Review Summary: Kansas' debut is a massive stroke of ambition, one that leaves it as one of the best Progressive Rock debuts of the 1970's.
The Road to Kansas, Part I: The Trail Starts Here
By now Kansas' name has become iconic both for the state with that name and the band named after it. Kansas had actually started at least four years before the release of their debut album, but numerous lineup changes resulted in the stagnated development of their debut. At the time of its release, the debut record didn't match sales expectations, and both singles they released failed to chart. Of course, nowadays, their debut is recognized as one of the best progressive Rock debuts of the 1970's.
Kansas' brand of Prog Rock is a lot different than their rivals at the time. While most bands had heavy reliance on digital equipment and cryptic lyrics steeped in symbolism; Kansas relied on a more southern style of Rock. Many of their tracks, like
Can I Tell You and
Bringing It Back feature heavy use of pianos, violins, and a heavy emphasis on Bluegrass and Southern Boogie Rock. It's authentic, diverse, and yet disciplined arrangements put Kansas on the map as a unique brand of Prog Rock. This does not mean that they didn't ever use digital instruments as tracks like
Belexes place an extremely heavy emphasis on synthesizers and keyboards by the extraordinarily talented Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren.
One of the most important aspects of Kansas, of course, are the lead vocals by Steve Walsh, who not only provides piano (both regular and Fender Rhodes), organ, and congas in the album, but also provides lead and backing vocals for the band. His lead vocals are known for their grandiose crescendos and high notes, which really add credibility to all the ambitious instruments and complicated compositions in the album. While most of the album's song follow a similar ground-line,
Apercu is almost completely different. The track utilizes small Soft Rock influences with heavy digital mastering and tame vocals from Steve Walsh. That doesn't make it bad; rather, it makes for an excellent foil to the overwhelming Bluegrass and Boogie Rock tunes.
By far the best track goes to the
Death of Mother Nature Suite a bombastic epic featuring booming drums, massive electric guitar riffs, and Steve's best vocals on the entire album. It jumps from multiple tones and emotions, leaving the listener completely embraced a torrential downpour of majestic sounds and emotions.
Kansas' debut was just the start of what the band would soon achieve, but it was a debut to die for. Featuring a new lens for which we could look at Progressive Rock, Kansas had planted themselves firmly on the path to greatness. Their debut was filled with energy, beauty, and ambition; an epic concoction of pure excess that could leave listeners in amazement at the enormously talented band members. Sure, this debut wasn't a success by any means, but Kansas would soon prove that they had what it takes to live large and in charge.
