It’s been seventeen years since the original Kansas lineup recorded tmgether. Such an event merits special circumstances, for sure. So when Kansas founder Kerry Livgren realized the solo material he’d been working on would be perfect for his old band, recording at his Grandyzine farm/studio in Topeka seemed appropriate. The band’s strong return to form, Somewhere To Elsewhere, certainly benefited from the relaxed vibe.

“We’d play a track and then go hang out with the sheep,” reflects drummer Phil Ehart. “We’d pet the horse; the turkeys would gobble at us. It was an interesting way to work.”

Besides taking advantage of ultra-clean digital recording technology, the band consciously trimmed arrangements, making their powerful “American progressive” music more hard-hitting. “It’s easy to layer a lot of things in our music,” Ehart explains. “There’s so much going on. But we tried hard to keep it uncluttered. Advertisement