My Amazon Reviews: Kansas "Point Of Know Return"

All Your Money, won't another minute, buy  
5 Out of 5 Stars

Kansas hit their crossroads with both "Leftoverture" and this 1977 follow-up, "Point of Know Return." When "Carry On Wayward Son" put the band into America's largest arenas, their mix of heartland boogie and English progressive rock gave them a starting point that became this, their most successful album. Like a lot of bands at this point (think Styx or REO Speedwagon), Kansas opted to pull more pop into their mix and less Magnum Opus.

That meant a focus on shorter songs with bigger hooks. It also meant (as the new, excellent liner notes point out) the band was starting to fray when success began to pump up individual egos. While the songs are still universally decent, there's less inter-musician jamming. Some songs, like the concert-ready "Lightning's Hand" or "Sparks of The Tempest," don't have as cohesive a feel as the band's best work. (It's also worth noting that "Sparks of The Tempest" is here as a bonus live version.) A proggy-keyboard workout, "The Spider," harkens more towards that era, as does the title track. However, it was the least unconventional song on the album that would prove to be Kansas' high-water mark.

A guitar warm-up exercise that Kerry Livgren set poetry to evolved into "Dust in The Wind," a solo acoustic guitar enhanced by violinist Robbie Steinhardt. It's as art rock as "Icarus" (from "Masque") would be, even if it was stripped down before such things became popular. As such, it hit number six on the pop charts and found Kansas added to the same radio stations that would play Barry Manilow but not BTO. It also signaled the tipping point for the band.

By the next studio album, "Monolith," Steve Walsh had begun chasing a solo career, Kerry and Dave Hope would soon become born again Christians and the music became less focused. "Point Of Know Return" was not just a trippy album title, it was kind of a harbinger of the band itself. It makes this album and "Leftoverture" two for a pair (and the band's first three albums a trilogy of American Progressive Rock), as well as being their best album.