LEFTOVERTURE

Leftoverture is Kansas fourth album and it is viewed by many, alongside with Point of No Return, as the band's Magnum Opus, but after owning this album (and Point of no Return also, if that matters) for a bit more then a couple of years i still can't see how people say that they are THE BEST Kansas albums, let alone masterpieces of progressive rock.

Don't get me wrong here, I really like Leftoverture as a whole and think that it is an awesome album. The thing is, i don not think it is good enough for the masterpiece grade, i do not think it is Kansas's best material and i do not think that all the songs of the album are. . . well . . . masterpieces! That is because when it comes to normal albums, albums that are not concept albums and, therefore, should not be necessarily considered as a whole, i usually think about them in the song-by-song scheme and i give my grade considering each song's grade or quality. So, since i don't think all songs here are perfect, its not a masterpiece and, due to that, i think that this album is considerably overrated.

About the songs, musicianship and other features, there are somethings i would like to state:

Though Leftoverture is not Kansas's first step towards pop music, because since their debut they have simpler songs in their albums, it is with this very album that Kansas take a decisive step towards AOR and other radio-friendly genres alike, as we can notice wile listening the album's opening song, Carry On my Wayward Son, and its third song, What's on my Mind. That, however, does not means that the album is somehow worse just because they decided to reach for an wider audience, it just means that their AOR phase have its roots here.

As i said before, i do not think that all songs here are perfect. Though most of the album is very good, some songs, like What's on my Mind and Questions of my Childhood are just, somehow, silly and quite sub-par to the rest of the album's songs. Also, the song The Wall sounds way too much like a rocked up Genesis song to me.

Leftoverture also marks the beginning of Kansas's wall of sound, that consists of the violin, the guitars and the piano / synths / keyboards playing in unison.

The highlights go to: Carry On my Wayward Son, The Wall, Opus Insert, Cheyenne Anthem and Magnum Opus.

Grade and Final Thoughts

OK, so, when it comes to music, the best selling albums are the best, right? WRONG! Although it is understandable why this album have such a good grade (it is Kansas best selling album so far, after all), i can't see why so many people see this as their best. It is just a very good album, that's all. So, 4 stars to Steve Walsh and friends.

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