MONOLITH

Monolith broke the "great" streak Kansas had going with their preceding 4 albums, SOng For AMerica, Masque, Leftoverture, and Point. All 4 of these I will eventually get around to reviewing and they will all get at least 4 stars. They are the pinnacle of Kansas's career as a band. This album, however, has always been a dissapointment to me. It doesn't have any great "epics" in the Kansas tradition, is more radio-friendly than the others, and just seems to short of new ideas. The formula is wearing thin. Much of this album is typical, AOR, and stadium rock. No new ground broken. It is not a bad album, but it is not a very good album, either. My favorite on here is "Glimpse of Home" and it is the classic Kansas I love. Other than that 1 song, only "Reasons to Be" does anything for me. This is a 2 star effort. Bring on Song for America!