From the moment the drums kick in on opening song ‘With This Heart’ I thought “ok , good start!”.  Not releasing an album of all new material since 2000’s ‘Somewhere To Elsewhere’, Kansas was in a recording limbo.  Interviews have pointed the finger at former lead vocalist Steve Walsh as the barrier to not only changing the live setlist but also new recordings. With Walsh retiring in 2014 and Kansas reappearing a scant three weeks later with their new lineup and performing songs they hadn’t played live in years, fans knew something could be brewing.

Released on Inside/Out music in 2016, The Prelude Implicit is Kansas.  It sounds like Kansas, feels like Kansas even if there are only three members that were on their last studio album. Returning violinist David Ragsdale (previously in the band from 1991 through 1997 and back in the band since 2006), joins drummer/manager Phil Ehart, guitarist Richard Williams and perpetual newcomer bassist/vocalist Billy Greer.  New members, vocalist Ronnie Platt, keyboardist David Manion and guitarist/producer Zak Rizvi are the newcomers that more than shatter expectations. The odd thing is the album touches on the many different faces of Kansas that they put on over the years.  With This Heart sounds like the 80s AOR sound that carried the band through that strange decade.  The magnum opus of the album is ‘The Voyage of Eight Eighteen’ which has many twists and turns like the classic Progressive Rock sound that Kansas had on their first three albums.

The person with the most on the line is new vocalist Ronnie Platt.  In the late 2000’s he was the lead vocalist with Shooting Star a band that in the late 70s , early 80s was compared to Kansas due to their use of a violinist in a rock band. I had issues with his singing with Shooting Star based on some semi-official live releases the band put out.  The only way to explain it is that he sounded nasally or whiny.  I have to say I was surprised and apprehensive when I heard that he was going to be Kansas’ new vocalist especially considering other names that came out who threw their hat into the ring (former Kansas singer John Elefante, Spock’s Beard/Enchant vocalist Ted Leonard).  As soon as he started singing on ‘With This Heart’ I knew my fears were unfounded.  Throughout the album he sounds fantastic.  One of the best compliments that can be said is that he is not a Steve Walsh clone and really makes the album his own.

Zak Rizvi was brought in to produce the album and on the way also brought some songs that he had written for Kansas several years ago.  By the end of the recording process he had played guitar on all the songs, and was made an official member of the band.  David Manion had played keyboards on all Seventh Key albums (Billy Greer’s “solo” band) and had been the lighting tech more recently for Kansas.  His playing of the Hammond B3 organ really brings back the classic sound.

I won’t do a track by track review, but everything that you expect from Kansas is here. The “core four” of Phil Ehart, Richard Williams, Billy Greer and David Ragsdale round out the rest of the band. Ehart’s drumming is impressive, sounding HUGE throughout the album.  Richard Williams seems to be revitalized with playing new material. Billy Greer’s deep and melodic bass works great with the machine gun drumming that Ehart delivers here, plus a turn singing lead on ‘Summer’ makes one think that maybe he could have taken over lead vocal duties. David Ragsdale’s violin playing is up front and center showing off what this virtuoso can do.

The songs range from the two previously mentioned to hard guitar driven songs like ‘Visibility Zero’ and ‘Crowded Isolation’.  ‘Refugee’ is a slower acoustic driven song co-written by Billy Greer’s Streets and Seventh Key cohort Mike Slamer.  The album ends with ‘Section 60’ a moving instrumental inspired by the portion of Arlington Cemetery where veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are buried.  Needless to say it is very moving.

The two “bonus tracks” available are two American classics, ‘Home On The Range’ and an instrumental version of ‘Oh Shenandoah’.  Surprisingly they’re both worth a listen and given the Kansas twist.

The Prelude Implicit arrived with low expectations and rose like the phoenix that adorns the cover.  The album holds up well with former Kansas glories and should not be ignored because of “replacement players”.  It is a tremendous triumph.

Band website: http://www.kansasband.com