Kansas - Point Of Know Return


Who next? How about Gladys? What's her note say? 

Poke him in the ribs, but make sure it's delicious. Find something from a band that surprised him. Prog rock maybe. I know he wants a copy of Brain Salad Surgery, but we'll just pretend like i don't know what that means and settle for Kansas, or Argent or something like that. 

Just like a grandma, isn't she? Oh, wow! There's no joke here, i freakin' love Kansas and every other opinion is crap. Point Of Know Return, the one with Dust In The Wind and an unnecessary pun. That's a total Gladys move right there. 

This one has the same stupid criticisms as Leftoverture: b-grade English prog blather, too crazy but not crazy enough, Dust In The Wind is the only good thing they ever recorded. Even the movie Hi Fidelity took a jab at Kansas for this album. Too obvious for a lead off title track?!? You're all idiots, this is glorious. A song about Einstein, one about Howard Hughes, life is literally an adventure. How does this sound dated? Do you mean it sounds like 70s prog-rock in pop song form? It is the mid 70s in case you missed that memo. Sure, yeah, it's a stark contrast to the doom and gloom of Sabbath, but it is coming from an intentionally different mindset. It's not garbage just because it's fantasy, and it's not cheesy just because it's optimistic. 

This is fantastic. If cantankerous Grandmas made albums, they'd have surprisingly raunchy guitars, Animal-esque drums, and wacky synths just like this one. More violins and other stringed instruments in rock music now! I don't care how long it takes, sign me up for that voyage off the edge of the waterfall! 

Thank you, Gladys! Compy's 2 for 2 on this journey. What's Skip bringing to the party? Tune in tomorrow, and we'll find out together.

Skip's record

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