Boxed Set

Kansas | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1994
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027KA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,981 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Can I Tell You [#][Demo Version]

2. Death of Mother Nature Suite [Live][#]

3. Journey from Mariabronn [#]

4. Song for America

5. The Devil Game

6. Incomudro-Hymn to the Atman [Live][#]

7. Child of Innocence

8. Icarus--Borne on the Wings of Steel

9. Mysteries and Mayhem

10. The Pinnacle

Disc: 2

1. Carry on Wayward Son

2. The Wall

3. What's on My Mind

4. Opus Insert

5. Magnum Opus [Medley]

6. Point of Know Return

7. Portrait (He Knew)

8. Dust in the Wind

9. Closet Chronicles

10. People of the South Wind

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Box Set. 2 CDs with booklet inside collector box.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Progressive Rock Heaven!, April 24, 2002

By 

Samhot (Star Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kansas Boxed Set (Audio CD)

This 2 CD Kansas box set is a must for die hard Kansas fans, as well as people interested in Classic American Progressive Rock... though there aren't many bands in that category. This box set features many of the band's classic, unknown symphonic prog epics, live tracks, hits, unreleased demos and a new track, specifically made for this box set. Here's the scoop:

Disc One is mostly comprised of elaborate/symphonic progressive rock epics coming from their first three albums. Can I Tell You is a demo as opposed to the original version. Death Of Mother Nature Suite is one of the bonus tracks and is recorded live. Personally, I love the murky quality to this track, as it makes it sound mysterious and haunting. It also features classic southern-fried metal guitar. I believe violinist Robbie Steinhardt performs the lead vocals on this track. Journey From MariaBronn is classic symphonic rock of the finest order. I just love the part when Robbie's violin comes in at the beginning. Song For America is "arguably" Kansas' best all-around epic. This time out, the full 10 minute version is on here, as opposed to the 1 minute that was taken out for the "Best Of Kansas 1999 remastered edition" single CD. Incomudro is pure progressive rock heaven: a 16 minute live version with a mind-bending drum solo from Phil Ehart. Nearly 80% of this song is instrumental. Like ELP, Kansas is one of the few (prog) bands that sound really excellent and crisp on stage. The last four songs: Child Of Innocence (melodic, theatrical and beautiful), Icarus-Borne On The Wings Of Steel, Mysteries And Mayhem, which has musical and lyrical references to the next track, The Pinnacle all come from Kansas' third album, Masque.

Disc Two features most of the band's commercial stuff, while containing some prog "leftover-tures"!

The first five tracks come from Leftoverture. Obviously, Carry On Wayward Son is very popular. Kerry Livgren claims in the liner notes that the song was almost left in the vaults. The Wall is very anthemic. What's On My Mind is a funky rocker. Opus Insert is probably my favorite out of these 5 tracks, other than C.O.W.S. The vocal chorus/repeat/chorus is a harmonic country-esque cross between Creedence Clearwater Revival and Queen. Magnum Opus is a mostly instrumental 8 minute prog epic. This one is good, but seems not as strong or full as the earlier prog epics. Now comes the tracks from Point Of Know Return. After the title track comes Portrait (He Knew), a song about Albert Einstein. After the beautiful Dust In The Wind comes one of my favorite Kansas tracks, The Closet Chronicles. Written about Howard Hughes, I thought it was about Elvis Presley at first guess.

The songs that follow in my opinion are not that great, with the exception of the melodic heavy rockers Relentless and Loner. The bonus track, Wheels is actually pretty good, though it seems as if Steve Walsh is struggling to hit the high notes he used to hit so well.

To sum it up, this box set chronicles the Kansas era from 1974-1980, so many fans' opinions will contradict each other, as there are fans of Kansas' "prog" era (1974-1980) as well as the more "commercial" era (1980 and beyond). I'm pretty new to Kansas, but I became an enthusiast very early. If you like the more commercial Kansas, this box set wil probably disappoint due to the many lengthy prog tracks, but if you're like me, and love the earlier version of Kansas better, or like BOTH versions, this box set is a must. It's even got a booklet that gives you information on the roots of Kansas, each band member and stories behind most of the tracks.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for KANSAS fans!!!, October 8, 1999

By 

Michael J Harrington (Phoenix, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kansas Boxed Set (Audio CD)

For those waiting for a definitive collection of KANSAS greats, this box set is it. As an avid Kansas fan, yeah, this box set left out some of my favorites, however it covers 90%, which is better than most box sets have to offer these days.

I won't get into what other reviewers have in the area of Kansas and how they relate to the world of prog rock - judge for yourself. If you like them, they hey, what the f is wrong with that? So what if they cloned some King Crimson or Yes stuff here and there? They came AFTER the prog rock 'wave', so we can't expect too much from the critically imposed LIMITS of prog rock now, can we?

Hey, these guys are tops in my book, and if you want to have some select CD quality cuts off the stuff you probably have on LP, then this is IT! This box set is a great 3 hours of one of the best bands ever.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Kansas more or less complete, August 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Kansas Boxed Set (Audio CD)

Kansas is one of those stalwart 70s bands that unravelled for a while but never went away. You know, one of the "featuring two original members" kinds of collectives that tried to reinvent themselves through the 80s and 90s. The Kansas most people know, or should want to know, is the 1974-1980 version showcased here -- and which is more or less back together again now. For casual fans, all the big hits are here along with a nice "education" about some of the other AOR material. For real fans, this box offers a couple of things which make it worth buying -- a nice booklet history of the band, the tracks from "Masque" (especially Icarus), and the rare versions of a couple of early tunes. When you boil ten albums down to 26 tracks, you can always argue about tradeoffs, but this is a well-considered set which can only be faulted for ignoring the (generally less good and certainly less characteristic) 1982-1995 era. Those who get this and are excited should realize that more or less THIS version of the band is on the road in summer-fall 2000...buy the box, see the band! Kansas is a band. And a damn good one.