Kansas : The Best Of Kansas (Expanded Edition)

ONCE I ROSE ABOVE 

THE NOSIE AND CONFUSSION

JUST TO GET A GLIMPSE

 BEYOND THIS ILLUSION

 The Best of Kansas

 is the

 first compilation

 by American 

progressive rock band

 Kansas 

Originally released in 1984,

 it featured the new

 "Perfect Lover," 

written by

 then-lead vocalist

 John Elefante 

and his brother 

Dino Elefante.

The compilation was 

rereleased in 1999

 in a version 

supervised by the

 original band members.

 "Perfect Lover" 

was dropped

 in favor

 of three additional tracks

 from the original lineup:

 "The Pinnacle"

 from Masque, 

"The Devil Game"

 from

 Song for America, 

and a live track

 deleted 

owing to

 space limitations

 from the CD version 

of Two for the Show called

 "Closet Chronicles," 

originally from 

Point of Know Return.

The album has sold over 

4 million copies

 in the United States

 and was 

certified quadruple platinum

 in 2001.

The versions of 

"Carry On Wayward Son" 

and

 "The Wall" 

on the 1984 release 

of 

The Best of Kansas

 are remixed

 by Kerry Livgren 

and unique

 to the first version

 of this collection.

 For the

 1999 reissue 

of the collection,

 the original 1976 mixes

 from the album

 Leftoverture 

are used instead. 

The removal of

 "Perfect Lover" 

 previously available 

only on this album

  made the track 

out of print

 in the United States.

 The original track listing 

and mixes 

were restored 

for the 2014 

180-gram vinyl release 

of the album 

by Friday Music. 

That version was released 

on red vinyl 

a few years later.

This is The 1984 Version

With The 1994 Bonus Tracks 

Added On 

PLUS

TWO

REMIXES

Cover Art

The painting of Parson Weems.

The album cover art, by artist Steve Carver, is a parody of Grant Wood's 1939 painting of the author Parson Weems pointing to the famous scene of George Washington and George's father inquiring after young George had just chopped down a cherry tree with his hatchet. The cover contains elements of nearly all previous Kansas album covers:

• Kansas: The man on the front cover is John Brown, as portrayed in the John Steuart Curry mural Tragic Prelude, which was used as the cover of Kansas' debut album. No tracks from the album appear on either version of The Best of Kansas.
• Song for America: The bird depicted on the front cover of Song for America can be found on the back cover, perched atop the track listing.
• Masque: The outline of a fish appears in John Brown's beard. The "face" on the cover of Masque (Giuseppe Arcimboldo's Water) is composed of various marine life. No tracks from Masque appear on the 1984 release.
• Leftoverture: The inkwell and scattered pages of sheet music appear on the back cover.
• Point of Know Return: The ship tipping over the edge of the world is on the front. The same ship appears on the cover of Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection.
• Two for the Show: The spotlights, stage, curtains, and figures in the audience are all indirect references; none of these things (besides an auditorium full of seats) are seen on Two for the Show. On the back cover, there is a mop behind the interrogation chair, which may reference to the cleaning ladies on the cover. No tracks from Two for the Show appear on the 1984 release.
• Monolith: On the back cover, the moon behind a shadow of the figure depicted on Monolith is seen through the open door. No tracks from Monolith appear on either version of The Best of Kansas.
• Audio-Visions: On the back cover, at the right side, one of the two hands on the front cover of Audio-Visions is holding the curtain.
• Vinyl Confessions: The interrogation chair is seen under a spotlight on the back cover.
• Drastic Measures: John Brown is wearing the black tuxedo and red bow tie worn by the bazooka "player".

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