Kansas take flight without carry-on baggage

Beloved American progressive rock band, Kansas released their latest, and sixteenth, studio album ‘The Absence of Presence’ via InsideOut on 26th July 2020.

Their second attempt in three years to play live in the UK has yet again been scuppered by circumstances beyond their control. However, it’s hoped that no further mysteries or mayhem will intervene, to make it three times lucky, now that they’ve confirmed a rescheduled date for their show at the London Palladium for November 2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjIX7SC0nQM

ALBUM REVIEW

The unique melodic maelstrom conjured-up by their regal brand of progressive rock has never been so appealing. The latest Kansas album, ‘The Absence Of Presence’, seemingly summoned by tempest sparks and lightning’s hand itself, crackles with new-born intensity and dazzles with a blinding suite of songs, fit to stand proud alongside those from the band’s 70’s heydey.

Their two pervasive classic rock anthems, ‘Dust In The Wind’ and ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’, have always loomed large. These may have ensured their longevity as a collective, but have always tended to overshadow their more recent work to the ears of the casual listener and the playlists of broadcasters.

Yet, this band of shredding wheat-heads have maintained an exemplary level of musicianship in live performance and consummate skill in composition on all their ten “post-Dust” albums. In 2014, they survived the departure of Steve Walsh, their mercurial singer and keyboard player, ever since that long-away journey from Mariabronn, and regrouped with a new singer armed with a similarly impressive high tenor voice and a deep appreciation for the band’s music and legacy. Ronnie Platt’s first album with the band, 2016’s ‘The Prelude Implicit’, was indeed a strong reboot of the brand.

Judging by the quality of the new album, their 2020 vision couldn’t be keener. In recent years, the arrival of not one, but two seasoned multi-instrumentalists, Zak Rizvi (2016) and Tom Brislin (2019), have injected contemporary energy and youthful zeal into the music. From the blistering pomp of the opening pairing of the dramatic title track and the hefty ‘Throwing Mountains’, you almost get the impression that you’re not in Kansas anymore. There’s a hitherto unexplored progressive metal edge to the sound that will appeal to many. Yet, this is a fully-formed album of many shades and hues, with the contemplative piano-driven ‘Memories Down The Line’, powerful in spirit and body.

At the end of this musical rainbow of songs, the pot of gold has to be the rambunctious closing track ‘The Song The River Sang’. It has the fiery momentum and vocal might of The Moody Blues in full flight, underpinned by a galloping groove that evokes Squire and White in their pomp.

There are no concerns about carry-on baggage restrictions on the latest musical journey of what is still one of the most influential and accomplished bands in its (wheat) field.

Very highly recommended.

INTERVIEW

Decibel Report’s Andy Rawll spoke to lead vocalist Ronnie Platt about the making of the new album and the ongoing tour that celebrates the 40th anniversary of ‘Point Of Know Return’. Ronnie replaced Steve Walsh in 2014 and is now part of a revitalised line-up of the band that still features founding members, Phil Ehart and Rich Williams, alongside longstanding bass player Billy Greer and violinist David Ragsdale.

AR: It’s been six years since Kansas last played in the UK and this forthcoming show, will be the first time that you’ve played in the UK.

RP: I'm sure you’re looking forward to it, but not as much as I am. We've made a couple of attempts to play in the UK, since I've been in the band, but have fallen a little short. I'm ready to get there. We need to bring Kansas to the UK. People need to experience this band, it’s firing on all cylinders. It's really quite the live show that we have.

I joined in 2014 and it’s a privilege to sing all these great songs, but I never expected Kansas to be putting out new music. It was amazing to be part of the first studio album in 16 years (The Prelude Implicit) and then a 40th-anniversary two-and-a-half-hour live show. Now, there’s this new, and my second, studio album. I feel like I've won the rock and roll lottery.

AR: You joined a band with an impeccable history. Did it take some time to feel accepted and establish your own personality?

RP: Well, I was too scared to death to be thinking about that. I've been a fan and singing the songs from long before I was a member of the band. It did give me a head start and a bit of confidence to know that I could do the music. I count my blessings on how well I've been accepted by the fan-base and to see how dedicated they are to this band. I must be doing something right as I've only seen our audiences growing larger and younger. To see Kansas fans bringing their children and their children's children to the show is an amazing thing.

