Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Kansas
Label: Epic Records
Release: 1975
Rating: 4.5/5
With “Song For America,” Kansas built on the symphonic prog rock direction they’d laid out on their excellent self-titled debut. Even though after the release of “Kansas” (1974) they’d won a respectable and loyal following back home, they were still a relatively small band at the time, mostly playing out-of-the-way cowboy bars around their native Topeka, a perennially conservative corner of America where nobody could have imagined a quality progressive rock band ever coming up. Those who hadn’t heard their music yet and had only seen photos of the members figured they were some kind of country act, since they still dressed like cowboys. That frontier image straight out of spaghetti westerns certainly didn’t do them any favors when it came to getting noticed, but anyone who heard the first album or caught them live was sure to be stunned, if not bewildered, by the virtuosity and the music of an American band turning out first-class symphonic progressive rock according to the classic British recipe.
On “Song For America” that approach hit its peak. It’s definitely their most British-sounding album, or at least the closest Kansas ever got to the definition of symphonic prog rock, which mostly drew on classical music. Guitarist Kerry Livgren took the lead in crafting the standalone compositions here, and it shows: the album is packed with exquisitely tasteful symphonic arrangements, and in places it’s draped in an incredibly mystical atmosphere. That came partly from Livgren’s fascination with all things Eastern at the time. Livgren’s compositions are also the best things on the album, even though singer/keyboardist Steve Walsh, the other half of the band’s two main creative forces, chipped in quite a few good ideas too, though they mostly lean toward hard rock or blues rock. Walsh, who was always one of the best tenors in rock history even if he gets forgotten pretty often when people list the greatest singers, was also a very solid keyboardist, one who didn’t lag far behind his European contemporaries when it came to knowing and using synthesizers. The keyboard sound on this album became noticeably softer and more refined, and therefore closer to most European prog bands. “Song For America” showed clear progress above all in the Ehart/Hope rhythm section, which got even more dynamic, while master violinist Robbie Steinhardt may never have sounded as expressive as he does on this record. The lyrical themes also turned a bit darker, with most of the lyrics wrestling with the grimmer sides of human society.
“Song For America” is a well-balanced album with just the right number of epic symphonic prog rock treats as well as hard rock/blues bar burners, which means it should appeal to fans of Genesis and Deep Purple alike. The opening “Down On The Road” is a pretty basic blues/hard rock standard where you can hear their roots, and where the usual British symphonic prog tendencies don’t really come through. Still, it’s a good and very fitting way into the album, marked by plenty of varied instrumental passages, especially on violin, guitar and keyboards. Walsh’s lyrics about the life of drug dealers blend well with his mighty tenor, which radiates all the anger in the world. The song also comes with a typical bluesy groove, plenty of juicy Livgren guitar riffs and hand claps. It all shows that this is one of those typical Walsh “bar” numbers, which he drew inspiration for from his days in his first band, White Clover.
Next comes the epic title track, “Song For America,” a fantastic Livgren symphonic prog rock anthem, one of their most beloved and polished pieces ever and, in my opinion, the high point of the album. This wonderful composition is loaded with incredible grandeur, which comes from a tremendously full keyboard sound with a witty guitar riff and virtuoso violin passages woven through it. That pompous air of invincibility carries on through numerous rhythmic shifts until the triumphant tempo change kicks in, followed by a gorgeous space-y section where the sounds of the mini Moog, piano, violin and guitar blend into a perfect wall of sound. Walsh’s mighty vocals conjure up an idealistic story about a utopian land that never came to be, chiefly because of human greed. On no other piece in the band’s history will you find as many symphonic influences from Emerson, Lake & Palmer, which show up mostly in the varied, energetic and unpredictable solos on Moog, synthesizers and piano. Steinhardt’s violin passages, meanwhile, keep delivering their authentic sound the whole way through. The final instrumental section is the moment when Kansas got closer than ever to the definition of symphonic prog. Walsh’s vocal performance once again sends shivers down your spine. “Song For America” is without a doubt one of the band’s greatest triumphs and an epic piece that will withstand the test of time forever. According to Steinhardt too, this song is their main anthem, the one that represents the soul of the band when they play live.
