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In 1974, a little known band from Topeka, Kansas area Kirshner signed records and recorded his first self-titled album, Kansas. Thanks to good marketing on the label Kirshner and a good amount of air time on the album-oriented rock radio stations new FM, Kansas became very popular. Unfortunately, when most people think of Kansas, they think of little more than Dust in the Wind or Carry On, Wayward Son, two most popular songs. This is a big mistake, as the music of Kansas has much more to offer than the catchy melodies of these two numbers. For example, dust in the wind was originally just a guitar chord progression exercise Kerry Livgren, a member of the band used to practice! However, the first three albums, Kansas, Kansas Song for America, and mask, demonstrated a rich musical talent that many people do not hear. Robby Steinhardt (violin, vocals) was trained from an early age in classical music. Kerry Livgren tire main songwriter, was trained in classical music and jazz. The whole band was influenced by early 70′s progressive rock groups like Genesis, ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer). All these factors have contributed to the style of Kansas, but the unique instrumentation of the band also played a role. Their first album, Kansas, contained one of the most famous pieces of Mariabronn band Journey. A live version of YouTube (link below). This song, from the beginning, prog-rock to the core. The introduction is a synthesizer / violin heavy segment in a metric irregular, in fact, no visible signature, which leads to the introduction of another theme with a violin solo. It’s almost like listening to contemporary chamber music! Livgren wrote them, after a careful history of the famous German poet Narciso / writer and Goldmund Hermann Hesse.

Kansas sophomore album “Song for America, and especially the title track from the album, followed in the footsteps of Mariabronn Tour and the first album. It is characterized by some of the violin solos of the firm Steinhardt and lyrical exploration one of the favorite themes of the band Mother Nature, human beings and treat the planet. Three albums, Masque, has prog-rock gems like Mysteries and Mayhem, Icarus, and Pinnacle, but it also shows a shift towards more user-friendly songs radio as a child of innocence and it takes a woman’s love (to humans do).

Kansas Upcoming albums are also brilliant in its musicality, but most agree that early musical works of Kansas were better.