Kansas' third album, Masque, is a lyrically dark effort courtesy of guitarist/keyboardist Kerry Livgren's brooding songwriting. Musically, Masque foreshadows the tight melodies and instrumental interplay on the next two albums, Leftoverture and Point of Know Return, which together serve as the peak of Kansas' vision. The band deserves more respect than it gets for incorporating British hard rock and progressive rock to become the only U.S. progressive rock band of note during the genre's 1970s heyday. Robbie Steinhardt's violin work certainly helped give Kansas a distinctive sound. The liner notes indicate Masque is a "concept album" thanks to the title's definition: "A disguise of reality created through a theatrical or musical performance." Vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh's "It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make a Man)" is the leadoff track, and it's atypical of the rest of the album. The song is a fairly basic yet groovy pop/rock tune about musicians' loneliness on the road, but it is spiced up with some saxophone lines.

Ultimate Rock: 72 of the biggest rock anthems and harder to find rarities across 4 CDs, all housed in a fold out cardboard digi-pack sleeve. Alice Cooper, Argent, Blue Oyster Cult, Kansas, Judas Priest, Mott The Hoople, David Bowie, Primal Scream, Meat Loaf, The Stranglers, Santana, Manic Street Preachers, Jeff Buckley, Ted Nugent, Joe Satriani, Al Stewart, Cheap Trick, Spirit, Johnny Winter, The Guess Who, Fleetwood Mac and more, and more…

Legacy’s The Classic Albums Collection 1974-1983 should provide endless hours of arena/prog/AOR-pop bliss for fans of Kansas, as it features ten of the band’s career-defining albums, including an expanded edition of the live album Two for the Show. Each studio album (Kansas, Song for America, Masque, Leftoverture, Point of Know Return, Monolith, Audio Visions, Vinyl Confessions, and Drastic Measures) has been remastered and peppered with bonus cuts, and all of the original album artwork has been lovingly reproduced. Best of all, the box set is priced to move. Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind". The band has produced nine gold albums, three multi-platinum albums (Leftoverture 6x, Point of Know Return 4x, The Best of Kansas 4x), one other platinum studio album (Monolith), one platinum live double album (Two for the Show), and a million-selling single, "Dust in the Wind".

Steve Walsh / vocals, keyboards - David Ragsdale / violin, guitar - Greg Robert / keyboards, vocals - Rich Williams / guitar - Billy Greer / vocals, bass - Phil Ehart / drums

With hard rock Kansas standards like "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Point Of Know Return" and the brilliant prog-rock classics "Dust In The Wind" and "The Wall," The 1984 release of The Best Of Kansas album would go on to become one of the best-selling greatest hits albums of all time. The long out of print original version of this greatest hits masterpiece also includes the appearance of 1984's "Perfect Lover".

Fusing the complexity of British prog-rock with an American heartland sound representative of their name, multi-platinum-selling Kansas is among the most popular bands of the late '70s. Their singles during the period – "Dust in the Wind," "Carry on Wayward Son," and their cover of J.J. Cale's "Bringing It Back" became staples of AOR radio and still receive airplay at classic rock radio. During the '70s, the band sold tens of millions of records, and the commercial success of Leftoverture (1976), Point of Know Return (1977), and Monolith (1979) propelled them to superstar status and sold-out concerts across the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. While their popular fortunes diminished in the '90s, they continued to record and tour.

The 15th studio long-player from the progressive rock/AOR legends - and first collection of new material in 16 years - The Prelude Implicit is the first Kansas album to feature new vocalist and keyboardist Ronnie Platt, who replaced founder Steve Walsh after the former announced his retirement in 2014. The 12-track set also marks the studio debuts of keyboard player David Manion and guitarist Zak Rizvi. That's a lot of new blood, but rest assured, The Prelude Implicit is very Kansas-y. Platt's amenable voice is custom made for melodic rock - think Tommy Shaw-meets-Paul Rodgers - and the presence of founding members Phil Ehart (drums) and Rich Williams (guitar), alongside longtime violin/guitar player David Ragsdale and bassist Billy Greer, helps to further ground the proceedings, resulting in something that sounds both familiar and forward thinking…

Surprising debut album, which contains some of the most progressive efforts by Kansas, even though usually they are more connected to the typical hard rock/FM sound of such US tradition. Instead "Apercu", "Journey from Mariabronn" and the stunning crescendo, within the final section of "Death of Mother Nature Suite", are alone well worth checking out and regarded as "prog-gems".

On the occasion of their 50th anniversary as a band, Kansas celebrates their auspicious career with the release of “Another Fork In The Road - 50 Years Of Kansas”. Featuring carefully-selected songs from every single Kansas album over three discs, “Another Fork In The Road” also includes a new version of ‘Can I Tell You’. Originally recorded and released on their 1974 debut, the song is updated by the current line-up, providing a full-circle perspective on the band's long and continuing history. This 3-CD set also displays a variety of memorabilia spanning five decades, contributed by Kansas super-fans, plus an essay that includes recollections from all current band members, as well as long-time producer Jeff Glixman and onetime manager Budd Carr. “Another Fork In The Road” is a comprehensive summation of everything that is great about this treasured progressive rock band from America’s heartland. From their monolithic epics to their knack for symphonic grace and complex melodic passages, this overview underscores the band’s considerable artistic legacy. It is a celebration of passion and perseverance, carefully curated, lovingly presented and fully approved by the band and their current label, InsideOutMusic.

For most genre fans John Elefante needs no introduction. But for the youngsters out there … Vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer John Elefante is the guy who replaced the guy, Steve Walsh, in Kansas in 1981. (Elefante beat out, among others, Sammy Hagar and Doug Pinnick for the job.) He would record two albums with Kansas, Vinyl Confessions and Drastic Measures. To the former, he was the vocalist on the mega-hit, Play The Game Tonight; to the latter, he wrote Fight Fire With Fire, Kansas' biggest single to date.

Albums: Audio-Visions, Vinyl Confessions, Drastic Measures, Power, In The Spirit Of Things, Freaks Of Nature, Always Never The Same, Somewhere To Elsewhere, Device - Voice - Drum

In 2016, America's eternally popular prog juggernaut Kansas returned to studio recording for the first time since their 2000 reunion outing Somewhere to Elsewhere. The resultant The Prelude Implicit also marked debuts for lead vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, and guitarist Zak Rizvi. Remarkably, it reflected the band's vintage sonic signature and songwriting/arranging chops without craven nostalgia. Four years on, Absence of Presence builds on the strengths of its predecessor, yet goes far deeper into the prog aesthetic…

Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection 1974-2004 is certainly the most lovingly crafted of the many Kansas retrospectives. Featuring 27 album cuts that range from classic FM hits like "Dust in the Wind" and "Point of No Return" to fan favorites such as "Song for America," and a 16-track DVD that collects numerous television appearances, videos, and live recordings, Sail On seems to be the definitive tome of the Midwest art rock band's very existence…

This live symphonic DVD celebrates the 35th anniversary of the release of the band's 1974 self-titled debut album. The show was filmed on February 7, 2009 in HD mixed in 5.1 surround sound at Washburn University's White Concert Hall…

Sony's Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection 1974-2004 is certainly the most lovingly crafted of the many Kansas retrospectives. Featuring 27 album cuts that range from classic FM hits like "Dust in the Wind" and "Point of No Return" to fan favorites such as "Song for America," a 35-page booklet that includes extensive liner notes and career-spanning photos, and a 16-track DVD that collects numerous television appearances, videos, and live recordings, Sail On seems to be the definitive tome of the Midwest art rock band's very existence…