Best of [Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Kansas | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 23, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1984
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000I5Y6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,405 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #56 in Music > Music Deals > 3 CDs for $25, Plus FREE Super Saver Shipping
  • #78 in Music > Rock > Progressive > Progressive Rock
  • #98 in Music > Classic Rock > Arena Rock

Editorial Reviews

New and improved! Originally released in '84, this beloved Kansas compilation is back again, but this time with three additional tracks (selected by the band) not on the original release: The Pinnacle; The Devil Game , and Closet Chronicles . They're here with Dust in the Wind; Carry On Wayward Son; Play the Game Tonight , and six more tracks-plus original artwork, remastered sound and a rare unpublished photo from their first album's photo session! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Collection!, February 6, 2002

By 

Samhot (Star Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

This is an excellent purchase for those who don't know much about the band Kansas, but would like to get a sampler of some of this excellent band's music.. It has great hard rock staples, as well as longer and elaborate prog-rock epics. To me, that's what makes a best of album spectacular. It has the popular "Carry On Wayward Son," the melodious quirk of "Point Of Know Return," and the inspirational "Hold On," just to name a few. However, my personal favorites are the extended prog numbers, like "Song For America" and "No One Together," which are elaborate and complex in arrangement, with great vocals and melody, and what surprises one is the fact that guitarist Kerry Livgren wrote most of these elaborate pieces by himself. Kerry & company were a talented bunch, and it's nothing to be taken lightly. "The Closet Chronicles" is performed live, yet sounds as crisp as a studio recording. This is another one of those elaborate epics featuring great vocals, with outstanding musicianship. One should know that, for the time being, this live version can only be found on this collection, as it was omitted from the remastering of their live double CD, _Two For The Show_, in order to keep the disc from being double (which was pretty dumb.) It's a real shame, because I believe the live version of this song leaves the studio version in the dust.

Overall, I am very pleased with this recording. If you like complex, elaborate, dramatic and sophisticated bands like Queen, you should love Kansas.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Place To Start, July 1, 2000

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

This is that rare best of album that actually features the band's best of. Not sacrificing longer tracks for shorter pieces (well, Magnum Opus maybe, but...) this collection truly gives a good overview of Kansas. The radio hits are here: Carry On, The Wall, Hold On, Point of No Return, and of course, Dust In The Wind, but even they feature prog overtones. But it's the longer pieces that show the band's excellent musicianship, like Song For America, No One Together, The Pinnacle, and Closet Chronicles. All in all, a good place to start if you're just getting into Kansas.

62 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Columbia revamps this album and improves it 100% but still.., October 26, 2003

By 

David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

The original issue of this album, released in 1984, was attrocious. It contained the big hits (Wayward Son, Dust, Hold On) and a few key album rock staples (Point of Know Return, Song for America and The Wall). But the rest of the album was devoted to dire tracks from their 1980s output: The generic hard rock of Fight Fire With Fire, Play the Game Tonight and No One Together, and a perfectly dreadful "previously unreleased" track, Perfect Lover. Their first three albums, surely their most artistically accomplished (if not most commercial) were represented by the lone track "Song for America". In essence, this seemed a desperate effort to paint the group as still vital by placing undue focus on their then-recent output.

In a word: Worthless.

This reissue, in addition to modest improvement in fidelity, gooses the track list to make it much more palatable. The terrible Perfect Lover has been jettisoned completely, and in its place we get three new additions: The Pinnacle (from Masque), The Devil Game (from Song For America) and Closet Chronicles (from Point of Know Return). The album is now a far better balanced view of Kansas' career. There are still many more excellent tracks from their first five albums that could have been used in place of the 1980s filler (and surely one track from the not-completely-horrible Monolith could have been included), but this isn't bad.