Power (Kansas album)


Power is the tenth studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1986. It was the band's first studio album for MCA Records.
A year and a half after Kansas disbanded at the end of the Drastic Measures tour, former lead singer Steve Walsh returned to revive Kansas along with original band members Phil Ehart and Rich Williams. Guitarist Steve Morse, who joined at Ehart's invitation after the two met at a concert in Atlanta, contributed greatly to the songwriting and to the sound of the new lineup. Bass guitarist and vocalist Billy Greer, who had worked with Walsh in the short-lived band Streets after the singer left Kansas in 1981, completed the lineup. The new Kansas began rehearsing in July 1985, while Walsh was finishing a tour as sideman for Cheap Trick. They released Power the following year.
A promotional video for the single "All I Wanted", featuring clips of a variety of women walking and smiling, was shot with only Walsh and Morse from the band appearing. Mixed by producer Humberto Gatica, the song was a major top 40 and adult contemporary hit, yet the band has not played the song in concert for many years.
The follow-up singles "Power" and "Can't Cry Anymore" failed to receive significant airplay, though the former is the last Kansas single to date to hit the Billboard Top 100 pop charts. A video featuring comedian Richard Belzer was produced for "Can't Cry Anymore" but was never widely released. Both songs were edited and remixed by Gatica for release as singles.

Reception

In a contemporary review, Xavier Russel of the British magazine Kerrang! called the pompous sound of Kansas "very dated" and, despite a few pleasant rockers like "Musicatto", found other songs "embarrassing beyond belief".
In his retrospective review, AllMusic reviewer remarked Kansas' dramatic change in musical direction, "more hard rock and pop than prog rock", which "probably surprised longtime Kansas fans" but gave the band "an interesting - if ultimately short-lived - new direction."

Track listing

Personnel

;Kansas
;Additional musicians
;Production
;Album
YearChartPosition
1987Billboard 200 35
1987RPM100 Albums 92

;Singles
YearTitleChartPosition
1986"All I Wanted"Mainstream Rock Tracks 10
1987"All I Wanted"Adult Contemporary 14
1987"All I Wanted"Billboard Hot 100 19
1987"All I Wanted"RPM100 Singles 75
1987"Power"Mainstream Rock Tracks 38
1987"Power"Billboard Hot 100 84