This 1999 reissue contains three bonus tracks not included on the original release.
Kansas: Kerry Livgren (vocals, guitar, piano, organ, Moog synthesizer); Robby Steinhardt (vocals, violin); Steve Walsh (vocals, piano, organ, congas); Dave Hope (vocals, bass); John Elefante (vocals); Rich Williams (guitar); Phil Ehart (drums).
Producers: Jeff Glixman, Wally Gold, Kansas, Neil Kernon, Ken Scott.
Engineers include: Peter Grant, Brad Aaron, Davy Moore.
Recorded between 1975 & 1984.
Digitally remastered by Jeff Glixman and Vic Anesini.
Between the early 1970s and early '80s, Kansas made a long musical journey, starting out as complex prog-rock merchants, deeply indebted to the technically dazzling, epic works of Yes, Genesis, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. A decade on, the band had trimmed its sound to the bare bones, pounding out relatively straightforward, hard-edged AOR. THE BEST OF KANSAS ably illustrates how Kansas got from one extreme to the other. "The Wall" and "Closet Chronicles," for instance, illustrate the proggier side of the group, unafraid to experiment. The ideal middle ground occupied by the churning rocker "Carry On Wayward Son" and the peppy, melodic "Point of Know Return" represents the commercial and artistic apex of the band. The relentless, pile-driver attack of the early-'80s hit "Fight Fire with Fire" finds the former art-rockers closer in spirit to Def Leppard than to King Crimson. You couldn't ask for more variety or a more comprehensive selection from a single-disc collection than what's provided by THE BEST OF KANSAS.
