The Best of Kansas

Last updated
The Best of Kansas
The Best of Kansas.jpg
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedJuly 31, 1984
Recorded19741984
StudioPakaderm Studios, Long Beach, California ("Perfect Lover")
Genre Hard rock, progressive rock
Length48:11
Label CBS Associated, Epic
Producer Various
Kansas chronology
Drastic Measures
(1983)
The Best of Kansas
(1984)
Power
(1986)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

The Best of Kansas is the first compilation by American progressive rock band Kansas. Originally released in 1984, it featured the new "Perfect Lover," written by then-lead vocalist John Elefante and his brother Dino Elefante.

Contents

The compilation was rereleased in 1999 in a version supervised by the original band members. "Perfect Lover" was dropped in favor of three additional tracks from the original lineup: "The Pinnacle" from Masque, "The Devil Game" from Song for America, and a live track deleted owing to space limitations from the CD version of Two for the Show called "Closet Chronicles," originally from Point of Know Return.

The album has sold over 4 million copies in the United States and was certified quadruple platinum in 2001. [3]

The versions of "Carry On Wayward Son" and "The Wall" on the 1984 release of The Best of Kansas are remixed by Kerry Livgren and unique to the first version of this collection. For the 1999 reissue of the collection, the original 1976 mixes from the album Leftoverture are used instead. The removal of "Perfect Lover" – previously available only on this album – made the track out of print in the United States. The original track listing and mixes were restored for the 2014 180-gram vinyl release of the album by Friday Music. That version was released on red vinyl a few years later.


Cover art

The painting of Parson Weems. Parson Weems' Fable.jpg
The painting of Parson Weems.

The album cover art, by artist Steve Carver, is a parody of Grant Wood's 1939 painting of the author Parson Weems pointing to the famous scene of George Washington and George's father inquiring after young George had just chopped down a cherry tree with his hatchet. The cover contains elements of nearly all previous Kansas album covers:

Track listing

1984 original version

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Carry On Wayward Son" (Remixed version) Kerry Livgren Leftoverture (1976)5:22
2."Point of Know Return" Steve Walsh, Phil Ehart, Robby Steinhardt Point of Know Return (1977)3:11
3."Fight Fire with Fire" John Elefante, Dino Elefante Drastic Measures (1983)3:40
4."Dust in the Wind"LivgrenPoint of Know Return3:27
5."Song for America" (Edited version)Livgren Song for America (1975)9:08
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
6."Perfect Lover"J. Elefante, D. Elefantenew song4:19
7."Hold On"Livgren Audio-Visions (1980)3:52
8."No One Together"LivgrenAudio-Visions6:57
9."Play the Game Tonight"Livgren, Rich Williams, Ehart, Danny Flower, Rob Frazier Vinyl Confessions (1982)3:26
10."The Wall" (Remixed version)Livgren, WalshLeftoverture4:49

1999 reissue

No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Carry On Wayward Son"Livgren 5:22
2."Point of Know Return"Walsh, Ehart, Steinhardt 3:11
3."Fight Fire with Fire"J. Elefante, D. Elefante 3:40
4."Dust in the Wind"Livgren 3:27
5."Song for America" (Edited version)Livgren 9:07
6."Hold On"Livgren 3:51
7."No One Together"Livgren 6:57
8."Play the Game Tonight"Livgren, Williams, Ehart, Flower, Frazier 3:26
9."The Wall"Livgren, Walsh 4:47
10."The Pinnacle"Livgren Masque (1975)9:36
11."The Devil Game"Walsh, Dave Hope Song for America5:04
12."Closet Chronicles" (Live)Walsh, Livgren Two for the Show (1978)6:54

Personnel

Additional personnel
Production

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [7] 4× Platinum4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Kansas - The Best of Kansas review". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  2. Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Kansas". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  446. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  3. "RIAA Gold & Platinum Database: Search for Kansas". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  4. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8515". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  5. "Kansas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  6. "Kansas Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard.com. Billboard . Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  7. "American album certifications – Kansas – Best of Kansas". Recording Industry Association of America.