Kansas:The Classic Albums Collection 1974-1983

[happytheman]

Oh. My has all the albums that Kansas made for CBS, remastered. They are similar sets by BOC, Cheap Trick, Paul Simon, and ELO.

Just did a Amazon search for what you are talking about.. there's quite a few artist connected with this series.. great price for the whole collection..

[JIF]

Thanks to the advice of some fellow PEers, I did finally get around to listening to Two For The Show. I did notice some additional guitar solos on some songs on disc one. Rich Williams' acoustic guitar solo reminded me of Steve Howe, and nice that some songs blended together. The negative side was Steve wasn't at his vocal best on a lot of disc two. I loved the additional parts to Magnum Opus and Child Of Innocence. Loved the vocal effects on Robby's Sparks Of The Tempest intro. I highly enjoy the Kansas concert experience.

[3LockBox]

So tell me guys... on the bonus live track Sparks Of The Tempest (from the reissued PoKR) the band seems to be playing the track in the background as one by one the members stop playing. The liner notes elude to this as well but never really says why the band is playing the song simultaneously with the live performance - what up with that?

[Ian1019]

For some strange reason, I keep going back to Monolith. It may not be their best album, but there are no tracks that I skip. Who else likes this one?

[Myried]

For some strange reason, I keep going back to Monolith. It may not be their best album, but there are no tracks that I skip. Who else likes this one?

A very interesting album. Some songs somewhat left of center. A favorite of mine, but, an underrated album, for sure.


Ed
www.myriadtrio.com
www.facebook.com/MyriadtrioNY

[SteveSly]

For some strange reason, I keep going back to Monolith. It may not be their best album, but there are no tracks that I skip. Who else likes this one?

Good album, but I put it in the middle of the pack as far as Kansas goes. First time I saw them live was on the Monolith tour, which was probably their pinnacle as a live band. The show was both musically and visually stunning.

[yesstiles]

"Monolith" despite not having that hit song, should be placed in the classic cannon with the albums before it. It's fantastic.

[Canvas]

I too favor "Monolith" as much as any of the earlier releases...

[TheH]

I really love "Monolith". Although it was the begining of decline for the band it was still great.
I think if they had "No one Together" on it and maybe one other proggier number it could hold up
to the earlier Albums.

[gingernut]

I really love "Monolith". Although it was the begining of decline for the band it was still great.
I think if they had "No one Together" on it and maybe one other proggier number it could hold up
to the earlier Albums.

Gordon Bennett! Monolith had two good songs only imho, a monumental disappointment after Point. Even Audio Visions blows it out of the water!

[jim1961]

and you got he title wrong .



Yeah. I'm not gonna go through the whole discography but I'll just say, the cream of the crop are:

Song For America
Leftoverture
Point Of Know Return
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Masque and the first album are fine albums but both have some filler. Both albums also have some HUGE epic tracks that make them essential to the Kansas canon.

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Monolith: I still have it but it's not a favorite. Hard to describe waht I think about it. It's got some great songs, and it's got some adventurous stuff on it, but overall it lacks something. You could tell they were getting stale.

Audio Vision: Got rid of it. Besides a few great songs most of it is forgettable, bland, stale, etc.

Two For The Show: I had the original CD release years ago, then ditched it when 2FTS was remastered and expanded. I think it's a GREAT live album. Normally I don't count live albums among a band's discography, and I'd never recommend a live album as a starting point, but for a newbie I'd recommend it. If that's the only Kansas album you ever buy then you've got one of their best.

I am pretty much with you on all your points and rankings. Id put "Song for America" on the same tier as Masque and the 1st album though. After having "Two for the Show" out of my collection for 30 years, I got it again recently and wonder why its been missing all these years. Very nice indeed.

[thx5150]

There are some weak pop songs on the album like "People of the South Wind". But then some outstanding classics, especially "Angels Have Fallen", "A Glimpse of Home" and "Reason to Be". So I've always enjoyed Monolith.

[Vic2012]

Well, one of my favorite tracks from Momolith is "Stay Out Of Trouble." It's the "throw away" track that most either hate, or barely ever mention. I'm not saying it's the "best" track, I'm just saying I like it a lot, and it might be my absolute favorite track on the album. It's classic, boogie Kansas that's reminiscent of those early Southern Rock tracks they did like "Bringin' It Back" and "Down The Road." That is part of the Kansas, classic sound, and legacy. And that's why some "proggers" turn their noses up at Kansas. Now, "How My Soul Cries Out For You" get's a nod because it's a quirkfest. But it's really clumsy, and could've been so much better without them speeding up the tape at the end.

[TheLoony]

There's no accounting for taste. I like VC(my first concert) and ITSOT. Sure, the older albums are better but those are two I really dig.

[BravadoNJ]

there can never be too many Kansas threads!!!

i have all the remasters up to 24TS... are Monolith & Audio Visions remastered with bonus tracks too?