This blog contains The albums I listened to this past week, September 8-15. Highlights are Kansas and David Gilmour.

Mark Bacino – Top of the World

Joy Division – Closer

Kurt Kaiser – Master Designer

David Gilmour – Luck and Strange

Kansas – Song For America

Kansas -Point of Know Return

Mark Bacino – Top of the World

This is a new record, and I’m still looking for something to jump out of it and inspire me. Other than my wall of writer’s block, there is nothing terrible about this recording. I’ll listen to it again.

Joy Division – Closer

Released two months after the suicide of the band’s lead singer and lyricist Ian Curtis, Closer seems darker and more mysterious than the band’s previous record, Unknow Pleasure. This perception is no doubt loaded because I got Unknown Pleasure first and listened to it significantly more often. I also like Closer and will have to give it more spins than the two I did today.

Kurt Kaiser – Master Designer

I got this in a box of records I purchased from Kijiji for a bargain price. There must have been close to 200 albums, and I am still inserting them alphabetically into the library as I listen to each of them. This record was also the first album in the letter K in the library. It is a nice, clean Muzak with tinkling piano and modest string sections. It is a decent album if I listen to it in that context.

David Gilmour – Luck and Strange

I am a fan of Pink Floyd, from their early albums to their solos. Luck and Strange is David’s fifth solo album, and after the first listen, I think it stacks up favourably with his earlier material. The hard copy is in the mail. Stay tuned for more info when the vinyl arrives.

Kansas – Song For America

Song For America is Kansas’s second album. It has an expansive prog/ rock feel and some heavier rock reminiscent of that era. Released in 1974, it was a minor hit when it was initially released and got middle-of-the-road reviews. Some liked it a lot, others not so much. To me, it is an album by a band that is still trying to find its sound and direction. They found that voice in the album Point of Know Return, released in 1977.

Kansas -Point of Know Return

Point of Know Return would be Kansas’ highest-charting album in the US and their most significant commercial success. Gone are the epic 10-minute prog tracks found on their early recordings in favour of mostly pop radio-friendly 3 to 4-minute songs. Point of Know Return also has one of their most recognized tracks, Dust In The Wind.

I listened to several of these albums more than once, indicating how much I appreciated and enjoyed their music.