Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Kansas
Label: Epic Records
Release: 1982
Running time: 43:20
Rating: 4/5
“Vinyl Confessions” kicked off a new, short-lived era for the legendary American prog outfit Kansas, one that few longtime fans remember fondly, even though both albums made in this period contained a few evergreen gems the band can still be proud of today. In the early eighties the band ran into serious trouble, which, very American of them, was mostly ideological. Guitarist Kerry Livgren and bassist Dave Hope became fervent, preachy born-again Christians at the start of the decade, and their religious zeal wore the other three members down more and more.
Lead vocalist and keyboardist Steve Walsh finally had enough of their religious fever and chose to (temporarily) leave the band and start his own group, Streets, rather than keep listening to their religious litanies and even having to sing them in the lyrics. John Elefante stepped into his place, a man who was, just like Livgren and Hope, a religious zealot and therefore no problem for their vision of a new, “Christian” Kansas. In the end, what mattered most was that he was yet another outstanding singer with a voice similar in color to his predecessor’s. Elefante did his job with flying colors during the short stretch he spent as a member of Kansas, even though he lacked Walsh’s charisma.
Compared to their seventies output, the songs on “Vinyl Confessions” became much simpler, with “fast,” melodic rock choruses built for radio play. Robby Steinhardt’s violin was deliberately and noticeably pushed into the background in the production, which surely had something to do with him leaving the band soon after this album came out. These days plenty of fans are embarrassed that Kansas, who were seen in the seventies as one of the few American rock bands “with brains,” had more in common with the AOR bands of the day than with prog rock in the early eighties. During their mutation into an AOR band they were surprisingly successful, though they never reached the mass appeal of their arena-rock countrymen like Journey, Foreigner and Styx. The transformation into an AOR band wasn’t quite (fully) complete on “Vinyl Confessions,” so the symphonic prog moves that wowed people in the past still peek out on a few tracks, even if they’re far less experimental than before. The lyrics are a matter of taste, since every single song contains various biblical references.
Opener “Play the Game Tonight” carried on Kansas’ long tradition of triumphant opening anthems with a hypnotic chorus. It’s the best-known track on the album and also the best one on it, and Elefante proves right away that he’s a singer of the highest caliber, born for melodic rock hits. Just how deep into AOR waters Kansas had already waded, and how cleanly they’d cut ties with their prog past, is shown by “Right Away”, whose structure and vibe are much closer to Foreigner or Journey than to Genesis or Yes, the band’s early influences. On the hard-rocking “Fair Exchange”, whose lyrics tell of a world ruled by the Antichrist, their trademark multipart harmonies come through once again, and mixed with a bluesy rock riff and rhythm they make for a rowdy atmosphere, even though the song as a whole never really makes use of its opening momentum.
The excellent power ballad “Chasing Shadows” is a hidden gem and one of the few songs on the album that recalls the classic prog-rock Kansas of their golden age. It’s marked by stirring piano arrangements, a lovely acoustic guitar melody and deeply emotional vocals from Elefante. On the slightly more experimental “Diamonds And Pearls” they even throw in some jazzy rhythmic piano quirks, followed by a wonderful instrumental passage led by a violin solo that briefly brings back memories of their glory days. “Face It” features a monumental guitar riff that most NWOBHM bands of the time wouldn’t have been ashamed of, while the saxophone solos prove they hadn’t entirely renounced their prog rock roots after all.
“Windows” is AOR in the best sense of the label and serves up another decent energy booster with plenty of melodic harmonies. The acoustic-leaning ballad “Borderline” is a genuine Kansas classic that could have been written in the seventies, a typical Livgren melancholic masterpiece of the kind he’d been crafting ever since the classic “Dust in the Wind”. “Play On” is another average melodic rocker with a sharpened guitar phrase and a rustling synth line up front. The album closes with the superb “Crossfire”, a Kansas classic in every possible way and one of the best songs of the Elefante era, distinguished by a mighty chorus and a fiery symphonic violin passage.
“Vinyl Confessions” is a good, mostly melodic rock album and the better of the two from the John Elefante era, since it still leaves some prog-rock elbow room for adventure and sensitivity from the golden days of this much-misunderstood American band. The religious lyrics caught the attention of the American CCM music industry and won them at least as many new followers as they lost with their sudden swerve into so-called Christian rock. For Kansas it was the start of a controversial, turbulent period, which thankfully ended quickly.
Lineup
Phil Ehart – drums
John Elefante – vocals, keyboards
Dave Hope – bass guitar
Kerry Livgren – guitar, keyboards, synclavier
Robby Steinhardt – violin, backing vocals
Rich Williams – guitar
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Bill Bergman – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
John Berry, Jr. – trumpet
Jim Coile – tenor saxophone
Ben Dahlke – bassoon
Beverly Dahlke-Smith – saxophone
Warren Ham – harmonica
David Pack – vocals, backing vocals
Greg Smith – baritone saxophone
Anne Steinhardt – violin, backing vocals
Roger Taylor (Queen) – backing vocals on “Right Away”, “Diamonds and Pearls” and “Play the Game Tonight”
Lee Thornburg – trumpet, saxophone
Donna Williams – vocals, backing vocals
Production
Kansas, Ken Scott
Track list
1. Play the game tonight (3:24)
2. Right away (4:03)
3. Fair exchange (4:56)
4. Chasing shadows (3:17)
5. Diamonds and pearls (4:47)
6. Face it (4:15)
7. Windows (3:29)
8. Borderline (3:57)
9. Play on (3:30)
10. Crossfire (6:33)
