Kansas

Released June 1974 - #174

Certified Gold September 12, 1995
Singles: Can I Tell b/w The Pilgrimage (11/74)
Lonely Wind b/w Bringing It Back (2/75)

1. Can I Tell
You (Williams/Eha
rt/Hope) 3:32
2. Bringing It
Back (J.J.
Cale) 3:33
3. Lonely
Wind (Walsh) 4:1
6
4. Belexes (Livgren) 
4:23
5. Journey From
Mariabronn (Livgr
en/Walsh) 7:55
6. The
Pilgrimage (Livgre
n/Walsh) 3:42
7. Apercu (Livgren/Walsh) 9:43
8. Death Of Mother Nature Suite (Livgren) 7:43

Phil Ehart (D)

Dave Hope (B BV)
Kerry Livgren (G K BV)
Robbie Steinhardt (Violin LV HV)
Steve Walsh (K Perc LV HV)
Rich Williams (G)
Producer: Wally Gold
Engineer: Dan Turbeville
Assist. Engineers: Jimmy 'Shoes' Iovine, Kevin 'Whip' Herron

Can I Tell You is a barn-burnin' stomper featuring some of

Robby's finest violin work and great harmony vocals from
Steve and Robby. Bringing It Back, the first and last cover
Kansas would do for 14 years, is another southern stomper
with more outstanding violin soloing. These two opening
tracks have, however, helped establish the idea that Kansas
was another southern rock band. Still, they were fantastic
extended jams in the band's early performances.

Lonely Wind was the first, and one of the finest, ballads the
band released, a haunting, melancholy piece by Steve. It
would later be released as a single from the live album Two
For The Show.

Finally we have the first truly progressive Kansas

song, Belexes. It opens with a driving, complex riff over the
top of Dave Hope's loping, imaginative bass line, a style that
would become a Kansas trademark over the next several
albums. Lyrically, it is the first of Kerry's many songs which
seek to provide an answer in life. This is followed by an all-
time Kansas classic, Journey From Mariabronn, this is a
lengthy piece built upon constantly shifting time signatures
and mood changes. Listening to the music, one can picture a
turbulent Kansas landscape during a thunderstorm. There are
also several movements, not unlike Yes, but without titling
each section. The first of the many Kansas songs of spiritual
longing.

The Pilgrimage opens side two with a joyous burst of

keyboard energy that matches the lyrical imagery of pilgrims
finding their answer to life. The bridge is almost bluegrass
with a tradeoff of solos between Robbie and the guitarists.

The album concludes with the longest Kansas song ever

(clocking in at more than 17 minutes), a two-part piece
entitled Apercu/Death Of Mother Nature Suite. The first
section, while focusing on past lives lyrically, features a long
instrumental passage which continually improvises upon the
theme atop more amazing bass work from Dave before
setting up the final verse. This in turn builds into a false
climax (ala Beethoven), dramatically leading into the Suite. A
melodramatic environmentalist piece, this features several
drastic tempo and dark mood changes until a bright acoustic
guitar leads to climax that seems to say that Mother Earth
can indeed be saved.