Kansas CD set adds to live show tracks

By John Benson

Like many of its peers, classic rock band Kansas recently decided against recording new material in favor of reliving the past.

For die-hard fans, that means a 30th anniversary expanded release of the band’s 1978 concert album “Two for the Show.” In context of Kansas’ career, the live recording, which was recorded over roughly a half dozen shows in 1977 and 1978, represented a prolific and successful era for the band, which had a string of five gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums.

“Disc one is the original disc re-mastered, and we had a lot of songs recorded for that project that didn’t make it on because it was vinyl then and you could only get so many songs on an album,” said original Kansas guitarist Rich Williams, calling from Atlanta, Ga. “So we picked what we wanted and didn’t go any further, but technology has made it possible for us to go back into the vault and reclaim these tapes, which are disintegrating constantly.”

Rescued from obscurity, the double-disc package now includes 10 previously unreleased live tracks (“Hopelessly Human,” “Child Of Innocence,” “Cheyenne Anthem” and more) that originally didn’t make the final cut. Williams stressed that “Two for the Show” truly speaks to Kansas’ wide array of creative artistry, which back then found the band receiving a progressive rock label.

“Prog rock is a label that has kind of evolved,” Williams said. “We were just trying to do something different and some of the stuff is prog, some of it isn’t. ‘Wayward Son’ is not a straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll song. There are mood changes and time signature changes and too many parts, but is it prog? Not really.

“We’ve never really been that easily definable. Are we a prog band? To some extent, yes. Are we a rock ’n’ roll band? To some extent, yes. ‘Dust in the Wind,’ what is that? It’s not prog, it’s not even rock. It’s more like a Woody Guthrie ballad from the Depression. We’ve done a little bit of everything.”

In looking forward, Williams is optimistic the band will eventually record new material. While a live symphony album is in the works for next year, Kansas members Williams, Phil Ehart (drums), Billy Greer (bass) and David Ragsdale (violin, guitar) are working on their own side project, Native Window. The idea is not only to have a new album out next year, but to tour with Kansas as an opener.

For now, Kansas is back to touring and will play Saturday at the Chevrolet Centre Rib Cook Off. One phenomenon of late that has Williams excited is the fact the rock band continues to draw young fans to its shows.

Specifically, the youthful interest in classic rock act Kansas can be traced to the inclusion of the band’s popular ’70s hit single “Carry On Wayward Son” on video game “Guitar Hero II.”

“It wasn’t really something you could imagine would happen, but we’re really grateful that it did, and it’s truly brought a whole new audience into the mix for us,” Williams said. “I’ve gotten my own personal guitar army now every night in front of me directly related to ‘Guitar Hero II.’

“Kids ages 8 to 18 years old have never seen us before and are all there because of the game. I know some people say it’s not really guitar playing, but it is making people more musically aware.”

So, does he play “Guitar Hero II?”

“I haven’t played it,’ Williams said. “I’m not very much of a video gamer. They sent it to me to demo and I got frustrated with the game long before I got to ‘Wayward Son.’”