For any art rock band, the fourth album means it's time for a self-styled masterpiece -- if you need proof, look at Selling England by the Pound or Fragile. So, with Kansas, the most determinedly arty of all American art rock bands, they composed and recorded Leftoverture, an impenetrable conundrum of significance that's capped off by nothing less than a five-part suite, appropriately titled "Magnum Opus," and featuring such promising movement titles as "Father Padilla Meets the Perfect Gnat" and "Release the Beavers." Of course, there's no telling whether this closing opus relates to the opener, "Carry On Wayward Son," the greatest single Kansas ever cut -- a song that manages to be pompous, powerful, ridiculous, and catchy all at once. That they never manage to rival it anywhere on this record is as much a testament to their crippling ambition as their lack of skills. And it's unfair to say Kansas are unskilled, since they are certainly instrumentally proficient and they can craft songs or, rather, compositions that appear rather ambitious. Except these compositions aren't particularly complex, rhythmically or harmonically, and are in their own way as ambling as oogie rock, which still feels to be their foundation. It's not really fair to attack Kansas for a concept album with an impenetrable concept -- it's possible to listen to Lamb Lies Down on Broadway hundreds of times and not know what the hell Rael is up to -- but there's neither hooks nor true grandiosity here to make it interesting. That said, this still may be Kansas' most consistent set, outside of Point of Know Return. Take that for what you will.
Well you told me that I was just not the one,And you left me standing out in the coldIt's been a long time and I'm so much better nowThat I'm looking back and seeing it allAnd for the first time there's no pain in my lifeThough it's a long hard road that I've goneWe had a good thing and it made me a man cause I knowYou got me goin', pardon me my feelings are showingI'm only saying what's on my ...
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I have always like prog/art rock, but I never came to the realization until Kansas. The music they make just rocks out more than any other group can ever hope to. The moving instrumental solos, the flaming violin solos, I love it all! I think that the Wall is my favorite song on here, though. I discovered Kansas by actually playing Carry On Wayward son in my high school jazz ensemble. I li...
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I first heard this most killer of tunes in the summer of 1977 when I was eight years old and a member of bunk 4 at Camp Youg Judea in Western Mass. My counselor, Steve, would rock out to this song constantly, playing it at top volume on his box that he used to perch on the rafters of our bunk. I was completely hooked at first listen and came to like the song even more than Steve, begging him to...
More >
Well you told me that I was just not the one,And you left me standing out in the coldIt's been a long time and I'm so much better nowThat I'm looking back and seeing it allAnd for the first time there's no pain in my lifeThough it's a long hard road that I've goneWe had a good thing and it made me a man cause I knowYou got me goin', pardon me my feelings are showingI'm only saying what's on my ...
More >
I first heard this most killer of tunes in the summer of 1977 when I was eight years old and a member of bunk 4 at Camp Youg Judea in Western Mass. My counselor, Steve, would rock out to this song constantly, playing it at top volume on his box that he used to perch on the rafters of our bunk. I was completely hooked at first listen and came to like the song even more than Steve, begging him to...
More >
I have always like prog/art rock, but I never came to the realization until Kansas. The music they make just rocks out more than any other group can ever hope to. The moving instrumental solos, the flaming violin solos, I love it all! I think that the Wall is my favorite song on here, though. I discovered Kansas by actually playing Carry On Wayward son in my high school jazz ensemble. I li...
More >
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 "Leftoverture")
