The 15th studio long-player from the progressive rock/AOR legends -- and first collection of new material in 16 years --
The Prelude Implicit
is the first
Kansas
album to feature new vocalist and keyboardist
Ronnie Platt
, who replaced founder
Steve Walsh
after the former announced his retirement in 2014. The 12-track set also marks the studio debuts of keyboard player
David Manion
and guitarist
Zak Rizvi
. That's a lot of new blood, but rest assured,
is very
-y.
Platt
's amenable voice is custom made for melodic rock -- think
Tommy Shaw
-meets-
Paul Rodgers
-- and the presence of founding members
Phil Ehart
(drums) and
Rich Williams
(guitar), alongside longtime violin/guitar player
David Ragsdale
and bassist
Billy Greer
, helps to further ground the proceedings, resulting in something that sounds both familiar and forward thinking. Front-loaded with co-lead singles "With This Heart" and "Visibility Zero," the former a soaring, heartfelt anthem and the latter a muscular classic rock jam that invokes the band's "Carry on My Wayward Son"-era, the technically superb
-- literally -- hits all of the right notes, and should please longtime fans, despite the absence of
Walsh
. From the proggy, nearly nine-minute "Voyage of Eight Eighteen" to the hook-filled, festival-ready nostalgia piece "Summertime," it's clear that
still has gas in the tank, and with some new parts in place, it looks like they've still got some road to cover. ~ James Christopher Monger