Very interesting interview. Never knew about the Steve/Yes thing. I knew he played with Cheap Trick or something.
I've been kind of indifferent toward Kansas for years but I'm starting to look forward to the new album. Still not gonna be an auto buy but hoping it turns out good.
Freaking great interview Anil! Congratulations and thank you!
(Hey I'm at Biscuits And Blues on June 10, MK/BFD trio gig with Beller & Travers - will you be in town at that time?)
Will drop you a line MK! Glad you dig it.
Yeah I always wondered about that. Don't think he would have been a good fit even in his prime anyway.Also, given how bad Walsh's vocals were by 1990, how could he possibly have been considered to sing Jon Anderson-related songs?
It was refreshing to hear Ehart admit that Walsh's voice had become a problem towards the end (well, more like the last 25 years or so, but still, you don't hear that very often), without coming across as slagging him off.
I saw KANSAS live in 1988 and he sounded fantastic and was very impressive on many levels. I think his voice began its rapid descent when he rejoined KANSAS in the early 90s and were playing clubs and touring heavily. It's hard to imagine Walsh in any band but KANSAS given his once distinctive voice. When Hackett released "Narnia" as a single he had another singer resing it as he was afraid people would think it was KANSAS. The redone version is vastly inferior vocally.Originally Posted by Innerviews
Couple things I wanted to respond to from the interview. I respect Phil and the guys not wanting to go beyond the LO/POKR/2FTS era. It's better for them to take the high road rather than revisit an era that's gonna make the guys uncomfortable and not want to participate. At the same time I think they could've at least spent a little time (maybe 5 minutes) at the end of the thing talking about the personnel changes and where the band is today. Now, I still haven't seen the documentary but everything I've read about it is that they STOP after 1978 or so. I understand the DVD set has bonus footage or something. Does the bonus stuff go beyond the classic era?
Secondly, the part where Phil mentions that he hopes the band will continue on forever even after all the original and current members are dead or retired. It's like Yes, the band (or "brand") is more important than the actual members of the band. Years ago I would've scoffed at that notion, but I get it now. This music has to be kept alive. It's like classical music, as long as there are musicians who love this music there will always be live classical music (or classic rock, pop, whatever). You wanna call them "tribute" bands that's ok. What sells is the "brand" name. That was another thing I found kind of interesting too, that Don Kirschner wanted to "own" the name Kansas. I'm glad Phil owns it, and not some big shot, corporate sleazeball. I mean, I'm not really calling Kirshner a corporate, scum-sucking pig (he might be a nice guy for all I know
) but just reading that he wanted to "own" the band's name sounds scummy. Whatever, if it wasn't for Don Kirshner we probably might (I said might/maybe) not have heard of Kansas.
Well, it seems like Kansas is having a bit of a renaissance again. That's good. For me and a lot of others Kansas is where "prog" started for us. Yes, I was well aware of the English bands in the 70s but I just wasn't interested back then. Kansas rocked a little harder for me so I was captivated by that, and then I started exploring all the English groups. So yeah, my "gateway drug" was Kansas (and I'm proud of that). I remember when I first got into the internet prog forum, message board scene over 15 years ago. I remember how snooty so many prog fans were toward Kansas. Now I see people here on PE singing the praises of Kansas who I never knew liked this band. I mean there was just this "air" of snooty superiority and contempt toward this band. I loved the fact that they were a bunch of overalls-wearing hicks (I say that affectionately) from a small town in Kansas. I was so obsessed with this band at one point that I wanted to take a trip to Topeka. The few people I've told that too look at me like I'm crazy. Well, thanks to Phil for being the glue, the backbone, heart and soul of this great, legendary band.
Excellent interview.Walsh would've never fit in Yes...or Bad Company.
Nah, I think Steve would have been good for Bad Company. I don't see him in Yes at all though.
In 1990 Steve's voice was still awesome. The only proof I could find is most amazingly a Video from the only
Kansas gig I ever visited (memories...). This one has also a very peculiar line up, as it featured all original
members except Robby Steinhardt plus Greg Robert and Billy Greer (who shared bass duties with Dave Hope).
So the only Kansas Show I saw had no Violin Player.....
In 1995 Steve's voice was gone (to say it a nice way...)
NP: Lonely Street
Yet another fascinating jewel in the crown of Anil's interviews! This one, for me, is the shiniest of all, because it gives so much light on the artist....
Don't know about that... From listening to live recordings from various tours, to me it sounded like the decline started before he even left Kansas the first time around. On the Audio-Visions tour he still sounded great, but was clearly avoiding many of the high notes he didn't have problems with on earlier tours.In 1990 Steve's voice was still awesome.
