Man, I've listened to more Kansas than I thought possible. I've grown to like them...a little. Once you get what they're doing, they're a lot easier to swallow.
This Masque album was the band's second release in 1975, following A Song for America from what I understand. By this point, they've established who they were as a band; a little prog a little boogie and incapable of any sort of one up-man-ship on their British counterparts. They have a flair for dramatic and love romantic melodies as much as they love bloated studio production. In less than year, the band had went from the over-reaching of A Song for America to a sound they could excel in, that's impressive.
The sound found here would be perfected on the next two albums, Leftoverture and Point of No Return, by the far the pinnacle of the band's career. There are some hard rocking moments on this LP, but no masterpieces. It's a decent album, but only essential to fans of the band and prog rock enthusiasts.
Child of Innocence
I need to search out their other stuff. Cool post! Yay progish rock.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jae Funk.
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