KANSAS - KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR PRESENTS - 1998

This live album (unfortunately repackaged and reproduced under a number of gravely misleading titles) is quite good in my opinion. Steve Walsh's voice is far clearer than Live at the Whiskey, but not as clean as it was during Kansas's glory days. In lieu of a violin, Steve More fills in on guitar, and does a fair bit of shredding, but his playing is so clean and tasteful, I don't even miss the violin most of the time. What I do miss, however, is Steinhardt's voice and personality. Walsh was never as good at emceeing; at times, the man sounds downright goofy. The set list is an even mix between classic Kansas songs and material from more recent albums. "One Big Sky" is a great rocker with some simply stellar guitar work from both Morse and longtime guitarist Rich Williams, with great backup vocals from Billy Greer. It goes directly into "Paradox," one of my favorite Kansas songs that runs on the short side. My grief with it is that they play it at the correct tempo (I happen to prefer this song going at a hundred miles an hour). On the well-performed "Point of Know Return," Morse employs some fancy, albeit subtle guitar tricks. Walsh pumps up the crowd here, even if he does sound a bit corny. Walsh's vocal performance on "The Wall" is just bad, that's all there is to it. "Dust in the Wind" is marred by overzealous vocals and feedback. My favorite track on the album, "Miracles Out of Nowhere" sounds fresh (no thanks to Walsh, who's delivery of the lines during the quiet organ section is embarrassing to even listen to), largely due to Morse's glossy guitar tone and playing. The final organ segues right into "The Preacher," which I've always thought was a good song, even if not exactly progressive. Walsh's howling in the introduction is a bit sour to me, but other than that, the performance delivers. "House on Fire" is an extended jam, showing off the talents of Morse. Frankly, I've always thought it was rather wearisome, including the song proper, which is Kansas's attempt at Sammy Hagar-like rock. The call-and-response between the guitar and Walsh is almost painful to listen to, as by then his voice is really hoarse, and he sounds like a patron of a karaoke bar who sang as many songs as he had pitchers and cigarettes. On a positive note, there's the rapid-fire drumming of Phil Ehart. At the end of "House on Fire," Walsh is at his most embarrassing (in attempting to work the crowd). The album ends on a very high note, with their classic "Carry On Wayward Son." Walsh's harmonizing in some sections is very good, but it is Morse's subtle guitar swells during the verses and Walsh's stellar organ that makes this a great, albeit not outstanding, version. The band really lets it rip during the last moments.
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