Search - Kansas :: Leftoverture

Gary R. from ARCHBALD, PA
Reviewed on 6/15/2010...

The quintessential Kansas album.

FATBOY FROM HELL REVIEW

Rick Wilbur | 03/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"WHAT A GREAT GROUP OF MUSICIANS. THIS MAKES THE TRUE PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO PLAY THIS PROGRESSIVE ROCK SIT BACK AND TAKE NOTICE. IF ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING BETTER IN THIS VEIN I'D LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT IT."

You've got this one...haven't you?

Darth Pariah | North America | 02/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most people nowadays who own a Kansas album that isn't one of the (too) many "Best Of" collections crowding big-box department stores and/or truck stops usually have either "Leftoverture" or "Point Of Know Return".



Perhaps I'm biased, since this was the first Kansas album I bought as a 14-year-old in 1980, but I think this is where it all came together for Kansas, both artistically and commercially.



Their earlier albums certainly had some wonderful moments, but suffered from a lack of consistency and sometimes duff production. Here the production (by Jeff Glixman) and songwriting (chiefly by Kerry Livgren) are both very good.



Often throughout Kansas' long career the harder, guitar-based rock and Yes/Genesis/ELP influenced progressive rock have sometimes been at odds with one another. Here they are on about equal parity. Richard Williams is quite prominent throughout and Livgren steps out from behind his keyboards to riff away moreso than in the past. All good.



There are also songs here that survive in the club-gigging Kansas repertoire to this day: "The Wall", "Miracles Out Of Nowhere", and, of course, "Carry On Wayward Son".



"Carry On..." has turned out to be both a blessing and an albatross round the neck for Kansas. It was certainly the song that broke them on more than a regional level (proof of this is found in a truncated version of the song being featured in the Henry Winkler/Harrison Ford/Sally Field Vietnam-vet 1977 film "Heroes"). However, along with "Dust In The Wind", it also seems to be a song they can't get away from. I saw them at a club gig about 10 years ago and except for the hardcore fans, like myself, the only time the crowd really responded was during this song. Unfortunate.



There are also some lesser-known gems here, like "Opus Insert" and the (admittedly overindulgent) "Magnum Opus". Almost everyone who has seen a Kansas gig will remember Steve Walsh opening with a few bars of "Howling At The Moon".



If you're a real Kansas fan, you've got this.

If you're a casual Kansas fan, you've probably got this.

If you're any other kind of fan, you should get this, but also check out their other stuff, including the John Elefante-era material and the "Power" album and those that came after.



This band is still quite good."