The Kansas Appreciation Thread - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Padraic

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Topic: The Kansas Appreciation Thread
Posted: February 07 2009 at 21:13

Go ahead and discuss your love for all things Kansas.

Epignosis

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Posted: February 07 2009 at 21:15

I like Kansas.

https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays

Padraic

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Posted: February 07 2009 at 21:19

"Journey from Mariabronn" ftw.

Epignosis

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Posted: February 07 2009 at 21:23

NaturalScience wrote:

"Journey from Mariabronn" ftw.

I can play every part in it except the violin and drums. Approve

I happen to like "Apercu" about the same though. Why is that one so strangely ignored?

Edited by Epignosis - February 07 2009 at 21:23

https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays

Padraic

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Posted: February 07 2009 at 21:24

I haven't listened to that album in a long time. Love the live "Death of Mother Nature Suite" on the boxset, better than the studio IMO.

Epignosis

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Posted: February 07 2009 at 21:30

I strongly encourage everyone who kind of likes Kansas to hear "Apercu."

It's absolutely fantastic. Read my review of the album if you want to know why.

On the album, I also have a soft spot for "Belexis." People would do well to hear it in its various incarnations, from the funky semi-original version of old (not) Kansas to the real Kansas one, to the new live one by (not)Kansas band Proto-Kaw.

https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays

ClemofNazareth View Drop Down

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Posted: February 07 2009 at 22:20

They're filming the video for their upcoming symphony DVD at Washburn University in Topeka right now.

Thumbs Up

"Peace is the only battle worth waging."

Albert Camus

ghost_of_morphy View Drop Down

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Posted: February 07 2009 at 23:01

NaturalScience wrote:

Go ahead and discuss your love for all things Kansas.

Quietly heads to a lonely corner of the room and crosses his arms.

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: February 08 2009 at 01:29

The fact that it is not Oklahoma...

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

mobby

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Posted: February 08 2009 at 02:03

i love kansas..i think they are the best american prog band..mostly due to the creative genuis of kerry livgren..(if you can overlook his religious preaching lyrics)..and the invaluable contributions of walsh, steinhardt, williams, hope and ehart one of the best drummers in rock and still sadly underrated.

i have mixed feelings about elefante period..some of the music is great (crossfire/windows/incident on a bridge.)but in my opinion although he has a good voice he was not suited for the band and its style..

i like all their albums with the sole exception of power which was a disappointement..

my fav 10 kansas albums are

1-kansas (every single song on their debut is a prog classic.)

2-song for america

3-freaks of nature (walsh without livgren has found his prog roots after the popish power and in the spirit of things..great compositions..incredible work by ehart ..the best kansas album since audio visions)

4-two for the show (one of the best live albums i heard by any band)

5-point of know return

6-somewhere to elsewhere (livgren is back and kansas go back to their prog/bluesy roots with force)

7-leftoverture

8-vinyl confessions (just for crossfire..a fantastic overlooked song )

9-audio visions (not as bad as some critics thought..with shorter more commercial songs but still great stuff..i love the raw bluesy feel of no room for a stranger/loner/ and don't open your eyes

10-masque

hope they have a new one out..i think kansas can still deliver another classic..

LinusW

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Posted: February 08 2009 at 05:20

My first prog band!

Love them very much, even though they've been overshadowed by new friends lately. The quality of their music is just as high as it was initially though.

I think my favourite album is Song for America, with the amazing songs Down The Road, Song for America, Lamplight Symphony, The Devil Game and Incomudro. Classic!

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: February 08 2009 at 07:24

I saw these guys in concert in Atlanta. 1978. Was my first concert and my first prog concert. More or less marks the point I became a prog nut.

Edited by Slartibartfast - February 08 2009 at 07:28

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

E-Dub

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Posted: February 08 2009 at 09:29

Kansas was one of the first bands that I ever got into...long before I was aware of a genre called progressive. And since they're from my area, we had a good supply of the band. A very unique band in that they would blend progressive music with blues and some country, which is prevalent in the midwest.

