Customer Reviews

Early Recordings From Kansas 1971-73

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unearthed from a cave in Kansas and released by (appropriately enough) Cuneiform Records, Proto Kaw resurrects an apparently dead art form - hardcore progressive rock - and links it to one of the few successful American prog acts of the late seventies. In this regard, it is much like the Rosetta Stone that opened up dead languages for study. But while the languages and histories the Rosetta Stone exposed were apocrophal and studied purely for academic purposes, Proto Kaw is actually a fine listen in its own rite.

These recordings have actually been around for years on the bootleg circuit. I've had mine for a decade (wink-wink, nudge-nudge). But they've been significanly cleaned-up...at least to the degree that one can clean up analog tape recorded on inexpensive, dusty equipment. Where the recording quality may be dubious at times, the musicianship and writing are rock solid.

While the Kansas we know and love was a very structured entity (thanks probably to Phil Ehart's determination and the great production values of Jeff Glimax), this earlier incarnation of Kansas was much more free-wheeling and its evident in such tunes as Nactolos 21 and Totus Nemesis (which lock in at 11:37 and 13:53, respectively). Some of the extended noodling on saxiphones (they had two in this band) is simply amazing. None the less they are able to get the job done in short order too, with a respectable version of Belexes (slightly more pedestrian than the version on their first album).

The historical value of the recording is in its ability to a. show where Kansas got some of its influences (Gentle Giant and King Crimson are worn on their sleeves) and b. show off early renditions of some of the signature licks the band has been known for. Much of their first three albums can be heard swirling around this collection.

At times challenging, but very satisfying. Awesome collection. Required listening for Kansas fans. Elective (but damn good) listenting for prog affectionatos. Timberlake fans...I doubt you're reading this.

This album is incredible. For progrock, it is one of the most exciting releases in years. If only this pre-Kansas band had access to pro-quality studios and engineers! The vocalist is excellent. The music is progrock all of the way. It's like a lost gem in the progrock world.
I'm not saying it is the missing link in progrock or anything like that, but surely, a true progrock fan will be very pleased to have this in their collection.
As for the production quality, it is most certainly decent enough to enjoy. Without a doubt. It is not top-notch pro-quality for early 70s standards, but it's not bad at all. It varies a little, but it is very good for a band that obviously was low on funds. Some aspects of the production are actually impressive.
They did a great job on the bass spectrum on this CD release. The music sounds full, making the demo-ish aspect of it seem less noticable than it might of...It is an enjoyable sonic experience...I find myself getting lost in the beautiful complexities of the melodies...

It is clear that the band spent time trying to make a decent sounding recording with limited resources. Their effort really shows.

In my opinion, this band draws more from Van Der Graaf Generator than King Crimson, although definitely, the KC influence is there. This band is not a carbon copy though, they have their own identity. They are unique. Their sound is original. They aren't ripping anybody off...nobody sounds like them...
These songs are very well played. You would never guess it was Kansas though. Well it is not...It doesn't even resemble Kansas actually, except for a few moments here and there. I love Kansas, but I also love VDGG and KC and this band is more like them. Highly recommended. It's unbelievable that this music has remained buried for so long.
This album is so good by progrock standards, I can't help but wonder if things would of been better off with this version of Kansas...even as much as I enjoy the Kansas we all know and love.
Progrock fans listen up! This is a lost classic!! I can't say enough good things about it!!

I can not believe how good this music is - it sounds very European, which is remarkable given that this music hails from the very heart of America. As a huge fan of 1970s British and continental European prog, I was absolutely thrilled with this album - it sounds raw and is extremely expressive. The range of emotion is what gets me though - Livgren really knew what he was doing. Mix in some apocalyptic and "philosophical" lyrics, cryptic song titles, and suite length pieces and presto - you have some early Kansas 1971 - 1973.

The musicians on this early version of Kansas include Kerry Livgren (guitar, piano); Lynn Meredith (he has a very strong and excellent voice); John Bolton (electric saxophone; flute); Don Montre (RMI electric piano, flute, alto sax); Dan Wright (Hammond organ; ring modulator - a crude sound generator); Rod Mikinski (bass); Zeke Low (drums on cuts 1,2,3,8, and 9) and Brad Schulze (drums on cuts 4,5,6, and 7). All of the musicians are excellent and Dan Wright plays a mean Hammond.

What surprises me is that there is so little in the way of "boogie", southern rock, or hard rock and that the influences largely stem from European classical. In terms of rock influences, I hear a little bit of King Crimson, some Van der Graaf Generator (especially in the sax work), and the churchy Hammond organ of Procul Harum. I guess it's worth noting that within the liner notes, Kerry mentions groups including Frank Zappa and Canterbury jazz rock bands such as Soft Machine exerting an influence. Elements of those bands are present along with some slight avant-garde tendencies too.