“Lamplight Symphony” is another excellent symphonic prog rock epic in the British school, no less pompous than “Song For America,” just with a somewhat darker mood, which also stems from Livgren’s unsettling lyrics about encounters with ghosts. Once again Kansas build complex, dramatic tempo changes as if it were nothing, hammering out mighty passages on violin, Moog, Hammond organs and guitar, while Walsh’s vocals, helped along by superb backing vocals, simply tear at the heart. The real finger-licking-good moment is the mighty, unexpected turn in the second part, when a majestic layer of Moog comes crashing in and Livgren’s sharp riffing takes over. Here Kansas shine once more as unique masters of mixing pompous symphonic arrangements with razor-sharp hard rock guitar passages. The melancholic interludes on violin and piano are wonderful too, conjuring up an incredible epic feel from some long-forgotten time. On this excellent piece, which is also among the important Kansas classics, you can detect a not insignificant Genesis influence.
With Walsh’s “Lonely Street,” Kansas head back to their dusty home desert ground, to the vicinity of some forgotten bar in the middle of the desert and the cornfields. It’s another fairly basic but potent blues rocker whose lyrics tell the story of a hard life on the street. Of course there’s no shortage of sharp Livgren guitar passages and Walsh’s bluesy vocals, which every hard rock band of the time would surely have wanted to have. In between, a rather sleepy, slow bar groove takes over. Fans of their hard rock side will no doubt appreciate this one far more than those who love their prog tendencies, who will most likely find it the weakest piece on the album.
On “The Devil Game,” Walsh and bassist Dave Hope joined their songwriting forces and came up with a solid number telling a pretty classic rock lyrical story: playing games with the devil and all the consequences that follow. Here Kansas very successfully, and in just the right measure, combine their blues/hard rock and symphonic prog elements, which shows in the interplay of rich symphonic arrangements on violin and keyboards, a dynamic groove and furious guitar riffs. Walsh’s vocals again burst with power and drama. A solid piece, but the best, as usual, comes right at the end.
“Incomudro- Hmyn To The Atman” is the third, longest and closing symphonic prog epic on the album, and a Livgren masterpiece recognizable from a mile away. The lyrics confirm it, drawing on the philosophical teachings of the Hindu religion, which Livgren, then an enthusiast of Eastern mysticism and before his conversion to “born-again” Christianity, was still eagerly studying. Of all the prog epics on the album, this might be the most polished one, including the structural complexity of the individual symphonic arrangements. The composition practically bursts with anthemic pomp. You can marvel at the remarkable harmony between the individual classical-flavored instrumental sections. In the first section, Walsh’s excellent Hammond organ solos and Steinhardt’s violin mastery stand out. In the second part, Livgren’s aggressive guitar riffs take the lead, and combined with the juicy sound of the synthesizers and a wild drum groove, they form the sound of something some would call prog metal today. The mood keeps shifting from melancholic, mystical and mysterious to triumphant, and here too Kansas were true masters. This is one of those pieces that everyone who doesn’t know the band (too well) and who looks down on their prog rock side should hear.
With “Song For America,” Kansas made a full-blown masterpiece and came closest to the symphonic sound of the influential British progressive rock bands, something every prog rock gourmet will surely appreciate. It would quite possibly even be their best album, if the incredible “Leftoverture” (1976) hadn’t come out later, their biggest commercial success and major breakthrough, where they left the most of their classics. Although “Song For America” didn’t (yet) have a single hit and didn’t bring them noticeable commercial success the way “Leftoverture” did, which of course is no measure of quality, in my view it’s their magnum opus when it comes to the sheer amount of majestic symphonic arrangements and, by extension, mystical atmosphere. After all, it had three superb prog epics that can stand at the very top of their body of work. I urge anyone with reservations about their progressive nature to start discovering them with this album. And let’s not overlook the hard rock/blues rock numbers either, which nicely showed off their diversity and genre-defying range, and which always make the band interesting to a wider audience. Only one more year separated Kansas from their big commercial breakthrough. In that time they put out another stellar album, a somewhat lower-profile one, and then the great conquest of the world’s music community began.
Lineup
Steve Walsh – vocals, keyboards
Kerry Livgren – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Robbie Steinhardt – violin, backing vocals
Rich Williams – guitar
Dave Hope – bass guitar, backing vocals
Phil Ehart – drums
Production
Jeff Glixman, Wally Gold
Track list
1. Down the road (3:43)
2. Song for America (9:59)
3. Lamplight symphony (8:11)
4. Lonely street (5:43)
5. The devil game (5:03)
6. Incomudro – Hymn to the Atman (12:12)
Album length: 44:51
