Audio-Visions

Audio-Visions is the seventh studio album by American progressive rock band Kansas, released in 1980. The album was remastered and reissued in 2011, as a Japanese import vinyl-replica CD, as well as part of the Sony/Legacy domestic boxed set, "Kansas Complete Album Collection 1974-1983," which packages all of the band's original releases on Kirshner and affiliated labels CBS/Columbia.

Kerry Livgren's recent conversion to Christianity is first heard on this album, primarily in the lyrics to "Hold On" (which was written as an evangelistic plea to his wife). That song was the original lineup's last Top 40, peaking at #40 as the album's first single. The second single from the album, "Got to Rock On," charted outside the Top 40, and was released as a promo only 12" single as well, featuring a live version of the song on Side B of the promotional single, taken from an ABC Radio "the Source" live concert broadcast from Chicago. In addition, another stop on the Audio-Visions tour was broadcast on the radio, on the radio show "A Night on the Road," from the Palladium in New York City. In addition to playing almost every song on the album on the tour, the band also played one selection each from Livgren and Walsh's recent solo albums. While every song on the Monolith album was played during the early part prior Monolith tour, not a single song from Monolith was played on the Audio-Visions tour.

The eighth song on this album, "No One Together", was originally intended for release on the previous album, Monolith, released in 1979, but it was dropped from that album due to an argument between Walsh and Livgren over whose song should be included there (with Walsh winning out the argument by having his song, "How My Soul Cries Out for You", included) and wound up on this album instead.

The album was to be the last album with the band's original lineup until 2000's Somewhere to Elsewhere, and coincidentally the band's last studio album to be certified gold by the RIAA (which it did in December 1980).

The album was later repackaged as Playlist: Audio-Visions, removing the last three tracks and including "How My Soul Cries Out for You" in the place of "No One Together".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Rolling Stone gave a resoundingly negative review of the album, calling it "the musically overwrought and lyrically fatuous product of a collective hubris gone haywire," and mockingly referring to Kerry Livgren as "Kerry Liver." They contended that Kansas had lost all direction, with "Hold On" being the only track not lost in misdirected ambitions.^[2]

The album is the last Kansas studio release of new material to achieve gold status, a string of seven straight albums to obtain such status. The album also charted briefly in Sweden, reaching #35.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Relentless"	Kerry Livgren	4:56
2.	"Anything for You"	Steve Walsh	3:58
3.	"Hold On"	Livgren	3:53
4.	"Loner"	Walsh	2:30
5.	"Curtain of Iron"	Livgren	6:12
6.	"Got to Rock On"	Walsh	3:21
7.	"Don't Open Your Eyes"	Walsh, Rich Williams, Livgren, Phil Ehart, Dave Hope	4:05
8.	"No One Together"	Livgren	6:58
9.	"No Room for a Stranger"	Williams, Walsh	3:00
10.	"Back Door"	Walsh	4:23

Credits

Phil Ehart - percussion, drums, vocals
Dave Hope - bass guitar, vocals
Kerry Livgren - guitar, percussion, keyboards, vocals
Robby Steinhardt - violin, viola, vocals
Steve Walsh - percussion, keyboards, vocals, vibraphone
Rich Williams - guitar, percussion, vocals

Additional personnel

Terry Ehart - vocals
Four Bassmen - vocals, background vocals
Joey Jelf - vocals, background vocals
Victoria Livgren - vocals
Lisa White - vocals, background vocals
Donna Williams - vocals, background vocals

Production

Producers: Kansas, Brad Aaron, Davey Moiré
Engineers: Brad Aaron, Davey Moiré, Greg Webster
Reissue producer: Bob Irwin
Digital remastering: Vic Anesini

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1980	Pop Albums	26

Singles - Billboard (North America)^[3]

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	"Hold On"	Pop Singles	40
1981	"Got To Rock On"	Pop Singles	76

References

↑ Ruhlmann, William. Audio-Visions at AllMusic
↑ Fricke, David (11 December 1980). Album review, Rolling Stone. Archived from .
↑ Kansas Billboard chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved December 13, 2011.

Kansas

Phil Ehart Rich Williams Billy Greer David Ragsdale David Manion Ronnie Platt Kerry Livgren Dave Hope Robby Steinhardt Steve Walsh John Elefante Steve Morse Greg Robert

Studio albums	Kansas Song for America Masque Leftoverture Point of Know Return Monolith Audio-Visions Vinyl Confessions Drastic Measures Power In the Spirit of Things Freaks of Nature Always Never the Same Somewhere to Elsewhere

Live albums	Two for the Show Live at the Whisky King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas Dust In The Wind Device – Voice – Drum There's Know Place Like Home

Compilations	The Best of Kansas Carry On The Kansas Boxed Set The Ultimate Kansas Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection On the Other Side Works in Progress Playlist: The Very Best of Kansas

Singles	"Song for America" "Carry On Wayward Son" "Point of Know Return" "Dust in the Wind" "Portrait (He Knew)" "People of the South Wind" "Hold On" "Play the Game Tonight" "Fight Fire With Fire" "All I Wanted"

Tours	2011 Collegiate Symphony Tour Fall 2012 Tour

Related topics	Discography Native Window

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