Customer Reviews

Audio Visions

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've heard some of your other reviewers put down some of these tracks, but I really like every song. I kind of agree that some of the songs have cheesy lyrics, but when this was first released I didn't feel that way at all. I was such a diehard fan I ate up everything they recorded. I think that the first track "Relentless" should have been put out as a single. It is such a heart felt jamming song that I never tire of hearing it. Track two "Anything for you" is a great sounding song instrumentally, but a few of the lyrics are kind of cheesy. The song "No one together" is just an incredible progressive song that I cannot get enough of. "Curtain of iron" is right up their with "No one together", and "Relentless" as my favorite songs on this album. I think Walsh did some good writing on this album. I think he wrote or co-wrote seven of the ten tracks. Little did I know when I saw the AUDIO VISIONS tour in early 1981, that that would be the last time I would ever see the originals all together in concert. At this point in their careers they were no longer a cohesive team like they had been before. I think Walsh didn't like the lyrics about God, and thought they were turning into a Christian group, so he left and formed STREETS where he could write and perform what he wanted.
I would like to thank the sound engineers for making a superb sounding album. When I want to show off my great home stereo I just put this cd on. I don't think they will ever really need to remaster this, but I think Monolith sure could use one. Audio-Visions" is the very last album with the original six that I'm sure your customers should really enjoy.

This one "shoulda been a contender" and it "woulda" had it been more consistent lyrically and musically...I "coulda" done without a couple of the cheesy tracks here. If you listen, you can hear the sound of the band spltting apart between Walsh's more straight-ahead rock and roll proclivities and Livgren's deeper, complex, spiritual yearnings. I saw them on tour during this period, and while they still retained their legendary stage might, they were not as cohesive. Enough psychoanalysis...what about these songs? Well, "Relentless" is a fantastic, driving rocker with superb lyrics and great, passionate performances all around. "Anything for You" is an unqualified clunker, a real stinker, an amazing letdown that has few equals in the Kansas canon. Dumb lyrics and half-baked music doom this one from the get-go. Thankfully, the band moves quickly back to a peak with "Hold On," a magnificent, gorgeous ballad that is a unique love song: a plea from Livgren to his wife to listen to the call of Christ. This song is both stately and impassioned which explains a lot about its enduring appeal. Walsh's vocal work here ranks with his best ever. So, can the band maintain the momentum gained by "Hold On"? Well, "Loner" makes a valiant attempt. It is a blazing little track, quite unlike anything else the band has done, with Walsh singing his guts out. The whole band really cooks here. And "Curtain of Iron" kicks it up a notch--it has the feel of those classic epics of yore. The lyrics are very prescient, with memorable instrumental passages in a suite-style presentation. But then...catastrophe strikes..."Got to Rock On" is another chessy bit of hokum, and the less said about it, the better. Fortunately, "Don't Open Your Eyes" sets things right--a wild frightmare of a ride that is reminiscent of "Mysteries and Mayhem" from MASQUE, albeit not quite as heavy. Kerry Livgren really steps up with the next track, the classic "No One Together," which is a superb prog presentation...stellar arranging, superb playing, uplifting lyrics, intriguing mood shifts. "No Room for a Stranger" is instantly forgettable and makes one grateful for the fast-forward button. However, the closing track, "Back Door" is a real winner, with a lovely melody, heartfelt words, and an innovative sound--is that bagpipes at the end? Epic/Legacy did a nice job of presenting this CD package and it sounds great. Overall, several tracks here rank among the absolute best that Kansas has ever done...but there are a couple of mis-steps to avoid that knock this one down a star.

Don't get me wrong. "Vinyl Confessions" had its moments, "Drastic Measures" at least had "Fight Fire With Fire", and the post-1986 Steve Walsh-led incarnations certainly were no slouches, but this is the last "real" Kansas album with the original lineup.

Many have mentioned the tension between Walsh and Kerry Livgren. That's noticeable, and sometimes it leads to good music, but other times it leads nowhere. Some of Kansas' best songs are on here: "Relentless", "Curtain of Iron" (the only real epic on offer here) and "Back Door", but there are also sub-par songs like "No Room For A Stranger" and "Got To Rock On" (though I have good memories of WLS in Chicago playing this to death throughout my freshman year of high school).

