Post by DazedOblivion on Oct 11, 2008 23:48:50 GMT 1
When I was young, I borrowed an LP record from my brother, The Point of Know Return by the American progressive rock group Kansas. I had never heard anything quite like their style of music, and I have not ever since. So much creativity went into their music; it's quite astounding!
The band created a blend of heavy rock, with some classical touches and very thoughtful lyrics. Their two masterpiece albums (in my opinion) are Leftoverture (released 1976) and The Point of Know Return (released 1977). Kerry Livgren wrote some of the most amazing music, which was then sung incredibly by one of the great rock vocalists of all time, Steve Walsh. Another distinctive touch was the violin in their music, played by Robby Steinhardt.
In their heyday, Kansas was made up of:
Steve Walsh (vocals and keyboards... and bongos!)
Kerry Livgren (guitar and keyboards)
Dave Hope (bass)
Robby Steinhardt (vocals and violin)
Phil Ehart (drums and percussion)
Richard Williams (guitar)
Here are some samples of their "album tracks":
From Leftoverture:
The Wall
Miracles Out of Nowhere
From The Point of Know Return:
Hopelessly Human
Nobody's Home
Here's a live performance of "Carry On Wayward Son" from the band from 1976:
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=CB17uWuBrL0
A vintage video of "The Point of Know Return" from 1977:
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=60A1yKc2hi4
Aaaand a vintage video of the beautiful but plaintive song "Dust In The Wind" :
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=hkbdP7sq0w8&fmt=18
Here's another performance from 2002 of a song called "Cheyenne Anthem."
It is about the tragedy of the Native Americans:
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=3NAO1wJA-lo
For a long time, I didn't hear another band that used violin in their music until I came across the Corrs!
They are a band whose music has stood the test of time. The present encarnation of the band has a website:
www.kansasband.com
Anybody ever hear about them?
The band created a blend of heavy rock, with some classical touches and very thoughtful lyrics. Their two masterpiece albums (in my opinion) are Leftoverture (released 1976) and The Point of Know Return (released 1977). Kerry Livgren wrote some of the most amazing music, which was then sung incredibly by one of the great rock vocalists of all time, Steve Walsh. Another distinctive touch was the violin in their music, played by Robby Steinhardt.
In their heyday, Kansas was made up of:
Steve Walsh (vocals and keyboards... and bongos!)
Kerry Livgren (guitar and keyboards)
Dave Hope (bass)
Robby Steinhardt (vocals and violin)
Phil Ehart (drums and percussion)
Richard Williams (guitar)
Here are some samples of their "album tracks":
From Leftoverture:
The Wall
Miracles Out of Nowhere
From The Point of Know Return:
Hopelessly Human
Nobody's Home
Here's a live performance of "Carry On Wayward Son" from the band from 1976:
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=CB17uWuBrL0
A vintage video of "The Point of Know Return" from 1977:
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=60A1yKc2hi4
Aaaand a vintage video of the beautiful but plaintive song "Dust In The Wind" :
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=hkbdP7sq0w8&fmt=18
Here's another performance from 2002 of a song called "Cheyenne Anthem."
It is about the tragedy of the Native Americans:
ie.youtube.com/watch?v=3NAO1wJA-lo
For a long time, I didn't hear another band that used violin in their music until I came across the Corrs!
They are a band whose music has stood the test of time. The present encarnation of the band has a website:
www.kansasband.com
Anybody ever hear about them?