KANSAS

Bata Bam! Bata Boom! Bata Bing!!! Hot the jackpot! I bought this album in 1978 after having heard Leftoverture and I was blown away by the lush originality and amazing layering of instruments on this album and to this day it ranks at the top of my Kansas list with "Leftoverture" & "Masque" taking in their positions.

I was amazed at the huge difference from the first 3 tracks to the rest of then album. The big highlights start with "Belexes" which grabs you and rocks along. "Journey From Mariabronn" was a fantastic tune all the way through. The highlight for me is "Apercu" which runs from amazing section to section and the middle interplay with guitars, keys and violin are amazing.

The end of " Death Of Mother Nature Suite" wove its way intro my mind and heart from day one and is one of then greatest endings in prog music. The story behind this band getting their first record deal coming from small town wheat fields is pretty amazing and these musicians were already extremely well trained and practiced and this band would go onto score some fantastic albums.

I have to admit that I despise the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. They induct crap bands that had a few hit singles and didn't last anywhere near as long as bands like Rush and others. The fact that Kansas hasn't been inducted yet especially before the death of Robbie Steinhardt is a crime. It kills the credibility of that so called institution as they pass them up year after year in favor of so many bands that play only basic chords and got lucky.

This album is not perfect in every song but it is close.