Monolith 40 Years Later... KANSAS

[yamishogun]

“In The Spirit Of Things” should have been a great Kansas record, but the record company forced them to use quite a few outside songs for it, and pretty much none of them worked IMO. The songs from the band, that stick to the original concept (“Ghosts”, “Rainmaker”, The Preacher” and “Bells Of St. James”) are all good. I just wish they had been allowed to expand on that theme a bit more.

I liked Power as an AOR album, minus the minor hit. I got In The Spirit Of Thingson a whim when it was released thinking no one else at my college knew a Kansas had just put out a good album (I only heard the radio songs from 1979 to 1983), although I'd skip songs. I played it a few times a few years ago and thought the songs above made for a very good EP. Some of the other songs like "Inside of Me" are good and at least better than "All I wanted." Tracks 1, 9, 10, 11 and 12 comes to 22 minutes- a lot more good music than on the early 80s albums.

[yamishogun]

“In The Spirit Of Things” should have been a great Kansas record, but the record company forced them to use quite a few outside songs for it, and pretty much none of them worked IMO. The songs from the band, that stick to the original concept (“Ghosts”, “Rainmaker”, The Preacher” and “Bells Of St. James”) are all good. I just wish they had been allowed to expand on that theme a bit more.

I liked Power as an AOR album, minus the minor hit. I got In The Spirit Of Things on a whim when it was released thinking no one else at my college knew that Kansas had just put out a good album (I only heard the radio songs from 1979 to 1983 until last fall), although I'd skip songs. I played it a few times a few years ago and thought the songs above made for a very good EP. Some of the other songs like "Inside of Me" are good and at least better than "All I wanted." Tracks 1, 9, 10, 11 and 12 comes to 22 minutes- a lot more good music than on the early 80s albums.

[Sean]

I have discovered that Monolith sounds best on the original vinyl pressing. It's like it lost something when it was put on CD and never had a remaster. Though three songs from it did get remastered on The Ultimate Kansas in the early 2000s. They sounded quite a bit better.

[Steve983]

I have discovered that Monolith sounds best on the original vinyl pressing. It's like it lost something when it was put on CD and never had a remaster. Though three songs from it did get remastered on The Ultimate Kansas in the early 2000s. They sounded quite a bit better.

There was a box set of all the studio albums that included a remaster of Monolith (unavailable elsewhere) which sounds much better.

[Fracktured]

I have discovered that Monolith sounds best on the original vinyl pressing. It's like it lost something when it was put on CD and never had a remaster. Though three songs from it did get remastered on The Ultimate Kansas in the early 2000s. They sounded quite a bit better.

I haven’t played the vinyl in years. The cd version I have sounds like a bad mp3


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[3LockBox]

All the first issue Kansas CDs sounded worse than the vinyl, but the remastered versions that came out at the turn of the century were great. I don't know why all the albums except Monolith got a remaster. If Masgue got a reissue, then certainly Monolith deserved it.

[yesstiles]

All the first issue Kansas CDs sounded worse than the vinyl, but the remastered versions that came out at the turn of the century were great. I don't know why all the albums except Monolith got a remaster. If Masgue got a reissue, then certainly Monolith deserved it.

Hardly. The cd remasters were way more compressed. They sound better in the car, but certainly not on a good home system. I do agree that the vinyl is best though.

[Vic2012]

I always thought the original pressing (on CD) of LO was fine the way it sounded. I got the remaster. Normally I don't buy remastered CDs of classic rock albums I already have but for Kansas I bought all the remasters.

[Mikhael]

Monolith was a step down from the ones before it, and was the end of an era for me. This band appealed to me greatly; a mix of hard rock and symphonic, to my ears it was just what I wanted to hear.

I was so happy when I heard Steve Morse was going to join Kansas. Thinking of things like _The Dregs of the Earth_, I thought his songwriting would be a wonderful shot in the arm. I found the actual result to be quite disappointing. I think my favourite of the latter-day Kansas albums was _Freaks of Nature_. They actually tried some new directions on that one.

[GuitarGeek]

I was so happy when I heard Steve Morse was going to join Kansas. Thinking of things like _The Dregs of the Earth_, I thought his songwriting would be a wonderful shot in the arm. I found the actual result to be quite disappointing. .

