Works In Progress (Live)

Fans of Kansas circa their heady Leftoverture and Point of Know Return period should be forewarned — the group's 2006 double-disc set, Works in Progress, is a live recording that focuses strictly on the years 1992 though 2002. In other words, you won't find any undiscovered gems from when Kansas were an arena rock force in the '70s. That said, Kansas still sound as "grand" as ever. Frustratingly, there is very little information as to where these live tracks originated from — except that the liner notes mention that the second disc/DVD contains tracks from a June 15, 2002, performance. Still, a handful of tracks that you still hear today on classic rock radio rear their heads — especially symphonic rock versions of "Hold On" and "Dust in the Wind" — as well as the lesser-known but just as bombastic tracks "Freaks of Nature" and "I Can Fly." The playing and renditions are what you'd expect from Kansas, yet with little information to go on and an exorbitant amount of live albums already released by the band, Works in Progress will only appeal to hardcore fans.