Customer Reviews

KBFH Presents Kansas

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

 

 

Back in 1989, I went to see Kansas at the Tower Theater - it's actually right ouside of Philadelphia (down the street, literally) in a suburb called Upper Darby. I was so blown away by their performance on Feburary 11th, I went back on the 14th to see it again. And I can't remember which night it was ... when I walked out back to go to my car (mom's car - i was still in high school!), and there was the mobile recording truck!!! After seeing the hanging mics above me, it hit me - I was like "HOLY $&@#!!! THEY'RE GONNA PUT OUT A LIVE ALBUM!!!" ... I waited and waited and waited! It never came out - until KBFH released this!

It's a great disc - I remember the show like it was yesterday.(In fact - the encore cover they did both nights of "Born To Be Wild" was omitted from this CD...)

I'm an odd kansas fan - a VERY late bloomer... didn't really get into 'em until 1984's greatest hits album! I kinda wrote 'em off - I was 12, c'mon! - until I heard Steve Walsh & Steve Morse on the radio ... in 1986! So, yes, naysayers - POWER got me BACK into Kansas! (... and consequently Steve Morse & the Dixie Dregs, which eventually led me to be a HUGE Dream Theater fan!)

Anyway ... BUY THIS DISC. It's a really good representation of what happened that night. Believe me, I was THERE, and probably could dig the ticket stub up to prove it. No, it's NOT "Two For The Show" - but it's worth owning for sure, whether you were there or not!

(Incidentally - Steve Morse DID play violin on Dust in the Wind, and, for some reason, Phil Ehart used triggered kick drums - I will never forget seeing him sitting behind this HUGE yellow drum kit, and these little drum trigger pads in place of the kick drums... quite the odd visual!)

Having had the pleasure of seeing Kansas in their hayday (Leftoverture and Point of Know Return tours), I can honestly say that time has unfortunantly taken it's toll on one of rock's best set of pipes. I have been a Kansas fan since "Masque" (which you saddly cannot find on disk these days), which means that it saddens me greatly to have such a harsh criticism of Walsh. He is a talented song writer, but his voice has apparently given what it had to give. His singing is heartfelt, but it lacks the flexibility and range which he orginally wrote into the songs. Otherwise, the CD was enjoyable as the musicianship was flawless. It is always a treat to hear Phil on the drums and Steve Morse is certainly no disappointment. I would, however, advise any Kansas fans to buy "Two for the Show" first - if you already has this live CD, then this CD is a good but different addition to your addition. If there were only some way for Walsh and Livgren to collaborate again ... now that would be worth it.

This is a good live album let down by one crucial fact - Steve Walsh's once golden vocals have deteriorated badly, so much so that he can't even hit the notes in his own songs any more. And this really detracts from what is a decent live album and one much better than the album the concert was meant to promote - In The Spirit Of Things (see my review on this site).

As it stands the album is far superior to the awful Live At The Whisky and features an overall performance far in excess of that.

If you want to hear what Walsh and Kansas were once capable of spend your money on the truly incredible Two For The Show - which I called the best live album of all time in my review on this site.

Unlike Live At The Whisky this album is worth your money and it contains decent live versions of some of the only good songs from In The Spirit Of Things.

Recommendation to buy.

Being an old Kansas fan (from Song for America's release) and having seen them live four times in their heyday, this CD is truely a reminder that "things ain't what they used to be." Steve Walsh's vocals, once had a range and clarity that few could match, but they have deteriorated to a flat harshness that does not do justice to the songs. The lack of violin on most pieces removes that essential 'Kansas-ness' from the music and turns this into just another guitar band. If you want to get a flavor for the musical richness and quality performace that Kansas displayed live, check out 'Two for the Show'.

Kansas may be the greatest American live band...ever. As "flashy showmen," they will never be Kiss or Garth Brooks, but as players onstage, they are peerless--they can wail like a tornado or play as gently as a summer breeze, all with dexterity, sophistication, style, and soul...in short, they ROCK. Their superb 1978 release TWO FOR THE SHOW is an excellent document of Kansas when they were at their peak commercially, and captures them in all of their instrumental and vocal glory. This KBFH PRESENTS release is not bad, but it is somewhat inconsistent. First of all, the vocal performances are at times flat and weak...it's not just Walsh, but it's the harmony backing vocals also. Secondly, the absence of a violin and mult-layered, lush keyboards are glaring. Thirdly, the production is a bit flat...a lot of dynamics seem to be lost or muddied. Finally, the band's performance instrumentally is not their best ever...very good, perhaps, but not up to the normal "Category 5" standard. I will disagree with other reviewers: LIVE AT THE WHISKY is a better live CD than this one. Though Walsh's vocals are slightly worse on that CD, the band plays and sounds as good or better than ever on WHISKY. It is interesting to hear this version of Kansas doing a mix of a few of the old classic Kansas standards mixed with cuts from IN THE SPIRIT OF THINGS, plus their hit, "All I Wanted" from POWER. These guys can play, but it seems to take them awhile to get untracked on KBFH PRESENTS. The opener, "Magnum Opus," sounds like a pale imitation, a by rote run-through that has less passion than Elvis's 1000th performance of "CC Rider." "One Big Sky" suffers from flat, at times painfully so, vocals and a bizarre "cheer" in the middle break that is more grating than it is inspiring. The band sounds a little better on the next few "classic" tracks and does a nice extended version of "All I Wanted." The "T.O. Witcher"/"Dust in the Wind" Medley is very effective and "Miracles Out of Nowhere" is a crowd-pleaser. "The Preacher" is fair, though lacking some of the spark of its studio version counterpart. In contrast, I can't say I'm a huge fan of the studio version of "House On Fire," but I have to admit, it does cook in this crackling live version...the band plays the blues like never before. Walsh does some strange things with his voice that are not always pleasant, but overall, he seems to be having a good time with it all and his keyboard work sizzles on this 12-minute workout...which flows right into a spirited-if-ragged "Carry On Wayward Son." I respect the fact that Kansas is a hard-working, passionate, live outfit. For the most part, they work up a sweat here on KBFH PRESENTS. But, this performance never quite soars as high as one might hope. Having seen the band live twice back in the day, and being a huge fan of TWO FOR THE SHOW, I suppose I was hoping for a little more on this release. It's not bad...but it doesn't get a lot of spins in my CD changer, either.

