Kansas
The Prelude Implicit

Introduction:

Goodness, what a great album!

Irresistible in many places, played divinely like few others I've ever heard.

Balanced, without any forcefulness or grandiosity, well-intended in the context still pompous, considering it's Kansas.

A pleasant surprise… it shot right among my two or three favorites of the group; in fact, if it's not my favorite, it's the one right after.

Airy and confident melodies, marvelous voices, celestial choirs, catchy choruses, guitars and keyboards soberly balanced and in continuous counterpoint exchange, unparalleled rhythm section especially the drums, perfect sound.

Context:

The old ensemble from Topeka, Kansas, here resurfaces (year 2016) after three long decades of oblivion, watered down by the usual compilations, live albums, etc. In 2000, the era of the previous album “Somewhere to Elsewhere,” they patched things up (brilliantly) by temporarily bringing back their historic companion Kerry Livgren and entrusting him with all compositional as well as keyboard duties. They were then abandoned in 2014 by the other (though largely exhausted) creative resource, that is, keyboardist and former great singer Steve Walsh, and they found themselves on the ground, with no one able to bring new compositions to their repertoire.

No worries: they solved it, big time. Out of nowhere emerge two guys, each more talented than the other, both seasoned and experienced, coming from that USA well of great yet almost unknown musicians which seems endless (just take a walk in that country to discover incredible performers playing in front of a few people at a bar or pub… mind-blowing… the United States are truly a paradise for rock music!).

The first is a son of Pakistani immigrants named Zak Rizvi. He looks like someone who’d work behind a kebab counter, yet he knows exactly what to play and what not to, perfectly producing everything and earning his place in the formation (he was initially brought in just for the role of producer).

The other is the new singer Ronnie Platt, with a wide and very clean voice (at least in the studio). Two thirds John Elefante and one third Steve Walsh, just to link him to the two previous singers. In the sense that he's less aggressive than Walsh, not raspy at all, but more dynamic than Elefante. Also fantastic in the choirs, ably helped by bassist Billy Greer, who has a frontman-grade voice himself.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

The compositions, the choirs, the robust and domineering violin in solo parts. Ehart’s creative and solid drumming, melodies far beyond rock and blues, steeped in European culture and therefore progressive. Intricate but not overly so solo parts, odd time signatures without showing off, the ensemble arrangement with all instruments taking turns at the forefront (behind the violin, clearly dominant): everything works on this occasion and no weaknesses are present. Sure, some tracks hook more than others, but no filler. Or maybe just one: “Summer”

Highlights of the Album:

Full of melodic, rhythmic, or instrumental “hooks,” this work, let’s see:

The opening track “With This Heart” introduces Platt’s magnificent voice, immediately on a wide and rich vocal path towards high notes, from a very experienced band far beyond the confines of rock’n’roll, while the rhythm section shuffles the three-quarters and turns the time signature into a 13/8 delight.

The following “Visibility Zero” alternates a rocky riff with a more relaxed vocal that delightfully lingers towards a bridge, preluding to a fantastically melodious chorus. David Ragsdale’s electric violin starts to dominate in the instrumental portions and won’t stop anymore.

“Refugee” is touching and magnificent. In the air of the famous “Dust in the Wind” thanks to the acoustic guitars' arpeggio, it showcases Platt’s august voice, here truly close to John Elefante. The chorus is heavenly, choirs, lyrics, and descending chords, all just right. The violin connects as always. Magnificent! Even the final bridge: off with the guitars and in the piano's hands.

“The Voyage of Eight Eighteen” is the magnum opus of the occasion, over eight minutes and with a decidedly seventies Kansas mood. Dreamy verses at the beginning and the end, with a long, intricate yet smooth instrumental interlude in the middle, also and especially thanks to Phil Ehart, a denunciation behind drums and cymbals.

And I also really like “Camouflage” because of yet another choral and mega-melodious chorus, emerging from yet another tough, cadenced, almost dull, and therefore even more enjoyable riff.

“Crowded Isolation” is tense and ambitiously progressive. Platt's work in the choirs is grandiose. The rhythm is somewhat heard many other times before, but the chorus is worth it and also the rich instrumental portion, this time dominated by keyboards, although the violin never misses.

Simply terrifying is the melodic exquisiteness of the vocal part of “Home on the Range”: it digs deep into my soul. Platt at his peak, atop a carpet of acoustics arranged in a three-quarter with surprises and rhythmic interlocks.

The Rest:

“The Unsung Heroes” starts like Kansas with the marauding violin, then soon settles into a pompous semi-slow rhythm & blues, pleasant and well-made even if ordinary.

Granite opening riff, and then interlude too, also for “Rhythm in the Spirit”, while the singing that comes in is initially harsh to then soon spread into hyper-melodic, delightfully supported first by rich choirs and then by the academic violin arpeggio.

“Summer” is sung by bassist Billy Greer, and you need to know to notice it: the same high, clean, and melodic voice, just a bit less magnificent than his colleague. The piece is a hard pop rock with a somewhat predictable chorus.

“Section 60” is a romantic and baroque instrumental, Kansas to 1,000 percent. First the electric violin and then the hyper distorted and sonorous guitar take charge of leading the melody.

The final “Shenandoah” is a slow instrumental in the style of Jeff Beck, and Rizvi’s big guitar couldn’t be more sonorous. A well-measured outro for the album.

Final Judgment:

Thankfully, we still come across such albums, which smell of classic rock both complex and accessible at the same time. Praise to these immortal Americans from the vast central plains of the USA.