It was a time when double live albums were the norm. Kansas did their bit for the cause. Yes, the late 70’s was a period when great bands committed their live shows to tape, warts and all.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Kansas
ALBUM: Two For The Show (Live)
LABEL: Kirshner
SERIAL: PZ2 35660
YEAR: 1978
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Phil Ehart – percussion, drums * Dave Hope – bass * Kerry Livgren – guitars, keyboards * Robby Steinhardt – violins, backing vocals, lead vocals * Steve Walsh – keyboards, lead vocals * Rich Williams – guitars
<TRACK LISTING: 01 Song For America * 02 Point Of Know Return * 03 Paradox * 04 Icarus – Borne On The Wings Of Steel * 05 Portrait (He Knew) * 06 Carry On Wayward Son * 07 Journey From Mariabronn * 08 Dust In The Wind (Acc Gtr Solo) * 09 Lonely Wind (Piano solo) * 10 Mysteries And Mayhem * 11 Excerpt from Lamplight Symphony * 12 The Wall * 13 Closet Chronicles * 14 Magnum Opus
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
It was a time when double live albums were the norm. Yes, the late 70’s was a period when great bands committed their craft to tape, warts and all. That is, WYHIWYG. However, as we’ve read elsewhere here at Glory Daze HQ, some of those live albums were tweaked to kingdom come. No need to name names, we know who the culprits are.
Kudos then to Kansas, who released the late 1978 two-LP set ‘Two For The Show’ with next to no tweaking and after-dubs in the studio, apart from audience clapping phasing in and out. Well done to Jeff Glixman. The band recorded many moments on the ‘Point Of Know Return’ tour, which commenced in 1977 and finished up toward the end of 1978. The double album went gold within a few weeks and eventually reached platinum in March 1979.
The Songs
The interest with ‘Two For The Show’ was not so much in the material on the album, which showcases the band in their prime, but more in the way the album was handled over the years in terms of reissues. Sure, most of the band’s epic songs were included on the double LP. Astonishingly, the 2008 reissue from Sony/Legacy included 11 previously unreleased songs, which were only found after checking the mastertapes.
Drummer Phil Ehart admonished the label, and was quoted as saying ‘I can’t believe that they were sitting on this material for 30 years’. However, give credit where it was due, as the 2008 30th Anniversary edition includes those missing songs, and adds an extra 75 minutes to the run time.
If there was ever a version of this album to get, then it would be the 2008 reissue. Sony/Legacy brought Jeff Glixman back to do the remastering, seeing he was there at the start. Though issued on the original double LP, ‘Closet Chronicles’ was removed on the first CD issue due to the lack of space available on the single CD format (80 minutes). The track was added back in on subsequent reissues.
In Summary
I’m a bit of sucker for these double live albums, and feel that they were an important part of the 70’s and early-mid 80’s discographic history. You can be assured that Glory Daze will be reviewing as many of these gatefold classics as possible – during 2014. Watch this space!
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
