes was. There are even some elements of southern rock you can hear from the violin during the solo. The guitar gets a chance to shine during the solo, and the keyboard is evident throughout the verses and turnarounds. It's not clear from the lyrics what kind of pilgrimage Kansas is singing about, but considering how great the musicians are, you're happy just to be taking the journey.
The penultimate song is Apercu, a word which may be unfamiliar to you (as it was to me), but it simply means "an immediate impression", or "insight". Again, the insight the song is talking about is not very clear from the lyrics, but then again the vision that the protagonist is seeking is still hazy and concealed by "the mists of time", so perhaps the listener is meant to be as in the dark as the protagonist. It is worth noting, however, that one reviewer I found said the song is about reincarnation (e.g. talking about how we've "done this all before"). This is a song that shifts from quiet and introspective during the verses to big and bombastic during the choruses. All of the instruments are heard clearly throughout the song. Kansas is not the kind of band to just feature one instrument but often has very complex arrangements that requires extraordinary skill from each player. That's no more evident than on this song and Journey to Mariabronn.
Apercu leads right into Death of Mother Nature Suite, a song that outright condemns humanity's destruction of the environment set to an eight minute rock epic. This one has more esoteric elements than the others, incorporating a lengthy violin solo over sustained organ and wailing from the vocalists. The song is definitely a strong closer, if a bit heavy-handed in its message.
Overall, Kansas is an excellent debut album from a band that would become world-famous but would also have its ups and downs. This album, like all of Kansas' albums, is worth checking out. To fans of classical music like me, there's a lot to love from Kansas' progressive output. And for fans of hard rock (also like me), there's much to love in their more straight ahead rock offerings.
Album: Kansas (1974)
Band: Kansas
Phil Ehart -- drums
Dave Hope -- bass guitar, vocals
Kerry Livgren -- Lead and rhythm guitar, piano, organ, moog synthesizer, vocals
Robby Steinhardt -- violin, lead vocals and harmony
Steve Walsh -- organ, piano, congas, lead vocals and harmony
Rich Williams -- guitar
Track list:
1. *Can I Tell You (3:32) -- Williams, Walsh, Ehart, Hope
2. *Bringing it Back (3:32) -- J.J. Cale
3. Lonely Wind (4:17) -- Walsh (additional harmony by Jay Siegel of The Tokens)
4. Belexes (4:24) -- Livgren
5. Journey from Mariabronn (7:56) -- Livgren, Walsh
6. The Pilgrimage (3:43) -- Livgren, Walsh
7. Apercu (9:36) -- Livgren, Walsh
8. Death of Mother Nature Suite (7:53) -- Livgren
* denotes a single
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