October 21, 1976 - Leftoverture

A month after my last release and a little over a year since "Masque", Kansas released their fourth album "Leftoverture" on October 21, 1976. Steve Walsh was going through some writer's block during the recording of this album so Kerry Livgren wrote a large portion of the material. Robby Steinhardt's vocal duties continue to diminish as he sings on only two of the eight songs but Walsh is ultimately the better singer so this isn't all that surprising. Let's listen to the next offering by Kansas!

The album kicks off with "Carry On Wayward Son", which would most certainly become Kansas's most famous song. It was the first song I, and I imagine most people, heard by Kansas and boy is it it a doozie. Walsh opens the song with the chorus lyrics before the rest of the band comes in, led by some cool guitar. Walsh's organ sounds cool as well and though I don't know if it's Livgren or Rich Williams on the guitar solos, the first one comes early and has some great quick stuff. This moves into the first verse which has some great piano leading the way as Walsh sings nicely along. Williams adds some cool acoustic guitar to the riff as well as they bring it in for the first full chorus. Everything sounds pretty epic and Walsh's "dontcha cry no more" is a nice emphatic end to the chorus. After playing another smooth verse and chorus they segue into a cool stop-and-start bridge section. Walsh plays a short but wicked organ solo in this part and Livgren adds a short but pretty good guitar solo before they bring it back to the chorus. Walsh holds his "more" for a bit and it sounds pretty great and we're treated to not one, but two wicked guitar solos at the end of this song! They're both pretty sweet and Kansas packed a lot of great music into these 5 plus minutes. A fantastic way to kick off the album! Track 2 is called "The Wall" and it opens with a slow but cool rock riff led by some cool guitar. The verse is mostly just some light guitar and some solid singing by Walsh that sounds good but not great. The rest of the band slowly joins in as the song progresses and by the end of the second chorus everyone is involved in the soft rock riff. The "guitar solo" is alright but I actually think the rhythm section of Dave Hope and Phil Ehart play the best stuff in this part. The bass and drums are cooler than the slow lead guitar in my opinion and after they return to the verse we really notice Steinhardt's violin for the first time, fitting this slow rock tune well. The final minute is a slow jam led by some cool synths as they play out this very tame song. It wasn't bad, but it was certainly less awesome than the opener. The next song, "What's On My Mind", is a little faster paced with a nice guitar opening, but it quickly moves to a much tamer verse with more of Walsh's pop-y lead vocals. It starts with acoustic guitar and bass but becomes more heavy as the electric guitar returns for the chorus. After another verse and chorus Livgren and Williams both play some excellent guitar in this next part. The two riffs are separate, but sound amazing together and this is definitely the highlight of the song. Another verse/chorus is more of the same but they do end the song with a fun little guitar bit. I like the softer parts a lot less but this song is still pretty good. The first side ends with "Miracles Out Of Nowhere" which has an interesting keyboard opening before the rest of the band joins in. Steinhardt plays some nice violin and joins Walsh for co-lead vocals on this song. We hear some cool acoustic guitar as Steinhardt starts by himself, sounding alright. Walsh joins in quickly and together they sound decent on this one. We hear some trippy synths as well as there's lots of different cool stuff going on in this one, including some nice piano. After the second chorus Livgren and Walsh both play some cool keyboards to kick off this instrumental part. Williams plays acoustic and we hear some great piano as well. Violin and bass then take center stage with some epic keyboards soloing overtop. It's a very interesting part and I think it sounds pretty great; Kansas are experimenting more on this not so straightforward song and it's working really nicely. They finally bring it back for another solid verse and chorus, then they're off again in another new instrumental part. Keyboard and guitar lead the way in another solid section and they end this 6 and a half minute song on a very epic note. This side had a fantastic opener and great closer, but the middle two were more average.

Side two begins with "Opus Insert" which has a slow opening with some cool keyboards that leads into the first verse. Walsh's singing sounds like his usual self as Hope plays some pretty solid bass. Williams adds some nice acoustic and there continues to be some epic synths. Walsh also plays some nice piano as there's no real chorus in this song, they just continue to join together nice little segments. We hear some pretty cool keyboards kick off this middle instrumental part where we also hear some solid drumming by Ehart. They return for one final verse and they end this pretty cool song on a very epic note. Track 6 is "Questions Of My Childhood" and Walsh plays piano and Livgren plays some great synthesizer in this really cool opening before they settle in for the verse. Walsh carries the verse with his solid singing and some pretty great piano playing as Steindhardt adds some nice violin as well. The piano is really good throughout this shorter song and it's the only song so far where Steinhardt plays some fast violin. It sounds great, as it did on their earlier albums, but he's been mostly reduced to slow, sappy stuff. His only other lead vocal is the next song, "Cheyenne Anthem" and it's also another co-lead with Walsh. It starts with some epic synths and is carried by some soft acoustic guitar by Williams. Walsh opens the song by himself on vocals and the lead is taken over by some cool piano. It's a pretty slow and sappy tune though and there's even some children singing briefly in a bit of an odd part. They move to a cool instrumental middle part with violin and various keyboards sounding pretty good together. The pace picks up and we hear some really cool keyboards leading the way by both Livgren and Walsh. They both play some great stuff and this faster section is more like it for me! They switch to a very epic building part that culminates nicely with some excellent piano! The slow acoustic returns and Walsh is back to sing another sappy verse. This slow part isn't bad but I find it a little boring as they slowly play out this near 7 minute song. The final track is the longest though at about 8 and a half minutes, titled "Magnum Opus". Ehart starts it with some epic slow drums and we hear some trippy synths as well. Everyone comes in for an emphatic slow rock riff that sounds pretty cool. Hope plays some mean, dark sounding bass that is unlike Kansas, but I think sounds fantastic! Keyboards take lead next with some cool stuff then it's guitar that gets the spotlight briefly. Walsh finally starts singing the first verse and he does a good job as usual. Another wonderful, epic synth bit takes them off for a new part and they are certainly very progressive on this song. This instrumental solo of sorts let's everyone have a turn and it all sounds pretty awesome! Guitar and keyboards lead the way as there's lots of great bits in this section! They slow it down for a new part led by some nice guitar and cool background keyboards. The keyboards move into the lead for a bit as we hear some cool stuff, then it's time for a good old guitar solo. It's a pretty epic one that sounds awesome and after it they just keep playing great progressive music! We hear a pretty insane synth solo that is hard to describe before they break it down for some more great slow stuff. They pack a lot of wicked music into this song as it finally comes to a close. A splendid way to finish off this pretty solid album!

That is the end of "Leftoverture" and I thought it was a pretty great album for the most part. It was a little average and pop-y at points but it was mostly still great progressive rock music. The first and last song on the album are both really great and there's lots of other good stuff inbetween. But how does it rank against their previous albums? I think it blows their last album "Masque" away easily and I think it was even better than their debut album as well. "Song For America" however, had lots of great music as well and I think it was the better album overall. Second place ain't too shabby though as Kansas finally struck gold with this latest effort.