(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
Kansas were formed in (yes) Kansas by
guitarist Kerry Livgren and drummer Phil Ehart, who had already led a couple
of bands in the early 1970s.
Proto-Kaw (Cuneiform) collects early recordings from 1971-73 of a
proto-Kansas line-up that played melodic progressive-rock.
Leveraging the classical touches from violinist Robby Steinhardt and
keyboardist Steve Walsh, the band's early albums,
Kansas (Kirshner, 1974), Masque (1975) and
Song For America (1975) approached Yes' pomp-rock from a more
intimate and melodic angle. The first one contains the pretty Can I Tell You
and the ambitious Death Of Mother Nature Suite.
Leftoverture (1976) was the album that turned them into stars, thanks to
the catchy Carry On Wayward Son and to the elegant
Magnum Opus Suite, while
Point Of Known Return (1977) yielded their signature ballad,
Dust In The Wind, and Point Of Know Return.
Monolith (1979) and Audio-Visions (1980) continued the string
of hit albums, but Vinyl Confessions (1982),
the first album without Walsh, was the beginning of the end, and the group
disbanded after Drastic Measures (1983).
Kansas' vocalist Steve Walsh moved to Atlanta and
recruited bassist Billy Greer, drummer Tim Gehrt, and guitarist Mike Slamer
to form the Streets. They released
1st (Atlantic, 1984), with the hit If Love Should Go, and
Crimes in Mind (1985).
Ehart, Williams and Walsh reformed Kansas,
adding Steve Morse, and recorded
Power (MCA, 1986) and
In The Spirit Of Things (1988).
They started a new career with
Freaks Of Nature (Intersound, 1995),
Always Never the Same (1998),
Somewhere to Elsewhere (2000),
and, after another long hiatus, a third one with
The Prelude Implicit (2016) and
The Absence of Presence (2020).
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