Audio CD review:
Kansas - Always Never the Same

Kansas - Always Never the Same

Band: Kansas Title: Always Never the Same Rating: Release Date: 19 May, 1998 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Eleanor Rigby 2: Dust In The Wind 3: Preamble 4: Song For America 5: In Your Eyes 6: Miracles Out Of Nowhere 7: Hold On 8: The Sky Is Falling 9: Cheyenne Anthem 10: Prelude & Introduction 11: The Wall 12: Need To Know 13: Nobody's Home

Customer Reviews Was this album really necessary? The orchestra didn't even have a good interaction with the band, and when it played it didn't sound right anyway. Was it really necessary to rerecord several KANSAS classics? It's obvious that these are poor imitations of the brilliant originals. It's sad to see Steve's voice pretty much shot, but like a previous reviewer said he still kind of has a soulful way of delivering the songs. Why rerecord classics, when you know it's not going to be as good as the originals? The Walsh penned songs just don't do it for me on this cd. I wish, like everyone else, that Livgren was back with the band, because he was the major driving force, even though it was team effort. It's just never the same without him. I didn't really like the cover of the BEATLES tune "Elenore Rigby" at first, but now it's starting to grow on me. It was good to have Robbie Steinhardt back after Kansas ditched him back in about 1982. Don't get me started on that!!! He's still a super vocalist too. I wish they would have included "The Pinnacle", "Lamplight Symphony", "Magnum Opus", and maybe "Portrait(He Knew). I just think if you're going to do a project like this, you need to do it up right, which is definitely the downfall with ALWAYS NEVER THE SAME. So basically, this could have been done a lot better than it actually was, and I'm being kind in giving it 3 stars. I'm about the biggest KANSAS fan there is, but I have to be honest and not be a fanatic, like all these fans that always give KANSAS four and five star reviews, and you're flat out of your mind if you're giving it a five star review. Get some dad gum perspective KANSAS fans. When you don't have Kerry Livgren or Steve Morse in the band, it's pretty hard to make great albums. Can anyone tell me why Steve Morse only stayed about three years with this great band? Maybe he'll leave DEEP PURPLE one of these days and rejoin the better band KANSAS, but I'm always dreaming like that. Even better maybe Kerry will rejoin the band some day and not just to make one album then leave again. . A tad overblown, but really quite good! I wonder how they were able to afford it, given that at this point they were on a small label and playing clubs, county fairs and virtually anywhere else that would have them. Deep Purple have done it, KISS have done it, Metallica have done it, but about the only rock band who have credibly recorded with an orchestra (the London Symphony Orchestra, no less!) are Kansas. A big point of note is the return of violinist/vocalist Robby Steinhardt to the Kansas fold. David Ragsdale had done a commendable job but Steinhardt's voice, violin and compositional skills were so much a part of the Kansas sound that his absence was always quite glaring. Kansas' classic sound was of course quite orchestral to begin with (especially on "Song For America") so many of their songs would be a natural to be performed with an orchestra. The classics here sound quite good with the lush orchestral backing. I also commend them for not including "Carry On Wayward Son", not because it's a bad song (it isn't), but because they would have been expected to do so to boost album sales. However, I am not pleased with the fact that Steve Walsh changes the lyrics of "Hold On" to be more vague about God. He had disagreements with Kerry Livgren over the direction of Kansas' lyrics when Livgren became a Christian, but Livgren wrote this song to be specifically Christian and it should have been left as such. The cover of "Eleanor Rigby" is very good. However, the new songs ("I Need To Know", "In Your Eyes" and "The Sky Is Falling") are not terribly outstanding and without the orchestra could sound like outtakes from "Power" and "In The Spirit Of Things". Also, is the band actually playing on "Preamble" and "Prelude & Introduction", or is it just the LSO? Of course, this album didn't sell, not in the U. S. anyway. By this time the "music" scene had been taken over by pre-packaged pop singers, boy bands and gangsta (c)rap and there was no place for a group of real musicians who could play their instruments and write songs. It is a little overblown, but kudos to Kansas for doing it. Get it, if you can find it. Nicely Done... Kansas was meant to be done by an orchestra. A very nice work, very original. Only one bad note- "Preamble" and "Prelude and Introduction" are kind of a letdown, The thrilling part about the rest of the album is that it's filled with billowing sound from the orchestra, but the band's still there, rocking away. Another cool thing is that the band is giving the full effort. You can tell they know this inside and out, and the orchestra does too. It's kind of like a duel to see who can leave a bigger impression, Kansas or the London Symphony. I enjoy Kansas Albums a lot- they're a lot like Genesis. This is an AMAZING work. If you're a Kansas purist *shrugs* you may find it sacrelige, but I think It adds to the sound profusely. This is definitely worth your time. . You can see a complete list of all Kansas discography, or go back to the Kansas tabs