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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kansas better than Kansas!, 19 Jan 2005
Now this is a story! Kansas were one of the most successful American progressive rock bands of the mid 70's, even having a mainstream hit with "Carry on Wayward Son" from the "Leftoverture" album. But an earlier version of Kansas recorded some demos and then split with most members going their separate ways, some to leave music behind and head for different careers and jobs! Main Kansas songwriter, Kerry Livgren put together those demos recently for a planned archival release and contacted his old band mates again to get release approval. The interest those recordings generated and the resumption of friendships resulted in the formation of Proto-Kaw and recording some new music, which this album is the result of. And what a cracker it is too. It is hard to believe that these musicians have not played together in over 30 years and staggering that some have not even played any musical instruments in that time. Though the material is written by Kerry Livgren, the contributions from the other players is crucial in terms of the arrangements and overall feel of the album. Prot-Kaw does sound like a cohesive band and one that has produced a very distinguished recording. Kansas were masters at combining the symphonic elements of progressive rock as exemplified by the likes of Genesis and Yes together with their own brand of southern rock. The music was at once complex and involving, but at the same time melodic and accessible and that was what made Kansas so popular. The main musical difference between Kansas and Prot-Kaw is the use of saxes and flute over violin. That lends to a beefier and jazzier sound and is used to good effect on this album. The Kansas mixture of accessibility and complexity is in evidence throughout, but the music has a harder, more progressive edge in comparison to Kansas's last studio effort, "Somewhere to Elsewhere" which was also actually pretty good in itself. The centrepiece of the album is the impressive 11 minute plus "Theophany" with its' ELP styled intro. Good keyboard work from Dan Wright on organ and synthesisers. Singer Lynn Meredith is also to be applauded. He has a very pure, characterful voice which adds a warm, friendly feeling to the performances. There are lots going on here musically, such is the richness and sophistication of each track. The band has really experimented with the material on offer. The mixture of strong, highly melodic songrwriting and complex symphonic arrangements is very appealing. On the evidence of this album and his work on most of Kansas's early back catalogue and their last studio album, Kerry Livgren has to be considered one of the most important figures in American progressive rock.
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~ Proto-Kaw
~ Dream Theater
~ Knight Area
~ Porcupine Tree
~ The Flower Kings
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