Although an early version of Belexes (from Kansas, 1974) and Incomudro: Hymn to the Atman (from Song for America, 1975) appear on this album, this music is much, much further "out there", more progressive, and more experimental than the music of Kansas 1974 -1977. Truth be told, this is actually one of my favorite recordings by the band and reinforces in my mind why Livgren was my favorite Kansas composer and exactly what it was that he brought to Kansas.

All in all, this is a nice package put together by Cunieform Records. The sound quality is as good as it can be given the primitive conditions under which the music was recorded, and there are some very informative liner notes by Kerry along with some extracts taken from his book "Seeds of Change".

Very highly recommended.

I was not sure what to expect from this CD. This recording is a refreshing blast from the early 70's, with a sound reminding me of 60's fusion groups like Cactus and Blue Cheer. This recording has less of the musical discipline of the later Kansas group, but celebrates the freedom of improvisation. The sax in the group immediately reminded me of recordings with Frank Zappa and Napoleon Murphy Brock on sax. This CD is an acquired taste however. My wife, who is a Kansas freak, was a bit indifferent to it, mostly because of the vocals, but partially to the overall "weirdness" of the album. Definitely a really cool album to just sit back and listen to. It's interesting to note that for the most recent studio Kansas CD, "Somewhere to Elsewhere", Kerry pretty much lifted the bridge from "Reunion in the Mountains of Sarne" for the song "Coming Dawn (Thanatopsis)".
Not for the more commercial oriented Kansas fan, but definitely a very cool addition to any CD collection.

I was 18 in 1972, and a huge fan of this band's music here in their home town of Topeka, Kansas. I was crushed when they split up and ever since, I have had little pieces of these songs running around in my mind and wishing somehow I could hear them again.

Wish granted! with the release of Proto Kaw, and it not only holds up to my expectation, it goes off the chart.

Obviously, buying this cd is a no-brainer for me or anyone familiar with this group of musicians.

I hope fans of the later Kansas band will jump on this as well, and enjoy this unique sound. I will guarantee it is nothing, if not different than the later Kansas sound. The sax of John Bolton is a major departure by itself, along with the keyboards of Dan Wright and Don Montre.

I don't pretend to be a recording enthusiast, but I think it is of amazing quality, given what there was to work with as Kerry described.

I have been a long time Kansas fan and own most of their albums, yes, albums. I stumbled across the link for Proto-Kaw and after following the link bought this CD without listening to any of the tracks. I enjoy listening to this as it is in the same mold as some of the music that was popular in the late 60's and early 70's. There is a group that I have in my collection that I picked up while in Europe in the military, "Sweet Smoke" is the name of the group and if I wasn't familiar with the songs a person could confuse these two groups.

After reading the reviews here, and saw they were mostly positive, I decided to take the plunge and order my copy, since I'm an old (literally) Kansas fan. After toiling through the album, I'm rather torn on how to review it. For hardcore fans that like to hear how the band evolved from one Kansas to the next, you'll probably love it. Myself, it's a little too 'avant-garde' in almost all tracks. Where the music would be flowing smoothly one moment, the next is interrupted by clashing instruments and strange generated sounds. Kansas finding it's path, indeed. If you can handle a sudden change in musical direction mid-song, then you'll be able to handle this album. Otherwise....

A wonderful collection.It's a proud day for this Kansan to get to brag on such great local talent from the likes of Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh. Steve being from "the other side of the river(saint jo) and Kerry being from the "Right" side of the river (Kansas anti-slavery). This is great music and everyone should own a copy.

Before there was the band "Kansas", there was the band "Kansas"...two of them, actually. The first, an eight piece band, featured drummer Phil Ehart, bassist Dave Hope and guitarist Kerry Livgren, along with two keyboard players and two singers( a picture of them appears in the Kansas boxed set). The second was formed in 1971 after Ehart and Hope formed "White Clover", the band that would eventually become the "Kansas" we have all come to know and either love or hate through such funny songs like "Two Cents Worth", "Dust In The Wind" and "Lonely Street". This second Kansas line-up, which also included Livgren( who writes all the songs), is the one that is featured on this CD.

