It remains the band’s highest selling album, having been certified 5 times platinum in the United States. Though my mind could think, I still was a mad manĬarry On Wayward Son is the first track on the fourth Kansas album Leftoverture, and the first single from that album. Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man It still has a sparse feel, but the song gets a lovely lift from the instrumentation as the song starts building up again. Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusionĪt this point the drums and bass comes in, with further instruments falling in along the way. Once I rose above the noise and confusion The voice sings with just a soft piano keyboard accompaniment. After the ferocious start of the song, the first verse sounds quiet in comparison as most of the instruments have died down. They were keen to get a hit, but wanted it on their own terms.Īs the final part of the intro dies down, a lone voice rises. It shows a band bursting with ideas and eager to flex their musical muscle. On the other hand, the sheer scale of the intro alone is designed to impress and thrill. It is said that the general public’s attention span is limited and you should not wear them out. There is a lot happening in it, and it is rather progressive and hard-edged. It wasn’t so much that it is long, but the fact that it is busy. Such an elaborate intro was almost unheard of for something that attempted to get radio play and would hopefully become a hit single. The intro alone consists of four different musical parts: the a capella chorus, the initial riff on guitar with additional keyboard padding, a guitar solo section, and a stop-start riff section which eventually dies down, making room for the first verse to begin. With everybody paying attention, the band is ready to launch into the instrumental sections that make up the remainder of the intro. This would end up working in their favour on radio as well, where disc jockeys often felt they couldn’t talk over it. Everybody would stop what they were doing, hold their voices, and listen. Kansas have always had a tremendous sense of harmonizing, and with a melody that is strong and commands attention, the intro had exactly the wanted effect. The voices blend together wonderfully, as they always did. It proved to be prophetic.The a cappella vocal opening of Carry On Wayward Son grabs your attention right away, as well as giving the track a very distinctive intro. The positive note at the end, surely heaven waits for you, seemed strange and premature, but I felt impelled to include it in the lyrics. “I saw myself as the ‘Wayward Son,’ alienated from the ultimate reality, and yet striving to know it or him. “I felt a profound urge to ‘Carry On’ and continue the search,” said Livgren in a 1984 interview. ChristianityĪlthough Livgren became an evangelical Christian in 1980, he said the songs he wrote up until that point, including “Carry On Wayward Son” and the band’s 1977 hit “Dust in the Wind”-weren’t religious but centered more about “searching” for something. “Carry On Wayward Son” is also linked to their song “The Pinnacle,” the closing track on the band’s previous album Masque, as a continuation of the lyrics I stood where no man goes / Above the din I rose / Life is amusing though we are losing / Drowned in tears of awe. Though my mind could think, I still was a mad man Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |