''Audio-Visions'' is the seventh studio album by American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

, released in 1980. The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 1996 on

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

/ Epic and again in 2011, as a Japanese import vinyl-replica CD, as well as part of the Sony/Legacy domestic boxed set, ''Kansas Complete Album Collection 1974-1983'', which packages all of the band's original releases on Kirshner and affiliated labels CBS/Columbia.

Kerry Livgren Kerry Allen Livgren (born September 18, 1949) is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas. Biography Livgren was raised in Topeka, Kansas, by his father Allen ...

's recent conversion to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

is first heard on this album, primarily in the lyrics to " Hold On", which was written as an evangelistic plea to his wife. That song was the original lineup's last Top 40, peaking at No. 40 as the album's first single. The second single from the album, "Got to Rock On," charted outside the Top 40, and was released as a promo only 12" single as well, featuring a live version of the song on Side B of the promotional single, taken from an ABC Radio "the Source" live concert broadcast from Chicago. In addition, another stop on the ''Audio-Visions'' tour was broadcast on the radio show "A Night on the Road", from the

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself nam ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. In addition to playing almost every song on the album on the tour, the band also played one selection each from Livgren and Walsh's recent solo albums. While every song from the album ''

Monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...

'' was played during the early part of the Monolith tour in 1979, not a single song from ''Monolith'' was played on the Audio-Visions tour. The eighth song on this album, "No One Together", was originally intended for release on the previous album, ''Monolith'', but it was dropped from that album due to an argument between Walsh and Livgren over whose song should be included there (with Walsh winning out the argument by having his song, "How My Soul Cries Out for You", included) and wound up on this album instead. The album was to be the last album with the band's original lineup until 2000's ''

Somewhere to Elsewhere ''Somewhere to Elsewhere'' is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 2000. It is Kansas' first album to feature the band's original lineup since 1980's '' Audio-Visions'', along with Billy Greer, who joined the b ...

'', and coincidentally the band's latest studio album to be certified gold by the RIAA (which it did in December 1980). In 2018, Friday Music released a 180-gram "blue-splatter" translucent vinyl remaster of the album, featuring a gatefold cover with the original sleeve artwork, and an insert in the first sleeve of a foldout poster of the album cover.

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' gave a resoundingly negative review of the album, calling it "the musically overwrought and lyrically fatuous product of a collective hubris gone haywire," and mockingly referring to Kerry Livgren as "Kerry Liver." They contended that Kansas had lost all direction, with "Hold On" being the only track not lost in misdirected ambitions.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

's William Ruhlmann retrospectively remarked how "nothing here matched the music from the group's late-'70s heyday", probably due to the two main songwriters being distracted by their solo careers with Kansas "becoming a part-time occupation".

Track listing

Credits

Kansas * Steve Walsh - keyboards,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist, ...

, percussion, lead and backing vocals *

- guitars, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals *

Robby Steinhardt Robert Eugene Steinhardt (May 25, 1950 – July 17, 2021) was an American rock violinist and singer best known for his work with the group Kansas, for which he was co-lead singer/"frontman" and MC along with keyboardist Steve Walsh, from 1973 ...

- violin,

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, lead and backing vocals *

Rich Williams Richard John Williams (born February 1, 1950) is an American guitarist, primarily known for being one of the only consistent original members of the rock band Kansas alongside drummer Phil Ehart. Both have appeared on every Kansas album to da ...

- guitar, percussion, backing vocals *

Dave Hope Dave Hope (born October 7, 1949) is an American bass guitarist who played with the American progressive rock band Kansas from 1970 (original version) until the band's first split in 1983. When he was in high school, he played defensive center f ...

- bass guitar, backing vocals *

Phil Ehart Phillip W. Ehart (born February 4, 1950) is the drummer in the progressive rock band Kansas. He and Rich Williams are the only two members who have appeared on every Kansas album. Though his songwriting contributions to the group were few, he co ...

- drums, percussion, backing vocals Additional personnel * Donna Williams – additional voice and sounds * Joey Jelf – additional voice and sounds * Lisa White – additional voice and sounds * Victoria Livgren – additional voice and sounds * Terry Ehart – additional voice and sounds * The Four Bassmen – additional voice and sounds Production *

- producers, cover concept * Brad Aaron, Davey Moiré - co-producers, engineers * Greg Webster - assistant engineer *

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

- mastering at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

, New York * Tom Drennon - art direction, design, illustrations * Peter Lloyd - cover painting * Bob Irwin - reissue producer * Vic Anesini - digital

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ing * Frank Tozour - sony digital editing

Charts

;Album ;Singles

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Kansas (band) albums 1980 albums Epic Records albums