DEVICE, VOICE, DRUM

The last two Kansas studio albums were very good. They brilliantly re-introduced a violin player in the line-up like in the good old days. Two of the legendary members even joined for the last one : Livgren and Steinhardt. On this live release, Livgren will not be playing, unfortunately.

When looking at the track list, the veteran Kansas fans must be very pleased : several of their anthems are played and lots of good songs are featured as well.

In terms of old song, "Belexes" the first track (if you exclude the intro) brings us back to their first release. It is not my fave one from this very good album (one of their best, IMO), but it was probably a hint to the audience that they were going to get a very nice Kansas night. And indeed, they will. There is another very good point of this live effort (well, at least I like very much this aspect) : it will be recorded at one venue only. In my opinion, the best live album are the ones recorded at the same venue : one take. That's it.

One song could have been avoided without hurting the ensemble : "The Preacher" that I really can't stand (this choir stuff is just too much). Some other ones are just below par, like "Fight Fire With Fire" and "Play the Game Tonight". I guess that I must be the only Kansas fan (or mail me if you also think that way) that does not really like "Point of Know Return".

What could have been included is definitely a old track from their last album : "Myriad" and talking about old tracks I think that "Apercu" or "Death of Mother Nature Suite" from their first release would have been better than "Belexes". I will always miss a full live version of "Lamplight Symphony", I'm afraid. Same story for "The Pinnacle" I guess (which will only be shortly featured here).

My favorite songs on this live album do not belong to their most epic ones. I just find that "The Wall" is a sublime number (even in its studio form) and the meddley "Portrait- Pinnacle" is just phenomenal. Steinhardt is almost sublime.

There is also a video on CD2. It features one of the best songs of their last album : "Distant Vision". A true epic Kansas song. It is evident, when you see it, to figure out how much Livgren is missing. During several portions of the song, Walsh will play the keys with one hand while holding his microphone with the other one. Steinhardt will also release him a bit and provide some good vocals. This video is a very good teaser to their DVD which I will definitely consider.

This live album is very good. Only a few great songs are missing maybe, and Walsh's voice is not always super. Those are the little defects. Four stars.