Me too. The best thing about Steve Morse in Kansas was seeing him play the original Music Man Steve Morse model prototype on MTV, in the All I Ever Wanted and Can't Cry Anymore videos. It was the first guitar that Sterling Ball made for Steve, with the interface for the Roland GR-700 guitar synth (with the associated extra controls) built in. That guitar looked cool as hell.

[Scott Bails]

Me too. The best thing about Steve Morse in Kansas was seeing him play the original Music Man Steve Morse model prototype on MTV, in the All I Ever Wanted and Can't Cry Anymore videos. It was the first guitar that Sterling Ball made for Steve, with the interface for the Roland GR-700 guitar synth (with the associated extra controls) built in. That guitar looked cool as hell.

It's not Kansas without the violin, but it was pretty cool seeing Morse play some of the violin and keyboard lines on guitar, too.

[kid_runningfox]

Me too. The best thing about Steve Morse in Kansas was seeing him play the original Music Man Steve Morse model prototype on MTV, in the All I Ever Wanted and Can't Cry Anymore videos. It was the first guitar that Sterling Ball made for Steve, with the interface for the Roland GR-700 guitar synth (with the associated extra controls) built in. That guitar looked cool as hell.

Sadly, though, I think Steve Morse's experience in Kansas can be summarized by the fact that it lead to him quitting the music business entirely for a while and becoming an airline pilot.

[Vic2012]

I was so happy when I heard Steve Morse was going to join Kansas. Thinking of things like _The Dregs of the Earth_, I thought his songwriting would be a wonderful shot in the arm. I found the actual result to be quite disappointing. I think my favourite of the latter-day Kansas albums was _Freaks of Nature_. They actually tried some new directions on that one.

Spot on. That is exactly my experience. I also agree about FON. It was the wrong time (1995) for a Kansas album, but it is a damn fine album.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

I just listened to Song for America through Monolith and the live record, Two for the Show. I think Kansas is criminally underrated by the prog cognescenti. There are great contrarpuntal instrumental passages, two fantastic singers, an amazing rhythm section (Phil Ehart is a monster!), and inspired compositions. Yes, they were popular on radio, but their music was deceptively complex, maybe more so than the Big 4 or 5 (ok, they weren't as complex as GG). Listening to these records on headphones while sitting around the fire pit watching the stars come out with a couple of bourbon Manhattans was a revelation! I had never heard Two for the Show. Wow! The energy and precision of these performances are spectacular. They stay fairly close to the recorded arrangements with some nice added flourishes to make the live versions unique. Kansas in their prime was truly a treasure!

[Steve983]

Sadly, though, I think Steve Morse's experience in Kansas can be summarized by the fact that it lead to him quitting the music business entirely for a while and becoming an airline pilot.

Kansas + Steve Morse, should have = Prog heaven. Sadly there was too much record co interference apparently.

[SteveSly]

I just listened to Song for America through Monolith and the live record, Two for the Show. I think Kansas is criminally underrated by the prog cognescenti. There are great contrarpuntal instrumental passages, two fantastic singers, an amazing rhythm section (Phil Ehart is a monster!), and inspired compositions. Yes, they were popular on radio, but their music was deceptively complex, maybe more so than the Big 4 or 5 (ok, they weren't as complex as GG). Listening to these records on headphones while sitting around the fire pit watching the stars come out with a couple of bourbon Manhattans was a revelation! I had never heard Two for the Show. Wow! The energy and precision of these performances are spectacular. They stay fairly close to the recorded arrangements with some nice added flourishes to make the live versions unique. Kansas in their prime was truly a treasure!

The amazing thing with "Two For The Show" is that the band have always claimed that there are no overdubs on it and that the album is completely live. Kansas has always been one of my favorite bands and I agree with everything that you say. Did you listen to the original album or the expanded version with the extra tracks?

[Guitarplyrjvb]

^^ The Expanded version. One of the great live albums!

[kid_runningfox]

^^ The Expanded version. One of the great live albums!

It is fantastic. In fact the 2cd version is the only Kansas album I have with me here in China. Frankly, I think that if you have this, you don't really need anything else.

