Originally Released: 1975 Discs: 1 Label: Legacy Recordings Item Number: SNY866102
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Song For America [Remaster]
Kansas: Robby Steinhardt (vocals, violin); Steve Walsh (vocals, piano, organ, ARP synthesizer); Kerry Livgren (guitar, piano, ARP synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); Rich Williams (guitar); Dave Hope (bass guitar); Phil Ehart (drums).
On its debut album, Kansas leavened its progressive rock complexity, with relatively concise hard-rock tunes. The follow-up, SONG FOR AMERICA, finds both elements still in play, but prog rock definitely dominates. Like its predecessor, SONG FOR AMERICA opens up with a simple, heavy rocker, but then wastes no time leaping into the Yes-influenced breach with the 10-minute epic title track. Aside from the anomalous "The Devil Game," which sounds like a Bad Company outtake, the rest of the album finds Kansas headed straight for art-rock glory, as tricky syncopation, swirling synthesizers, and fiery fiddle dart in and out of willfully dense arrangements, often following classical-inspired structure. The album's final song (followed here by a couple of bonus cuts) is one of Kansas's most accomplished pieces, a strikingly complicated suite endearingly titled "Incomudro - Hymn to the Atman" that sounds pretty European for a bunch of boys from Midwestern farm country.
Category: Rock & Pop Release Date: 06/29/04
Originally Released: 1975 Mono / Stereo: Stereo Discs: 1 Availability: Y Studio / Live: Studio Area: USA Is Import: N Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (
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