Kansas' Monolith was the first album of theirs that I bought, so it holds a special place in my heart. I think it's a brilliant album and very dynamic. Audio Visions is another favorite, and probably because of Walsh's vocal performance. I consider it his finest.

The previous albums are brilliant, however. Leftoverture is probably my favorite Kansas album and extremely progressive. A masterpiece.

I do like the stuff after Audio Vision; but albums like Power and Spirit really didn't have that 'magic'. I just finished up Freaks Of Nature in the car's player and it is their most progressive since Monolith. Pretty cool to hear Walsh refer to his hometown of St. Joseph, MO (about 45 minutes from here) and refer to I-29 (a main artery that runs through Kansas City) in "Peaceful And Warm". I definitely connect with Kansas. Probably more so than any other band.

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E-Dub

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Posted: February 08 2009 at 09:30

mobby wrote:

i love kansas..i think they are the best american prog band..mostly due to the creative genuis of kerry livgren..(if you can overlook his religious preaching lyrics)..and the invaluable contributions of walsh, steinhardt, williams, hope and ehart one of the best drummers in rock and still sadly underrated.

i like all their albums with the sole exception of power which was a disappointement..

my fav 10 kansas albums are

1-kansas (every single song on their debut is a prog classic.)

2-song for america

4-two for the show (one of the best live albums i heard by any band)

5-point of know return

6-somewhere to elsewhere (livgren is back and kansas go back to their prog/bluesy roots with force)

7-leftoverture

8-vinyl confessions (just for crossfire..a fantastic overlooked song )

9-audio visions (not as bad as some critics thought..with shorter more commercial songs but still great stuff..i love the raw bluesy feel of no room for a stranger/loner/ and don't open your eyes

10-masque

hope they have a new one out..i think kansas can still deliver another classic..

I think Vinyl Confessions is a great album, personally. Love "Chasing Shadows", "Windows" and "Crossfire".

E

Roj

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Posted: February 09 2009 at 03:36

Well, Topeka and Wichita look like really nice places to visit.

Oh, whoops. Sorry. Two For The Show, the 2 disc remaster is one of the finest live albums I've ever heard.

prog4evr

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Posted: February 09 2009 at 05:56

Slartibartfast wrote:

I saw these guys in concert in Atlanta. 1978. Was my first concert and my first prog concert. More or less marks the point I became a prog nut.

Agree with Mobby as well. Kansas was my first prog love as a teenager in the mid-70s. So true that SFA is a classic album by them. Especially love Lamplight Symphony and Incomudro Hymn to the Atman - two phenomenal tracks in the history of prog. I saw them first when Leftoverture came out, sometime in 1976. Don't have the ticket-stub though; guess I wish I did...

Raff

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Posted: February 09 2009 at 08:58

Now listening to Two for the Show... Not the boxset edition, unfortunately, though I mean to get it ASAP (not hard to find even in mainstream music stores, thank heavens). Even though I am not very familiar with their later albums, I really like the ones I own (up to the aforementioned live album), and listen to them relatively often. My favourite tracks so far are "Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel)" and "Miracles Out of Nowhere".

Anyway, I think Steve Walsh should get way more love than he does as a vocalist. He hardly ever gets mentioned in those terminally boring 'best prog singer' polls, which is almost criminal IMHO.

ClemofNazareth View Drop Down

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Posted: February 09 2009 at 09:13

Roj M30 wrote:

Well, Topeka and Wichita look like really nice places to visit.

Topeka is a wonderful town, but Wichita is a festering, puss-filled schism on the landscape of America. Don't ever go there; seriously, that city sucks. I lved there twice, including in college. Dirty, crime-ridden, smelly, depressing, lousy weather (hot, muggy summers and icy winters), horrible economy. Commonly known as "The Armpit of America" by people who live there.

"Peace is the only battle worth waging."

Albert Camus

Epignosis

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Posted: February 09 2009 at 10:19

So what do you Kansas fans think of David Ragsdale?

https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays