Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Kansas
Label: Intersound
Release: 1995
Running time: 45:14
Rating: 4.5/5
»Freaks of Nature«, the twelfth studio outing from American prog-rock champions Kansas, was supposed to be their big comeback on the music scene. Chart-topping placements for the new album and both singles were on the cards. At least that’s how the members of the legendary band pictured it before release. After In The Spirit of Things (1988) they’d shaken up the lineup quite a bit, keeping only original members Steve Walsh on vocals/keyboards, Rich Williams on guitar and Phil Ehart on drums, but all their big expectations went down the drain when the commercial response to »Freaks of Nature« turned out to be flat-out disastrous for a band that size. Apart from the die-hards who stuck around after the commercially pretty successful eighties, nobody in the “new era” gave a damn about »Freaks of Nature«, which still stands as their most overlooked album ever, even though stylistically it’s a hugely successful return to the high Kansas sonic standards of the second half of the seventies. It’s still the only Kansas album that never cracked the Billboard charts, which is frustrating, though charts were never the yardstick for the quality of the music itself.
After the departure of Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple) and a brief reunion of the classic lineup, Walsh, Ehart, Williams, bassist Billy Greer, new violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale and additional keyboardist Greg Robert made »Freaks of Nature«, an album that in many ways is a return to the classic Kansas legacy, only with updated production. The AOR experiments of the eighties had (almost) become a thing of the past, which, at the time »Freaks of Nature« came out, was a perfectly logical move from a commercial standpoint.
They got back to the progressive rock of their classic era mainly by bringing the violin back into their sonic collage, so the mighty baroque arrangements that once helped write the story of symphonic prog rock are back. At the same time, »Freaks of Nature« is one of their hardest-hitting albums, packed with a varied bag of hard-rock guitar passages. Robert, for whom this was the only studio album with Kansas, took a bit of the keyboard load off Walsh, who could then focus even more on his vocals, with some truly fascinating results. One-eyed guitarist Williams, meanwhile, had come a long way, and even though Ragsdale’s violin takes over most of the main guitar lines, he occasionally surprises with some very clever guitar phrases, and by this point he’d also grown a lot bolder on the solos.
Proof that Kansas aren’t kidding around and that they’re back in a big way comes right from the opening bomb »I Can Fly«, a kinetically paced hybrid of symphonic prog and hard rock that electrifies the air in an instant and reminds you of their golden era. Walsh’s singing was still excellent at this stage of his career, while the string-and-keyboard harmonies, which the fighting guitar passages are woven through, deliver the classic Kansas sound. Ehart already wins you over on the first track with his uncompromising yet complex drum fills. The fast-paced »Desperate Times«, where the vocal harmonies between Walsh, Greer, Ragsdale and Robert are damn effectively synced up, will take plenty of listeners back to their best days, while the lead violin phrase delivers that unmistakable Kansas arena-rock pomp. Here Williams impresses for the first time with a melancholy guitar solo, joined by Ragsdale on violin. Greer’s bass solo spot spices up the whole thing, and the fighting chorus is exactly what you’d want from a revival of the classic Kansas sound.
»Hope Once Again«, decked out in regal violin arrangements, is clear proof that Kansas haven’t forgotten how to write heart-wrenching power ballads. Walsh’s outstanding vocal performance shines in all its glory here, joined in the background on certain verses by guest vocalist Reene Castle, which makes for a fantastic contrast and amps up the epic atmosphere even more. The environmentally conscious lyrics, on the other hand, prove that Kansas under Walsh’s leadership hadn’t lost all their brain cells and had left the religious preaching of the early eighties far behind. On the punchy »Black Fathom 4«, where Walsh once again shows off his fascinating knack for building tense atmosphere with his voice, they bare their hard-rock teeth again, mostly with fierce guitar passages and crushing drum crashes, while the violin is once more pushed to the front of the mix.
The arrangement sophistication really comes into its own on the excellent symphonic-prog epic »Under the Knife«, which strongly recalls some of the Kansas classics from the seventies. Walsh just doesn’t quit impressing with his mighty vocal feats, while his bandmates set the stage for symphonic/hard-rock harmonies that move from fighting moments to almost sacred ones, especially when the organ takes the lead. The touching love power ballad »Need«, the only track on »Freaks of Nature« with a slight AOR undertone (it might be interesting to any Journey fans too), opens with an almost militaristic drum beat, while a tapestry of subtle synth textures and epic vocal harmonies under the baton of the indestructible Walsh creates a truly magical, soothing atmosphere.
The title track, »Freaks of Nature«, has an almost metal guitar phrase laid over a massive layer of Hammond organ, while the chorus instantly recalls the Deep Purple classic »Hush«. Here the guitar is up front rather than the violin, as on most of the other »Freaks of Nature« tracks, so Williams gets to toss in quite a few fun improvisations along the way. »Cold Grey Morning«, written by original member and former guitarist/keyboardist Kerry Livgren, is another thoroughly classic Kansas piece that could have come from somewhere in the mid-seventies, structurally speaking. Epic string arrangements set the pace again, while the lion’s share of building the tense drama, against a mighty symphonic backdrop, falls to Walsh’s vocals, which peak in the pompous chorus. To close out the album, Kansas serve up the nostalgic power ballad »Peaceful And Warm«, the only track on the record with somewhat preachy lyrics about family closeness and memories of the band members’ youthful days. They didn’t come up with a new »Dust in the Wind«, but with its melancholy arrangements and Walsh’s heartfelt vocal performance, it’s a deeply sincere and contemplative moment, and a touching epilogue to this excellent album.
»Freaks of Nature« is one of those Kansas albums that takes several listens before it really “gets under your skin,” but once it does, it simply hooks the listener with its revival of the sonic magic from this legendary band’s golden days. Despite Livgren’s absence (Kansas were at their strongest when the Walsh-Livgren partnership was firing), they managed to pull off a brilliant record they can still be proud of today. It’s a real shame most of the fan base didn’t see it that way: in 1995 they did the band wrong and overlooked one of the best chapters in their story, a true return to the classic Kansas sound, last heard on the album »Monolith« (1979).
Lineup
Steve Walsh – vocals, keyboards
Billy Greer – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Rich Williams – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Phil Ehart – drums
David Ragsdale – violin, guitar, backing vocals
Greg Robert – keyboards, backing vocals
GUEST VOCALIST:
Reene Castle – backing vocals (3)
Production
Jeff Glixman
Track list
1. I Can Fly (5:21)
2. Desperate Times (5:25)
3 Hope Once Again (4:34)
4. Black Fathom 4 (5:54)
5. Under the Knife (4:54)
6. Need (3:59)
7. Freaks of Nature (4:05)
8. Cold Grey Morning (4:14)
9. Peaceful and Warm (6:44)