Basically, what you get here is a Kansas album, albeit a divided one. One can tell that the band was splitting into two camps: the Livgren/Dave Hope "Christian rock band" and the Steve Walsh "we're just a band" camps.

The sound and production are good, Phil Ehart's drums sound BIG, and the guitars are well upfront most of the time. However, they have certainly done better songs.

It's ironic that the personnel roster was headed by "Kansas is STILL:", because after this, Kansas as we knew it would be no more.

Despite airbrushed jacket artwork that looks more at home on a van's spare tire cover than that of an album, Audio Visions, Kansas' implacable foray into the 1980's, is the last link in a chain of seven consecutive quality albums in a row. More importantly, eschewing one song and the ubiquitous "big" drum sound prevalent in roughly 1979-1986, this seventh studio effort maintains a relatively trend-free standard. Observing the distinction of being the final collection recorded by original members Livgren, Walsh, Ehart, Steinhardt, Williams, & Hope (until recently), Audio Visions holds it's own as good pop, if not prog. Taking in the aggressive, hard-driven face of Livgren's expectant "Relentless," Walsh's razor-edged "Loner," and Walsh & Richard Williams' trashy "No Room For a Stranger," one would have no clue that Donna Summer and The Village People were topping the charts at the same time. Like all good Kansas music, Audio Visions is virtually timeless. Livgren's biblical prog rocker "Curtain of Iron," joint Walsh/Williams/Livgren/Phil Ehart/Dave Hope composition "Don't Open Your Eyes," and Livgren's exquisite "No One Together" balance the Billy Joel-esque accesibility of Walsh's "Anything for You," Livgren's plaintive "Hold On," and to a lesser extent, Walsh's period-scarred "Got to Rock On" (with an intro that sounds decidedly like Blondie). This formula has suited Kansas well for years. Indeed their most successful albums feature a 1/3 mix of prog, hard rock/"blooze" (booze-related blues)/folk and straight pop. Again, the concoction was successful, but major change would soon rock the band by the recording of their next album, and Kansas would never again be the same.

This is not their best cd but it does have some very worthwhile songs on it. Renlentless, Hold on, Loner, No one together and Got to Rock on stand above the rest. The rest of the cd is good, but could have been better produced in parts..gets a little boring in parts like Curtain of Iron, but overall a cd worth having in your kansas collection.

The 1980 album Audio Visions marked the last time the original band line up would play together until 2000's Somewhere To Elsewhere. It WAS the end of an era as it heralded a split and ugly protracted death for the band.

With 6 other successful studio albums behind them (and one classic live effort) the band was beginning to show strains amongst its members. Despite what may be said by some in other Kansas reviews around the site - that the band's split after this album was caused by Livgren becoming a born again Christian - the main reason was that Walsh and Livgren were at odds regarding the creative direction of the band. Walsh preferred a grittier harder rock approach whereas Livgren did not. And it's apparent on this album which is fairly uneven.

That's not to say this is a bad album, its not by any means, its a fairly decent collection of tracks, but its certainly a departure from the quality fans had come to expect from Kansas and certainly nowhere near a classic like Leftoverture and Point Of Know Return.

Livgren's religious conversion certainly in no ways spoils the album for me despite the Livgren penned Hold On being about Livgren trying to get his wife to convert also. Despite that its still a very, very good song and probably my favourite on the album.

Other solid efforts include another religiously toned effort from Livgren, Relentless, and Walsh's down to earth rock'n'roller Got To Rock On.

On the downside are songs like Anything For You - its hard to believe Walsh is responsible for this.

As one previous reviewer noted - if you were to take the best songs from both this album and Monolith (the previous release to Audio Visions) then you could quite easily create an album which would rival the best they had done. Unfortunately the remaining tracks together would make a real clunker. And that sums it up pretty nicely.

Overall a fairly decent album, nothing to get hysterical about and for more than completists.

Recommendation to buy.

