I can't give this 10/10, which rating would simply a film you simply can't miss irrespective of your interest in the music: it certainly helps here to be interested in Kansas to begin with. But it's not essential. It's an appealing underdog story regardless of your musical tastes or familiarity.
First, there's just the sheer improbability of six mostly self-taught, highly virtuosic rock musicians out in the Middle of Nowhere somehow getting a toehold and rising to the top of pop music. And there's an extra layer of improbability added by the fact that their music was insanely complex and sophisticated, a far cry from most singles that got airplay then or at any time. I used to wonder how it was that these guys managed to make a living churning out their first few albums, when nothing contained on them would appeal to fans with short attention spans. As this documentary explains, they were incredibly fortunate to have both the faith and the financial backing of Don Kirshner, who went a good million dollars in the hole supporting them through several albums, even when they showed no signs of generating a radio-friendly payoff.
The documentary focuses primarily on the band's formation, how they managed to get themselves discovered, and their improbable rise to the top of the pop music world in their fourth and fifth albums. The documentary inspired me to refamiliarize myself with their work, most of which simply sailed over my head back in the 1970s. It's truly phenomenal, the richness and creativity of the music, sometimes symphonic in its complexity and yet also rocking hard. One thing that distinguishes Kansas from other bands with prog elements is that they were so much tighter, and could rock any house.
All six of them were truly virtuosos, which means there is something interesting going on at every moment of their recordings. The film enhanced my appreciation of Kerry Livgren's songwriting genius, Steve Walsh's and Robbie Steinhardt's vocals, and all of the instrumental brilliance on display. What you hear on their records is basically how they sounded live, incredibly enough.
A number of interviewees contribute generous comments. Garth Brooks gushes in the manner of a genuine fan. Queen's Brian May is incredibly gracious -- perhaps not that surprising, given that Queen was one of the few bands out there who were comparable to Kansas in terms of performing skill. Still, May generously praises not only the likes of Carry On Wayward Son but also appreciates the beautiful simplicity of Dust in the Wind, so unusual for a Livgren creation. Even a few rock magazine critics contribute praise here, which was nice to see; Kansas was never appreciated by critics as they deserved to be.
There was only one mildly sour note for me: there seems to be a slight undercurrent of disrespect for Steve Walsh in this documentary. We're told how his creative inspiration dried up at the critical moment of recording Leftoverture, leaving Kerry Livgren to step up with his greatest work under pressure. And Walsh himself is quoted as saying that sometimes he wrote songs for the wrong reasons, and wasn't very proud of any of them. Good grief, that's harsh. Yes, no one else in the band was the compositional genius that Livgren was, but Walsh was a strong #2 and co-writer of much of their finest work. His vocals are among the best in rock history. I thought he deserved a little better than to have his few shortcomings magnified.
But overall, it's a brief, entertaining underdog story about six humble guys. They don't come across like decadent rock stars, just phenomenal, down-to-earth musicians. Easy to pull for whether you know their music or not.