His vocals are great on the two Streets albums and on Power, but his tone is noticeably different. On the mid-80s Kansas tours he was already having to significantly alter his melody lines, and Billy Greer was already taking over some of his high parts.
Granted he was still enjoyable to listen to unlike from about 1992 onwards...
Great interview!
Steve had some off nights even in his prime. I remember a show in LA where his voice sounded like he was gargling razor blades in 1978. It turns out smog (as it was still very bad in the 70's in LA) and singing back to back shows could cause his voice to do that. Billy Greer didn't sing the high parts on in the Spirit of Things which Steve sings some of his best parts as a singer. I don't like the songs as much as other Kansas albums, but his vocals were stellar on that album.
I'm a lot more disturbed by what Steve is wearing in this video than his voice. ;-)
Mike Keneally -- We're expecting you to wear your best homage to this when you're here in SF.
Hang on. Is there another departure I'm unaware of? Steve quit the band somewhere after In the Spirit of Things and Freaks of Nature?
You get the bonus footage only if you buy the deluxe edition from the band. You get an hour of interviews and studio footage from when the band first got together to start filming the documentary. It's still mostly focused on the classic era. You have to remember this project was done by Sony. Sony has a vested interest in selling the back catalog. The first five albums are the ones that had the highest sales. Further, this documentary is designed to appeal to the broadest demographic imaginable. There's no way you could capture what came after in five minutes. The documentary is artfully done, if you ask me. I thought it was great. Having said that, if you want the rest of the story, well, now you have a place to check it out. ;-)
The interview did come about after I saw the documentary and went "Wait a minute. What about the rest? I wonder if the band would allow me to create something that reflects what it didn't cover?" To their credit, they *immediately* said yes and I was on the phone with Phil days later. He flat out said he normally wouldn't do an interview like this, but saw some of the other stuff and felt confident I wouldn't turn it into a National Enquirer piece. You'll notice Phil is *very* careful with his words, which I admire. You still get the story, but no-one gets trashed. That is called a skilled interviewee.
The post BG pre Union period for Yes is quite intriguing. I have a Rockline from 1989 on cassette where Rabin (he was promoting Can't Look Away) discusses the Next Yes album. The host asked Rabin about several potential vocalists including Walsh, Hodgson, and Robbie Neville of "C'est Li Vie" fame. Rabin of course was vague in his answer.
Of course, Sherwood got involved as a potential vocalist, and there were rumors whether or not Rabin was in the band.
There was even talk of recording a new album with multiple guest vocalists like the (Talking) Heads would do in 1995.
I think they regrouped and did a tour of Germany with many of the original members in the very early 90s. Wasn't the band sort of in limbo after ITSOT?
I was gonna go to a brick-n-mortar store like Best Buy and look for the DVD today, but if I have to order it directly from the band for the bonus footage I might pass on it for now. It's not about being cheap, I can afford it. I just try to avoid buying online. If I can walk into a store and buy it that's just so much more convenient. I dunno, maybe I'll get it.You get the bonus footage only if you buy the deluxe edition from the band.
I didn't mean on the album, I meant live, on the old songs. Billy's been taking over some parts that Steve used to sing (like the "Was it you that said" bit in Point of Know Return), and in many cases singing the high part with Steve switching to a lower harmony. I only recently discovered they were already doing this back in the 80s.Billy Greer didn't sing the high parts on in the Spirit of Things which Steve sings some of his best parts as a singer.
Actualy after Morse left Kansas at the end of the ITSOT tour they could be considered as gone.
Walsh, Ehart and Williams played as Kansas on a charity Event in Malibu where they where joined by Alex Lifeson on stage (and others).
Ehart also played the drums for the Rush gig at that event (Peart wasn't there).
A German promoter booked Kansas for a tour called "Melodic Rock Nights" also featuring Nazareth and Saga at the end of 1990 (November).
It was the original line up minus Steinhardt plus Greer and Greg Robert. (the video I posted above is from that tour).
Also Livgren stayed in the band till mid 1991 and was then replaced by Morse again.
Perhaps my all time favorite concert memory was seeing Kansas in '91. It was their first midwest date since the Spirit tour and being pre-internet, had no clue who was in the band. When I got up in front of stage, before the show started and saw - LIVGREN - stenciled onto one of the amps I nearly shit myself. I was too young have ever seen the classic lineup so I held out the slightest hope it might happen. I had recently read Seeds Of Change so I started to think maybe it was Elefante or another singer in a Livgren-led version of the band.
Needless to say I was confused as hell when they hit the stage. When I saw Walsh - and a violin player, I momentarily let myself believe this was the original six. Of course, it was Ragsdale...
A great show and a great memory. Sometimes I miss the days of not knowing every single thing happening with a band.
Thank you for sharing.
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