Leftoverture

Steve Walsh began to experience writer's block prior to the recording, and his contribution to the album would ultimately be limited to co-authoring three songs. It fell on Kerry Livgren to fill the void.[2] The new compositions retained much of the classically inspired complexity of Livgren's previous work.[2] Kansas recorded the album at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The Studio in the Country was so named because, as Livgren described on In the Studio with Redbeard radio show in the episode spotlighting Leftoverture, "it was in the middle of a swamp. We'd walk out of the studio and there would be gators in front of the studio, mosquitos the size of B-52s and at times armadillos would run into the control room."[3]

Leftoverture opens with the song "Carry On Wayward Son", which Livgren wrote as a sequel to "The Pinnacle", the final song from the previous album Masque (1975).

The album's title, Leftoverture, is a portmanteau of "leftover" and "overture".

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Christgau's Record Guide	D+[5]
MusicHound Rock	4/5[6]

The album was met with mixed reviews. Rolling Stone called Leftoverture Kansas's best album to date, and said that it "warrants Kansas a spot right alongside Boston and Styx as one of the fresh new American bands who combine hard-driving group instrumentation (with a dearth of flashy solos) with short, tight melody lines and pleasant singing."[7] The magazine Playboy reviewed the album as "extremely strong" and lauded Kansas for representing "the solid, Midwestern values of our vast musical heartland."[8] In contrast, Robert Christgau said the album lacked the intelligence and conviction of European progressive rock, and that the self-deprecating humor implied in the song and album titles is completely absent from the record itself.[5]

More recently, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the album contains "neither hooks nor true grandiosity to make it interesting" and, despite the great single "Carry On Wayward Son", the fact that Kansas "never manage to rival it anywhere on this record is as much a testament to their crippling ambition as their lack of skills."[4] Gary Graff was more enthusiastic, finding Leftoverture to be "Kansas' breakthrough album and a thorough representation of its assorted musical sensibilities."[6] Ultimate Classic Rock considered "Carry On Wayward Son", "Magnum Opus", "The Wall", "What's on My Mind" and "Opus Insert" to be classics.[9]

All tracks are written by Kerry Livgren except where noted.

Kansas

• Steve Walsh – organ, piano, additional synthesizers, vibraphone, lead and backing vocals (all tracks)
• Kerry Livgren – electric guitar, piano, clavinet, Moog, Oberheim and ARP synthesizers
• Robby Steinhardt – violin, viola, lead vocals on "Miracles Out of Nowhere" and "Cheyenne Anthem", backing vocals
• Rich Williams – electric and acoustic guitars
• Dave Hope – bass guitar
• Phil Ehart – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Toye LaRocca, Cheryl Norman – children's voices on "Cheyenne Anthem"

Production

• Jeff Glixman – producer, assistant engineer, remastered edition producer
• Bill Evans – engineer
• Edwin Hobgood, Ray Black – additional studio assistance
• George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City, New York
• Jeff Magid – remastered edition producer