Kansas Album: “Audio-Visions”

This one "shoulda been a contender" and it "woulda" had it been more consistent lyrically and musically...I "coulda" done without a couple of the cheesy tracks here. If you listen, you can hear the sound of the band spltting apart between Walsh's more straight-ahead rock and roll proclivities and Livgren's deeper, complex, spiritual yearnings. I saw them on tour during this period, and while they still retained their legendary stage might, they were not as cohesive. Enough psychoanalysis...what about these songs? Well, "Relentless" is a fantastic, driving rocker with superb lyrics and great, passionate performances all around. "Anything for You" is an unqualified clunker, a real stinker, an amazing letdown that has few equals in the Kansas canon. Dumb lyrics and half-baked music doom this one from the get-go. Thankfully, the band moves quickly back to a peak with "Hold On," a magnificent, gorgeous ballad that is a unique love song: a plea from Livgren to his wife to listen to the call of Christ. This song is both stately and impassioned which explains a lot about its enduring appeal. Walsh's vocal work here ranks with his best ever. So, can the band maintain the momentum gained by "Hold On"? Well, "Loner" makes a valiant attempt. It is a blazing little track, quite unlike anything else the band has done, with Walsh singing his guts out. The whole band really cooks here. And "Curtain of Iron" kicks it up a notch--it has the feel of those classic epics of yore. The lyrics are very prescient, with memorable instrumental passages in a suite-style presentation. But then...catastrophe strikes..."Got to Rock On" is another chessy bit of hokum, and the less said about it, the better. Fortunately, "Don't Open Your Eyes" sets things right--a wild frightmare of a ride that is reminiscent of "Mysteries and Mayhem" from MASQUE, albeit not quite as heavy. Kerry Livgren really steps up with the next track, the classic "No One Together," which is a superb prog presentation...stellar arranging, superb playing, uplifting lyrics, intriguing mood shifts. "No Room for a Stranger" is instantly forgettable and makes one grateful for the fast-forward button. However, the closing track, "Back Door" is a real winner, with a lovely melody, heartfelt words, and an innovative sound--is that bagpipes at the end? Epic/Legacy did a nice job of presenting this CD package and it sounds great. Overall, several tracks here rank among the absolute best that Kansas has ever done...but there are a couple of mis-steps to avoid that knock this one down a star.

Despite airbrushed jacket artwork that looks more at home on a van's spare tire cover than that of an album, Audio Visions, Kansas' implacable foray into the 1980's, is the last link in a chain of seven consecutive quality albums in a row. More importantly, eschewing one song and the ubiquitous "big" drum sound prevalent in roughly 1979-1986, this seventh studio effort maintains a relatively trend-free standard. Observing the distinction of being the final collection recorded by original members Livgren, Walsh, Ehart, Steinhardt, Williams, & Hope (until recently), Audio Visions holds it's own as good pop, if not prog. Taking in the aggressive, hard-driven face of Livgren's expectant "Relentless," Walsh's razor-edged "Loner," and Walsh & Richard Williams' trashy "No Room For a Stranger," one would have no clue that Donna Summer and The Village People were topping the charts at the same time. Like all good Kansas music, Audio Visions is virtually timeless. Livgren's biblical prog rocker "Curtain of Iron," joint Walsh/Williams/Livgren/Phil Ehart/Dave Hope composition "Don't Open Your Eyes," and Livgren's exquisite "No One Together" balance the Billy Joel-esque accesibility of Walsh's "Anything for You," Livgren's plaintive "Hold On," and to a lesser extent, Walsh's period-scarred "Got to Rock On" (with an intro that sounds decidedly like Blondie). This formula has suited Kansas well for years. Indeed their most successful albums feature a 1/3 mix of prog, hard rock/"blooze" (booze-related blues)/folk and straight pop. Again, the concoction was successful, but major change would soon rock the band by the recording of their next album, and Kansas would never again be the same.

The 1980 album Audio Visions marked the last time the original band line up would play together until 2000's Somewhere To Elsewhere. It WAS the end of an era as it heralded a split and ugly protracted death for the band.

With 6 other successful studio albums behind them (and one classic live effort) the band was beginning to show strains amongst its members. Despite what may be said by some in other Kansas reviews around the site - that the band's split after this album was caused by Livgren becoming a born again Christian - the main reason was that Walsh and Livgren were at odds regarding the creative direction of the band. Walsh preferred a grittier harder rock approach whereas Livgren did not. And it's apparent on this album which is fairly uneven.

That's not to say this is a bad album, its not by any means, its a fairly decent collection of tracks, but its certainly a departure from the quality fans had come to expect from Kansas and certainly nowhere near a classic like Leftoverture and Point Of Know Return.

Livgren's religious conversion certainly in no ways spoils the album for me despite the Livgren penned Hold On being about Livgren trying to get his wife to convert also. Despite that its still a very, very good song and probably my favourite on the album.

Other solid efforts include another religiously toned effort from Livgren, Relentless, and Walsh's down to earth rock'n'roller Got To Rock On.

On the downside are songs like Anything For You - its hard to believe Walsh is responsible for this.

As one previous reviewer noted - if you were to take the best songs from both this album and Monolith (the previous release to Audio Visions) then you could quite easily create an album which would rival the best they had done. Unfortunately the remaining tracks together would make a real clunker. And that sums it up pretty nicely.

Overall a fairly decent album, nothing to get hysterical about and for more than completists.

Recommendation to buy.

As a huge Kansas fan I was very satisfied with this album. After reading the other reviews listed, it's obvious all the previous critics are familiar with Kansas. Although this album does not achieve the perfection of Leftoverture and Point of Know Return, it is still classic KANSAS! . There seems to be a definite separation between Livgren(songwriter) and Walsh(vocalist). No One Together is brilliant; Got to Rock On, Hold On, received air play. But the one song I'm suprised no one mentioned which is the best on the album is "relentless". Although Relentless received minimal air play, I think it should have went top 10. Don't Open Your eyes and Curtain of Iron are also well orchestrated.

This album by Kansas is a bit more heavy-handed, lyrically and musically, than the first few. "Hold On" can still inspire listeners to get themselves into a better state of existence, and "No Room For A Stranger" is a flat-out rocker about rejection, but the rest of the lyrics on AUDIO-VISIONS are darkly cautionary, but with glimmers of hope at the ends of many of the songs. Of course, it should be known that Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope became born-again Christians around the time this record was made, which could account for the tone of the lyrics, but it's still a wake-up call to all of us, and a great work of music to boot.