February 1975 - Song For America
Happy new year and welcome to the mid-way point of the 1970s! My first release of the year came out in February of 1975 when Kansas released their second album "Song For America", just under a year since their eponymous debut. Kansas retains the same line-up, but on this album Robby Steinhardt sings lead vocals on only one song, a big shift from last album where he either co-sung or sung lead on half the tracks. It also has two songs over the 10-minute mark as these guys fully embrace the prog rock. Let's see how they do!
Side two begins with "Lonely Street" and is carried by some groovy bass by Hope as Walsh sings in a blues-inspired voice that sounds pretty great! The guitar copies the bass line and it really has some oomph to it now. It's a pretty sweet riff, and fairly heavy, with some sweet lead guitar by Livgren. After a couple verses Livgren and Williams take turns playing guitar solos, but also play off each other in a very nice part with great stuff from both of them. The bass takes center stage for a couple bars again, then it's back to the guitar solos! Walsh does some pretty great yells overtop and Kansas playing some heavy blues sounds pretty sweet! They play one final verse that sounds great as this side is also off to a nice start. Track 5 is called "The Devil Game" as some nice guitar and synths lead this rock riff with Walsh singing pretty high overtop. It's a decent couple verses, and then Livgren takes off for a cool guitar solo. Walsh lets us know that the devil will take and take and never give and then he plays a pretty good synth solo. A new stop-and-start guitar riff by Williams sounds pretty good as Livgren solos overtop. Synths and violin sound good as well as they bring it back for one final verse and chorus and it all ends with a nice synth bit. The final song on the record is "Incomudro - Hymn To The Atman", the longest song on the album at just over 12 minutes. It opens with slow synths and some solid bass and drums from Hope and Ehart. Steinhardt takes lead with some beautiful violin that fits the slow mood really well. The guitar and bass are both cool in the verse as Walsh's vocals are pretty good. After the second verse we hear an extended instrumental section that is solo city! Livgren begins on piano playing some sweet stuff, then we hear Walsh play a pretty great organ solo! Steinhardt's turn is next as he plays a wonderful violin solo and Williams even adds a brief guitar solo. Then it's time for the synths to take center stage (unsure if it's Walsh or Livgren, as they both play synthesizer). Whoever it is, they deliver an epic, really well done solo overtop of a nice rockin' beat. We hear a few different keyboard styles in this solo, and they all sound pretty space-y, very prog, and pretty darn good. Ehart gets a turn as well as he rattles off a drum solo that is way beyond any of the usual drums you hear in a Kansas song. He really shows off and plays a phenomenal solo! Damn man, where is this in the middle of every song?! Great stuff Phil! His solo turns right back into the epic opening riff in a well-done prog segue and Steinhardt plays some more great violin as another verse begins. Walsh carries this final slow, epic verse and then there's still time for another cool guitar solo. This is followed by some really great, super quick synths that close out this fantastic song, and this really great album!
That is the end of "Song For America" and I thought that it was a spectacular album. Both 10-plus minute tracks are really great, and there are no slow ballads, or dull points at all on this fantastic record. Kansas have really matured from their first album, which also had some great songs, but also had a few that were certainly not bad, but also left room for improvement. I refuse to say they could never do better, but this one will be tough to top as I think it easily surpasses their debut album. What a grand beginning to the year, can 1975 keep it up? Another band's sophomore effort will try to do just that soon.
Side one starts with "Down The Road",
Steinhardt's only lone lead vocal on the album. He does an alright job, but the song isn't quite rockin' enough for his style. After the verse we hear some cool guitar, organ and violin parts, before Kerry Livgren and Rich Williams start a solo battle! The two take turns reeling off some great stuff in this part, before Steve Walsh's piano brings it back to the main riff. They play one final verse, and we hear some more nice guitar at the end as this was a pretty solid way to open the new album. Track 2 is "Song For America", a 10-minute song that opens with a guitar riff, but gets taken away by some cool piano by Livgren. Dave Hope adds some prominent bass and Walsh plays some epic organ to form a cool, epic riff. Synthesizer joins the mix as well as they move to a new part with violin backing and some cool synths leading. Everyone comes together with their own cool bits to form a new riff that carries the verse. Steinhardt's violin and Livgren's piano really stand out, but everyone is doing a good job. Walsh's singing is pretty good, his voice is certainly more flexible than Steinhardt's. It's quite a well done riff, and around the 5-minute mark we hear a short, but pretty sweet synth solo. This is followed by a piano solo by Livgren that is really cool! Walsh backs him with cool organ as well, and this awesome part segues right into a cool sync-up between piano and synths. Steinhardt adds some wicked violin overtop, and now we're really going! What a fantastic instrumental middle section! They bring it back to the starting riff and Steinhardt delivers a wicked little solo before the last verse starts. More great piano by Livgren carries the verse, and the final minute is a synth-led jam that sounds pretty epic. This part slowly fades out until the end as Kansas have really put all the pieces together on this awesome song. The first side ends with "Lamplight Symphony", which opens with a slow, epic rock riff led by some cool synths and violin. Walsh's singing is pretty good and Livgren adds some cool piano during the verse. They move to a new part with some good drumming by Phil Ehart and some more epic-sounding synths. The synths segue into a new riff that is backed by a nice bass riff from Hope. Livgren and Walsh both play synthesizer in this part as they combine for some trippy, pretty cool stuff. It gets very quiet for a moment, and an amazing new part begins with beautiful violin and Livgren playing some phenomenal piano. A wonderful little bit, but it moves back to the epic rock riff that started it all off. Livgren continues the awesome piano in the closing verse as Kansas have put together another really good, long, progressive song! It ends with some cool guitar by Williams and an epic drum roll from Ehart.
Steinhardt's only lone lead vocal on the album. He does an alright job, but the song isn't quite rockin' enough for his style. After the verse we hear some cool guitar, organ and violin parts, before Kerry Livgren and Rich Williams start a solo battle! The two take turns reeling off some great stuff in this part, before Steve Walsh's piano brings it back to the main riff. They play one final verse, and we hear some more nice guitar at the end as this was a pretty solid way to open the new album. Track 2 is "Song For America", a 10-minute song that opens with a guitar riff, but gets taken away by some cool piano by Livgren. Dave Hope adds some prominent bass and Walsh plays some epic organ to form a cool, epic riff. Synthesizer joins the mix as well as they move to a new part with violin backing and some cool synths leading. Everyone comes together with their own cool bits to form a new riff that carries the verse. Steinhardt's violin and Livgren's piano really stand out, but everyone is doing a good job. Walsh's singing is pretty good, his voice is certainly more flexible than Steinhardt's. It's quite a well done riff, and around the 5-minute mark we hear a short, but pretty sweet synth solo. This is followed by a piano solo by Livgren that is really cool! Walsh backs him with cool organ as well, and this awesome part segues right into a cool sync-up between piano and synths. Steinhardt adds some wicked violin overtop, and now we're really going! What a fantastic instrumental middle section! They bring it back to the starting riff and Steinhardt delivers a wicked little solo before the last verse starts. More great piano by Livgren carries the verse, and the final minute is a synth-led jam that sounds pretty epic. This part slowly fades out until the end as Kansas have really put all the pieces together on this awesome song. The first side ends with "Lamplight Symphony", which opens with a slow, epic rock riff led by some cool synths and violin. Walsh's singing is pretty good and Livgren adds some cool piano during the verse. They move to a new part with some good drumming by Phil Ehart and some more epic-sounding synths. The synths segue into a new riff that is backed by a nice bass riff from Hope. Livgren and Walsh both play synthesizer in this part as they combine for some trippy, pretty cool stuff. It gets very quiet for a moment, and an amazing new part begins with beautiful violin and Livgren playing some phenomenal piano. A wonderful little bit, but it moves back to the epic rock riff that started it all off. Livgren continues the awesome piano in the closing verse as Kansas have put together another really good, long, progressive song! It ends with some cool guitar by Williams and an epic drum roll from Ehart.
Side two begins with "Lonely Street" and is carried by some groovy bass by Hope as Walsh sings in a blues-inspired voice that sounds pretty great! The guitar copies the bass line and it really has some oomph to it now. It's a pretty sweet riff, and fairly heavy, with some sweet lead guitar by Livgren. After a couple verses Livgren and Williams take turns playing guitar solos, but also play off each other in a very nice part with great stuff from both of them. The bass takes center stage for a couple bars again, then it's back to the guitar solos! Walsh does some pretty great yells overtop and Kansas playing some heavy blues sounds pretty sweet! They play one final verse that sounds great as this side is also off to a nice start. Track 5 is called "The Devil Game" as some nice guitar and synths lead this rock riff with Walsh singing pretty high overtop. It's a decent couple verses, and then Livgren takes off for a cool guitar solo. Walsh lets us know that the devil will take and take and never give and then he plays a pretty good synth solo. A new stop-and-start guitar riff by Williams sounds pretty good as Livgren solos overtop. Synths and violin sound good as well as they bring it back for one final verse and chorus and it all ends with a nice synth bit. The final song on the record is "Incomudro - Hymn To The Atman", the longest song on the album at just over 12 minutes. It opens with slow synths and some solid bass and drums from Hope and Ehart. Steinhardt takes lead with some beautiful violin that fits the slow mood really well. The guitar and bass are both cool in the verse as Walsh's vocals are pretty good. After the second verse we hear an extended instrumental section that is solo city! Livgren begins on piano playing some sweet stuff, then we hear Walsh play a pretty great organ solo! Steinhardt's turn is next as he plays a wonderful violin solo and Williams even adds a brief guitar solo. Then it's time for the synths to take center stage (unsure if it's Walsh or Livgren, as they both play synthesizer). Whoever it is, they deliver an epic, really well done solo overtop of a nice rockin' beat. We hear a few different keyboard styles in this solo, and they all sound pretty space-y, very prog, and pretty darn good. Ehart gets a turn as well as he rattles off a drum solo that is way beyond any of the usual drums you hear in a Kansas song. He really shows off and plays a phenomenal solo! Damn man, where is this in the middle of every song?! Great stuff Phil! His solo turns right back into the epic opening riff in a well-done prog segue and Steinhardt plays some more great violin as another verse begins. Walsh carries this final slow, epic verse and then there's still time for another cool guitar solo. This is followed by some really great, super quick synths that close out this fantastic song, and this really great album!
That is the end of "Song For America" and I thought that it was a spectacular album. Both 10-plus minute tracks are really great, and there are no slow ballads, or dull points at all on this fantastic record. Kansas have really matured from their first album, which also had some great songs, but also had a few that were certainly not bad, but also left room for improvement. I refuse to say they could never do better, but this one will be tough to top as I think it easily surpasses their debut album. What a grand beginning to the year, can 1975 keep it up? Another band's sophomore effort will try to do just that soon.
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