AR: That must also be the case for the new fans. Kansas songs are turning up in contemporary media, TV shows, reality shows, video games. This whole new generation is being exposed to the music

RP: The fact that ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ came out with the Guitar Hero video game was huge and introduced the band to a younger audience. The song was also used on the TV show ‘Supernatural’ for 13 seasons. We even got to play Comicon convention as surprise guests. Some people that come to our shows might only be waiting to hear ‘Wayward Son’, but they get to experience the full show and the other music. Ultimately, it’s brought positive attention to the band for a younger audience. It warms my heart that these kids have an appreciation for this music.

AR: The long-standing fans, the ‘Wheat-heads’, seem to have really taken to the recent studio albums. On the new record, the title track and ‘Throwing Mountains’ have quite an aggressive, guitar-led sound, which some people might not be expecting

RP: That's true. We released ‘Throwing Mountains’ ahead of the album release and the reaction was just overwhelmingly positive. It is very heavy for a Kansas song, with a lot of energy. You might even classify it as progressive metal because it has that type of a feel and is very dynamic as a song. The typical recipe for Kansas is diversity in the music. Those tracks are very heavy and very progressive. There are still some very straight-ahead, ballad-type songs like 'Memories Down The Line’ and 'Never’ that are very heartfelt that show-off the diversity of the music and the musicianship in the band.

AR: For me, the secret sauce for this new album is the arrival of Tom Brislin, who has a great pedigree from working with Yes (‘Symphonic Live’) and various members’ solo projects (Anderson-Stolt, The Syn), as well as with prog super-group ‘The Sea Within’, Camel and AOR royalty, former Styx main-man, Dennis DeYoung.

RP: We can also mention that Tom was also Meat Loaf's keyboard player for quite some time and he also played with Debbie Harry. He has a rock star resumé that's unmatched, compared other keyboard players. In my opinion, he’s one of the best keyboard players in the world.

It’s not just Tom, each band member provides essential ingredients to the Kansas sound. David Ragsdale is one of the best violin players. He'll just mesmerise you on stage. Billy Greer makes it look easy, as he plays bass at the same time as he’s singing like a bird, with he and I trading-off on vocals. It's a great formula, a secret sauce that just works. Put that on your sandwich!

AR: People always talk about the violin and the keys. For me, it's the rhythm section that provides the core DNA of the Kansas sound, starting with original combination of bassist Dave Hope and Phil Ehart. Billy's of the same school of progressive rock bass as Dave, delivering the same type of precise, melodic and fluid bass lines. Of course, he’s now been with the band since 1985. For me, that’s the essence of the band the melody and the power behind it.

RP: There's so much going on in Kansas music that you could easily overlook that, but it really is the foundation of the music.

AR: The key element I heard on this album, that I didn’t hear on ‘The Prelude Implicit’, is the piano textures. The piano has a really strong role on the intro to the title track and ‘Memories Down The Line’. Tom’s playing harks back to type of parts he must have done when he worked with Yes.

RP: Not only is he a great piano player, but he has the ability to provide the right tone and the right sound. Not only to emulate the Kansas songs of old, but also to engineer something different warm and pleasing on the new album. I strongly recommend a good pair of headphones to listen to all the sonic textures. It really is a treat for the ears.

AR: With Tom, it means that you have a dedicated keyboard player, whereas before you had Kerry who would multitask as well as Steve who was singing, doing handstands and playing keyboards. With your current line-up you also Zak Rizvi as a dedicated guitarist.

RP: Not only is Zak a phenomenal guitar player, along with Tom, he also has an amazing knowledge of production and musical theory. For me, it's like going to school every time that I play with these guys. I don’t think there’s anything that Zak can’t play. It’s amazing how he adds outside elements. A good example is on the new arrangement of ‘Dust In The Wind’. He'll put a capo on his guitar and play a very high harmony to what Billy and Rich are doing acoustically. It adds such a texture.

