The cover of 1976's Leftoverture pictures a bearded Da Vinci character composing reams of music score with a quill. Appropriate imagery for a band who combined the compositionally complex approach of British bands such as ... more »Genesis and Yes with solid Southern-rock jamming. Kansas wasn't new in '76--the group had escaped Topeka, Kansas, to record three prior albums, including the exciting Masque and Song for America. They joined the arena circuit via Leftoverture's "Carry On Wayward Son," an instant hit with its explosive vocal arrangement and indelible guitar riff. For straight-ahead rockers ("What's on Your Mind?") and ornate epics (the five-part suite "Magnum Opus"), guitarist Kerry Livgren and keyboardist Steve Walsh dramatically pair vocal harmonies over classical- and jazz-inspired structures. The 2001 expanded and remixed edition includes live versions of "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Cheyenne Anthem," as well as new liner notes by David Wild. --James Rotondi« less
The cover of 1976's Leftoverture pictures a bearded Da Vinci character composing reams of music score with a quill. Appropriate imagery for a band who combined the compositionally complex approach of British bands such as Genesis and Yes with solid Southern-rock jamming. Kansas wasn't new in '76--the group had escaped Topeka, Kansas, to record three prior albums, including the exciting Masque and Song for America. They joined the arena circuit via Leftoverture's "Carry On Wayward Son," an instant hit with its explosive vocal arrangement and indelible guitar riff. For straight-ahead rockers ("What's on Your Mind?") and ornate epics (the five-part suite "Magnum Opus"), guitarist Kerry Livgren and keyboardist Steve Walsh dramatically pair vocal harmonies over classical- and jazz-inspired structures. The 2001 expanded and remixed edition includes live versions of "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Cheyenne Anthem," as well as new liner notes by David Wild. --James Rotondi
Joan S. (joanlysl) from EUGENE, OR Reviewed on 8/27/2006...
My CD is not the remaster so it only has songs 1-8.
CD Reviews
Kansas+Leftoverture=Excellence!
Samhot | Star Land | 09/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Arguably, Kansas is to America, what bands like Yes, Genesis, E.L.P., Queen, The Moody Blues and Jethro Tull are to England--progressive rock with mystical and patriotic tendencies. The other resemblance to these bands is their constant hybridization of musical styles. But, make no mistake--they are original, not clones of the above English counterparts. Throughout the early part of Kansas' career (i.e. the 1970's), Kansas mixed the worlds of hard rock with blues, classical, jazz, country and more. This can be heard throughout their classic years--which brings us to _Leftoverture_._Leftoverture_ deserves all the recognition and praise it gets. It's a solidly crafted progressive rock album that happens to be catchy, while containing an amalgamation of musical styles, and all along, still manages to save room for extended instrumental jams. Carry On Wayward Son is the big hit of the album--the greatness does not end there. The Wall is an anthemic rocker. What's On My Mind combines funkiness and hard rock. Miracles Out Of Nowhere is mystical and dramatic progressive hard rock at it's finest. Melodic vocal harmonies can be found here as well. Opus Insert features vocal harmonies reminiscent of CCR and Queen. Questions Of My Childhood features some country-esque influences. Cheyenne Anthem starts off with some nice acoustic guitar passages, then segues into a quirky romp/waltz. Magnum Opus ends this gem perfectly as mostly quirky, virtuosic instrumental insanity.Kansas is arguably the most _accessible_ progressive rock band. If you want melodic, dramatic and mystical music, armed with diversity and touches of ambiguity and accessiblity, check Kansas--and this album out. 5 stars? Asolutely!"
Arguably the best (and perhaps the only) American progressiv
Grigory's Girl | NYC | 06/26/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Kansas is an anomaly in American rock. They are probably the only truly progressive rock band in American history, and a damn good one. They can stand with any of the great British progressive bands (and I love progressive rock). This album is definitely the one I dig the most. While Song for America and Point of No Return are excellent too, this one is the most consistent with not one bad track in the whole album. My 2 favorite songs are Miracles Out of Nowhere and Magnum Opus. I love the intricacy of both of them, especially the latter. From their debut through Monolith, they were putting out great album after great album. Their arrangements and songwriting was some of the best American rock ever produced. It's a shame that they splintered in the 1980's, and ended up in so many different incarnations. But we still have their 70's output to hold onto...
"
The mature Kansas sound takes shape
Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 01/31/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a great album from 1976 that shows Kansas bridging the gap between their excellent prog rock epics and the shorter hard rock tracks. The result is a collection of extremely tight and intricately arranged pieces (Magnum Opus is incredible in this regard) that feature the nimble ensemble work that characterized their proggiest material, yet are presented in a more cohesive format. Gone too are the shorter "boogie rock" pieces, resulting in a very balanced and proggy sounding album. In short, Leftoverture is an exceptionally fine example of progressive hard rock and shows Kansas starting to mature their sound.
All of the band members were in top form on this album and Kerry Livgren (guitars, piano, clavinet, and synthesizers) was positively on fire - in fact he contributed most of the material, including one of my favorite Kansas compositions (Cheyenne Anthem). I especially like the instrumentation on Leftoverture (and all Kansas albums for that matter), which includes nice Hammond organ and tasteful use of synthesizers (ARP, Moog, and Oberheim synths), along with the electrifying sound of heavily distorted electric guitars courtesy of Rich Williams and Kerry (the acoustic guitar work by Rich is also very nice too). There is also the fantastic rhythm section of Phil Ehart (drums/percussion) and thunderous bassist Dave Hope - Dave provides some nice counterpoint and together they give the tracks a proggy punch. Last but not least, I also appreciate the vocals - Steve Walsh (lead/backing vocals; Hammond organ; piano; synthesizers; vibes) can really belt out and Robby Steinhardt (lead and backing vocals; violin/violas) is no slouch either.
The remastering on this CD is very good and features extensive liner notes, crystal clear sound reproduction (this was a well-produced record to start with), along with photos of the band and a few bonus tracks including live versions of the smash hit Carry on Wayward Son and my favorite, Cheyenne Anthem.
This is a great album of progressive hard rock by Kansas that features some of their most focused songwriting and arranging. Combined with the superb musicianship that the band was (and is) known for, Leftoverture makes for a very enjoyable listening experience. Very highly recommended along with Kansas (1974); Song for America (1975); and Point of Know Return (1977). For those folks that are discovering this style of music for the first time, the albums Farewell to Kings (1977) and Hemispheres (1978) by the Canadian band Rush might also prove to be of interest."
A timeless classic
Jeffrey J.Park | 06/28/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"No matter where I am at when I hear this album, it still brings back fantastic memories of my teenage years in the 70's. While all my buddies were listening to Boston's debut album which was released right around the same time, I was listening to this album which I always felt was a notch better. It was one of the first "rock-n-roll" albums I purchased. In fact, I first owned it on 8-Track, replaced that wonderful 8-Track technology with an LP and eventually graduated to a CD. I also recorded it onto a cassette so I could listen to it in my car. From the opening of "Carry On Wayward Son" to the ending of "Magnum Opus", there is not one bad track on this album. Even after 27 years, I still play this album at very loud volumes.Although Kansas as well as Styx, Journey, Boston and Foreigner and many other bands have long been citicized for starting the "corporate rock" style (aren't you tired of hearing that term), I will rate this album as one of my top 10 favorites."