Platt actually sounds more like Elefante than he does Walsh, to my ears, so it's almost like John is there anyway.
I like Dan Rather a lot. He's been through a hell of a lot and came through it all with his principles intact.
However, as nice a guy he is, he is just too much of an outsider to be interviewing rock stars, IMHO. He simply lacks the coolness (for lack of a better word, which I'm too lazy to look up) to ask questions that fans watching these interviews would like to hear answered.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Watched "Miracles Out of Nowhere" right after it and the same stories were on both. It was almost like Rather watched the documentary and then asked questions from it.
Wish MOoN had gone on to cover the next 2 albums as well. Stopping at POKR seemed strange to me. It was almost like the whole thing was engineered so they could talk about Carry On My Wayward Son & Dust In The Wind.
I don't think they wanted to commemorate their history after PoKR. I get the idea that they wanted to "go out" on a high note.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
I think so too, though they could tell the rest of the story and gloss over the thorny bits some.
I still haven't seen the documentary. I'm a big Kansas fan. I got into progrock because of Kansas. Judging by most comments I've read about the docu I'm in no big hurry to see it. It's what, an hour long? Then they stop at POKR. It's almost insulting.
Yep, check it out. Even my wife, who at best can stand two Kansas songs, was amazed and entranced by that doc.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I've said for years now, Vinyl Confessions is in my top 5 Kansas albums. It might have been better with Walsh singing on that album, but the songs are so good, and the production is so muscular, and the band is adventurous and awesome. VC is a special Kansas album for me.
Just played a YouTube video of Kerry Livgren solo. Sounds like AD. It was their version of Fair Exchange from VC. It's metallic as hell, but the original VC version is better still.
Not my favorite Kansas album, but it is a very good one for sure. I had tickets to see the tour, but the show was cancelled. Rumor at the time was poor ticket sales, but I don't know if that is true or not. Unfortunately I never got to see the Elefante era of the band live.
Well, this is the next best thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuKnYCGvauo. John is/was excellent here. I really wish people would stop comparing who's better vocally, who would do a better job, etc. Steve Walsh is/was great. John Elefante is/was also great. There are many differences between them both. The way they enunciate/pronounce words they sing, the emotions they exude with their vocals, the way they interpret the lyrics they are trying to get across, etc. They are different people with very different backgrounds. One is not better than the other. They are different! Like one, like them both, etc, for whatever your reasons are. It's truly amazing that people always need to compare people to one another. God forbid people accept the reality as to who was in Kansas at a particular time. It's done. It is what it is.
Ed
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That's a great video, and Elefante is fantastic on it, but I can never get past the way he "dances" with the mic.
Because I'm 12 years old.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Steve, thanks for posting about this! I just watched the interview on Sling TV. Dan Rather did a great job, and it was all very interesting. I do think he could have skipped the question about "the worst thing that ever happened" to each of them, as it seemed pretty painful and unexpected, but I did learn something about each of them (I never knew how Rich Williams lost his eye). Anyway, it was definitely interesting to watch these guys reach back again and tell some stories. Kudos to whoever it was, Rather or one of his crew, who knew that Kansas was a good subject for the show. They've definitely surprised me with some of their good choices.
During all of Rather's interviews with Rock stars, he seems like an outsider and I am pretty sure he never attended a Kansas or Geddy Lee's Rush or Robert Plant Led Zeppelin concert in his life.
So many of his questions deal with the star's personalities, past experiences and hobbies but you'll won't hear him ask "after Point of Know return and Two for the show, did you guys feel Monolith stood out as a significant change and style for Kansas?" Never, because Rather was never a Kansas fan and was busier in 1979 reporting on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or Saddam Hussein because he was not a rock music reporter!
On this show, I feel Billy Greer should have been interviewed instead of Ronnie Platt who has only been with Kansas since 2014. Nothing was said about Robbie Steinhardt who was one of the main contributors during the classic years.
But it is always good to see one of the classic prog rock bands from the 70's showcased on a contemporary show and to keep their flame alive, something crappy MTV will never do under their current toxic music format.
Last edited by Rajaz; 11-05-2018 at 02:20 PM. Reason: spacing
I see this as a good thing. Rather is trying to find out more about the specific people he's sitting there interviewing, and find out what it was like for them to experience what they experienced. And it seems right that they refer to the members who aren't present only in a positive way, to give them credit, or when they really need to be mentioned to explain something. It's an intimate setting. I like that it isn't just more Kansas history - not that there'd be anything wrong with that if there was something new to be brought to light.
It's also nice to see Rather not just writing off the generations after him, but assuming they have something of value to tell him.
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