For something that has remained unreleased for so many years, this is surprisingly good. If you like progressive rock groups like Procol Harum, Genesis, King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Focus, then you may like or even love this album, for there are elements of all these groups, along with elements of Traffic and Frank Zappa, in all of these songs. Even people who like progressive rock, but don't care for Kansas' Americanized homegrown version of it, may like this! Me, I love Kansas and all of these bands and I'm also a big fan of Kerry Livgrens, so I LOVE THIS ALBUM!!Highlights for me include:

"Hegemonium"
- This song starts off with the organ playing a very complicated, but beautiful melody that reminds me of the song "Focus 3". The piano and flute come in 30 to 40 seconds later, then vocalist Lynn Meredith sings some very dark and bloody and disturbing lyrics, that Livgren says were inspired by a painting by Hieronymous Bosch. My favorite lyric.."maggots have a holiday and sunsets frighten worms away" is followed by a very heavy, but catchy and dangerous sax and guitar riff, that sounds alot like King Crimson. A great song...the lyrics remind me of the song "Dead Man's Dream" by Procol Harum and Meredith's voice reminds me of Gary Pickford Hopkins.

Elsewhere, "Reunion in the Mountains of Sarne" sounds like Traffic and Genesis and the instrumental section in the middle would pop up in the song "The Coming Dawn" from the Kansas album "Somewhere To Elsewhere".The piano at the beginning of "Nactolos 21" again reminds me of the song "Dead Man's Dream", while the rest of the song has a very heavy King Crimson, Traffic and Gentle Giant influence. Both "Belexes" and "Incomudro" would show up on the first two Kansas albums, the latter without that silly moog drum solo. The versions of these two songs on this album, aside from a lyric change or a different vocal melody here or there, aren't radically different from the versions that would appear later

Of the nine songs, only three are shorter than six minutes( the shortest song, "Belexes", clocks in at just over five minutes), two songs are seven minutes, two are 11 and a half minutes and one, "Totus Nemesis", is nearly 14 minutes long! Livgren's guitar isn't as up front as it would be for later Kansas albums, though he does get a chance to solo from time to time. The songs here are more jazzy and not as heavy as Kansas and the songs aren't as structured and the arrangements are much looser as well. Though I prefer Steve Walsh as a vocalist( at least the way he sounded in the seventies), Lynn Meredith does a good job singing here. This is terrific music, very well played and well sung, with plenty of organ, flute and saxophone solos. It's not a perfect album...there are maybe one or two weak songs...but for the most part, this is a darn good progressive rock album.

BUY IT!! NOW!!!!

To me, the funniest thing about this album is Livgren's liner notes where he says "It is also significant, I think, to demonstrate that Kansas was playing progressive music long before we had ever heard some of the bands we have been accused of emulating." Since these demo recording were made between 1971 and 1973, the influence of 1969-1971 albums by King Crimson, ELP, maybe even Traffic, are obvious. Even the record company that released this CD cites early Crimson as an obvious influence, as does Livgren later in the liner notes. There are moments during this CD where you can pinpoint the exact Crimson passage that is being imitated. Not that I blame Kerry-- you would have to be brain dead not to be influenced by something as amazing as "In The Court of the Crimson King." The merger of rock with jazz/classical/folk/space/world music was inevitable after the groundbreaking work of The Beatles, The Incredible String Band, The Moody Blues, Jimi Hendrix, etc. These late 60s psychedelic pioneers set the stage for a period of unrivaled artistic freedom which we would never see again in pop music at such a wide level-- from 1970 to 1978, the era of progressive rock.
These recordings, songs written by Kerry Livgren but featuring a completely different Kansas band than the one we know and love, are actually quite good despite their demo status. Livgren plays mostly guitar but isn't nearly as upfront as he was in 'official' Kansas. He already has two keyboardists here, so rarely touches the keys, and his guitar style isn't as bombastic and riff-oriented as it would become. There's more of a nod to his jazz interests and he gives the other musicians plenty of time to shine forth. Synths are not present (except a "ring modulator") so in place are sax and flute, which again, sound very Crimson-like in their uses. The singer is actually pretty good especially on the quieter melodies.
The irony to me is that while later, official Kansas was actually more conventional than these demos, they also sound more original to me. Sure, they were following in the steps of Yes and ELP, but they definitley gave the style a new twist. But these demos, on the other hand, sound almost too close for comfort to early King Crimson. We can't all be the catalyst for a major shift in musical styles-- that comes rarely. But nor does that mean that derivatives are unimportant. I had already been a progrock fan from the word go in 1969-70, and I still was blown away when I first saw Kansas as a warm-up act to Hawkwind in 1974. On the contrary, Kansas line-up of two keyboards, two guitars (Livgren doubling his bandmates on both), two lead vocalists, a violinist and rhythm section, made them one of the best rock orchestras progrock ever produced! I remember very clearly when I saw them after their commercial breakthrough on the Leftoverture tour; I thought they sounded very mature. It was strange to me that after this point the band started to descend into musical conservatism-- a huge mistake in my opinion. These Proto-Kaw recordings remind of how idealistic musicians were coming out of the psychedelic period into the prog-rock movement, and give us a glimpse into the early influences of one of progrock's most important composers. == Enjoy == Nick