“And gather together the best of your kind”

A highlight from Kansas’ self-titled 1974 debut, Belexes wears its influences very obviously on its sleeve but does a great job of showcasing the talent and forceful chops of the American proggers. There’s some exciting Purple-style wringing of guitar necks, the stomping rhythms and vocal harmonies are right out of classic Heep and then the keyboards go all Sinbad, sabres rattling like Emerson, Lake and Palmer. It’s a formidable performance and, in the spirit of the bands that influenced it, has a live, hot-off-the-press urgency. Originality is always a big plus, especially if you expect your progressive rockers to actually… you know… progress. But sometimes it’s good enough to just be shit hot. Like Kansas.