IN THE SPIRIT OF THINGS

Kansas kept a steady line-up following the release of Power two years ago, and this time they have bigger plans. They have a bunch of guest musicians in order to achieve a sound closer to Art Rock than ever before, one of them being the legendary Pink Floyd producer and percussionist Bob Ezrin, and they trust outsiders as composers for the first time, in no less than four of the album's songs. How good would the results of that new approach be?
Let's do a track-by-track review:

1. Ghosts
A beautiful dark ballad with some clear Pink Floyd references, probably due to Bob Ezrin's contribution. The lyrics tell a story about the Great Flood of 1951 in Kansas, a disaster that killed 17 people and displaced 518,000 more. An unusual way to begin an album, but what a quality song that is!

2. One Big Sky
A digital hard rocker that reminds me of the entrance theme for the WWF tag team Powers of Pain, mainly due to very similar drumming. The anthemic chorus is very catchy, the production is huge and very radio-friendly, this song could easily be in a movie! The lyrics are great too, promoting a very humble and altruistic way of life. A great choice for a Single release, but it never was...

3. Inside of Me
Strong Toto and Asia vibes on this atmospheric rocker! Dark verse with an uplifting and catchy chorus once again, very radio-friendly, another great choice for a Single release, but MCA didn't give a flyin' f*** about the band. Thus far, the album is very good!

4. One Man, One Heart
Journey or even Bryan Adams could use a tune like that! Not special, but a fun and danceable love song with powerful vocals. Thumbs up, next please!

5. House on Fire
I can easily imagine this as a Whitesnake song. Powerful pop-rocker with solid sound and a very good guitar solo by Steve Morse. It also demonstrates Walsh's rougher voice that can still get the high notes; probably that's why it sounds like Whitesnake to me, Walsh voice has some elements from Coverdale's!

6. Once in a Lifetime
A typical power ballad of 80s with a power chorus, it kinda reminds me of Europe's "Carry" but it's definitely not that good. Not a bad song at all, but we've heard thousands like it. The most forgettable song thus far because it's the most ordinary.

7. Stand Beside Me
The less interesting song so far, and the one MCA chose to release as a Single. I'm thinking they sabotaged Kansas on purpose or something, I don't know how to explain their tactics! The composers of this song wrote for Richard Marx at the time, probably that's why MCA thought this would be a good choice for a Single; but listen to it guys, there is nothing extraordinary about it! Terrible decision while having "One Big Sky" or "Inside of Me" to choose from.

8. I Counted on Love - worst song of the album
This could be a Richard Marx tune too, typical and ordinary like the previous one. Slightly less interesting though. Not a single reason to care about it.

9. The Preacher
Take Whitesnake's iconic "Still of the Night", Christianize it, lower its quality level by two steps, and you have "The Preacher". The instrumental section is by far the best part of the song, and the song itself is better than the previous three. Not bad, but not especially memorable. Still a better Single choice than "Stand Beside Me" though!

10. Rainmaker - a Kansas classic - best song of the album - most Prog song of the album - my favorite song of the album - most underrated song of the album
That is impressive. And I mean impressive! Epic Broadway style verses that escalate to a majestic symphonic prog section full of tension and agony, only for a heavenly choir to blast the pompous, pray-like chorus! The song tells the story of Charles Hatfield, a "rainmaker" that was hired by the California State in 1915 to end the drought. Hatfield did his "magic" and in January 1916 it rained so hard (coincidentally, of course) that a terrible flood destroyed the area with 28 human beings loosing their life. His story inspired The Rainmaker (1956), a movie starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn, and this very song by Kansas. By far the best song of the album and one of the very best Kansas released in the 80s. It gets all the positive tags ("best song" etc.) and without a doubt the "most underrated" as it rarely gets the praise it deserves. Brilliant!

11. T.O. Witcher (Dixie Dregs cover)
A very short, tender instrumental played on acoustic guitar by Steve Morse, who also composed it. It was originally recorded for the Dixie Dregs debut album The Great Spectacular in 1975, but since it was composed and played by Morse on its original version too, I wasn't sure if it should actually be labeled a cover or not. It was recorded again in the past though, so I decided to do it. Anyway, the track itself is beautiful and deserves multiple listening to appreciate it. Morse composed and executed a very pleasant piece!

12. Bells of Saint James
A great way to close the album. It's the story of a soldier in the Korean War who thinks about his woman back home and how he fights for her, but things gradually change between them. In my opinion, the second-best song of the album and one that would be tagged as a Kansas classic if it had a more inspired chorus. A quality song nonetheless, I listened to it multiple times during the session I held in order to write this review!

RATING:
A tough call. Only "Rainmaker" breaks through as a classic, but only 4 out of 12 songs are forgettable! It's an album with a unique sound, pretty good average quality, many strong songs, but lacking the "it" factor probably more than any other Kansas album thus far. Maybe they tried too hard, achieving variety but lacking cohesiveness and dedication. The album is in the 2 stars spectrum but it has many aspects to explore, its depth is superior to "Power" for sure!