Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Kansas
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2017
Rating: 4.5/5
In 2016, Kansas sailed into a whole new era with the album »The Prelude Implicit«, and they celebrated it with a long run of live dates. On the tour, which was meant to promote that album and mark the fortieth anniversary of the masterpiece »Leftoverture« (1976), the band introduced three new members to the audience: vocalist Ronnie Platt, keyboardist David Manion and rhythm guitarist Zak Rizvi. The end result, stitched together from various shows on that tour, is a new Kansas live album titled »Leftoverture Live & Beyond«, which features the complete »Leftoverture« played front to back, a few indispensable classics from other albums and three songs from »The Prelude Implicit«.
The first disc of this double live document packs some seriously great versions of classics like »Icarus II«, »Icarus I«, »Point of Know Return«, »Paradox«, »Journey from Mariabronn«, »Lamplight Symphony« and »Dust in the Wind«, plus three new tracks: »Rhytm in the Spirit«, »The Voyage of Eight Eighteen« and »Section 60«. Among the beloved evergreens, only »Song For America« is missing, which is a bit of a surprise, and it would be lovely if they remembered to dig out a track or two from the often-overlooked album »Monolith« (1979) at some point down the road.
The second disc contains the complete performance of »Leftoverture«. Rich Williams, Phil Ehart, Billy Greer and David Ragsdale, longtime members of this legendary band, have found in new singer Ronnie Platt, who impresses on every single track, a truly ideal successor to Steve Walsh, with a remarkably similar voice, even if he can’t replace Walsh’s charisma ‘overnight’. Platt sounds a lot like Walsh did back in his younger days, while Walsh’s own vocals have sadly gotten pretty worn down in recent years. And with the arrival of additional guitarist Rizvi, Rich Williams has finally taken over the role of the main guitar authority that once belonged to Livgren.
Interestingly, for the setlist on this tour, Kansas stuck strictly to the golden, progressive rock era of the seventies and also dropped both beloved classics from the John Elefante era, namely »Play the Game Tonight« and »Fight Fire with Fire«, even though Platt has quite a rich AOR past behind him. Clearly, in the autumn of their career, they want to keep reminding everyone which is the most important, if not the best, American progressive rock band of all time. The instrumental performance throughout is ‘flawless’, while the production is almost too perfectionist for a live album.
While listening to »Leftoverture Live & Beyond«, you never get the feeling that you’re not dealing with the classic Kansas lineup with Walsh and Livgren, but with the newest seven-piece incarnation, which got a completely fresh burst of energy after »The Prelude Implicit«. This is a live album that can hold its own even against the best Kansas live efforts, led by the live classic »Two For the Show« (1978).
Lineup
Ronnie Platt – lead vocals, piano
Rich Williams – electric and acoustic guitar
Zak Rizvi – electric guitar, backing vocals
David Manion – keyboards
David Ragsdale – violin, backing vocals
Billy Greer – bass guitar, backing vocals
Phil Ehart – drums
Production
Rich Williams, Phil Ehart and Zak Rizvi
Tracklist
CD 1
1. Icarus II
2. Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel)
3. Point of Know Return
4. Paradox
5. Journey from Mariabronn
6. Lamplight Symphony
7. Dust in the Wind
8. Rhythm in the Spirit
9. The Voyage of Eight Eighteen
10. Section 60
CD 2
1. Carry On Wayward Son
2. The Wall
3. What’s on My Mind
4. Miracles Out of Nowhere
5. Opus Insert
6. Questions of My Childhood
7. Cheyenne Anthem
8. Magnum Opus
9. Portrait (He Knew)
