Two for the Show

by Ed Rivadavia

By the late '70s, Kansas had not only established themselves as one of America's most adventurous progressive rock bands; they even had a number of Top 20 hits to their credit. And as they finally paused for a breath after a string of five increasingly successful studio albums, it made perfect sense to fill the gap with a live album. Originally released as a double-vinyl set, Two for the Show is a sprawling, mind-boggling affair that juggles such overblown epics as "Journey from Mariabronn" and the self-explanatory "Magnum Opus" with mandatory hit singles "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind." The former will undoubtedly thrill fanatics with their extended improvisations, but the indistinct performances of the latter will prove largely useless to the casual fan. And with live albums in general going the way of the vinyl record these days, this particular fossil will only satisfy musical anthropologists.