In the Spirit of Things is the 11th studio album, and 13th overall, by American rock band Kansas, released in 1988 . It is a very loosely organized concept album telling the story of a flood hitting the real Kansas town of Neosho Falls in the early 1950s. The album is often cited by lead vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter Steve Walsh as his favorite Kansas album. Its odd mixture of hard rock, progressive rock, and '80s pop ballads (forced on the band by MCA Records, which selected outside son...
In the Spirit of Things is the 11th studio album, and 13th overall, by American rock band Kansas, released in 1988 . It is a very loosely organized concept album telling the story of a flood hitting the real Kansas town of Neosho Falls in the early 1950s. The album is often cited by lead vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter Steve Walsh as his favorite Kansas album. Its odd mixture of hard rock, progressive rock, and '80s pop ballads (forced on the band by MCA Records, which selected outside songwriters in an attempt to generate hit singles) failed to catch on with a mass audience but it remains a cult favorite among Kansas fans.
The album was Kansas's last studio effort for a major label. It didn't receive much by way of promotion, as MCA dropped a slew of "older" artists shortly after its release and famously switched its attention to current younger acts such as Tiffany. Kansas got caught in that decision and the album was a commercial failure. The label did produce several promotional materials for the record, though, including a glossy video for "Stand Beside Me," which was played regularly on MTV and allowed the single to hit the album rock charts, the very last Kansas single to chart in any format. Other songs were released in odd formats, such as a 12" promotional single of "I Counted on Love," an import CD single of "House on Fire," and a small CD single of "Stand Beside Me." The album also marked the last Kansas release to appear in vinyl format.
A tour in support of this album included a broadcast by the King Biscuit Flower Hour, which many years later released the show as a CD.
Track listing
"Ghosts" – 4:18
"One Big Sky" – 5:17
"Inside of Me" – 4:42
"One Man, One Heart" – 4:20
"House on Fire" – 4:42
"Once in a Lifetime" – 4:14
"Stand Beside Me" – 3:28
"I Counted on Love" – 3:33
"The Preacher" – 4:18
"Rainmaker" – 6:44
"T.O. Witcher [instrumental]" – 1:39
"Bells of Saint James" – 5:39
The Band
Phil Ehart - drums
Billy Greer - bass, vocals
Steve Morse - guitars, vocals
Steve Walsh - keyboards, vocals
Rich Williams - guitars
Additional personnel
Terry Brock - vocals, background vocals
Rev. James Cleveland - vocals, background vocals
Steve Croes - keyboard, synclavier
Bob Ezrin - percussion, vocals, background vocals
Ricky Keller - synthesizer
John Price - bass, fretless bass
Greg Robert - keyboard, vocals, background vocals
Southern California Community Choir - chorus
Christopher Yavelow - synthesizer, Kurzweil synthesizer
Production
Producers: Phil Ehart, Bob Ezrin, Greg Ladanyi, Paul Maxon
Engineers: Bob Ezrin, Stan Katayama, Greg Ladanyi, Bob Loftus, Brendan O'Brien, Garth Richardson
Assistant engineers: Lawrence Fried, Stan Katayama, Edd Miller
Mixing: Bob Ezrin, Greg Ladanyi, Garth Richardson
Mastering: Stephen Marcussen, Doug Sax
Drum programming: Ricky Keller
Keyboard programming: Ricky Keller, Greg Robert
Production supervisor: Robert Hrycyna
Technical supervisor: Robert Hrycyna
Equipment assistant: Jack Adams
Arrangers: Bob Ezrin, Kansas
Art direction: Storm Thorgerson
Photography: Paul Maxon, Tony May, Glenn Wexler, front cover Derek Burnett
Stylist: Jon Crossland
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
Year Chart Position
1988 The Billboard 200 114
Singles - Billboard (North America)
Year Single Chart Position
1988 "Stand Beside Me" Mainstream Rock Tracks 13
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