Monolith

Does it have “Carry On” or “Dust”? No. Is it as worthy as those albums? Absolutely! All the major players are still here, and the band is still riding their peak. If you’ve already squeezed the juice out of “Point” and “Left,” this is a good next step.

I’ve finally got to listen this album in full and I found it to be a masterpiece. One of the best sounding Kansas albums with many unique and similar songs. My definite favorite is Away From You, the keyboard at the beginning and then the brisk strumming of the guitar and then Steve shows off his amazing voice. My least favorite song I would say is How My Soul Cries Out For You. I’m saying this now that this album sounds better than the original Kansas albums.

I actually like Monolith more than Point of Know Return. Part of it is because there are more guitars here and less keyboards. My three favorite songs are On The Other Side, Angels Have Fallen and A Glimpse Of Home. My least favorite song is Reason To Be, which sounds too much like Styx for my liking. The slightly danceable and almost disco-like People Of The Southwind was the big hit here. I like the refrain but hate the rest of it. I like Away From You, which almost sounds like an updated version of It’s You. Kansas get kind of silly on the other two songs. Overall, a very good but uneven album.

Kansas for myself began w/ Masque. A very good album, a little darker than their earlier work, but I was drawn to it. It was special & unique, no one sounded like Kansas. But when those first few guitar notes were played on Carry on My Wayward Son, & those lyrics were sung. I was addicted ! The Leftoverture album had such incredible music & lyrics, the only other progressive rock band that I loved just as much, was Rush. Just when I thought they couldn't make a better album, Terry Livgren tops it w/ Point of No Return. For myself this was their pinnacle moment. Every song is a master of lyrical content, & musical excellence. It is virtually impossible to stay at this performance level. Add in the massive requirement & pressure of touring the world for years, a band this successful, has little, if not anytime to develop new material especially at this level of musicianship. So along comes Monolith. I still really do love this album. But obviously it falls a little short of the previous 2 albums. Suddenly, Steve Walsh is writing more songs & though I love his voice along w/ Robbie Steinhardt's, I do feel Livgren is the lyrical / musical genius behind the band. I do still highly recommend Monolith. It is a change from the two previous albums, but it still is an inspiring & spiritual album. Buy all three in their entirety, I strongly believe you will not regret it !! Unless your idea of music is strictly commercial, & your favorite tunes become TV advertisements for multi-billion dollar companies. Then please go buy your top ten hit singles of the week. In 30 years no one will even know or care about the puppets & the garbage they want to call music. Not using one instrument, just a laptop...That is the polar opposite of these 3 albums from a legendary band such as Kansas...

How my soul cries out for you

This marked the beginning of the end of an era for Kansas.I remember when this was released on the heels of huge Point of Know Return success there were extremely high expectations for Kansas and they were very popular. I remember first hearing this album and wondering what happened. “On the Other Side” I feel is the strongest track of the album. Walsh just can’t write to the par Livgren could and it shows on this record. Sad but you can’t compare this to the previous Kansas records, its shows a big change in songwriting and direction for them, hence sales were disappointing for Kansas and their record label.

This release didn't get the praise it deserved. Fans of the band from its inception will enjoy the distantive and unmistakable Kansas sound, with Steve Walsh and Robbie Steinhardt intertwining their vocals. Each is great, but together they complement each other so well, and are better for it. Every song on this collection is music to these ears.

Though it's a little disappointing to see that Kansas was progressively leaving their "progressive" title behind, this album still delivers a strong lyrical and musical performance. Kerry Livgren continues to show his religious beliefs with songs like "On the Other Side," "People of the South Wind," "A Glimpse of Home" and "Reason to Be," while Steve Walsh turns to more earthy tunes like "Angels Have Fallen," the haunting "How My Soul Cries Out for You," "Away from You" and "Stay Out of Trouble." Another disappointing factor was Kerry and Steve's uninterest in collaborating as writers. Still this is a solid Kansas album. While it doesn't quite live up to their first five albums (more notably the first two), it still delivers and is definitely worth the purchase. P.S. This album deserves a remaster much more than "Audio-Visions" did so let's see one!

I was one of the few that was there at the beginning for Kansas. I bought the first album (Kansas) and played until the grooves wore out. Then bought an 8-track tape and played it forever in my old car. Then Song for America and Masque came out within a few months of each other - BOTH EXCELLENT !!! Then Leftoverture - with Carry On Wayward Son and everyone jumped on the band wagon. Point of no Return was the big hit along with Dust in the Wind and I moved on to other more interesting and non- commercial sounding material. Monolith had a few good cuts and I remember hoping that Kansas would return to their original sound - but alas - no.

this was a very solid album and its time for a remaster and some additional tracks, such as on the previous studio releases. this was the band's first album following the double live "two for the show", and the music was worth the additional wait. a rockin' tour as well--great laser light show, i'll never forget. kansas was in its high energy zone on this tour. i remember the show opening with "away from you" with steve walsh going vertical on his arp synthesizer. hard to believe its been over 30 years. so lets see a reissued anniversary edition... no other reviews? really?