SOMEWHERE TO ELSEWHERE

One of the very few reunion albums that are really worth it, as long as you don´t expect another Leftoverture nor another Point Of Known Return. Things have changed a lot after all these years, after all. Having said that, it´s a great return to form, even if the sound takes some time to get used to. The orginal Kansas line up (plus Billy Greer) has indeed that magic touch. Of course Walsh´s voice is not that perfect anymore, but he still delivers the goods with passion and conviction. Instrumenation wise, the band is as tight and skillful as if they never had parted ways.

All the songs are written by Kerry Livgren, which led a lot of people to label this album as simply a Livgren solo album using Kansas as backing band, but again this is not the case. Kansas is bigger than the sum of its parts and no mattter who writes the songs, it will sound inevitably like Kansas. The magic is still there, no matter how times have changed.

To be fair, some songs are way better than the others, but none is crap. Highlights are Icarus II, the magnificent Myriad and Distant Vision. All three would fit perfectly on any of their 70[s classic albums. Those tracks are worth the CD price alone.

I`d give this album easily 4 stars, but the discrepancy between some of the tracks prevented me to do that. 3,5 stars is more fitting. A very good work and a must have for any Kansas fan. But if you`re new to the band, you better start with Leftoverture or Point Of Known Return or Song For America.