IN THE SPIRIT OF THINGS

Many strange things have happened to me as a listener. Case in point, the first, ever, album I heard from Kansas was this one, not Leftoverture or Point of Know Return. Therefore the first song was Ghosts, not Dust in the Wind or Carry on Wayward Son. My brother had bought the album and even though I wouldn't listen to anything else but Heavy metal back in these days I gave it a spin....but it turned out to be multiple spins! Come to think of it, since the album is far from the (majestic) core sound of the band, it eased me into their music and converted me into a huge fan. Funny thing is I didn't even know who Steve Morse was and initially I couldn't grasp the depth and taste of his playing! And also I had no idea who Bob Ezrin, the producer, was, who was commissioned to produce the album (Richard Williams: "The moment Bob Ezrin stepped into the room, you knew he was the boss. He didn't sugar coat his thoughts on the material they were working on or the direction he thought the band should be heading toward. He came in and told us that there was a lot of crap here as far as the songs we had. He told us we had a lot of work to do")...On the inner sleeve it reads "Neosho, falls 1951: In that small Kansas town the flood came without warning. Within moments all hopes and dreams were swept away...forever", although I can't make the connection to the concept on every song, some lyrics refer to love lost. Anyway, Ghosts that kicks things off is a piano-driven ballad although Steve Morse manages to insert killer licks and lines. One Big Sky was the first song that grabbed my attention, the children's choir did the trick to the ears of the 15-year-old boy. This is the first out of the four, no less, songs that were written from outsiders. Steve Morse is commissioned to deliver some rockier riffs, but the song remains catchy, especially the chorus. One Man One Heart is the second composition from outsiders which is nice, although things begin to become repetitive. House on Fire is the rockiest of the album and a pleasant change of pace (note to myself: the intro was sounding very weird to my ears and I used to skip the song!). One more hired- gun composition is Once in A Lifetime and it could be the cheesiest of the album, both musically and lyrically (no idea where it fits the concept), but strangely or not strangely enough I still like. Music is an acquired taste, for sure.... The uplifting keyboards of Stand Beside Me open side B and it is the fourth and last composition that bears no name of the Kansas fold. It is permeated by an AOR feeling (which more or less is all over the place) and I guess it was a total piss-off for longtime fans...but, guess what, I still listen to it. Exactly the same goes for I Counted of Love, it is a one-two clearly aiming for radio play. The Preacher is more in the vein of House of Fire where Steve Morse puts to good use once again his talent and imagination. Buried at the end of the album (no surprisingly perhaps) are three tracks that nod to the glorious past. Rainmaker features an instrumental section where Steve Morse truly shines (come to think of it, Richard Williams is sidelined, but truth be told when Morse is around not many guitarists stand a chance to get the spotlight). The instrumental acoustic track T.O Witcher functions in essence as an intro the the final song Bell of Saint James where (you guessed) Steve Morse's magic touch is instrumental, but the song as a whole is a highlight. Richard Williams has mentioned in an interview that he had no idea what to do during the B part of the first section, so Bob Ezrin blended these three different guitar parts in the mix). By the way, the three last songs where my least favourite when I was a teenager...

Conclusion: the album is adapted (or perhaps has surrendered) to the 80s era, but to my ears it still sounds very good, especially if you approach it like that and not as a pure Kansas album whose real spirit is not in the album for sure.