[Rarebird]

Yesterday I listened to The best of Kansas, which contains tracks from:
Song for America
Leftoverture
Masque
Point of know return
Audio-visions
Vinyl confessions
Drastic measures
Two for the show

No tracks from Kansas and no tracks from Monolith

[Trane]

It is fantastic. In fact the 2cd version is the only Kansas album I have with me here in China. Frankly, I think that if you have this, you don't really need anything else.

I'm kind of thinking to go for it, because I've had a couple of CDr compilations that went bad...
Haven't checked my Kansas one yet, but if it fucked up, I'll find that solution very handy.

No tracks from Kansas and no tracks from Monolith

None for the debut is criminal and unforgivenable, none from Monolith is pardonable.

[SongForAmerica]

Various and sundry:

"All the World" is a very good song. Other good songs by Steve Walsh are "Can I Tell You," "Lonely Wind," "Point of Know Return," "Closet Chronicles," and "Back Door." "Every Step of the Way," on his first solo album, is also quite good. The other Walsh songs, though, were "leapfrog" material for those of us who had vinyl back in the day.

The production on Monolith is outstanding, especially on the best songs, "On the Other Side," "People of the South Wind," and "A Glimpse of Home." How anyone could think otherwise mystifies me.

"People of the South Wind" sounds like--wait for it--Kansas! A nice uptempo song with excellent playing and singing. I only wish it had more violin, though Robby gets in a nice line during the intro.

Someone said that Kansas is actually more complex than some of the Big 4 or 5 bands. No, Kansas is one of the Big 4 or 5 bands! Along with Yes, Genesis, ELP, and Renaissance.

To fully appreciate the disappointment of Steve Morse-era Kansas, listen to side one of What If? by the Dixie Dregs. Incredible musicianship and composition, and very Kansasesque. I expected to see the same level of sophisticated songwriting on Power and it wasn't there, aside from a few glimpses on "Taking in the View" and "Tomb 19." But even those sound like diminished versions of something that could have been grander and more colorful. Plus, it should be illegal for Kansas to release an album without a violin!

Contrary to what some here seem to think, Kansas got almost no airplay for its first three albums. During that time, they were almost entirely unknown outside the Midwest and mostly unknown even in the Midwest. Only when their fourth album, Leftoverture, appeared in late 1976 did things change dramatically; all of a sudden "Carry On Wayward Son," "Miracles Out of Nowhere," and "Magnum Opus" became staples on FM radio.

And finally, a review I've posted elsewhere from a Celine Dion fan who had never heard Kansas before or even heard of Kansas before:

"However, I am really impressed by Mariabronn and Song for America. I cannot say I like or hate them. Just shocked and speechless. I have never heard of anything like that before. They're complicated, masterfully performed and show excellent songwriting craftsmanship. Totally mind-blowing. They're totally fearless with those what-the-heck chord progressions and I do hear some elements of classical music there! Yes, music should be like this. Expression and creativity without regard to traditional or popular inclinations. It breaks the boundaries of what a music genre should be. And the synths - oh, man. . . I didn't know they could pull that off decades ago. Real geniuses they are."

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Someone said that Kansas is actually more complex than some of the Big 4 or 5 bands. No, Kansas is one of the Big 4 or 5 bands! Along with Yes, Genesis, ELP, and Renaissance.

heh... I like your spirit!

Kansas, for me, rank above Genesis and Yes definitely. But my top 5 progressive artists would not include Kansas. For me it's Return To Forever, Pink Floyd, PFM, Mandrill (yes, they were insanely progressive with a capital P) and ... the 5 spot probably fluctuates weekly; today Banco

[SteveSly]

^^ The Expanded version. One of the great live albums!

Totally agree, and the expanded version just makes it that much better.

[SteveSly]

It is fantastic. In fact the 2cd version is the only Kansas album I have with me here in China. Frankly, I think that if you have this, you don't really need anything else.

It really does sum up the early years very well. I own every Kansas studio album (and most of the live ones), but yea it is a desert island disc for me.

[Vic2012]

Not sure it's been mentioned on this thread, but I think Steve's solo album...Glossolalia is a masterpiece. It's Kansasy, in a modernish kinda way. He couldn't have done it without Trent Gardner and Mike Slamer, but damn it's good. It's proggy, and rocks hard.