AUDIO-VISIONS

Kansas's original lineup ceases with this album (even though they would briefly reconvene many years later), and it's easy to see why. Whether it was for spiritual differences between the two keyboardists Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren, musical differences, or lifestyle differences, the damage was done and the former would depart after this record. As with the previous album, the music is not of the same caliber as that of their first five, and as with the previous album, that doesn't necessarily make this one a bad record. The musical styling of the two principal songwriters is more disparate than ever: With Walsh at the helm, the music is more like conventional pop-rock; with Livgren heading things up, it is closer to the progressive rock of their heyday, and it is mostly the latter that rescues this album from utter poorness. But Walsh gave the album something besides composition: His soaring vocals. Almost every track shows off Walsh's skill and range as a vocalist. This is a difficult album to rate because of several shoddy tracks, but when Kansas is hot here, they are on fire.

"Relentless" The album kicks off with an unadorned rocker, combining heavy power chords and calm piano. The lead guitar work throughout is some of the band's finest, a consolation for some rather stale keyboard passages. The lyrics are reflective, indicative of Kerry Livgren's final religious turn. Had it been written earlier, the song might have been at home on Masque.

"Anything for You" Songs like these make me believe Steve Walsh should have been a member of Toto, not of Kansas (funnily enough). It's a piano-based love song with some almost unforgivable lyrical clichés. The melody of the chorus is great, however, and would have been better suited as part of a longer, more complex song.

"Hold On" An obvious crowd favorite (it gets played every concert, it seems), "Hold On" is a lovely but powerful waltz with a fantastic violin melody and vigorous electric guitars. During the verses, Steve Walsh sings wonderfully over acoustic guitar. The electric guitar solo is exquisite and fits the tenor of the song extremely well. Some have wondered about the nature of the lyrics: On the one hand, it sounds like a love song (even though Livgren didn't write too many of those); on the other, it sounds like an evangelistic song (particularly in the third verse). In reality, it's both. After becoming a Christian, Livgren wrote the song as a plea for his wife's conversion, as she herself was searching for spiritual truth at the time.

"Loner" The shortest song on the track is also the most pretentiously mainstream. It's catchy enough, sure, but the melodies are unimaginative and the lyrics insipid. One might be tempted to replace the "n" in the title with the letter "s."

"Curtain of Iron" With so complex an opening, the listener is fooled into believing he is in for another Livgren-penned masterwork. But the music suddenly wanes and leaves us with just a piano and Walsh's voice, neither of which flow from the composition that came before. This song is the perfect example of the transition Livgren's songwriting was taking during that time, from masterpiece after masterpiece to passable but lackluster. Regardless, "Curtain of Iron" is a true highlight of this album. Pleasing violin work concludes the song.

"Got to Rock On" Another attempt at radio success on Walsh's part, this song quite simply begs to be skipped over. The verses are awkward, relying so heavily on just piano and drums. The chorus is almost as ridiculous.

"Don't Open Your Eyes" Creepy and majestic at the same time, the beginning of this song (like many songs on this album) had real potential, but gave in to something a trifle silly. Notwithstanding, it's a very interesting song, full of fast-paced drums and piano. It is the only collaborative effort on the album

"No One Together" There are some good songs on this album, but this track propels the album to four star status. It is almost in the same echelon as "Song for America" or "The Pinnacle." The band pulls out all the stops here. The music during the introduction is fast and exhilarating, building up to a verse sung over only a piano. Walsh's voice soars here. The bridge is reminiscent of earlier works, with brazen diminished chords similar to those during the guitar solo of "Journey from Mariabronn." The musical interlude is stellar, with exceptional violin work, and once more, that fabulous build to the verse. From start to finish, it is by a long shot the best seven minutes on this album.

"No Room for a Stranger" The album could have ended strongly with "No One Together," but it does not. Kansas saw fit to give us two more tracks. This one goes from a piano riff that belongs in a hard-boiled detective movie to decent rock music; Rich Williams does a fine job on guitars.

"Back Door" Sappy, but not dreadful, this is a decent track, but certainly not progressive rock; parts of it might do well as a commercial for deodorant, perhaps. The "pipe and drum" section is particularly out of place. It isn't a bad song, but it's quite simply an awful way to end the album, especially one that will see a bitter end to a phenomenal brotherhood of excellent musicians from the heartland of America.