Customer Reviews
On similar wavelength to "Masque"
I remembered purchasing this one as soon as it hit the record stores back in 1979 and remembered trying to decipher the album cover's art & meaning, which showed plains indians with astronaut helmets over their heads- science fiction maybe? The inside cover featured a visionary future return of the native americans amid ruins of our civilization(with a verse of the famous "Ghost Dance" of the Cheyenne Indians). Another of Kansas's unusual art-rock visionary albums in a similar vein to the 1975 release "Masque". It was realy an artistic statement/idea that had not been thought of before and I thought it was great. And yes the music is pretty cool also! .
On the Down Swing
'Point of Know Return' very much succeeded although quite different from its predecessor. Back in the seventies Kansas was trying to keep the momentum going following their smash release 'Leftoverture'. Then comes along 'Monolith'. As a Kansas fan from before they were commercially famous I was, of course, expecting another killer release. It was and it wasn't. Some good tunes here, but then again, not in the same vein as their past two (now)trademark albums. Maybe, the tension in the band was starting to grow as Livgren moved closer and closer to Christianity. Who knows. This is still a solid release, and I can appreciate it more now than I could then, but it still doesn't even come close to their previous albums. This album was much gloomier (so were their first three) and maybe that was the turn off for alot of people; a little bit more rigid and the cohesiveness of the songs just wasn't the same as in the past. Very difficult to put a finger on with this one, but part of it could have been from the record label to produce more top 40 hits instead of focusing on what Kansas was all about. Somewhere along the way they were starting to lose their originality and progressiveness as evidenced in further releases and the eventual break-up of the band and re-formation (on again / off-again kind of thing). You played it and then waited to see what they would do with the next and hopefully find their way back again. .
Kansas - Decent Album But Nearly As Good As The First 5
The band put together a massive tour for this album with a huge stage show incorporating top notch lighting, lasers, pyro, special effects, a rotating drum riser for Phil Ehart, and even had roadies playing parts in the show. By the time "Monolith" came out in 1979 Kansas had two multi-platinum albums in a row and had become huge concert draws. It was truly a spectacle to behold and was Kansas at their absolute peak as a live act. The band also decided to play the then new album "Monolith" in it's entirety on the tour. Unfortunately the album was a definite slide in quality from the band's previous efforts. For many Kansas fans "Monolith" was the album that represents the beginning of a downward spiral for the band. "Monolith" is not a bad album, but it was probably the band's weakest effort up to this point in their career. The pressure of trying to write a follow up to the hugely successful "Point Of Know Return" seemed to affect the writing on this one. It is definitely more commercial in nature with the longest song clocking in at just over 6 minutes. Although there are bits and pieces of the bands progressive rock roots, most of the material here is more "mainstream" (for lack of a better word), which is not necessarily a bad thing, but a bit less than what Kansas fans had come to expect. Commercially the album did not do nearly as well as the last two. The single "People Of The Southwind", although a cool little song, came and went on the charts fairly quickly. Kerry Livgren's Christian influence really starts to show up here too especially on songs like "A Glimpse Of Home". The highlights for me on the album are the opening track "On The Other Side", and "Angels Have Fallen". Tracks like "Stay Out Of Trouble" written by Steve Walsh give a glimpse of what he would eventually do in his solo career and his other band "Streets". All in all this is a decent Kansas release, but not nearly on the level of the previous 5 albums in my opinion.
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