Kansas

Undoubtedly their finest album, Leftoverture warrants Kansas a spot right alongside Boston
and Styx as one of the fresh new American bands who combine hard-driving group
instrumentation (with a dearth of flashy solos) with short, tight melody lines and pleasant
singing. Each song on side one of Leftoverture is strong, especially the opener, "Carry On
Wayward Son," which is blessed with a tough melody line and strong vocals by R... More >

Q: How do you tell American art-rockers from their European forebears? A: They sound dumber, they don't play as fast, and their fatalism lacks conviction. The question of humor remains open: Impressed as I am with titles like "Father Padilla Meets the Perfect Gnat" and Leftoverture itself, I find no parallels in the music. (Grade: D+)