POINT OF KNOW RETURN

First of all, the name of this album always bothered me. I hate seeing "know" where "no" should be, and this being a band highly influenced by American country rock while being so popular, that intentional grammatical mistake seems self-depreciating. But anyway, Point of Know Return is probably Kansas' most successful album, from the wildly successful title track and the classic radio hit "Dust In the Wind" to the fact that all of the tracks are of reasonable popular length. Unfortunately, this album marks the period where their music would take a turn for the poppier. It's not bad music, but isn't anywhere as interesting as their previous albums. All of the previous Kansas elements are still present here, but everything seems simpler and made for airplay, which is something that would be emphasized in their next album.