Leftoverture

Leftoverture is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1976. The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 2001. It was the band's first album to be certified by the RIAA, and remains their highest selling album, having been certified 5 times platinum in the United States.[1]

Leftoverture
Studio album by Kansas
Released	October 21, 1976
Recorded	December 1975-August 1976
Studio	Studio in the Country, Bogalusa, Louisiana
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	43:40
Label	Kirshner (US) Epic (Europe and Japan) CBS (Oceania)
Producer	Jeff Glixman, Kansas
Kansas chronology
Masque (1975) Leftoverture (1976) Point of Know Return (1977)
Singles from Leftoverture
"Carry On Wayward Son" / "Questions of My Childhood" Released: November 19, 1976 "What's on My Mind" / "Lonely Street" Released: 1977

Background

Steve Walsh began to experience writer's block prior to the recording, and his contribution to the album would ultimately be limited to co-authoring three songs. It fell on Kerry Livgren to fill the void.[2] The new compositions retained much of the classically inspired complexity of Livgren's previous work.[2] Kansas recorded the album at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The Studio in the Country was so named because, as Livgren described on In the Studio with Redbeard radio show in the episode spotlighting Leftoverture, "it was in the middle of a swamp. We'd walk out of the studio and there would be gators in front of the studio, mosquitos the size of B-52s and at times armadillos would run into the control room."[3]

Leftoverture opens with the song "Carry On Wayward Son", which Livgren wrote as a sequel to "The Pinnacle", the final song from the previous album Masque (1975).

The album's title, Leftoverture, is a portmanteau of "leftover" and "overture".

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Christgau's Record Guide	D+[5]
MusicHound Rock	4/5[6]

The album was met with mixed reviews. Rolling Stone called Leftoverture Kansas's best album to date, and said that it "warrants Kansas a spot right alongside Boston and Styx as one of the fresh new American bands who combine hard-driving group instrumentation (with a dearth of flashy solos) with short, tight melody lines and pleasant singing."[7] The magazine Playboy reviewed the album as "extremely strong" and lauded Kansas for representing "the solid, Midwestern values of our vast musical heartland."[8] In contrast, Robert Christgau said the album lacked the intelligence and conviction of European progressive rock, and that the self-deprecating humor implied in the song and album titles is completely absent from the record itself.[5]

More recently, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the album contains "neither hooks nor true grandiosity to make it interesting" and, despite the great single "Carry On Wayward Son", the fact that Kansas "never manage to rival it anywhere on this record is as much a testament to their crippling ambition as their lack of skills."[4] Gary Graff was more enthusiastic, finding Leftoverture to be "Kansas' breakthrough album and a thorough representation of its assorted musical sensibilities."[6] Ultimate Classic Rock considered "Carry On Wayward Son", "Magnum Opus", "The Wall", "What's on My Mind" and "Opus Insert" to be classics.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kerry Livgren except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Carry On Wayward Son"		5:23
2.	"The Wall"	Livgren, Steve Walsh	4:51
3.	"What's on My Mind"		3:28
4.	"Miracles Out of Nowhere"		6:28

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Opus Insert"		4:30
6.	"Questions of My Childhood"	Walsh, Livgren	3:40
7.	"Cheyenne Anthem"		6:55
8.	"Magnum Opus" a. "Father Padilla Meets the Perfect Gnat" b. "Howling at the Moon" c. "Man Overboard" d. "Industry on Parade" e. "Release the Beavers" f. "Gnat Attack"	Livgren, Walsh, Rich Williams, Dave Hope, Phil Ehart, Robby Steinhardt	8:25

Bonus tracks on 2001 CD reissue

No.	Title	Length
9.	"Carry On Wayward Son" (live at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Michigan)	4:43
10.	"Cheyenne Anthem" (live at The Palladium in New York City, December 1977)	6:41

Personnel

Kansas

• Steve Walsh - organ, piano, additional synthesizers, vibraphone, lead and backing vocals (all tracks)
• Kerry Livgren - electric guitar, piano, clavinet, Moog, Oberheim and ARP synthesizers
• Robby Steinhardt - violin, viola, lead vocals on "Miracles Out of Nowhere" and "Cheyenne Anthem", backing vocals
• Rich Williams - electric and acoustic guitars
• Dave Hope - bass guitar
• Phil Ehart - drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Toye LaRocca, Cheryl Norman - children's voices on "Cheyenne Anthem"

Production

• Jeff Glixman - producer, assistant engineer, remastered edition producer
• Bill Evans - engineer
• Edwin Hobgood, Ray Black - additional studio assistance
• George Marino - mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City, New York
• Jeff Magid - remastered edition producer

Charts

Album Year Chart Position 1977 RPM100 Albums (Canada)[10] 2 Billboard 200 (US)[11] 5

Singles Year Title Chart Position 1977 "Carry On Wayward Son" RPM100 Singles (Canada)[12] 5 Billboard Hot 100 (US)[13] 11 1978 UK Singles Chart[14] 51 1977 "What's on My Mind" RPM100 Singles (Canada)[15] 89

Certifications

Country	Organization	Year	Sales
USA	RIAA	1995	4x Platinum (+ 4,000,000)[1]
Canada	CRIA	1978	Platinum (+ 100,000)[16]

References

1. "RIAA Gold & Platinum Database: Search for Kansas". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
2. Wild, David (2001). Leftoverture (CD Booklet). Kansas. New York City: Legacy Recordings. p. 3. EK 85386.
3. "Kansas-Leftoverture- Phil Ehart, Richard Williams, Kerry Livgren". In the Studio with Redbeard. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Kansas - Leftoverture review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
5. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 28, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
6. Graff, Gary (1996). "Kansas: Leftoverture". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Canton, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0787610371. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
7. Niester, Alan (January 27, 1977). "Album Reviews: Kansas - Leftoverture". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
8. "Kansas: Leftoverture". Playboy. July 1977. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
9. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kansas-leftoverture/
10. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 27, No. 3, April 16, 1977". Library and Archives Canada. April 16, 1977. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
11. "Kansas Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
12. "Top Singles - Volume 27, No. 1, April 2, 1977". Library and Archives Canada. April 2, 1977. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
13. "Kansas Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
14. "Kansas Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
15. "Top Singles - Volume 27, No. 17, July 23, 1987". Library and Archives Canada. July 23, 1977. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
16. "Gold Platinum Search for Kansas". Music Canada. Retrieved December 26, 2017.