LEFTOVERTURE

This is the album that defines American symphonic prog in the seventies. Composed and recorded under intense record company pressure, and a severe case of writer's block for Steve Walsh, Kerry Livgren came through big time, with an album full of stunning music and lyrics.

Unlike all other Kansas albums up to this point, Leftoverture contains no straightforward rockers, or mundane soft ballads (the closest they come to the latter is The Wall, which begins softly, but works it's way up to a prog power ballad). This is symphonic prog bliss from start to finish.

And what a start. The album opens with the famous Carry On Wayward Son. Powerful and catchy, this is also the proggiest song to climb that high on the charts since Yes' Roundabout. The album is extremely well produced throughout, and peak with the aptly titled Magnum Opus, one of, if not the best song in Kansas' catalog.

I won't take points off for the bonus tracks, live recordings of Carry On and Cheyenne Anthem, but they are totally unnecessary, and superfluous to this amazing album.