Post by jptheprofessor on Jun 15, 2006 17:26:35 GMT -5
KANSAS – WORKS IN PROGRESS (Intersound Records) Kansas revisits a recent ten-year period in their illustrious career on their latest anthology set, Works In Progress. Featuring both a CD and DVD, Works In Progress compiles live and studio tracks from several Kansas releases spanning 1992 to 2002, including established canons from the group’s popular peak in the late 70’s as well as several newer songs. Opening the set are live performances of “Mysteries and Mayhem,” “Portrait (He Knew)” and “Down the Road,” recorded at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles in 1992 and originally issued on the CD/videocassette Live At The Whisky. This edition of Kansas featured singer Steve Walsh, guitarist Rich Williams, drummer Phil Ehart, bassist Billy Greer, touring keyboard player Greg Robert and the group’s newly-added violinist at the time, David Ragsdale. The middle five songs, “Black Fathom 4,” “Freaks of Nature,” “Under the Knife,” “I Can Fly” and the gentle “Peaceful and Warm,” were culled from Kansas’ 1995 studio album Freaks Of Nature. After original violinist Robby Steinhardt returned to the group in 1997, Kansas re-recorded a number of their classics with the London Symphony Orchestra at London’s Abbey Road Studio for the 1998 album Always Never the Same. Four tracks from this recording; “The Wall,” “Cheyenne Anthem,” “Hold On” and “Dust In the Wind;” close out the CD portion of this set. The DVD features the video versions of some of the aforementioned concert footage; along with several songs from Kansas’ June 15, 2002 concert at Atlanta’s Earthlink Live!, which appeared on the subsequent DVD and double-live album Device Voice Drum. The anthology gives Kansas fans a second chance to discover the Freaks Of Nature studio material, which holds its own respectably alongside the time-tested Kansas classics represented elsewhere on the disc. And the performances with the London Symphony Orchestra work especially well, showing how smoothly Kansas’ music is adapted to this setting. The symphonic fleshing out of “Cheyenne Anthem” in particular gives this Kansas epic the feeling of an Aaron Copland composition. The only notable drawback on this set, though, is singer Steve Walsh’s voice, which did not weather the 90’s well and shows obvious wear and tear; particularly on the live tracks. For Kansas connoisseurs, Works In Progress offers some interesting and likely overlooked curios from the group’s recent past and shows that the group’s creative spark has remained bright in recent years. But new fans wanting to explore Kansas would be better advised to start with the group’s best-of packages or the classic Leftoverture and Point Of Know Return albums.