Customer Reviews

Freaks of Nature

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I thought picking this album up would be a dubious decision. I was disappointed with their previous outing, In the Spirit of Things, several years before. But what a pleasant surprise. This outing proves to be their best since Vinyl Confessions. The tunes are tight, the band is tight, and, although the CD lacks the thought-provoking punch and sure-fire delivery of its previous guitar/keyboard wizard, Kerry Livgren, the band delivers. It is my favorite post-Livgren album. Songs that shine are Black Fathom Four (a sweeping opus in the grand Kansas tradition), Under the Knife (Walsh holds his own as a lyricist here), Cold Grey Morning (a Livgren toss-off, modest by his standards, but a good song nonetheless), and Peaceful and Warm (one of Walsh's most introspective). Desperate Times, the album's "single" (in quotes because it received absolutely NO air play), is victim a hokey refrain - "Sled sled rocket sled carry me quick to the ones who've bled" and "Ride ride rocket ride carry me quick to the ones who've died". Pity, its actually a good song. Freaks is just what the doctor ordered for diehard Kansas fans. Other prog rockers shouldn't be too disappointed. 90's lovers, check out now.

After several disappointing pop-rock albums in the 80's, this is truly a return to form for Kansas. If you liked classic albums like _Leftoverture_ and _Point of Know Return_ you will want to get this right away, because the music on this recording is the Kansas we all know and love! The energetic "I Can Fly" opens and then leads into the second track, "Desperate Times". By the time the chorus to "Desparate Times" starts you know that Kansas is back. Several of the tracks here would have fit right in on an album like _Point of Know Return_. The title track and "Desparate Times" are the best tracks here, and a Kerry Livgren composition, "Cold Grey Morning", is also good and brings that element of philosophical and spiritual depth to the lyrics which was a mark of Kansas in their heyday. Why this wasn't a huge commercial success is a mystery. Two thumbs up!

I realize that not all Kansas fans view this as their best work, but I feel that it really broke new ground for them. This is by far my favorite Kansas album if you don't include those Greatese Hits compilations. "Freaks" has an edgy feel with lots of tense, dramatic and sometimes dark overtones. But, above all, It really ROCKS. Everyone I have played it for likes it. I have been a Kansas fan for years, but this album gave me a whole new view of them ... like listening to them for the first time.

I know this may sound crazy, especially to those that consider Somerwhere to Elsewhere the official return to old Kansas. But I feel this release is much more Kansas of the 70's than any other album they have put out since Monolith.

I think Kansas is best when Walsh and Livgren are writing together. Though we don't have Livgren here (except for one song with no other credited write), we have Walsh and Ragsdale doing the majority of the writing duty and the result is a return to the violin infused music of the 70's that set Kansas apart from the other "serious" acts of the decade. Where the 2000 release Somewhere to Elsewhere suffered from too much Livgren (all the tracks written by him), here, we have a balanced writing team of Walsh and Ragsdale that help show Kansas still has the ability to move beyond their 70's glory days. The opening "I Can Fly" remains to this day one of my all time favorite Kansas songs.

This album was underappreciated by the core Kansas fan base and I wish more fans would embrace this album for the great effort that it is.

I think the ultimate new Kansas album would be an equaled writing partnership between Walsh and Livgren. Alone, I feel Livgren today has too many pop tendencies in his writing style and needs the added influence of Walsh to give the music an edge it had back when they were partnering on some of Kansas' classics like "The Wall".

First off, let me say this is probably one of the Kansas top 3 best albums. It's impossible not to be impressed by the sound, the songs and the overall performance on this album. To me, the key is the fact that they sound hungry. It sounds like a young band cutting their first album. The intensity of the whole album just blows me away. Impossible also not to mention the fact that Ragsdale plays the violin like a million times better than Steindhart will ever play, and richard William's guitar work is simply impressive on this one. Walsh has a new born rock edge in his voice here that just works great with the songs, and the rythm section rocks. Black Fathom 4 is probably the best and heaviest Kansas song ever and my favorite on the cd. It's just a shame it was the only studio album done with this line up. It's also a shame they don't play any material from this album live anymore. Buy it, I guarantee you'll like it.

KANSAS - Freaks of Nature (1995) (*** ) 9 tracks (45:22)

Freaks of Nature is not an album that I went out purchased. I actually acquired it quite by accident. I had purchased a 2-disc Import of what I thought was Live KANSAS music featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. To my surprise, the second disc was studio material. I later figured out it was Freaks of Nature (see my review of Dust in the Wind by KANSAS).

I listened to the disc maybe once, and then forgot about it. I was much too busy enjoying all the newly remastered versions of KANSAS's first 5 albums. This 1995 release just couldn't compete with that. But, after a few years, I decided to do a comprehensive review of all the KANSAS albums I owned. This brought me back to Freaks of Nature again, and this time I began to "appreciate" some of the songs on here. Like some other reviewers have noted, the opening track, I Can Fly, is pretty bad. Once you get passed it, there are some really good modern KANSAS tunes here. I enjoyed Desperate Times, Hope Once Again, Black Fathom Four, the title track, and especially Peaceful And Warm. The last track is very reminiscent of early KANSAS, beginning with acoustic guitar and violin.

Since I don't own a regular release version, I don't know what band members contributed to this exactly, but here are the line-up changes as I understand: they had Dave Ragsdale playing violin, Billy Greer on bass, and Greg Robert playing additional keyboards. Luckily, we also have Steve Walsh back on vocals, along with other original members Rich Williams (guitar) and Phil Ehart (drums). Just no Kerry Livgren, but he had not been with the band for about 10 years now.

I can only recommend this to KANSAS fans. The band's best work is by far their first 5 years of output. But, if you grew up listening to the early KANSAS and are longing for more music, this is a nice addition to your collection. There are some real gems here, just not as "classic" as the early stuff.

Best tracks: Peaceful And Warm & Black Fathom Four

Don't get me wrong, I liked Somewhere to Elsewhere but Freaks has a better group feel to it. Black Fathom 4 rocks! Walsh is much more involved here than Somewhere to Elsewhere and so is the band. Listening is believing. Under the Knife and I Can Fly are great. I'll take Peaceful and Warm anyday over "Skin Tight Blues"

Freaks of Nature is an underrated and probably under-listened to effort by the boys from Kansas. There is solid, energetic playing and some good material here that deserves several listens to appreciate it all. Steve Walsh's voice is in good form and David Ragsdale brings not only his own tasty style to the violin parts, but co-writes several of the fine tunes as well. Phil Ehart's drumming is just as tight and intense as ever, but also a little more thoughtful...some unexpected moments make the songs even more interesting. They really breathe new life into the Kansas sound with this one.

A return to classic form and very consistant
this CD gives old Kansas fans a reminder of the old days
with the return of the violin and progressive tendances.
This should be in all Kansas fan collections.

Freaks of Nature is Kansas in fine, layered form. The vocals on some of the tracks are mixed a little too deep into the orchestration (especially the opening track), but forgivable if you give the rest of the disk a chance.

Songs like "Black Fathom 4" and "Peaceful and Warm" are anthemic in structure, and completely addictive. As much as I enjoy the Livgren-era Kansas, this is the band showing how good they can be without him.