Kansas, recorded live without a violinist? Sure, because, as drummer Phil Ehart noted, "we had Steve Morse." This King Biscuit show from 1989 balances Kansas classics and tunes from their then-current "In The Spirit Of Things" album, all performed with energy, precision, and obvious fun. Everything works, especially "Point Of Know Return" and the extended "House On Fire," featuring twin guitar leads, Morse's grand guitar arpeggios, and singer Steve Walsh's masterful keyboard work and engaging stage presence. Even Kansas standards like "Paradox" and "Dust In The Wind" sound great in these violin-less live versions, thanks to Morse, Walsh, and the band's outstanding musicianship. There are many reasons to get this album -- because the excellent King Biscuit chronicle of Walsh's other band, Streets, isn't enough for you, or because with Morse, all things are possible -- but the best reason is that it flat-out rocks. Good show, guys.

I've never been a big fan of the band Kansas, they have a few good songs I like and that's it. But when I seen this particular Kansas CD available I was intrigued by it featuring Steve Morse on guitar. Now i'm a really devoted Steve Morse fan, I have everything he's ever done recently with Deep Purple and quite a few of his solo CD's and he's also on te King Biscuit Dixie Dregs In Concert disc, which I also own. I knew Steve Morse was in Kansas before this live disc came out, he did 2 studio albums with them, Power and In The Spirit Of Things, both of which aren't all that good. Steve Morse is one of the best live guitarist ever, and he's nothing short of that on this disc. The rest of the band is in fine rockin' form as well, although this is the 80's keyboard version of the band(no violin player), Steve Morse is the centerpiece. Singer Steve Walsh sounds like he's just about had it with singing, his voice is good but it's ready to go. But Steve hangs in their for much of the show. Now the new, Steve Morse-ers material comes off much better live than the studio versions. The best examples of that being One Big Sky, the acoustic intro number T.O.Witcher which goes into Dust In The Wind, and the guitar trade off of House Of Fire. All those songs are great. Kansas features alot of older classics such as The Wall, Paradox, Carry On, Point Of Know Return and Dust In The Wind. Steve Morse really adds fire to all of them. This King Biscuit recording is one of the best the label has ever released and is in my top 5 of KB concerts.

Buyers beware, there is enough energy emanating from this disk to destroy many an unwary CD player. When Kansas teamed up with Steve Morris we all thought great things would happen. Then the Power album came out and we said, eh, its not BAD. Then the In The Spirit of Things (ItSoT)album came out and we said, yep, its BAD. Then the band was gone, only to return to the touring circuit a few years later without Morris. So the Steve Morris era of Kansas didn't have much to show for itself.

Till now.

Morris's addition did little to spark the creative juices in the studio, but on the road Morris lifted an already stellar cast of musicians to new heights. Old standards are executed flawlessly and with a bit of panache that only Morris could provide. There are some wonderful dual guitar leads on this album that show case both Morris's and Rich Williams's skill (note that's dual as opposed to duel - their not trading licks but harmonizing, a wonder to listen to). Indeed, the dual guitar portion of All I Wanted, a Walsh sleeper from the Power album, lifts this mediocre song to new heights. This version is infinately preferable to the studio take.

Walsh sings Miricles Out of Nowhere with energy and gusto. We miss Steinhardts voice here, but Walsh holds his own and gets more than adequate support from Billy Greer, the bass player. Walsh's voice shows signs of 'seasoning' on this disk, and it was recorded 10 years ago.

One truly good thing going for this disk is that they chose well the songs they would perform from the then-current album. None of the insipid Morris tunes (except for the glorious T.O. Witcher)were in the set. For the most part, they ignored any songs drawn from non-band members, of which there were plenty on ItSoT. The one notable exception here is One Big Sky, the best of the 'hack' material on the album. The new songs on the King Bisquit disk represent the 'best' of InSoT - and it really ROCKS. The Preacher/House on Fire medley must have blown the Tower audience away!

Quite a show, and quite a CD, I'd strongly recommend it.

Questions, email me

This CD is a must for any true, blue Kansas fan. Even in their later years they still have what it takes to rock the house. Despite the personnel changes, Kansas still can crank out a good sound. This CD has Steve Walsh sharing the lead vocals and his voice is as strong as when they started out. Listening to this CD can give you the feel of actually being there. This is just as good as their Two For The Show live album.