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Leftoverture (1976)Genres: rock, classic rock, progressive rock, hard rock, AOR, pomp rock, arena rock |
If you think that Uriah Heep are all too subtle in expression, Kansas might be for you. They actually sound like a mix of Uriah Heep and Def Lepard. Pretentious is a word that is, often wrongfully, thrown at musicians with any form of ambition. Kansas, however, really defines pretentiousness because they simply do not deliver anything that can match their ambition. The music, not to mention the lyrics, is so cheesy that you feel embarrassed when listening to it. The best song, Magnum Opus (!), contains some decent moments, but unfortunately they usually end up in prog-clichés. Avoid this album unless you really like AOR.
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Masque (1975)Genres: classic rock, progressive rock, hard rock, pomp rock |
First of all I must stress the fact that I’m familiar with Kansas’ ”Leftoverture” album, and I don’t like it. But since “Masque” goes in a different direction than said “Leftoverture” and was released just prior to it, “Leftoverture” must be the album on which Kansas began to falter and loose their way. Not that “Masque” is some sort of masterpiece, it actually starts with a song that’s worse than anything on “Leftoverture”. But from here it improves. The album is divided into short “rockers” and some lengthy mini-epics. Steinhardt’s violin is really rocking (something I really missed on “Leftoverture”) and the rest of the band sounds good too. The rockers are not that exciting, but they work pretty well. The mini-epics are pomp progressive in that North American style common back then. They manage to avoid overblowing it most of the time but not always. “All the World” for example, while containing some interesting stuff, goes too far on the pomp road. Others, like “The Pinnacle” are just gorgeous. The lyrics tend to be rather pessimistic and dark on most songs and are better than on “Leftoverture”, though cheesiness slips in at times. They blend their typical style with some heavy metal tendencies and sometimes it sounds like an American Uriah Heep although Kansas have much stronger roots in the progressive tradition. Also the electric violin gives the music extra life. In the end I’m pleased with “Masque” and listens to it with joy (of course omitting the first track).
