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Monolith - the last great Kansas album?
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Points: 18281 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote verslibre Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 31 2025 at 12:37
Originally posted by AFlowerKingCrimson AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

Wouldn't you think that Going for the One would be close to platinum also (or maybe even platinum by now). It went gold less than a month after being released. Tormato even went platinum less than two months after it was released. Weird. Yes, they need to update lots of stuff on there. They have David Bowies ziggy stardust album as only going gold. Seriously.


G4T1 should be Platinum, I agree.
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Points: 808 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hector Enrique Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 31 2025 at 17:49
Definitely the first albums of Kansas are the best of their discography, I love the debut Kansas, Song for America, and somehow I give a special value to Leftoverture and PoKR, beyond being also very good works, because they allowed that their expansive wave has given exposure to the first albums of the Americans, that they reach a greater number of listeners and that the band has transcended much more than they surely expected.

On the other hand, I agree that among their "classic" works, Monolith disputes with Masque their placement a bit behind. Personally I think Masque is a couple of steps above, because Mysteries, Icarus and Pinnacle don't have similar level tracks to match them in Monolith. But that's ultimately a matter of personal appreciation and taste.
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Points: 20386 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 hours 52 minutes ago at 01:55
Maybe Monolith went gold in the long run, but it certainly didn't seem like it sold as much back then as their two previous albums.


Originally posted by BasedProgger BasedProgger wrote:

I think Masque was when Kansas started to move towards a more commercial direction as evident in songs like "It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make a Man)", not that it's a bad thing because Leftoverture and PoKR are both classics where they figured out their sound, balanced progressive rock with arena rock in a way that worked, and didn't have any weak songs. I agree it has some of their best offerings like the ones verslibre mentioned (I'd add "Child of Innocence" to that).
In my opinion, Masque > Monlith but probably only because of "Mysteries and Mayhem" and "The Pinnacle" (should have been one song or at least segued into each other like "Apercu" and "Death of Mother Nature Suite").


Yes, Masque has two or three tracks I saved for my CDr comp of theirs (from SFA until Monolith), but the rest is subpar, IMHO, and was a vrather disappointment from the debut and SFA. Oddly enough, this album escaped my radar for years too.

Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by Steve Wyzard Steve Wyzard wrote:

Leftoverture was the first album where they were confident enough to no longer be "Lynyrd Skynyrd meets King Crimson" and just be themselves without sacrificing their virtuosity or experimentalism. Not to mention the first 3 albums were recorded with extremely low budgets, so the songs sounded much better on Two for the Show, which includes the best songs from those albums.


Am I glad I don't hear anything Skynyrdy about their music!


Neither do I hear any Crimson (despite the violin).LOL

Oddly enough, I was never enamoured by their Two For The Show, despite the accolades it gets.
It's like GG's Playing The Fool, could never get into it.


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Points: 163 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Hosydi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 hours 12 minutes ago at 02:35
There is nothing about The Absence of Presence that one could find really objectionable; that's their last great album.
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Points: 27 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BasedProgger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 hours 44 minutes ago at 09:03
Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:


Neither do I hear any Crimson (despite the violin).LOL


Same here. Other than the violin (which both bands play a largely different style) and the heavier sound, I don't see many similarities between Kansas and Wetton-era King Crimson.

Edited by BasedProgger - 13 hours 44 minutes ago at 09:03
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Points: 27 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BasedProgger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 hours 40 minutes ago at 09:07
Originally posted by Hosydi Hosydi wrote:

There is nothing about The Absence of Presence that one could find really objectionable; that's their last great album.


I think Prelude and Absence are both good albums but like most new albums from older bands, are rather forgettable and I guess people find the fact most of the original members including Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren had left the band objectionable about those two albums.
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I've never likened any aspect of Kansas to King Crimson. That's just as odd a comparison as Skynyrd, at least to me.

King Crimson is one of those bands I've felt we don't really need more than one of. That's probably why I can't get many any of the heavily Crim-inspired groups past Anekdoten. But that can always change.
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Points: 27 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BasedProgger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 8 hours 31 minutes ago at 14:16
Kansas should be compared to progressive rock bands like Yes and Genesis who moved towards a commercial pop direction but are still remembered by many as progressive rock bands, or Emerson Lake & Palmer if they had both a violinist and guitarist.

We don't really need more than one of many bands, especially bands with unique sounds (many prog bands including King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator) or bands so huge everyone can easily identify their sound (Queen, Floyd, Zeppelin).
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Points: 20386 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6 hours 39 minutes ago at 16:08
Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

I've never likened any aspect of Kansas to King Crimson. That's just as odd a comparison as Skynyrd, at least to me.


I probably wouldn't have reacted if they'd been compared to Yes (an obvious inspiration) and Skynyrd (in spirit maybe), but Crimson was just too much
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Points: 163 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Hosydi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 4 hours 56 minutes ago at 17:51
Originally posted by BasedProgger BasedProgger wrote:

Originally posted by Hosydi Hosydi wrote:

There is nothing about The Absence of Presence that one could find really objectionable; that's their last great album.


I think Prelude and Absence are both good albums but like most new albums from older bands, are rather forgettable and I guess people find the fact most of the original members including Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren had left the band objectionable about those two albums.
The reality is that on the Monolith album, Kansas demonstrated an intricate hard rock approach rather than sticking to their prog rock style. The keys were taking a less prominent role. The violin featured less on Monolith than on previous albums. The tunes lean towards a pop sensibility, even though the instrumentation remains rich throughout most tracks. There is indeed a noticeable shift away from the Kansas progressive style in Monolith.

As for missing personnel, well, nobody is indispensable in a band. The departure of a member from a band that has been active for many years, such as Kansas, which has been around for over 50 years, should not be viewed as a significant flaw in their last album. For example, The Absence of Presence features keyboardist Tom Brislin. He is the newest member of Kansas, who has previously played with Yes, Camel, and Renaissance. But beyond impressive playing skills, Brislin also brought to the table several of his own compositions and lyrics for some tracks on The Absence of Presence. He also handles lead vocals on the standout track The Song the River Sang. Kansas was indeed fortunate to get him as part of their lineup.

The other members of the band are doing extremely well on The Absence of Presence, too: lead vocalist Ronnie Platt and producer/guitarist Zak Rizvi, both of whom are now fully assimilated into Kansas. Violinist David Ragsdale, who joined in the early 1990s, is doing a fantastic job, and his work with the violin has been outstanding. Billy Greer, who joined in the mid-1980s, is still thriving in his role. The other continuing members are drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist Richard Williams, who have been with the band since its inception. The seven men carry Kansas's rich legacy perfectly. Everything fits nicely: keyboards, violin, drums, vocals—including choruses—and even the overall production and album artwork.
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