POWER

After the departures of Kerry Livgren, Robby Steinhard and Dave Hope following the failed "Drastic Measures" of 1983, it seemed that the Kansas story had come to an end. But it wasn't. Steve Walsh, after the discreet success of his band 'Streets', got back in touch with Rich Williams and they decided to reformulate Kansas, together with the surviving drummer Phil Ehart and the newly incorporated Billy Greer on bass and the excellent guitarist Steve Morse sharing labours with Williams. And this revived American phoenix releases "Power" (1986), their tenth album.

Knowing Walsh's predilection for direct and accessible developments over elaborate structures, "Power" does not differ much in its approach from "Drastic Measures", and hence the AOR leanings of radio targets dominate the overall mood of the album, as with "Silouhette in Desguise", the resilient "Power", the proactive "We're Not Alone Anymore", or the intense "Three Pretenders", tracks where the most remarkable thing ends up being the freshness of Morse's guitar accompaniment.

The soft rock of the mournful ballad "Al I Wanted" and the orchestrated grandiloquence of the closing "Can't Cry Anymore" seem very insubstantial, and only the correct instrumental "Musicatto" with Phil Ehart's progressive seventies drum rolls and the beautiful arpeggiated acoustic guitars of the sweet "Taking In The View", escape from common places. That's it, and it tastes like very little again.

2/2.5 stars

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