Fusing the complexity of British prog-rock with an American heartland sound representative of their name, multi-platinum-selling Kansas is among the most popular bands of the late '70s. Their singles during the period -- "Dust in the Wind," "Carry on Wayward Son," and their cover of J.J. Cale's "Bringing It Back" became staples of AOR radio and still receive airplay at classic rock radio. During the '70s, the band sold tens of millions of records, and the commercial success of Leftoverture (1976), Point of Know Return (1977), and Monolith (1979) propelled them to superstar status and sold-out concerts across the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. While their popular fortunes diminished in the '90s, they continued to record and tour. Despite key personnel changes -- the departure of founding guitarist Kerry Livgren and the eventual retirement of lead vocalist Steve Walsh among them -- the band continued to work across the globe and record regularly. The latter stopped for 15 years after 2000's Somewhere to Elsewhere, a release that featured all the original members of Kansas, with all songs composed by Livgren. Kansas resumed recording with The Prelude Implicit in 2016, featuring new lead vocalist and keyboardist Ronnie Platt. It registered commanding spots on the charts of 14 countries, including the Billboard 200 and Top Rock Albums charts at home. Formed in Topeka in 1970, the founding members of the group -- guitarist Kerry Livgren, bassist Dave Hope, and drummer Phil Ehart -- first played together while in high school; with the 1971 addition of classically trained violinist Robbie Steinhardt, they changed their name to White Clover, reverting back to the Kansas moniker for good upon the 1972 arrivals of vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh and guitarist Richard Williams. The group spent the early part of the decade touring relentlessly and struggling to gain recognition; initially, their mix of boogie and prog rock baffled club patrons, but in due time they established a strong enough following to win a record deal with the Kirshner label. Kansas' self-titled debut LP appeared in 1974; while only mildly successful, the group toured behind it tirelessly, and their fan base grew to the point that their third effort, 1975's Masque, sold a quarter of a million copies. In 1976, Leftoverture truly catapulted Kansas to stardom. On the strength of the smash hit "Carry on Wayward Son," the album reached the Top Five and sold over three million copies. Released in 1977, Point of Know Return was even more successful, spawning the monster hit "Dust in the Wind." While the 1978 live LP Two for the Show struggled to break the Top 40, its studio follow-up, Monolith, the band's first self-produced effort, reached the Top Ten. That same year, Walsh issued a solo record, Schemer-Dreamer. In the wake of 1980's Audio-Visions, Kansas began to splinter; both Hope and Livgren became born-again Christians, the latter issued the solo venture Seeds of Change, and their newfound spirituality caused divisions within the band's ranks. Walsh soon quit to form a new band, Streets, and the remaining members forged on without him, tapping vocalist John Elefante as his replacement. The first Kansas LP without Walsh, 1982's Vinyl Confessions, launched the hit "Play the Game Tonight," but after only one more album, 1983's Drastic Measures, they disbanded. In 1986, however, Kansas re-formed around Ehart, Williams, and Walsh; adding the famed guitarist Steve Morse as well as bassist Billy Greer, the refurbished band debuted with the album Power, scoring a Top 20 hit with "All I Wanted." When the follow-up, 1988's In the Spirit of Things, failed to hit, seven years passed before the release of their next effort, Freaks of Nature. The London Symphony-assisted Always Never the Same followed in 1998, and in 2000 Kansas issued Somewhere to Elsewhere, their 14th studio album, which saw the return of founder singer/songwriter Kerry Livgren. The next decade found Kansas continuing to tour heavily and release compilations and live albums, culminating in their 2014 induction into the Kansas Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, which coincided with the group's 40th anniversary. Miracles Out of Nowhere, a DVD/CD career retrospective, followed in early 2015. After signing with Century Media's InsideOut label, Kansas released The Prelude Implicit in 2016. Their 15th studio effort overall, the prog-heavy LP also marked the band's first new album in 16 years. The following year saw the release of Leftoverture Live & Beyond, a collection of concert performances culled from their 40th anniversary tour. In March of 2020, Kansas released a three-and-a-half-minute video trailer hosted by Platt to announce the June release of Absence of Presence. Co-produced by drummer Phil Ehart, guitarist Rich Williams, and guitarist Zak Rizvi, it marked the studio debut of keyboardist Tom Brislin (Yes, Camel, Debbie Harry) who had come aboard in late 2018. After releasing three advance cuts -- "Throwing Mountains", "Memories Down the Line, and "Jets Overhead" -- the album was delayed until July due to production delays. Violinist Robbie Steinhardt died on July 17, 2021 in Tampa, Florida due to complications from pancreatitis; he was 71 years old. — allmusic
Album List:
1974 - Kansas
1975 - Masque
1975 - Song For America
1976 - Leftoverture
1977 - Point Of Know Return
1979 - Monolith
1980 - Audio-Visions
1982 - Vinyl Confessions
1983 - Drastic Measures
1986 - Power
1988 - In the Spirit of Things
1995 - Freaks Of Nature
1998 - Always Never The Same
2000 - Somewhere To Elsewhere
2016 - The Prelude Implicit (Deluxe Edition)
2020 - The Absence Of Presence
Media Report:
Genre: progressive rock, art rock
Country: Topeka, Kansas, USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
Note: If you like the music, support the artist