AR: On this album, you can really hear same the dynamics of Kansas, as when band plays live - it doesn't sound like any old studio album. It really does jump out the speakers. One song that I was going to mention is one that's largely instrumental, called 'Propulsion’. It deviates a little from the classic Kansas sound. It has an eastern or oriental modal sound to it. To my ears, it sounded a little like Uriah Heep at times, with that humbling heavy keyboard sound and squalling guitars.

RP: That really is a great track, but we didn't steal anything from Mick Box ! I've been a fan of his forever. I'm a big Uriah Heep fan. It's just music that's layered and layered and refined. It really was quite an experience to put this together in the studio, to experiment and come up with things that fit so well. It was so effortless to input and to interject ideas. We're so happy about this album and we can't wait for our Kansas fan-base and beyond to hear it.

AR: It's a classic album from the beginning to the end. It's not just front-ended with great tracks and then peters-out towards the end. The final third, starting with ‘Animals On The Roof’ and then ‘Never’, leads up to probably my favourite track on the album, ‘The Song The River Sang’, which is a psychedelic, progressive monster.

RP: Doing that song in the studio, we did underlying audio stuff that was a lot of fun (ref: how my soul cries out for you)

AR: You can hear that. It also reminded me of the cinematic quality of the song ‘How My Soul Cries Out For You’ (from the 1979 album ‘Monolith’), which has an imaginary saloon scene from a western in the middle of the song. The sound effects in ‘The Song The River Sang’ are equally intriguing. It starts with the melodic momentum of prime-time Toto and metamorphoses into the outlaw biker groove of Blue Oyster Cult, culminating with the ominous tolling of a bell, that recalls Black Sabbath’s debut album. It's got so many elements in there

RP: With today's technology, there’s an almost endless supply of sounds that you can source and you can really get lost. It's a difficult thing to discipline yourself in the studio. You can really get into an experimental frame of thinking and you don't know where to end. You have to know when to say enough is enough.

Again, we're very proud and very happy about the way that things turned out on this album, between the writing, the production, the musicianship and the multitude of harmonies. We really injected a lot of vocals into this album. It really was a lot of fun.

AR: There are many counterpointed layers of harmony vocals and you have a few Beatles moments in the ballad ‘Memories Down The Line’.

RP: Yes, it does have that element to it. Again, make sure that you do listen to it through a good set of earbuds or headphones. There’s such a mix of such sweet moments, hard rock moments. It’s a great example of the diversity of the band.

AR: Let's look forward to when you're finally in the UK in Nov 2021. Am I right that that's going to be a Point of Know Return anniversary set?

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RP: At this point, yes. We've had so much success with the 40th anniversary of Leftoverture and that has carried over now in the US to the 40th anniversary of Point of Know Return. It just got so popular. The demand for that show has grown far beyond our expectations. We must be doing something right. In this band, nothing is off the table. We want to bring everything we possibly can.

Will we change things in the setlist from time to time? Yes, because we like to keep ourselves happy and secondly, we live in a world of technology with things like YouTube and everyone has a camera in their hand and is recording our show. So, we like to make little changes down the line to keep it fresh for everyone. But yes, in London it will primarily be a Point Of Know Return 40th anniversary show. When the end of that tour or set comes about. I don't know. As long as people keep enjoying it, we'll keep on playing it.

AR: so does that mean that we'll be looking forward to a three-hour set when you come to London next year?

RP: Don't let me make the setlist, because then we'll be playing for five hours. There are so many Kansas songs that I want us to play.

AR: If we delve back into the Kansas catalogue, is there one classic song that you particularly enjoy singing?

RP: That's the toughest question you could ask me. There are so many songs. The first one that comes to mind is, of course, I love singing the 'The Wall'. It’s such a deeply emotional song. I'm a deep-cut guy, I love singing ‘Closet Chronicles’, ‘Nobody's Home’, ‘Hopelessly Human’ from Point Of Know Return. They're just such intense songs. On the original recordings, Steve delivered such passion into those songs. What I like to do, is to emulate that passion into those songs. But of course the highlight is to sing ‘Wayward Son’ and have the audience singing along with me and to feel the energy from that song. It never stops satisfying me. It's a tough thing. It's easier to say that I have a love of Kansas music than just one song.

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