ALBUM REVIEW: Another Fork In The Road – 50 Years Of Kansas – Kansas
KANSAS are an oddly timeless outfit. As a dyed-in-the-wool progenitor of prog rock, the band have been granted multiple lives in modern pop culture thanks to the popularity of all time classics like Carry On Wayward Son appearing in everything from South Park to Guitar Hero. While band members have, understandably, come and gone throughout the decades, the band’s DNA still remains intact; strands of influences and contemporaries are entwined from the lavish arrangements of old school GENESIS, to the southern swing of LYNYRD SKYNYRD. There are even shades of JETHRO TULL with the heavy presence of violin as a lead instrument mirroring Ian Anderson’s flute at times. Yet, there’s nothing quite like KANSAS.
But when your career spans half a century, how do you even approach a ‘best of’ style compilation? In the case of Another Fork In The Road – 50 Years Of Kansas, the answer is two-fold; 1) start at the end and 2) more is more. Not only is this a generous and expansive three-disc compilation, but KANSAS have made the bold move to kick off with their less well-known modern material and work their way back to the start.
Well, sort of. For all intents and purposes, the first disc focuses on the band’s end of and turn of the millennium material almost exclusively. However, in a nod to where it all began, the opening track is a 2022 recording of the first song off their debut, Can I Tell You. This 2022 version is remarkably faithful to the original but with a modern sheen, its perfect vocal harmonies and effortless flow of violin and guitar leads showcasing that modern KANSAS still brag some incredible chops.
With that, it’s into the modern material proper, and it’s immediately striking how contemporary a number of the tracks sound. 2020’s Throwing Mountains opens with a surprisingly aggressive, grimy metal riff before subsiding to lush soundscapes delicate vocals and soaring violin links, evoking PORCUPINE TREE’s light-and-shade techniques; the discordant rumbling of Crowded Isolation has more than a whiff of DREAM THEATER as it introduces dreamy keyboards and silky vocals; whereas Summer is almost neoclassical thanks to its virtuosic trade-off leads between violin, guitar and synths. Also of note is early 00s track Icarus II. A sequel to an earlier cut that appears elsewhere on the compilation, the song marks the short-lived reunion of the band’s classic line-up and channels all that 70s prog excess and pomp with a Y2k sensibility.
The band’s 90s material gets a brief look-in too and, in a little bit of a cop-out, two of its representative tracks are re-recordings of older songs – albeit with the LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA rounding out the sound. Amongst these is one of KANSAS’ best known tracks, Dust In The Wind. And while you may question why it’s not present in its original incarnation, hearing it performed with beautiful sweeping strings and the gentle tinkle of pianos is nothing short of mesmerising.
Disc two primarily tackles the 1980s, with KANSAS charmingly embracing an AOR sensibility. The polished-smooth choruses of tracks like Three Pretenders have more in common with TOTO than RUSH, whereas Play The Game Tonight, with its multi-harmony backing vocals brings to mind JOURNEY. KANSAS also trod a similar path to contemporaries STYX, with Secret Service having the same cyber-flump intrigue of Mr Roboto.
As we get nearer the start of the decade however, we start to hear a more familiar side to KANSAS. The cuts off 1982’s Vinyl Confessions are the band at their best. In particular, Crossfire’s piano laden tones pave the way for a prog voyage that jumps between style and pace effortlessly. We also get a taste of the late 70s with How My Soul Cries Out For You, boasting the flair and drive of early TOTO’s cross-genre flirting, with swinging rhythms, call-and-response vocals and even some ELO styled wackiness.
Turning the clock back a final time, the last disc is truthfully what most would expect from a KANSAS compilation – wall-to-wall proggy gold from their heyday. Of course, KANSAS’ biggest moment is featured here, with Carry On Wayward Son presented as a fiery live version crackling with energy. It sets the stage for a final lap of tracks that are far more sprawling than anything elsewhere on Another Fork In The Road. Sparks Of The Tempest is the band flexing their experimental muscles through jazzy beats and big Hammond chords; Miracles Out Of Nowhere stretches out with wandering synth lines, pianos and folksy acoustic guitars before a joyous chorus subsumes all; and Magnum Opus lives up to its lofty title as a prog odyssey that sweeps between light orchestration and rock extremes.
The band also spread their wings on the inimitable Icarus – Borne On Wings Of Steel, a track that peaks with a musical Catherine wheel of violin solos, guitar licks and synth sparks all fighting for centre stage. This last stretch is a tome of masterfully executed rock at its most lavish and elaborate – you can forgive KANSAS’ overly long arrangements when the material is of this calibre.
Another Fork In The Road ends at the beginning, with three selections from the debut album closing the show. Listening to Death Of Mother Nature Suite, it’s clear KANSAS came in to their recording career as a fully formed beast of prog, replete with hooks and complex, carefully crafted arrangements. This compilation is frankly a gargantuan collection of songs that are demanding enough on a track-by-track basis, let alone as part of a 42-song anthology. However, forever subverting, KANSAS have made a typical ‘best of’ a curiously enjoyable exercise in getting back to the band’s roots. By starting at the top of the tree, and exploring every branch and tendril the band sprouted along the way, Another Fork In The Road is an etymology of prog presented through the lens of one of its most unique acts.
Rating: 7/10
Another Fork In The Road – 50 Years Of Kansas is out now via InsideOut Music.
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