Ultimate Box Set

This 2 CD Kansas box set is a must for die hard Kansas fans, as well as people interested in Classic American Progressive Rock... though there aren't many bands in that category. This box set features many of the band's classic, unknown symphonic prog epics, live tracks, hits, unreleased demos and a new track, specifically made for this box set. Here's the scoop: Disc One is mostly comprised of elaborate/symphonic progressive rock epics coming from their first three albums. Can I Tell You is a demo as opposed to the original version. Death Of Mother Nature Suite is one of the bonus tracks and is recorded live. Personally, I love the murky quality to this track, as it makes it sound mysterious and haunting. It also features classic southern-fried metal guitar. I believe violinist Robbie Steinhardt performs the lead vocals on this track. Journey From MariaBronn is classic symphonic rock of the finest order. I just love the part when Robbie's violin comes in at the beginning. Song For America is "arguably" Kansas' best all-around epic. This time out, the full 10 minute version is on here, as opposed to the 1 minute that was taken out for the "Best Of Kansas 1999 remastered edition" single CD. Incomudro is pure progressive rock heaven: a 16 minute live version with a mind-bending drum solo from Phil Ehart. Nearly 80% of this song is instrumental. Like ELP, Kansas is one of the few (prog) bands that sound really excellent and crisp on stage. The last four songs: Child Of Innocence (melodic, theatrical and beautiful), Icarus-Borne On The Wings Of Steel, Mysteries And Mayhem, which has musical and lyrical references to the next track, The Pinnacle all come from Kansas' third album, Masque. Disc Two features most of the band's commercial stuff, while containing some prog "leftover-tures"! The first five tracks come from Leftoverture. Obviously, Carry On Wayward Son is very popular. Kerry Livgren claims in the liner notes that the song was almost left in the vaults. The Wall is very anthemic. What's On My Mind is a funky rocker. Opus Insert is probably my favorite out of these 5 tracks, other than C.O.W.S. The vocal chorus/repeat/chorus is a harmonic country-esque cross between Creedence Clearwater Revival and Queen. Magnum Opus is a mostly instrumental 8 minute prog epic. This one is good, but seems not as strong or full as the earlier prog epics. Now comes the tracks from Point Of Know Return. After the title track comes Portrait (He Knew), a song about Albert Einstein. After the beautiful Dust In The Wind comes one of my favorite Kansas tracks, The Closet Chronicles. Written about Howard Hughes, I thought it was about Elvis Presley at first guess. The songs that follow in my opinion are not that great, with the exception of the melodic heavy rockers Relentless and Loner. The bonus track, Wheels is actually pretty good, though it seems as if Steve Walsh is struggling to hit the high notes he used to hit so well. To sum it up, this box set chronicles the Kansas era from 1974-1980, so many fans' opinions will contradict each other, as there are fans of Kansas' "prog" era (1974-1980) as well as the more "commercial" era (1980 and beyond). I'm pretty new to Kansas, but I became an enthusiast very early. If you like the more commercial Kansas, this box set wil probably disappoint due to the many lengthy prog tracks, but if you're like me, and love the earlier version of Kansas better, or like BOTH versions, this box set is a must. It's even got a booklet that gives you information on the roots of Kansas, each band member and stories behind most of the tracks.