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In 1974, some sort of little-known band from the Topeka, Kansas area signed using Kirshner Records and recorded their debut, self-titled album, Kansas. Thanks to excellent marketing by the particular Kirshner label and even a fair amount of airtime on new album-oriented rock FM radio stations, Kansas rapidly became quite well-known. Sadly, when most people imagine Kansas, they think associated with little more than Dust in typically the Wind or Have On, Wayward Child, the group's a couple of most popular music. This is the grave blunder, because the music associated with Kansas has substantially more to supply as compared to just the catchy tunes of those two songs. Throughout fact, both all those songs were added to their individual albums almost while afterthoughts. For illustration, Dust in the Wind was actually just a chord-progression guitar exercise of which Kerry Livgren, a new band member, accustomed to practice! Nonetheless, the first three Kansas collections, Kansas, Song with regard to America, and Masque, demonstrated an excellent deal of rich musical talent that numerous do not hear. This really is due, in part, to the backgrounds and influences associated with the band people. Robby Steinhardt (violin, vocals) was taught from an early age in common music. Kerry Livgren, the band's main songwriter, was trained in classical and even jazz music. Typically the band as a whole was influenced by early seventies prog-rock groups such as Genesis plus ELP (Emerson, Pond, and Palmer). All of these factors contributed in order to the style of Kansas, though the unique instrumentation of the band also played a role. The first recording, Kansas, contained 1 of the band's more well-known items, Journey from Mariabronn. YouTube a live life version of it (link at bottom). This song, through the beginning, is definitely prog-rock through and through. The introduction is really a synthesizer/violin-heavy segment within an abnormal meter with, definitely, no discernible time signature which segues into the advantages of another theme through a violin solo. By virtue of being the six-piece band from the time, a lot of complex layering takes place in this music. You can find out more like one might find in an orchestral piece, melodies move smoothly from tool to instrument and even different lines emerge from beneath other “flighting, ” repeating lines. It's almost like listening to modernized holding chamber music! What's even more, the lyrics to Journey from Mariabronn are intriguing, to put it lightly. Livgren wrote these people, following closely the story of famous In german poet/author Hermann Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund. Kansas' second recording Song for The united states, and specifically the title track of stated album, followed closely taking after the actions of Journey from Mariabronn plus the first record. It is seen as a number regarding signature violin solos from Steinhardt in addition to a lyrical exploration of one of the particular band's favorite styles, mother nature plus man's treatment associated with the environment. Album a few, Masque, contains prog-rock gems such as Mysteries and Chaos, Icarus, as well as the Peak, but also indicates a turn towards more radio-friendly tracks such as Youngster of Innocence and It Takes a Woman's Love (to Make a Man). Kansas' next few albums were also wonderful inside their musicality, nevertheless most agree of which the early runs of Kansas had been, musically, the very best. They stimulated audience in many ways through their very own music and song. So , next moment you find your self bored on the cool evening, dig through your good old vinyl and rewrite up some more mature Kansas tunes. Hear for the subtle things, and a person won't be disappoint.