KANSAS: The Prelude Implicit (PROGRESSIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Dear readers, once again, we are going to reveal a little part of the life of your favorite webzine. At the beginning of the year, an online poll was proposed to the Music Waves reviewers: what are the ten albums you would like to bring on a desert island? After a short moment of panic at the idea of joining Antoine on a remote atoll and pouting sceptically at the idea of facing the challenge that this Cornelian choice represents for a reviewer, everyone played the game and the result was clear: the album "Two For The Show" by Kansas was ranked in the top three. This means that this band and especially this 1978 live album and the three studio albums that preceded it ("Song For America" (1975), "Leftoverture" (1976) and "Point Of Know Return" (1977)) have left an undeniable mark on the history of progressive rock in the seventies. Unfortunately, the eighties and nineties had the right of the inspiration of the combo which got stuck in a rock FM with no interest. Then in 2000, "Somewhere To Elsewhere" was a salutary jump but without any follow-up, until today.

After sixteen years of silence, Kansas is back with a new opus, "The Prelude Implicit". Who composes the band today? Vocalist and keyboardist Steve Walsh retired in 2014 and Kerry Livgren, founding member and main songwriter, left the ship. That leaves the guitarist Richard Williams and drummer Phil Ehart, the only survivors from the original line-up, accompanied by bassist Billy Greer and violinist David Ragsdale, who arrived later, and three newcomers, Daniel Manion on keyboards, Zak Rizvi as a second guitarist and especially Ronnie Platt on vocals, whose tone and range are surprisingly close to those of Steve Walsh.

The image of the phoenix on the jacket of "The Prelude Implicit" describes the album perfectly. Kansas, the real one, the original one, is finally back, with its so melodic progressive rock. Everything that makes the essence of this so particular band is concentrated in these ten tracks, that the fan will be listening to with passion and nostalgia: hard rock and groovy riffs ('Rythm In The Spirit', 'Camouflage', 'Summer'), catchy melodies ('Visibility Zero', 'The Unsung Heroes', 'Refugee'), long instrumental bridges ('The Voyage Of Eight Eighteen', 'Crowded Isolation') and inspired guitar and keyboard solos echoing the violin ('The Hunsung Heroes'). Because of course the lead violin, central instrument of Kansas' music, is present on all the tracks and supports the choruses as in the great era of "Leftoverture", even having the luxury to be omnipresent on the instrumental 'Section 60' whose theme strongly reminds 'Magnum Opus'.

Then even if the AOR title 'With This Heart' is useless and serves the coherence of the entire album, it is impossible to resist to "The Prelude Implicit", a real "madeleine de Proust" for progressive rock lovers. We must pay tribute to Kansas for this endearing, inspired and very well composed album. The band succeeds in the feat of finding its former soul despite the wanderings, the internal quarrels and the personnel changes, proving once again that even in music sometimes, nobody is irreplaceable. Besides, they had warned us forty years ago: "All we are is dust in the wind".
- Official website

KANSAS

THE PRELUDE IMPLICIT

INSIDEOUT MUSIC

PROGRESSIVE ROCK