Kansas

Kansas is the self-titled debut album by American progressive rock band Kansas, released in 1974. Kansas's debut album is the result of a merger between two Topeka musical camps: Kerry Livgren, from a previous Kansas line-up, and White Clover, a more traditional southern-style rock band in the vein of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The newly formed group signed with Kirshner Records in 1973 and traveled to New York to record their first release. The material on Kansas, written mostly by Livgren and White Clover vocalist Steve Walsh, had been culled from the repertoire of both groups. Livgren's songs were generally longer and more elaborate than Walsh's, featuring mystical lyrics which reflected his intense interest in Eastern religions. Some of these classically-inspired compositions remain favorites of the band's faithful (aka Wheatheads), especially "Journey from Mariabronn" (inspired by Herman Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund), "Belexes", and "Apercu" (influenced by the pseudo-Asian sound of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot). The album cover is notable for its use of a (cropped) painting by Kansas native John Steuart Curry of abolitionist John Brown, Tragic Prelude.