Kansas - Leftoverture

I felt a little guilty for straying so far from the vinyl that started this whole endeavor, so i washed off a couple more albums from the stack.

First, i'm not going to justify it with a review, but i don't like Clapton's Slowhand. Cocaine and Lay Down Sally are great classic songs, but the rest of the album is crap (Wonderful Tonight doesn't count either way, for reasons i also won't explain).

Second, holy shit have you heard Kansas's Leftoverture? What a fantastic kaleidoscope of weirdness. Critics who hated it called it a dumb imitation of British prog that lacks the self deprecating humor promised by the title and cover art.

Bugger that, this is great. It's perfect. Sure the actual singy parts are datedly 70s faux-folk, but musically it's super adventurous. I feel like people didn't want Kansas to be prog-rock; like the whole time they were just waiting for a half-hour loop of Dust in the Wind, and were getting pretty damned impatient at this point.

Steve Walsh had writer's block, so Kerry Livgren was like "sure, i'll just pick up where my last song left off and go nuts. Chip in whenever something excites you, Stevo." The title/cover isn't a joke, it's literal.

If Emerson, Lake, & Palmer is a little too demented for your liking, this album is a step back from the edge, but still plenty wacky. Magnum Opus certainly is. Don't be surprised if i start blurting "release the beavers!" at randomly inappropriate times.

Back to the comps

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