Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Kansas
Kansas tabs Kansas discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Kansas guitar tabs

CD reviews

Two for the Show

Kansas - Two for the Show Audio CD

A fair review of the Kansas "Two for the Show" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Kansas reviews here, or go back to the Kansas tabs.

Band: Kansas
Title: Two for the Show
Rating:

Release Date: 1989-08-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Song for America 2: Point of Know Return 3: Paradox 4: Icarus -- Borne on the Wings of Steel 5: Portrait (He Knew) 6: Carry on Wayward Son 7: Journey from Mariabronn 8: Dust in the Wind [Acoustic Guitar Solo] 9: Lonely Wind 10: Mysteries and Mayhem 11: Excerpt from Lamplight Symphony 12: Wall 13: Magnum Opus

Please read: Rockers, Proggers don't miss out!
Yes, it's live but this is the essence of the band. "Two for the Show" remastered is now the definitive Kansas album to get. Six great musicians who were so much more together live on stage. What passion, musicality, power and emotion. This has everything from the hits like "Dust in the wind" and "Carry on wayward son" to progressive epics that show what six people interchanging from double keyboards to double guitar attack with soaring violin and harmony vocals can do. Their emotional epics are more melodically classical than any of their European prog counterparts of that time, and they certainly knew how to rock harder.

In 1978 this was an outstanding live record and 30 plus years later it not only has stood the test of time but is MUCH better. This edition has another 11 live remastered tracks added on a second CD. These are no fillers - these are phenomenal tracks that I can't believe were excluded initially.

Have a look at my customer image that shows the inner sleeve of the new cool digipak plus a picture from the great booklet. This is no rerelease just to increase income - no, this is part of their legacy, an extended creative effort that offers so much more than the double LP and single CD version of the 90s.

Wow, the 11 new tracks - a whole added album of 75 minutes. These tracks seem to breathe more than the first CD. By that I mean there seems more spacious musical introductions and exploration. Clearly this is why they couldn't be included initially on an already double LP record.

The opening track of the 'new' material, "Hopelessly human" contains all the elements that instantly let you know this is the mighty Kansas in full flight. Long orchestrations of interwoven musical motifs and changing tempos - from ballad gentle vocals over piano to full pipe organ, monstrous drum fills with melodic lead guitar all finally culminating with anthem like bells. This is hair raising stuff!

The fresh stereo mix makes it easy to hear how wonderfully Rich Williams and Kerry interwined their guitar leads as well as showing the contrasting keyboard sounds from pipe organ to piano of Walsh and Livgren. Listen to the crunch surprise opening start of "Child of innocence" - makes ZZ Top seem tame. Indeed this track is a wonderful example of displaying the strengths of this band as the dual vocals of Steinhardt and Steve Walsh create the tight harmony which includes a falsetto harmony from Walsh,I think, that I've never heard before.

There are many other outstanding tracks including, "Closet Chronicles" and "Miracles out of nowhere". Indeed there is not one filler track here. I bought this album from Amazon last week and have been playing it ever since. (That means my other new purchases - new Dream Theater, SACD Pink Floyd Dark Side of the moon and Yellowjackets have been ejected for a while)

This double live CD will take you on an exciting journey through their first and greatest five albums with more passion and interaction than the studio versions. For faithful Kansas rockers I trust you purchased this long ago, unlike me. If not don't hesitate.

.

Best LIVE Progressive Rock Album Recorded
KANSAS . This by far is the best "Live" Prog-rock album EVER recorded. . . . . at their "Pinnacle" when these shows were recorded. Thank goodness these tracks on the second CD surfaced and someone had the fortitude to put them out. Long live KANSAS. . the pantheon of American Progressive rock!!

Robert Alderman
Washington, DC.

Even greater than I remembered
Being 18, he was clueless about Kansas. I was making a cd for a friend who is a violinist. Upon burning a few songs from the cds I had, I realized: 1. ) It had been a long time since I had listened to any Kansas, and; 2. ) Damn, I forgot how good they were. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was ordering the 30th anniversary edition of this album. THIS ALBUM IS ABSOLUTELY STUPIFYING!! As others have said already, the live performances of these songs far surpass the studio versions. And what a treat to get the second cd's worth of largely unreleased material. Particularly: Child of Innocence, Belexes, Lonely Street, Bringing it Back, and my personal favorite on the disk - Miracles Out of Nowhere. WOW!! I don't think I'll be listening to anything besides this album for awhile.
KANSAS IS A BAND!!!.

A GREAT LIVE ALBUM OF A GREAT AMERICAN BAND
And Kansas did fall into that trap of musical excess that finally (for a little while) did them in. Kansas has been largely declared, by more than few scribes, as excessive, pompous, and self-indulgent. But there was a period, from the release of Masque to the magnificent Point of Know Return, where Kansas lived up to all their grand expectations. Two for the Show catches the band and their most stellar. I was surprised to hear, from this recording, that Kansas had a streak of improvisation in their performances. And that's good because it's during those moments of musical excess when Kansas' full fury is unleashed. It's a shame that there is not a DVD of the band in performance during this period, because it would have captured one of the best live performances of one of America's best bands.

Great addition to previous release
Remastering the original recording has improved the overall sound - particularly Dave Hope's bass playing which was lost somewhat in the original record. This new 2 CD set (with essentially an entire new disc of live music) is great. The new CD has great tracks, along with versions of the songs that include improvisations and additions to the studio versions, which I thought were great. I will confess to being a long-time Kansas fan so this was easy for me, but I think anyone who enjoyed their music would like this recording. .

You can see a complete list of all Kansas discography, or go back to the Kansas tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.