Classic Rock Bottom

As I was checking on the start date and other important regarding this current series, I noticed that only one person has listened to the previous 46 featured albums. Shockingly, it's not you. But, since this takes no time at all to do, it's not like I'm wasting my time. Right?

Well, now it's the 47th album in the series and it's Vinyl Confessions from Kansas. Hopefully someone else doesn't jump on the Kansas bandwagon this week, but someone probably will and claim it was their idea.

Released in 1982, Vinyl Confessions was the first studio album from Kansas that did not receive a  certification. It did have a top 20 single with "Play The Game Tonight" and reached #16 on the US album charts but didn't have much staying power.   

Even though religious beliefs popped up on the previous Audio-Visions, it became more prevalent on this album and created discord withing the group. The album was voted the #1 album of the year by the Contemporary Christian music industry. Hey, that's better than Stryper, am I riiiiiiight???

Like Nemesis by Axe, sometimes I like this album, sometimes I don't. I listened to this a few months ago and wasn't into it but today I like it. 

For some reason, this album was very hard to get remastered. There was a remastered US version like all the albums up to the followup, Drastic Measures, and they are still available but this album went OOP very quickly.  If you check Amazon, there's an Epic/Legacy version available for 14.57 while the Rock Candy version is also 14.57 and both take 9-13 days to ship. Weird.

Anyway, allmusic.com review time:

Replacing Steve Walsh with singer/keyboard player John Elefante, Kansas demonstrated that they could carry on by scoring their biggest hit in four years with the Top 20 "Play the Game Tonight," the leadoff track from Vinyl Confessions. Like now-undisputed group leader Kerry Livgren, Elefante was a born-again Christian, however, and his involvement in the songwriting turned the group decisively toward religious lyrical sentiments, often of a judgmental, us-versus-you nature. It's possible that fans who had been happy to accept the notion that "we are dust in the wind" were less patient with the ideas expressed in Elefante's "Face It" ("How many times do I have to tell you?") or Livgren's "(You're Standing on The) Borderline." Or maybe it was just that it was getting hard to distinguish Kansas from Foreigner and Journey. In any case, Vinyl Confessions was Kansas' first album since their debut not to go gold.

Vinyl Confessions

1. Play The Game Tonight
2. Right Away
3. Fair Exchange
4. Chasing Shadows
5. Diamonds And Pearls
6. Face It
7. Windows
8. Borderline
9. Play On
10. Crossfire

Availability: I can almost guarantee that the version I mentioned above are the Rock Candy remaster and it starts at around $12 used. Why there's two different listing is STILL beyond me. Now if we could only get remastered versions of their two MCA albums.....

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Kansas is a big deal this weekend!  But I'm frustrated about it because I thought I had ordered the Deluxe Edition a while back, and I did but it was the MP3 version.  And that frustrates me for two reasons, 1 - because I'm old school I like the physical CD, and 2 - I want to control the quality of my MP3 rips.   Its a dilemma...

Vinyl Confessions has made several appearances on SHT and we've had good discussions about it, almost all positive as I recall.  I have always loved this release, always, never wavered, not even once!  I'm a true fan...  The production of the album is far different than earlier albums, I suppose that should have been a given with the lineup changes.  Elefante is a very good replacement for Walsh IMO and clearly an agreeable song writing partner for Livgren, and it shows on this album.

There is a crispness to the production though thin at times, the depth of the music and lyrical content make up for it.  I have the Rock Candy remaster and its stellar!  Plus I love the feel of Eharts drumming on this, he's a very valuable asset to the sound of Kansas and his presence will make this new incarnation tie into the past, but I digress...

There is no filler here, not a single track that I would say isn't worth the time to listen to.  Side 2 is the more Kansas-like if you're searching for that you will find it, but Side 1 holds its own very nicely.  I love this post!  Maybe a hair more than last weeks which was criminally ignored IMO...

Nice work Jon!!!

That's a bummer. Listened to it this morning on Amazon since I'm a special member and just got the physical copy in the mail a few minutes ago.

Unless you want to be blamed for collusion, I don't see any reason why you need to post this in NMC this weekend.

Well, I kind of like the shorter, less proggy Kansas.  Don't get me wrong, proggy Kansas

could write some amazing songs.  Hit songs with great melodies and hooks.  But sometimes

they just prog you to death.  And prog, many times, bores the hell out of me.  Play The Game Tonight

is just an awesome pop song of the time.  Right Away is a pop tune as well, though not quite as good as

it's predecessor.  Fair Exchange does have a touch of prog, the right amount if you ask me.  Chasing

Shadows, now that's what you call a true hidden gem.  First time I've ever heard it, and I really dig it.

Diamonds And Pearls sounds like Christopher Cross doing quasi-prog.  

The remainder of the album carries on in much the same way.  Fairly good pop songs, with a touch of 

prog here and there.  Windows and Borderline are the best songs on the second half of the album, 

though Crossfire isn't bad either.  I enjoyed this.  I have the complete albums box for Kansas and I'm

pretty sure this one is included, I just haven't taken the time to listen to many of the albums in the

box.  This was an enjoyable listen for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

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