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 Almost brillliant Jan 01, 2010
Audio-Visions is the last album to feature Steve Walsh until 1986's Power. It is not as highly regarded as earlier efforts such as 'Leftoverture' and 'Point of know return'.
In fact the band is very tight here and they are playing beautifully. Also this is avtually a very progressive album for 1980 and features a few inspiring long players. The opening 'Relentless' is a wonderfully up-tempo prog song, 'Curtain of Iron', 'Don't open your eyes' and 'No one together' are strong prog pieces. There area a few stabs at hard rock but the pop tunes 'Hold On' and 'Back Door' work better, where 'Loner' and 'Got to rock on' test the listeners patience a bit. 'No room for a stranger' is a bit better.
Tensions in the band show with the album having a double personality, wiht the Livgren songs sounding very much different to the Walsh songs. They would soon split but in spite of this the album still remains a fine one, it is possibly one of Kansas' best recordings, and definitely worthy of addition to your Kansas collection. Actually this could have been possibly the best Kansas album had Steve Walsh written a better set of songs (sorry Steve). The Livgren songs are some of the best in the Kansas catalogueand the band is playing even better than they were in the mid to late seventies.
BTW great futuristic cover, a bit ahead of it's time.
 No Filler, Mostly Killer Oct 26, 2009
Even a hardcore Kansas fan will admit there are some throwaway tracks on the band's two milestones--"Leftoverture" and "Point of Know Return." So it's surprising that the lesser-known "Audio-Visions" is so incredibly solid from start to finish, and might be their hardest-rocking album overall along with "Song for America."
There isn't a musical monument on here like "Carry On My Wayward Son" or "Dust in the Wind", but "Hold On" is pretty close, and if you like that Kansas signature "sound"--biting guitar, tight drumming, violin and keyboards in unison, and soaring vocal harmonies, then "Audio-Visions" is a must own. The artwork will mess with your head too if you stare at it long enough!
Ironically, this is the last LP from the original lineup, just as they seemed to perfect their craft together, they parted ways, and the band was never the same again. A perfect swan song for a unique collection of musical visionaries.
Audio Visions Apr 12, 2009
One of thier best albums. It has some of thier best riffs, Steve Walsh's vocal are awe inspiring.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Kansas' original lineup's classic swan song for some 20 years Oct 30, 2008
Kansas' seventh studio album (eighth overall) entitled Audio-Visions was released in September of 1980.
During the band's Monolith tour, guitarist/keyboard player Kerry Livgren and bass player Dave Hope were "spritually awoken" and became born-again Christians. As a result, Livgren's songwriting went more spiritual and Christian oriented whilst singer/keyboard player Steve Walsh was still writing straight-ahead rock and roll and living the rock star life.
The opening rocker "Relentless" is a great rocker with superb lyrics and awesome performances all around (especially from Livgren and guitarist Rich Williams trading leads in the middle). The pop rocker "Anything for You" follows and is a great pop number. Next is the album's first single which was "Hold On". The track is a great ballad that's a unique love song: a plea from Livgren to his wife to listen to the call of Christ. Walsh's vocal here is superb as is violinist/vocalist Robby Steinhardt's violin work. Next is the rocker "Loner" which is a blazing little rocker with Walsh singing his heart out and drummer Phil Ehart's playing almost punkish but great. "Curtain of Iron" (the first half ender) kicks the album into high gear.
The album's second half begins with Walsh's rocker "Got to Rock On" which was the other rock radio hit from the album. Next is the almost complete band composed "Don't Open Your Eyes" which is a great piece. Next is arguably Livgren's greatest contribution to the album which is the classic "No One Together" which proved prog wasn't dead (much to critics' chagrin). The Williams/Walsh collaboration "No Room for a Stranger" is a rocker which is a great piece. The closing track is "Back Door" which was Walsh's last contribution on a Kansas album until he returned in 1986 as he would leave the band in late 1981 for creative and personal reasons.
Audio Visions was another winner and another Gold seller for the band but the album didn't sell as well as previous efforts and was the first studio album since 1975's Masque to miss the US Top 20 but nevertheless is a great album (especially the remastered CD released in early 1996).
Recommended!
Last of the Classic Line-up Mar 24, 2008
KANSAS - Audio-Visions (1980) (*** ) 10 tracks (43:27)
Audio-Visions represents KANSAS's last album with their original line-up still intact. It's now the 80's, and this album shows it. The pop trends of that era show up strongly on this release.
Unlike the famous writing duo of Lennon/McCartney, who seemed content to write together and share most of the credit, KANSAS's main songwriters, Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren almost always write seperately. There is always a balance of songs on each album written by the two. Just about a 50/50 split, with a couple of tracks co-written with other members of the band. After a while of listening to the two writing "styles" of Walsh and Livgren, one can guess with about 90% accuracy who wrote each song as they are presented. Walsh leans to a more "pop" style and Livgren still leans towards a more "classical" style of arrangement. And, as usual, the biggest hit on this was penned by Kerry Livgren. Mainly "Hold On". The most recognisable song from this album. The second most popular song is "Got to Rock On" by Steve Walsh. It definitely has a "pop" feel to it. It's enjoyable, but it's not the KANSAS of old and it's absolutely not progressive. Those days are long gone, sadly. After this album was complete, Steve Walsh left the band. This time for good. The personal and musical differences between him and Kerry Livgren were just too much to take anymore.
This is the first KANSAS album to be "remastered" by EPIC/Legacy, way back in 1996. Therefore, it has a decent 7 page booklet, which duplicates what one got with the original album release: original album art (front & back) plus all lyrics and production notes. The remastering job isn't quite up to today's standards, but it's allright.
Best Tracks: Hold On and No One Together
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