''Leftoverture'' is the fourth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, 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.

Background

Steve Walsh began to experience

writer's block Writer's block is a non-medical condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Writer's block has various degrees of severity, from difficulty in coming ...

prior to the recording, and his contribution to the album would ultimately be limited to co-authoring three songs; it fell on

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. Livgren, raised in Topeka, Kansas, developed an early interest in musi ...

to fill the void. The new compositions retained much of the classically inspired complexity of Livgren's previous work. As with their previous album, ''

Masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

'', Kansas recorded ''Leftoverture'' 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 Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by '' mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, ...

the size of B-52s and at times

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

s would run into the control room." ''Leftoverture'' opens with the song "

Carry On Wayward Son "Carry On Wayward Son" is a song by American rock band Kansas, released on their 1976 studio album, '' Leftoverture''. Written by guitarist Kerry Livgren, the song became the band's first top 40 hit, reaching No. 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot ...

", which Livgren wrote as a sequel to "The Pinnacle", the final song from the previous album ''

'' (1975). The album's title, ''Leftoverture'', is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of ''leftover'' and ''overture''.

Reception

The album was met with mixed reviews. ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called ''Leftoverture'' Kansas's best album to date, and said that it "warrants Kansas a spot right alongside

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

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." The magazine ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' reviewed the album as "extremely strong" and lauded Kansas for representing "the solid, Midwestern values of our vast musical heartland." In contrast,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

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. More recently,

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Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

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."

Gary Graff Gary Graff (born 1960) is an American music journalist and author. Biography Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Graff attended Taylor Allderdice High School where he wrote for school newspaper ''The Taylor Allderdice Foreword''. He recei ...

was more enthusiastic, finding ''Leftoverture'' to be "Kansas' breakthrough album and a thorough representation of its assorted musical sensibilities." ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' critic Matt Wardlaw considered "Carry On Wayward Son", "Magnum Opus", "The Wall", "What's on My Mind" and "Opus Insert" to be classics. ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Eduardo Rivadavia rated "Carry On Wayward Son" as Kansas' greatest song and "The Wall" as Kansas' sixth greatest song. ''Classic Rock History'' critic Brian Kachejian rated "The Wall" as Kansas' all-time best song, as well as rating "Carry On Wayward Son" number 2 and "Miracles Out of Nowhere" number 5. ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' critic Dave Ling also ranked three songs from ''Leftoverture'' among Kansas' 10 best – "Magnum Opus", "Miracles Out of Nowhere" and "Carry On Wayward Son". Ronnie Platt, who became Kansas' lead singer in 2014, rated three songs from ''Leftoverture'' as being among his 10 favorite Kansas songs – "Carry On Wayward Son", "The Wall" and "Miracles Out of Nowhere".

Track listing

Personnel

;Kansas * Steve Walsh –

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, additional synthesizers,

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

, lead and backing vocals, congas. *

– electric guitar, piano,

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

, Moog, Oberheim and ARP synthesizers *

Robby Steinhardt Robert Eugene Steinhardt (May 25, 1950 – July 17, 2021) was an American musician best known for his work with rock band Kansas, for which he was co-lead singer, violinist and MC along with keyboardist Steve Walsh, from 1973 to 1982 and from ...

– violin,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, lead vocals on "Miracles Out of Nowhere" and "Cheyenne Anthem", 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 music, rock band Kansas (band), Kansas alongside drummer Phil Ehart. Both have appeared on ...

– electric and acoustic guitars *

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 the tuba and trumpe ...

– 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 –

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*Edwin Hobgood, Ray Black – additional studio assistance *

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947June 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 attended ...

– mastering at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 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 attended ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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*Jeff Magid – remastered edition producer *Dave McMacken - graphic design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Kansas (band) albums 1976 albums Albums produced by Jeff Glixman Legacy Recordings albums Epic Records albums Albums recorded at Studio in the Country