Song For America

Kansas stems from the unlikely place of (you guessed it) Kansas. In the late 60s, high school classmates Phil Ehart and Kerry Livgren each led competing bands in their native Topeka. By 1970, the two bands united as Kansas, only to split the following year. Drummer Ehart then went to England to look for musical inspiration (which he didn't find), and quickly returned to reform his original band, White Clover. He recruited Steve Walsh and Robby Steinhardt along the way, while bassist Dave Hope and guitarist Rich Williams joined in 1972. Livgren's group (referred to as Kansas II) had continued all the while; yet by 1973, he too was persuaded to join White Clover, fulfilling their need for a second songwriter. In 1973, the six-piece band, now named Kansas, signed to rock promoter Don Kirshner's label and released three albums in the space of two years; each was incrementally more successful than the other, as the result of continuous touring. Their 1974 self-titled debut starts like the crack of a whip; "Can I Tell You" was one of the demos that got the band signed. Set apart from their progressive British contemporaries, Kansas reveals more influence from heavy rock outfits such as Deep Purple. Taking cues from Southern rock as well, their sound is certainly American, though their "three parts to the ensemble" of guitar, violin and keyboard is unique and firebrand. Released in 1975, the band's second album Song For America featured the excellent title track, also released as a single. It's a Kansas standard that shifts through each classically-influenced section, punctuated by a driving beat. Throughout, Steinhardt's virtuoso violin and Walsh's soaring voice create the band's signature style. "Lamplight Symphony" follows a similar path. The second side's "The Devil Game" is a blistering rocker, while "Incomudro - Hymn to the Atman" displays the band's instrumental prowess. The album reached No. 57 on the US charts and was the first to feature their distinct logo, designed by Peter Lloyd.