LEFTOVERTURE

The opening tune Carry On Wayward Son still gets played on the radio from time to time it has never worn out its appeal, though southern rock influence can be heard in this tune so can a definite prog rock tendency, that is the reason why later on down the track artists like dream theater & Yngwie Malmsteen cover this tune but nobody does it like the original band and writers Kansas did back in 1976 it is a classic in the true sense of the word The Wall is next and it is an introspective spiritual song that seems to allure and move the listener in a profound way , this title The Wall came along well before Pink Floyd's The Wall, and although Floyd's work is very good it wont make your spirit sore like Kansas can. The Wall in many ways defines Kansas its warm & symphonic with profound lyrics sung beautifully by Steve Walsh. Whats on my mind is a solid rock song with a zeppelin like hook to it Phil eharts drumming is a strong point to this song once again Walsh's voice is brilliant. Miracles out of Nowhere is the song that probably sticks in your head the most, it starts off nice and simple and evolves into a prog monster the ending verges on being metal with a big Gong sound at the end, brilliant, this song has mystical type lyrics. Robbies violin is a beautiful feature in this song, the middle section the Kansas keyboards are so well arranged then the drums come in it is fantastic ! Opus Insert is another classically leaning rock song with bite and great hooks, Walsh's vocals again make this another great moment in the CD Questions Of My Childhood is a short yet upbeat fun song its probably the perfect little filler to serve up the next prog monster Cheyenne Anthem a beautiful acoustic guitar starts this song along with a beautiful keyboard line that's sure to etch its way into your subconscious. The words to this song are very evoking and somehow you gain a new perspective of what the Cheyenne Indian must have gone through and how they suffered at the hands of the white man. In the middle of the song there is a musical battle keyboards fighting keyboards guitars fighting guitars and the drums weave wonderfully from one side to another this is stunning ! then in a flash there's silence .. .. ... the guitar starts with the vocals the music keys etc start to build the song climaxes and fades with Walsh"s vocal outro fading into eternity ... wow Magnum Opus is the best instrumental Kansas ever did. The toms beats their tribal rhythm a keyboard line then sits on top and the whole band comes in classically oriented prog at this point with slight blues undertones then ... "This Foolish game is still the same the notes go flying off in the air" my goodness am I in heaven ? this is Godly this moment leads us to some crazy insane over the top progressive stuff that's so complex its amazing this leads us to a slower sections.. building faster faster I mean faster .. it blows and the band charges ... wow the end bit is the same chord structure to the start so perfectly thought out so well executed.. Leftoverture is probably one of the greatest prog CD`s ever made .. in fact its one of the best CD`s ever made expect to get into this CD infact if you do get into it expect to change as a person in many ways, it is that strong an album