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Progressive Kansas

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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Polls
Forum Description: Create polls on topics related to progressive music
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20080
Printed Date: February 11 2025 at 07:23
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Topic: Progressive Kansas
Posted By: Dr Know
Subject: Progressive Kansas
Date Posted: March 10 2006 at 18:07

Although Leftoverture has classics like Magnum Opus and The Wall, I would say as a whole Point of Know Return is slightly more Progressive.

Which would you say is more Progressive?




Replies:
Posted By: bluetailfly
Date Posted: March 10 2006 at 18:27
There both equally great prog rock. Both perfect gems.

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"The red polygon's only desire / is to get to the blue triangle."


Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: March 10 2006 at 19:11

All these Kansas threads

They are both good albums but I prefer Leftoverture.



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Posted By: Dr Know
Date Posted: March 10 2006 at 19:24
I also prefer Leftoverture, but what I´m asking is which one do you think is more Prog?


Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: March 11 2006 at 00:33
because of Magnum Opus I`m gonna have to say Leftoverture


Posted By: Prog-man
Date Posted: March 11 2006 at 02:08

 

Difficult decision. They are two big albums, the best of the band.Clap

But I think that "Point..." is a bit more progressive. Complex, varied and melodic simultaneously.Wink



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Arriving somewhere but not here


Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: March 13 2006 at 05:31

Leftoverture is easily winning this choice

But why just sticking to these two

Of all albums of their Kansas debut is their proggiest but they were still a bit unrefined, they got better but not necessirily proggier after



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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword


Posted By: Garion81
Date Posted: March 13 2006 at 13:35
Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

Leftoverture is easily winning this choice

But why just sticking to these two

Of all albums of their Kansas debut is their proggiest but they were still a bit unrefined, they got better but not necessirily proggier after

I agree with that.  I thought SFA was probably their best overall progressive wise as far as the 70's progressive music as we know it. I always thought this bands strength was in it's subtle melodies and changes that simply flowed on to another inside a well crafted song  rather than full blown prog epics.

 Although hearing the remastered Levftoverature on my new Bose speakers was pretty special.



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"What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?"


Posted By: bluetailfly
Date Posted: March 13 2006 at 13:57
Originally posted by Garion81 Garion81 wrote:

Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

Leftoverture is easily winning this choice

But why just sticking to these two

Of all albums of their Kansas debut is their proggiest but they were still a bit unrefined, they got better but not necessirily proggier after

I agree with that.  I thought SFA was probably their best overall progressive wise as far as the 70's progressive music as we know it. I always thought this bands strength was in it's subtle melodies and changes that simply flowed on to another inside a well crafted song  rather than full blown prog epics.

 Although hearing the remastered Levftoverature on my new Bose speakers was pretty special.

For me, the band's strength is both melody AND prog rock structure of a composition (which doesn't necessarily mean "epic" but does include inspired instrumental passages).

Actually, when Kansas (be it Walsh, Livgren, or whoever) simply decided to focus on creating tasty sounding melodic arena rock, that is when their music suffered. It's almost as if they feared to keep pushing the boundaries and instead settled in to crafting rock as an end goal with no overarching aesthetic, like making really nice chairs. Nice to look at and does the job.

A good contrast to Kansas's situation after PoKR is Fleetwood Mac's after Rumours. Rather than retreating to create more of the same, or more of less-than-the same, they put out a double LP that went wildly in all directions, and was an amazing musical trip. Following PoKR with the bland AOR of Monolith seems regrettable to me.



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"The red polygon's only desire / is to get to the blue triangle."


Posted By: aapatsos
Date Posted: March 13 2006 at 19:21

I prefer Point...

more 'emotional' in a way with more different aspects than Left...



Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: March 14 2006 at 00:51

You know I've always seen this two albums as almost twin ones.

Both show the peak opf commercial and artistic successs of Kansas. People use to rate POKR lower because Dust in the Wind, but I believe it was a very good song, probably if commercial radios wouldn't over played it, people would still like it.

Progheads usually don't forgive commercial success.

Iván



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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: March 14 2006 at 00:58
Originally posted by ivan_2068 ivan_2068 wrote:

You know I've always seen this two albums as almost twin ones.

Both show the peak opf commercial and artistic successs of Kansas. People use to rate POKR lower because Dust in the Wind, but I believe it was a very good song, probably if commercial radios wouldn't over played it, people would still like it.

Progheads usually don't forgive commercial success.

Iván

After watching device voice drum many times I have to say that looking at the audience there seem to be a large number of casual fans just waiting for Wayward Son and Dust , had Kansas not played them many people  there would have been sad   


Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: March 14 2006 at 23:34

Originally posted by s1ipp3ry s1ipp3ry wrote:

After watching device voice drum many times I have to say that looking at the audience there seem to be a large number of casual fans just waiting for Wayward Son and Dust , had Kansas not played them many people  there would have been sad   

Well, in the case of Device Voice Drum, the audience (well over 40 years average) was full of Kansas fans.

Being a Kansas fan in USA doesn't necesarilly mean you're a Proghead. I'm sure a lot of Kansas fans in USA don't have the slightest idea what Progressive Rock means.

Their music was perfectly elaborated to be considered a top Progressive Rock band, but it was accesible to many people not related to the genre.

Iván



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Posted By: Jack-a-lynn
Date Posted: March 15 2006 at 16:47
hmmm this is a bit hard to say. IMO kansas is a classic rock band with a heavy dose of prog, but i maybe wouldn't classify them as true prog. at first i was going to vote for leftoverture, but then songs on Point of Know Return like "portrait" and "lightning's hand" and "sparks of the tempest".... my vote goes to Point of Know Return.

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"from the moment i could talk, i was ordered to listen." -cat stevens



Posted By: Garion81
Date Posted: March 15 2006 at 17:00
Originally posted by ivan_2068 ivan_2068 wrote:

Originally posted by s1ipp3ry s1ipp3ry wrote:

After watching device voice drum many times I have to say that looking at the audience there seem to be a large number of casual fans just waiting for Wayward Son and Dust , had Kansas not played them many people  there would have been sad   

Well, in the case of Device Voice Drum, the audience (well over 40 years average) was full of Kansas fans.

Being a Kansas fan in USA doesn't necesarilly mean you're a Proghead. I'm sure a lot of Kansas fans in USA don't have the slightest idea what Progressive Rock means.

Their music was perfectly elaborated to be considered a top Progressive Rock band, but it was accesible to many people not related to the genre.

Iván

100% correct Ivan.

From what I have seen I think it is about half and half.  Some see Kansas as an AOR band in the same category as Styx, REO Speedwagon , Journey and Boston.  The other half associate them with Yes, ELP, Genesis and the rest of the prog rock fans.

 A lot of newer fans found out about them with the newer 80's and 90' cd's and worked backwards. So they see this group different than those of us who knew them from the beginning.  

The hard core fans are almost clearly divided into three camps. People who like everything they do, People who like Steve Walsh's songs (and usually tend to like the AOR bands above) and people who only like Kerry Livgren's songs (more often than not are prog fans as well) .  (Referred to as Walshians and Livgrenites )

The casual fans are called Dust n' bolters.  Referred to their behaviour at a concert after they hear Dust in the Wind. Which is the reason the band only plays Carry On and Dust in the Wind as it's encores because it forces the dust n bolt crowd to sit through everything else.  



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"What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?"



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