In the Spirit of Things
Art direction by Storm Thorgerson
Studio album by
Kansas
ReleasedOctober 25, 1988
Recorded1988
Studio
  • Soundscape (Atlanta)
  • Can-Am (Los Angeles)
  • Ocean Way (Hollywood)
GenreArt rock, hard rock
Length52:54
LabelMCA
ProducerBob Ezrin, Greg Ladanyi, Phil Ehart
Kansas chronology
Power
(1986)		 In the Spirit of Things
(1988)		 Carry On
(1992)
Singles from In the Spirit of Things
  1. "Stand Beside Me"
    Released: October 31, 1988 (US) [1]

In the Spirit of Things is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music). It is a very loosely organized concept album, telling the story of a flood hitting the real Kansas city of Neosho Falls in 1951.[2][3] It is the first Kansas album since 1975's Masque to lack a hit single.

History

According to the author Dan Fitzgerald, Rich Williams was inspired to create this album after having read the book Ghost Towns of Kansas, Volume II (1979), specifically the chapter on Neosho Falls.[4]

The album is Kansas's last studio effort for a major label. It didn't receive much promotion, as MCA Records 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, including a glossy video for "Stand Beside Me". The song was played regularly on MTV and allowed the single to hit the album rock charts, the 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 edited CD single of "House on Fire", and a small-sized CD single of "Stand Beside Me". The album would also be the last Kansas release to appear in vinyl format until the release of The Prelude Implicit in 2016.

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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

In its retrospective review, AllMusic deemed the album "one of the group's more consistent albums and easily a latter-day highlight." They criticized the album's dated production and the lack of a single to compare to their 1970s hits, but argued it to be one of Kansas's most focused efforts.[5]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ghosts"Steve Walsh, Steve Morse, Bob Ezrin4:18
2."One Big Sky" (additional lyrics by Ezrin, Walsh, Phil Ehart)Howard Kleinfeld, Michael Dan Ehmig5:17
3."Inside of Me"Morse, Walsh4:42
4."One Man, One Heart"Mark Spiro, Dann Huff4:20
5."House on Fire"Walsh, Morse, Ezrin, Ehart4:42
6."Once in a Lifetime"Antonina Armato, Dennis Morgan, Albert Hammond4:14
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Stand Beside Me"Marc Jordan, Bruce Gaitsch3:28
8."I Counted on Love"Morse, Walsh3:33
9."The Preacher"Walsh, Morse4:18
10."Rainmaker"Walsh, Morse, Ezrin6:44
11."T.O. Witcher" (instrumental)Morse1:39
12."Bells of Saint James"Walsh, Morse5:39

Credits

Kansas
Additional personnel
Production

Charts

Album
Chart (1988) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 114
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1988 "Stand Beside Me" Mainstream Rock Tracks (US)[8] 13

References

  1. ↑ "Kansas singles".
  2. ↑ Devault, Russ (February 17, 1989). "Haunted By a Hit, Kansas Would Like Fans to Get Into 'Spirit of Things'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ Popson, Tom (January 27, 1989). "Band Hears Music In Deserted Kansas Town". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ Fitzgerald, Daniel (2009). "Foreword (2009 Version)". Ghost Towns of Kansas (2 ed.). Dan Fitzgerald Company. p. 14. ISBN 9781449505196.
  5. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "In the Spirit of Things - Kansas | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Kansas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Kansas Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
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