Kansas : Point Of No Return (Expanded Edition)

THEY SAY THE SEA TURNS SO DARK

THAT YOU KNOW IT'S TIME

YOU SEE THE SIGN

 Point of Know Return

 is the fifth

 studio album

 by American

 Rock band 

Kansas

released in 1977. 

The album was reissued 

in remastered format 

on CD in 2002.

Composition and Recording

The recording sessions for

 Point of Know Return

 commenced in 

June 1977

 at Studio in the Country, 

the Bogalusa, 

Louisiana facility 

where Kansas' 

previous two albums 

were recorded: 

due to the band 

encountering 

equipment failure 

at Studio in the Country, 

Kansas shifted 

recording sites, 

the majority of the recording

 of 

Point of Know Return

 being done at 

Woodland 

Sound Studios

 in Nashville 

over the 

month of July.

Singer/songwriter

 Steve Walsh

 left the group

 briefly during

 the recording 

of this album.

In an interview on

 the weekly

 In the Studio 

with 

Redbeard 

radio show,

 he would admit that, 

at this point, 

he had been something

 of a prima donna 

and was

 attracted by

 the chance of a 

solo career.

"Dust in the Wind"

 is known for its 

sparse acoustic nature.

 The guitar line

 for the song 

was written by 

Kerry Livgren

 as a finger exercise 

for learning fingerpicking. 

His wife, 

Vicci, 

heard what he was doing, 

remarked that the melody

 was nice, 

and encouraged him

 to write lyrics for it.

Livgren was unsure 

whether his

 fellow band members 

would like it

 since it was a 

departure from their

 signature style. 

However, 

he did offer it to them, 

and the song was

 accepted and

 then recorded.

The album is 

critically acclaimed 

for the singles 

"Point of Know Return,"

 which was 

a late addition

 to the album, 

and

 "Portrait (He Knew)," 

which was written about

 Albert Einstein.

Rolling Stone 

gave the album 

a mixed review, 

saying that though

 the transition to

 shorter songs 

generally works, 

the lyrics are 

"a wan and ridiculous rehash

 of the bargain-basement 

exoticism employed by

 the British art-rock crowd." 

They commented that

 though Kansas 

lacks a 

virtuoso soloist,

 the band's ensemble 

playing is strong

 and purposeful.

 Robert Taylor 

of AllMusic 

wrote that Kansas'

 "interplay and

 superior musicianship 

make this both

 an essential 

classic rock 

and 

progressive 

rock recording",

 despite its 

"dated sound" 

and the band's struggle 

"to maintain a

 healthy balance of 

progression 

combined with pop."

Point of Know Return

 would be 

Kansas'

 highest-charting album

 in the US, 

peaking at No. 4 

in January 1978, 

and would sell

 four million copies

 in the US 

and be certified

 Quadruple Platinum

 by the RIAA

TRACKLIST

Point Of Know Return

Paradox

The Spider

Portrait (He Knew)

Closet Chronicles

Lightning's Hand

Dust In The Wind

Sparks Of The Tempest

Nobody's Home

Hopelessly Human

Dust In The Wind

 (Remix)

Portrait (He Knew) 

(Remix)

Carry On My Wayward Son

 (Remix)

Paradox

 (Live)

Sparks of the Tempest 

(Live)

Hopelessly Human

 (Live)

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