LEFTOVERTURE

By far the best thing KANSAS ever did was assemble the four songs that make up side 1 of this album. They work together brilliantly. While the big hit and "The Wall" are both very good, "What's on my mind" and "Miracles out of Nowhere are the true highlights, featuring a mixture of uplifting hard rock in that American style with melodic prog in the British tradition. The ending of "Miracles" is simply a crowning moment for American progressive rock. Unfortunately, side 2 is very weak, the band having largely run out of ideas, with mediocre songwriting rendering some fine playing largely ineffectual. The best of the mediocre lot is "Cheyenne Anthem", which nonetheless fails to transcend. So, 4.5 stars for side 1 and 2 for side 2. It's nice having all the good stuff in one place, with the leftovers in a pile that can be hopped over. If you want to get one Kansas album, this could be it.