Best Kansas epic?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=112169
Printed Date: March 06 2025 at 07:48
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Best Kansas epic?
Posted By: Phipz-97
Subject: Best Kansas epic?
Date Posted: October 25 2017 at 10:25
|
Kansas will always have a special place in my heart for the bands run of seventies albums and a good balance between lush symphonic tracks and hard rocking beasts. Kansas "long tracks" (well there is only one longer than ten minutes, so i'd better call them epics) belong in my opinion to the most well crafted songs in the genre so i wondered, which of theirs is your favourite? As an epic I would call these following tracks: Journey from Mariabronn (Kansas) Apercu (Kansas) Death of Mother Nature Suite (Kansas) Song for America (Song for America) Lamplight Symphony (Song for America) Incomudro (Song for Amercia) All the World (Masque) The Pinnacle (Masque) Magnum Opus (Leftoverture) Closet Chronicles (Point of Know Return) Hopelessly Human (Point of Know Return) Myriad (Somewhere to Elsewhere) Distant Vision (Somewhere to Elsewhere) Voyage of Eight Eighteen (The Prelude Implicit) For myself, after a long inner fight between Song for America, The Pinnacle and Hopelessly Human I have to go with The Pinnacle of my favourite Kansas record. Would love to hear your opinions
|
Replies:
Posted By: Jeffro
Date Posted: October 25 2017 at 10:45
|
At first glance, I would probably choose Journey from Mariabronn but Magnum Opus is right there too. ------------- We all dwell in an amber subdomain, amber subdomain, amber subdomain. My face IS a maserati |
Posted By: The.Crimson.King
Date Posted: October 25 2017 at 11:32
Kansas is such a weird band...I love their epics but at the same time
absolutely hate their radio hits...or even worse their blatant attempts
at radio hits like the horrid "it takes a woman's love to make a man"  Anyway, my fave epic has to be The Pinnacle (though I always consider Mysteries & Mayhem to be connected to The Pinnacle). ------------- https://wytchcrypt.wixsite.com/mutiny-in-jonestown" rel="nofollow - Mutiny in Jonestown : Progressive Rock Since 1987 |
Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: October 25 2017 at 12:11
|
Been a long time since I was much into Kansas. But back in the day my vote would have been for the live version of Magnum Opus on Two For The Show. Cheating perhaps, but it is way better than the studio cut - and about five minutes longer, thus intrinsically more epic! ------------- Soldato of the Pan Head Mafia. We'll make you an offer you can't listen to. http://bandcamp.com/jpillbox" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp Profile |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: October 25 2017 at 13:39
|
They're all awesome. And hey, I also like their singles! Toss-up between Journey from Mariabronn, Song for America, Magnum Opus and Closet Chronicles for me. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: miamiscot
Date Posted: October 25 2017 at 14:22
| Apercu does it for me every time!!! Song For America being a close second!!! |
Posted By: Squonk19
Date Posted: October 25 2017 at 16:58
|
Closet Chronicles and Magnum Opus ------------- “Living in their pools, they soon forget about the sea.” |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: October 26 2017 at 06:14
| Always been very fond of Death Of Mother Nature Suite although it's hard to beat Song For America. Coincidentally I was listening to it this morning when my Amazon Alexa chose it on 'shuffle' mode! |
Posted By: Phipz-97
Date Posted: October 26 2017 at 10:44
| Strangely I was never too keen on Magnum Opus, even though Leftoverture was my first Kansas record - and the live version is admittedly cool. As the years passed I started to leave the album aside in favour of their other records and today Leftoverture is among my least favourite of the 70s stuff (though it is still a fine record). It is funny because Point of Know Return has received the opposite treatmemt, i did not like it much at first and could not cope with its two epics but know it is my second favourite Kansas record, being tied with Song For America and only topped by Masque. And Hopelessly Human is among the best album closers I have ever heard. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: October 27 2017 at 02:44
| Somewhere To Elsewhere is actually my favourite Kansas album. I can't think of any other group where my favourite album was recorded so late on. I find seventies Kansas just so much of a mixed bag. Leftoverture never did it for me either. I do like the debut a lot but after that it's mainly just some tracks off different albums. |
Posted By: Phipz-97
Date Posted: October 27 2017 at 04:02
|
I too find Somewhere To Elsewhere an excellent reunion album, maybe a little bit too long (Disappearing Skin Tight Blues and Not Big Man drag on a little bit too long for my taste) but it definately has the Kansas sound of the 70s and it has Icarus II, nothing more to say. Though I have to admit at some parts I missed the fast paced hard rocking style of their 70s records.
|
Posted By: Jeffro
Date Posted: October 27 2017 at 04:26
Yeah, I feel that adding a little more hard rocking to some of their epics would have improved them. For me, the longer proggy stuff on their debut album mostly fits that bill, as does Magnum Opus. Not to say that some of the later stuff isn't good also.
------------- We all dwell in an amber subdomain, amber subdomain, amber subdomain. My face IS a maserati |
Phipz-97 wrote:Posted By: Jzrk
Date Posted: November 03 2017 at 18:46
|
It’s not a definite but I think I will pick Pinnacle as well. I find that given the test of time Masque is my favorite Kansas album despite the album cover which I never liked ! |
Posted By: bender99
Date Posted: November 07 2017 at 04:50
| The Pinnacle for me, with Song For America second. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: November 07 2017 at 08:17
|
Song For America......no contest for me. That has always been my favorite long Kansas epic. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: M27Barney
Date Posted: November 09 2017 at 13:22
|
Minimum length for epic is 15 minutes. So none then? ------------- Play me my song.....Here it comes again....... |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: November 09 2017 at 14:29
|
^ 15 minutes for an epic...really...is that written down somewhere...? ;) ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: November 10 2017 at 02:25
|
Closet Chronicles > Song for America > Magnum Opus @OP: Closet Chronicles is on Leftoverture. ------------- 
|
Posted By: M27Barney
Date Posted: November 10 2017 at 05:53
Tis an unwritten law - best sort really, seriously Epic = Long Poem (Dictionary definition) - so an Epic track has to be long - I suppose if a band did mostly 3 minute tracks then a nine minute track would seem to be an epic -but if you want to define an epic as thrice the average length of all prog rock tracks - I would estimate at six minutes - thus 3 X 6 = 18 minutes..... ------------- Play me my song.....Here it comes again....... |
Posted By: grantman
Date Posted: November 10 2017 at 06:05
Closet chronicles the best ever. 
|
Posted By: Boojieboy
Date Posted: November 15 2017 at 16:27
| Probably Magnum Opus. Many of those others don't seem like epics (especially All the World, The Pinnacle, Closet Chronicles, and Hopelessly Human). They're just long songs, but don't have the intricacy and variation as something like Magnum Opus. |
Posted By: Stool Man
Date Posted: November 16 2017 at 07:31
|
(Insert the usual "what is an epic anyway?" discussions here) ------------- rotten hound of the burnie crew |
Posted By: Blaqua
Date Posted: November 28 2017 at 16:49
| Magnum Opus and Song for America |