Masque (Expanded Edition)

This is their best album and at the top of their game

This is the most overlooked and underated Kansas album. And it is the most consistently good from beginning to end. I tend to rank Leftoverture higher only on the strength of Carry On wayword Son. That is their greatest song. However the combined weight of all the songs of Masque may make it their greatest masterpiece. There truly isn't a bad song. It takes a woman is about as pop as the album gets. Two Cents worth is a solid song but Icarus born on wings of steal is awesome. Just a solid rocker. I consider All the World the weakest song on the album but that doesn't mean it is bad. It is still a solid classic Kansas song. Child of Innocence is a great rocker. It soars. Its You is has great violine playing accompanying Steve Walsh's strongest vocals on the album. Mysteries and Mayhem is also a solid rocker followed by the Pinnacle which stretches into a prag rock masterpiece. Don't take my word for it PLEASE. Buy this and listen.

To the poster who warned us all that child of innocence was an "awful live version" (like that could be possible for this band)--the studio version is indeed there, right where the band left it, to start "side 2" before "it's you". That awful live version is a studio rehearsal--good and raw. Wish we heard more of those.

Strong album all the way through. Icarus, and Mysteries and Mayhem the best tracks. Beware of buying the album here: Child of Innocence does NOT seem to be the orginal album track; it is an awful live version.

Masque is Kansas's third album, and it's a special one to me because it was the first Kansas album that I listened to. At the time, I only knew Kansas from their song Dust in the Wind. I naturally expected everything on here to be similar to that (which honestly would be a boring thing). However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was actually a prog album. That made me quite pleased, as I was just discovering the world of prog at the time and liking it. Even though my knowledge of prog has increased since then, Masque is still one of my favorite prog albums - and favorite albums overall. It starts off with "It Takes a Woman's Love to Make a Man". This song does not give the listener a good idea of the songs that follow. However, it is still a rather good song and a good song to begin the album with. The next song is "Two Cents Worth". The lyrics, a bit philosophical and definitely telling a story of some kind, are a good indicator of what is to come. This is where the album really begins for me. Then there is "Icarus", which is the best song from this record and my favorite Kansas song. "All the World" continues with the philosophical content of the songwriting. "Child of Innocence" is one of the highlights and a really good rock song. It's about the people who are just sort of "living in the present tense" and not really thinking about the distant future. "Mysteries and Mayhem" to me is sort of a prologue to "The Pinnacle", a long piece which concludes the album brilliantly. Even though I started with this album, I wouldn't reccommend that for most people. If you're just getting into Kansas, start with "Point of Know Return" or "Leftoverture". But if you are familiar with some of Kansas's albums and want to listen to something else, or if you're trying to find some good prog, then Masque is the album you're looking for. Kansas, the only American band that was really influential to prog during the 70's, really puts the "rock" in "progressive rock".

This album has some of the hardest materia Kansas has ever performed. I don't really care for It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make A Man) and Two Cents Worth, but the rest of the album is good. Child Of Innocence is seen as morbid and shows the inevitability of death. The Mysteries and Mayhem half of it's part is morbid and illustrates one's trouble with nightmares, it does good and other half of it; The Pinnacle, sounds like if were someone singing the legend of Beowulf. They have never realesed Mysteries and Mayhem/The Pinnacle as if they were a single track. Icarus (Borne On Wings of Steel) is one of Kansas' best done songs, and Robbie Steinhardt's violin on that track is amazing. While It's You and All The World don't measure up to Child of Innocence, Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel) and Mysteries and Mayhem/The Pinnacle they are good tracks and they at least beat It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make a Man) and Two Cents Worth. This came around 6 to 8 months after Song For America and Kansas was under pressure by their record label.

Easily my favorite Kansas album (debut "Kansas" and Song For America the other two of the triple crown winners). This was out of print for a long time and it is nice to see it available now. This music is insightfull and intellegent and rocks to boot. I really dropped off from these guys after this album because everyone else jumped "on-board" after the commercial success of Leftoverture and Point of No Return - which were O.K. - but not the beloved early stuff. Give these early albums a chance and you will be transported back to the mid 70's.

Masque is in every way a prequel to Leftoverture, but is a darn good album on its own. The group's songwriters (Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh) make noticeable efforts to combine their signature prog-rock styles with other forms of popular (at the time) music, such as funk rock (in "Two Cents Worth") and hard rock (in "Child of Innocence"). Livgren's "Icarus-Borne On Wings of Steel" is probably the best combination of prog rock and mainstream rock that was ever made. But the album's finest moment is its last one: the album closing epic "The Pinnacle" is so powerful, so epic, so mindblowing, that by the time it ends you'll be moved in one way or another.

Masque was the "underground" album- once Leftoverture hit the waves that was it. But my first heavy dose of Kansas was Masque and it has remained on my Fall and Winter lists for the last 30 odd years (I know it's sad but whatever season I was first exposed to an album or song tends to remain the season when I listen to it). Simply an excellent album from start to finish. They were under pressure to produce a hit and tried hard with the first song which is, in fact, a pretty good tune but they really show their writing and playing prowess throughout the rest of the album. More accessable than Genesis, harder edged than Yes, way better lyrically than ELP (sorry, Greg, I still love ya), Kansas is America's big answer to progressive rock and they put together in Masque, Leftoverture and Point Of Know Return some of the best prog rock ever. So check out Masque. They were still searching for a break, yet refused to churn out an album of cookie-cutter rock.

This album doesn't get half the credit it deserves. This is by far my favorite album by the band. Icarus is an amazing powerful song all on its own, and The Pinnacle is a rennaisance-inspired piece of art. I love this album. Don't pass it up, it's worth every penny.