Date: Sat, 2 Mar 1996 23:55:35 -0600 (CST)
From: John Bowes <bowes@tyrell.net>
To: kansas@Traveller.COM
Subject: PotSW: A Note From Kerry
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Greetings,

Per Kerry's request, I am sending his attached message to you all...

:-)
John B.
Topeka

********************************************************************
To "The People"
I must confess, it has been a most interesting experience for me to listen to
these three Kansas albums, whose tardy release finally brings to completion
the Kansas catalog on CD. Few know what a struggle it has been just to get
this to happen.
I am not in the habit of listening to my own work very often, and especially
if it means dragging out a vinyl LP. It has been at least ten years since I
have heard this music. Another reason is that I have really had little desire
to listen again to these particular albums. All Kansas albums were a struggle
in one way or another, but in the case of Audiovisions, Vinyl Confessions,
and Drastic Measures, at least for me, the struggle was more intense than
usual. In fact I am now a little ashamed to admit that I had personally
renamed these recordings "Audiobludgeons", "Final Convulsions", and "Spastic
Seizures".

Before you all get the wrong idea, whatever other thoughts I might have about
them, I am extremely grateful that they are at long last available on CD.
Special thanks to Phil for staying on Sony's back.

The years away from these albums, and the situations and band politics which
surrounded them, has, I believe, finally allowed me to view them much more
objectively. I was able to simply sit back and listen to them, even with, I
admit, some measure of curiosity and excitement.

I listened to them chronologically. Here is what I found:
AUDIOVISIONS  I have never been fond of Audiovisions as an album, even though
I think it has two of my best songs on it. (Hold On and No One Together). I
am still not. I had hoped that time would give me more liking for this
effort, but I found, to my own disappointment, that it is still my least
favorite Kansas album. I have always felt that it is the Kansas album that
should never have been made.
Steve and I had both just finished working on our first solo albums, and I
think we both reserved our best songs for those projects. When it came time
for AV, the pressure was on and inspiration was low. It's weakness is the
material. I think, now, that we should have waited, taken a sabbatical, and
come up with a more consistent bunch of songs that, song for song, measured
up to our earlier work.
No One Together was actually part of Monolith and it had been recorded a year
before the rest of AV. It was withheld from Monolith because of the length
limitations of the vinyl LP. At the time I was crushed at that decision, but
was placated with a promise from the band that it would be included in our
next record. As much as I like the song as a composition, I have never liked
our recording of it. It's frantic tempo makes the lyrics almost
unintelligible, and it loses a lot of it's power. Still, it was a very
challenging bit of music to play, and it was a great showpiece of Kansas
musicianship. It has my all-time favorite Rich Williams guitar solo.
Curtain of Iron is the most frustrating song for me to listen to. Parts of
it, (the verses and chorus) had great potential, but as a song it was not
well put together. It seems to be assembled of parts that really don't go
well together. If I was to record it again now, I would chop off the ill
fitted intro and simplify the song, emphasizing it's strengths.
For my part, Hold On was the best I came up with, and the most enduring song
from the album.
Also, the recording itself drives me nuts. The drums are EXTREMELY prominent
in the mix and they sound like they were recorded in a carpeted phone booth.
Phil plays exceptionally well on this album, but the production irks me. We
sounded SO much better live. Contrast his drum sound on this album with
Drastic Measures. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Positive: I LOVE the front cover of this record. It translated very well to
CD size.

VINYL CONFESSIONS   Maybe we should change the title now to "Digital
Confessions". I did not have such strong opinions going into this album as I
did Audiovisions, and I found that I really enjoyed listening to it. Even
apart from the change in vocalists, this album represents the biggest
departure that Kansas had made (to date) from what had become our
conventional style. Listen to the diverse instrumentation and background
vocals on this record.
Whatever anyone thinks about John Elefante compared to Steve Walsh as a
vocalist, I think John brought some great songs to Kansas, and led us into
some new approaches that made us grow as musicians. Not a bad accomplishment
for a kid with as little experience as he had at the time.
I only wish I could hear these songs as John would sing them now, or even as
he would have at the time we did Drastic Measures. His vocal abilities have
greatly matured, as you would know if you've heard his latest.
Speaking of maturing, this is the first Kansas album where I like listening
to my own guitar work. I also think this album is one of Dave's shining
moments. Listen to his work on Windows.
One of my favorite moments on this record is the middle section of Diamonds
and Pearls. Definitely one of the most unusual chord progressions I have ever
written.
Overall, this recording has a mood, a consistency, and a freshness about it
that I like. It bears repeated listens.
Negative: I think it's one of our weakest front covers, perhaps followed only
by the "Best Of".

DRASTIC MEASURES   I didn't think that I would like this album at all, but
strangely, I found that I had badly pre-judged it. It is without a doubt the
most un-Kansas-like of the Kansas records, and it gets a lot of poor marks
from most of you fans, but I think it has it's moments.
I don't have the fondest memories of this period with Kansas. I knew in my
heart that my long career with the band was drawing to a close, most of my
best songs were getting a cool reception because of the lyrical content, and
Dave and I were beginning to turn toward AD. Much of what I intended for
Drastic Measures ended up on Time Line.
But I think those unpleasant memories had clouded my view of the better
moments on Drastic Measures. 
Mainstream remains one of my favorite Kansas songs of all time. Sums up my
view of the music business.
I love the power of Fight Fire with Fire, and I really enjoyed listening to
Going Through the Motions and Get Rich. And then there is the strangeness of
Andi.
Drastic Measures has a huge ambient sound that I wish we had on some of our
earlier recordings. Unlike all other Kansas albums, (except Two for the
Show), it was not recorded in a studio but in a large building at the Atlanta
Fairgrounds.
My most intense listening emotion on all of these three records was listening
to Incident on a Bridge. I had totally forgotten, (or perhaps blocked out),
this song. Hearing it almost brought me to tears. I had forgotten that I had
written this song as a farewell to the band, the lyrics chronicling all the
things I felt and experienced over the years with my friends. John must have
sensed what this was about, he really sang his heart out on this one. I like
this album more than I thought I did.
Negative: I really don't care for Everybody's My Friend. A little too light
and silly for Kansas.

Finally, my opinions are, in the end, just my opinions. Regardless of what I
think, I have mine and you have yours. I realize that some of you love the
things that I don't care for and you may dislike certain things that I enjoy.
That's one of the things that makes music such an interesting phenomenon. In
any case, thanks to all of you who have supported us through the years.

God Bless, Kerry Livgren


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