KANSAS

It took five long years of back and forth and different line-ups from local bands before the musicians from Topeka, Kansas, finally released their eponymous debut album in 1974. And to reaffirm their commitment to their roots, the album's cover art reflects the 1939 mural by painter John S. Curry that decorates the local capitol depicting slavery abolitionist leader John Brown in the mid-19th century.

Led by Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren as the almost exclusive composers of the work, "Kansas" is an interesting and original combination of styles, borrowing elements of American boggie rock on tracks such as the upbeat opener "Can I Tell You" and "Bringing it Back" where Robbie Steinhard's distinctive fiddle sound that would become an early hallmark of the band stands out, adds country elements such as the delicate ballad 'Lonely Wind' and its beautiful piano notes wrapped around Steinhard's fiddle, and also incorporates hard rock nuances such as the sobering "Belexes" supported by the great base that Dave Hope's bass and Phil Ehart's agitated percussion generate for Livgren's riffs and guitar solos.

And which, on the other hand, delves into the intricate paths of progressive structures, full of changes of tempos and moods, as in the epic "Journey From Mariabronn", an excellent instrumental performance of genesian airs whose lyrics are inspired by the novel 'Narcissus and Goldmund' (1930) by the German Hermann Hesse, surely the best piece of the work, in the extensive and reflective "Apercu" whose theme is influenced, like "Belexes", by the opera 'Turandot' (1926) by the Italian Giacomo Puccini, and in the portentous finale with the fateful "Death Of Mother Nature Suite", a development that once again allows Livgren to shine on organs and guitars and the most accomplished and versatile vocal interpretation by Walsh on the album.

"Kansas", beyond the modest initial recognition of this work that has been reverting over the years, was the cornerstone that laid a sufficiently vital and firm foundation for the subsequent consolidation of one of the best progressive rock bands in the United States that emerged in the 70s.

Very good.

4 stars