Kansas
Point Of Know Return

THE REVIEW

With this review, I believe I'm filling a "void" that was left due to the only review of the album's most famous track, namely "Dust In The Wind".
Kansas means great hard rock with progressive virtuosity and hints of country, also thanks to the presence of the violin.
They shared the stage with bands like Styx, Angel, Foreigner, and Journey (Boston, although similar, did something a bit different), and they achieved considerable success in the USA in the second half of the 70s.
Their classic is undoubtedly "Leftoverture", but this "Point of Know Return" truly isn’t lagging behind...

The album is even more magnificent than the previous one, with peaks of great intensity in tracks like "Closet’s Chronicles" and "Hopelessly Human", whose beauty is such that it makes you forgive some overly complex passages that slightly weigh down the narrative-musical fabric of the songs; however, when the choruses of the various refrains start, Kansas earns open-hearted applause, and the emphasis in some parts is truly compelling.
Also of great impact is "Paradox", which combines a super-energetic rhythm (with the violin underlining everything in an urgent manner) and majestic melodic openings.
Hard blues for "Portrait", instead, with a frantic surprise finale, while "Lightning’s Hand" is a real tour de force of guitar-violin duets, in an almost heavy metal atmosphere, at least in its "attitude" and themes.
A small parenthesis: I believe that among the inspirers of Dream Theater, Kansas must certainly be included; listen to the aforementioned track without prejudice...
There is also space for a hard rock with funky flicks (after all, we are still in 1977) like "Sparks of the Tempest" and for an instrumental piece openly inspired by E.L. & P.'s "Tarkus", namely "The Spider", which, however, in my opinion, is the weak link in the chain.
"Dust in the Wind" has already been discussed as necessary in another review, so I refer you to that one.

To get to know Kansas at their best, first buy "Leftoverture", but absolutely do not forget this album.
I don’t think you will regret it.