The band Kansas released their fourth album, Leftoverture, in October 1976. The album’s first single got a physical release in November, but it was such a massive hit on American rock stations that the album was already certified Gold by the end of January 1977. And in April 1977, the song “Carry On Wayward Son” became the band’s first Hot 100 hit, peaking at #11. It was so big that the band’s previous album, 1975’s Masque, was also certified Gold by the end of 1977.
At time of writing, Leftoverture has been certified four-times Platinum in the U.S. Understandable, as “Carry On Wayward Son” is a 9 out of 10. So just imagine how good the rest of the album is.
Well, truth be told, having three prog rock albums in a row made it feel like there was more prog rock on the overall list. Not that I’m complaining – they were all solid prog rock records. However, I will caution against judging Leftoverture by its hit potential because most of the songs do not easily lend themselves to being singles. The only exception might be “Questions Of My Childhood,” which is probably why it was made the B-side to “Carry On Wayward Son.” The actual follow-up single, “What’s On My Mind,” is a good song, though it doesn’t have quite the same anthemic quality. Still, it should have done better than not charting on the Hot 100 at all.
But if you care about more than hits, Leftoverture is a pretty good prog rock album that’s worth checking out.
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