I'm being generous with the 4 star rating but like many who review second rate Kansas albums i need to consider how the music compares to other material out there not just to vintage Kansas like left overture, masque or point of know return. The two things i always liked most about kansas was their kick butt rock(carry on, opus insert, belexes ect) combined with their long play anthems(song for america, hopelessly human and hymm to the atman, pinnacle). What i like the most are those songs that seem to combine those two styles and attributes(the wall, borne on wings of steel and miracles out of nowhere). The ideal Kansas album in my mind would be a nice mix of all of those.

Yes this was the last album by the original line up. Steve walsh left the band because he didn't like the born again christian lyrics livgren was writing yet those lyrics are already present in less obvious form in many of these songs. "Hold on" for example is livgren imploring his wife to come to christ.(I got this info from livgren's book).

There are many good songs here. "No one together" is the best and "relentless"(more born again references from livgren) is solid. "Got to rock on" does just that and "hold on" is ok for a top 40 song. Then there is childish crap like "any thing for you" that is unforgivable. Most of the rest of the stuff is mediocre. Hard to get excited with "iron curtain". Once again the album is good but nothing like their best work.

The main issue for me is which second rate Kansas album is better, this one or "monolith". Take the best songs from both and you have one pretty good album that would rival their best work. Take the worst songs from the two albums and you have something pretty terrible.

..........socks

As a huge Kansas fan I was very satisfied with this album. After reading the other reviews listed, it's obvious all the previous critics are familiar with Kansas. Although this album does not achieve the perfection of Leftoverture and Point of Know Return, it is still classic KANSAS! . There seems to be a definite separation between Livgren(songwriter) and Walsh(vocalist). No One Together is brilliant; Got to Rock On, Hold On, received air play. But the one song I'm suprised no one mentioned which is the best on the album is "relentless". Although Relentless received minimal air play, I think it should have went top 10. Don't Open Your eyes and Curtain of Iron are also well orchestrated.

Kansas' seventh studio album (eighth overall) entitled Audio-Visions was released in September of 1980.
During the band's Monolith tour, guitarist/keyboard player Kerry Livgren and bass player Dave Hope were "spritually awoken" and became born-again Christians. As a result, Livgren's songwriting went more spiritual and Christian oriented whilst singer/keyboard player Steve Walsh was still writing straight-ahead rock and roll and living the rock star life.
The opening rocker "Relentless" is a great rocker with superb lyrics and awesome performances all around (especially from Livgren and guitarist Rich Williams trading leads in the middle). The pop rocker "Anything for You" follows and is a great pop number. Next is the album's first single which was "Hold On". The track is a great ballad that's a unique love song: a plea from Livgren to his wife to listen to the call of Christ. Walsh's vocal here is superb as is violinist/vocalist Robby Steinhardt's violin work. Next is the rocker "Loner" which is a blazing little rocker with Walsh singing his heart out and drummer Phil Ehart's playing almost punkish but great. "Curtain of Iron" (the first half ender) kicks the album into high gear.
The album's second half begins with Walsh's rocker "Got to Rock On" which was the other rock radio hit from the album. Next is the almost complete band composed "Don't Open Your Eyes" which is a great piece. Next is arguably Livgren's greatest contribution to the album which is the classic "No One Together" which proved prog wasn't dead (much to critics' chagrin). The Williams/Walsh collaboration "No Room for a Stranger" is a rocker which is a great piece. The closing track is "Back Door" which was Walsh's last contribution on a Kansas album until he returned in 1986 as he would leave the band in late 1981 for creative and personal reasons.
Audio Visions was another winner and another Gold seller for the band but the album didn't sell as well as previous efforts and was the first studio album since 1975's Masque to miss the US Top 20 but nevertheless is a great album (especially the remastered CD released in early 1996).
Recommended!

This album by Kansas is a bit more heavy-handed, lyrically and musically, than the first few. "Hold On" can still inspire listeners to get themselves into a better state of existence, and "No Room For A Stranger" is a flat-out rocker about rejection, but the rest of the lyrics on AUDIO-VISIONS are darkly cautionary, but with glimmers of hope at the ends of many of the songs. Of course, it should be known that Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope became born-again Christians around the time this record was made, which could account for the tone of the lyrics, but it's still a wake-up call to all of us, and a great work of music to boot.