Everybody knows the songs 'Dust in The Wind' and 'Carry On Wayward Son' which came from the ever to remember Kansas of the 70's. So, most people know that Kansas wrote those two fantastic songs but what they don't know is that Kansas went through two different periods (small ones).
The first period was when the band was formed back in 1971 (wow, that's a long time ago) and it lasted till 1973, when only Kerry Livgren (songwriter and guitarist) carried on using the name Kansas together with other prolific musicians.
That's when 'Dust In The Wind' and 'Carry On Wayward Son' were released (during the second phase of Kansas). But what happened to all the musicians who were in Kansas at the beginning? Well, some of them went back to school, others got married and generally they carried on with normal, everyday lives.
30 years later, Kerry Livgren has put all those people (from the first period) back together wanting to fulfil their initial dream and here they are, Proto-Kaw is a reality! Proto-Kaw means early-Kansas and it's quite obvious that the album title represents the whole story, they're here to pick up right where they left off!
With Lynn Meredith (vocals/narration), Brad Schulz (drums), John Bolton (saxophone/flute), Craig Kew (bass and background vocals), Kerry Livgren (songwriting/guitar/piano/keyboards/percussion/background vocals) and Dan Wright (organ/keyboards/percussion/background vocals), the music coming from my headphones could be characterized as a progressive jazz psychedelia or simply progressive rock (southern). It's really fantastic, they're no new-comers, no amateurs, they're mature musicians expressing their dreams. It's like listening to the 70's but in a more mature way, under a crystal clear production. There are songs that'll make you feel as if you're flying high up in the skies, with their deeply spiritualized, yet calm, vibes (like 'Leaven' and 'Axolotl - for lack of a better name'for example) and there are songs like 'The Occasion of Your Honest Dreaming' which will make you tap your fingers to those funky melodies. Technically perfect (I guess after 30 years of playing music you sort of become flawless), full of inspiration (you have to listen to that flute mixing in with the keyboards, the guitars and everything else!) and passion for music, Proto-Kaw enlighten our times with tunes we all seem to have forgotten, with melodies that never die (music never dies anyway)...with feelings people so much are in need of, through music.
A big thumb up for Proto-Kaw, a big smile of satisfaction for all of us who loved (and still do) Kansas and a big rating from me for something this unimaginably beautiful!