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FILE LIST
Filename
Size
1974 - Kansas/01. Can I Tell You.flac
21 MB
1974 - Kansas/02. Bringing It Back.flac
20.5 MB
1974 - Kansas/03. Lonely Wind.flac
21.9 MB
1974 - Kansas/04. Belexes.flac
25.9 MB
1974 - Kansas/05. Journey From Mariabronn.flac
47.3 MB
1974 - Kansas/06. The Pilgrimage.flac
20.7 MB
1974 - Kansas/07. Apercu.flac
56.9 MB
1974 - Kansas/08. Death of Mother Nature Suite.flac
45.6 MB
1974 - Kansas/audiochecker.log
598 B
1974 - Kansas/cover.jpg
169.7 KB
1975 - Masque/01. It Takes A Woman's Love.flac
22.8 MB
1975 - Masque/02. Two Cents Worth.flac
20.8 MB
1975 - Masque/03. Icarus - Borne On Wings Of Steel.flac
43.6 MB
1975 - Masque/04. All The World.flac
48.9 MB
1975 - Masque/05. Child Of Innocence.flac
33 MB
1975 - Masque/06. It's You.flac
17.6 MB
1975 - Masque/07. Mysteries And Mayhem.flac
31.3 MB
1975 - Masque/08. The Pinnacle.flac
66.3 MB
1975 - Masque/09. Child Of Innocence (Rehearsal).flac
34.1 MB
1975 - Masque/10. It's You (Demo).flac
17.6 MB
1975 - Masque/audiochecker.log
732 B
1975 - Masque/cover.jpg
159.8 KB
1975 - Song For America/01. Down The Road.flac
23.1 MB
1975 - Song For America/02. Song For America.flac
59.2 MB
1975 - Song For America/03. Lamplight Symphony.flac
48.4 MB
1975 - Song For America/04. Lonely Street.flac
31 MB
1975 - Song For America/05. The Devil Game.flac
31.6 MB
1975 - Song For America/06. Incomudro - Hymn To The Atman.flac
69.2 MB
1975 - Song For America/audiochecker.log
528 B
1975 - Song For America/cover.jpg
194.5 KB
1976 - Leftoverture/01. Carry On Wayward Son.flac
32.4 MB
1976 - Leftoverture/02. The Wall.flac
26.4 MB
1976 - Leftoverture/03. What's On My Mind.flac
20 MB
1976 - Leftoverture/04. Miracles Out Of Nowhere.flac
36.1 MB
1976 - Leftoverture/05. Opus Insert.flac
26.6 MB
1976 - Leftoverture/06. Questions Of My Childhood.flac
21.5 MB
1976 - Leftoverture/07. Cheyenne Anthem.flac
38.6 MB
1976 - Leftoverture/audiochecker.log
566 B
1976 - Leftoverture/cover.jpg
97.6 KB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/01. Point Of Know Return.flac
18.8 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/02. Paradox.flac
22.6 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/03. The Spider.flac
12.4 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/04. Portrait (He Knew).flac
29.1 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/05. Closet Chronicles.flac
36.5 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/06. Lightning's Hand.flac
26.6 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/07. Dust In The Wind.flac
18.2 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/08. Sparks Of The Tempest.flac
25.7 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/09. Nobody's Home.flac
25.4 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/10. Hopelessly Human.flac
43.9 MB
1977 - Point Of Know Return/audiochecker.log
715 B
1977 - Point Of Know Return/cover.jpg
115.3 KB
1979 - Monolith/01. On the Other Side.flac
39.3 MB
1979 - Monolith/02. People of the South Wind.flac
22.6 MB
1979 - Monolith/03. Angels Have Fallen.flac
36.2 MB
1979 - Monolith/04. How My Soul Cries Out for You.flac
34.3 MB
1979 - Monolith/05. A Glimpse of Home.flac
40.6 MB
1979 - Monolith/06. Away From You.flac
27.3 MB
1979 - Monolith/07. Stay Out of Trouble.flac
26.3 MB
1979 - Monolith/08. Reason to Be.flac
23.1 MB
1979 - Monolith/audiochecker.log
628 B
1979 - Monolith/cover.jpg
234.2 KB
1980 - Audio-Visions/01. Relentless.flac
33.2 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/02. Anything For You.flac
24.5 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/03. Hold On.flac
24.4 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/04. Loner.flac
16.5 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/05. Curtain Of Iron.flac
35.7 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/06. Got To Rock On.flac
20.5 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/07. Don't Open Your Eyes.flac
26.2 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/08. No One Together.flac
43.7 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/09. No Room For A Stranger.flac
17.8 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/10. Back Door.flac
23.3 MB
1980 - Audio-Visions/audiochecker.log
684 B
1980 - Audio-Visions/cover.jpg
113.8 KB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/01. Play The Game Tonight.flac
21.9 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/02. Right Away.flac
28.5 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/03. Fair Exchange.flac
36.4 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/04. Chasing Shadows.flac
20.8 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/05. Diamonds And Pearls.flac
32.6 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/06. Face It.flac
29.5 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/07. Windows.flac
25.6 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/08. Borderline.flac
27.8 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/09. Play On.flac
24 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/10. Crossfire.flac
44.4 MB
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/audiochecker.log
674 B
1982 - Vinyl Confessions/cover.jpg
253.8 KB
1983 - Drastic Measures/01. Fight Fire With Fire.flac
27.1 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/02. Everybody's My Friend.flac
25.5 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/03. Mainstream.flac
45.3 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/04. Andi.flac
25.9 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/05. Going Through The Motions.flac
40.4 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/06. Get Rich.flac
24.7 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/07. Don't Take Your Love Away.flac
24.8 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/08. End Of The Age.flac
31.2 MB
1983 - Drastic Measures/09. Incident On A Bridge.flac