SEEDS OF CHANGE

The best Kerry Livgren's solo album as far as I am concerned. Kerry is able to pull off enough magic from the previous glory years, update it to the contemporary simplified prog and pop-rock sound and make it almost as accessible as the Kansas album by then. The choice of multiple singers is effective and even the undisputed Steve Walsh appears as a vocalist. Focus on ornate keyboards and sober guitars is natural for Kerry.

The first track resembles Kansas sound significantly. "Mask of the great deceiver" has a very simplified rhythm section; Kerry listened to Tony Banks 76-78 before writing this track, indeed. The instrumental parts sound better to me than the dramatic vocal ones, albeit with a good voice. "Whiskey seed" is a return to Kansas's roots, a slowlier and bluesy track worth listening to. The following two tracks don't belong to the strong ones, in my opinion, they are very accessible and flowing but boring to some degree, since not much happens. The finale comes with "Ground zero" - the epic suite could enrich any Kansas album, too. Analog synths, piano, ARP are on display here but the male and female vocalists don't stay behind. The pompous track is well composed and leaves a very positive and emotional impression after the CD stops spinning.