IN THE SPIRIT OF THINGS

I was forced to write a review of this album due to the horribly inaccurate and unjust reviews by others. Truth is, this is a great Kansas album and a rather unique one in their catalog. Though it doesn't have key band members on it, such as Kerry Livgren or Robby Steinhardt, the remaining musicians more than take up the slack. In fact, the double- guitar approach (faithful member Rich Williams and guitar god Steve Morse) works great, and gives some extra force to the music at times. And other band mates Steve Walsh, Billy Greer, and Phil Ehart continue to provide the foundation that is uniquely Kansas.

I'll admit that there are a few songs that veer a bit towards ballads, but even they are worthwhile, with a good sense of melody. Certainly they are much better than the songs from the John Elefante era. Overall, the sound is very big, with big production, giving the songs more life than than on earlier Kansas albums. Producer Bob Ezrin deserves much credit for that. He also provided some of the songwriting on the album.

Heavier songs on the album include House on Fire, and The Preacher. As a bonus, the photos and liner notes are more interesting than normal. I'd put this in the Top 5 albums by the group.