After having spent time in local groups such as The Reasons Why, White Clover and Proto-Kaw, by the time Kerry Livgren (guitar), Steve Walsh (vocals/keyboards), Robby Steinhardt (vocals/violin), Phil Ehart (drums), Dave Hope (bass) and Rich Williams (guitar) came together as the established Kansas line-up in 1973 it was pretty evident that this Midwestern US rock band were different from the rest.
No other US band throughout the 70s flirted with prog rock like Kansas did. Early Journey were more fusion; Styx, despite initial prog flourishes, had the ballad Lady by 1973; Starcastle were always a bit more pomp rock.
In 1974, debut Kansas hinted at where the band were headed. Then with Song For America and Masque they spread their prog wings with lengthy musical suites that combined melodic rock, orchestral arrangements and odd time signatures. It was 1976’s extraordinary Leftoverture with which Kansas really made their mark, via the US hit Carry On Wayward Son.
The momentum continued with Point Of Know Return and its hit single Dust In The Wind, and by 1978 the band were one of America’s major concert draws. But it didn’t last. As the likes of Journey, Styx and Foreigner embraced AOR, Kansas seemed to be falling behind. Audio-Visions, in 1980, was more AOR in direction and, with Livgren and Hope having converted to Christianity, more religious lyrically.
It was too much for Walsh, who quit. He was replaced by Christian singer John Elefante for Vinyl Confessions and the aptly titled Drastic Measures. Kansas disbanded on New Year’s Eve 1983 at the end of a tour. Walsh, Williams and Ehart regrouped in 1985 with guitarist Steve Morse and bassist Billy Greer for the impressive Power, but the subsequent In The Spirit Of Things was a flop.
By the early 90s Kansas were a lowkey outfit as alternative music held sway. An unstable line-up and lacklustre live albums did little improve things. Then when the original members reunited for 2000’s excellent Somewhere To Elsewhere it was the closest they’d come to recapturing their signature sound of the 70s. More line-up changes followed, and two more albums appeared: 2016's well-received The Prelude Implicit, and 2020's expansive The Absence of Presence.
Still a major touring draw in the US, they remain 70s America’s finest progressive exponents.
And one to avoid...
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