Vinyl Confessions

Vinyl Confessions is the eighth studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). It includes "Play the Game Tonight", which broke the Top 20 and is Kansas's third highest-charting single, surpassed only by "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind".^[1] The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 1996 on Legacy/Epic and again in 2011.

Background

Vinyl Confessions was a major turning point for the band. After the conversion of both guitarist/keyboard player Kerry Livgren and bass player Dave Hope to Christianity, and the focus that Livgren placed on his religion in the band's lyrics, lead singer Steve Walsh became disenchanted with the new direction of the band and left to form his own band, Streets. Walsh had also contributed much as a songwriter, so the band was forced to find a new lead singer who not only had a vocal style that fit the band's music, but also could contribute material for the upcoming album. After a long audition process, the choice came down to three strong candidates: Warren Ham, Michael Gleason and John Elefante. The band eventually settled on Elefante.

"Fair Exchange" described the world under the rule of the Anti-Christ, while "Chasing Shadows" pointed out the frustration in seeking anything outside Biblical truth. "Diamonds and Pearls" emphasized the value of spiritual wealth over financial wealth, while "Face It", "Windows" and "Borderline" all had strong evangelistic appeals to the listener. The album's closer, "Crossfire," made the album's position abundantly clear in its indirect reference to Jesus Christ ("the one who rose").

Vinyl Confessions did not go unnoticed by the nascent Contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry, which was just coming into its own at that time. Numerous Christian magazines trumpeted Kansas' new musical direction, and CCM Magazine even chose Vinyl Confessions as the No. 1 CCM album of 1982. All this attention created an entirely new audience of listeners for Kansas, but it also created further tensions within the band. Those tensions came to a head during the recording of their next album, Drastic Measures.

Vinyl Confessions was also the last album with violinist/vocalist Robby Steinhardt, who left the band after the supporting tour and did not return until 1997.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Melodic.net	^[3]

While acknowledging the comeback success of the single "Play the Game Tonight", AllMusic's retrospective review was largely negative. They criticized the Christian lyrics as being "often of a judgmental, us-versus-you nature", and insinuated that the album fell more into a generic pop rock vein than Kansas's earlier albums ("it was getting hard to distinguish Kansas from Foreigner and Journey").^[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Play the Game Tonight"	Phil Ehart, Danny Flower, Rob Frazier, Kerry Livgren, Rich Williams	3:26
2.	"Right Away"	Dino Elefante, John Elefante	4:06
3.	"Fair Exchange"	Livgren	5:01
4.	"Chasing Shadows"	D. Elefante, J. Elefante	3:20
5.	"Diamonds and Pearls"	Livgren	4:50
6.	"Face It"	D. Elefante, J. Elefante	4:17
7.	"Windows"	Livgren	3:32
8.	"Borderline"	Livgren	4:00
9.	"Play On"	J. Elefante, Livgren	3:32
10.	"Crossfire"	Livgren	6:35

Personnel

Phil Ehart — drums
John Elefante — keyboards, lead vocals
Dave Hope — bass
Kerry Livgren — guitar, keyboards, Synclavier programming
Robby Steinhardt — violin, vocals, lead vocals on "Crossfire"
Rich Williams — guitar

Additional personnel

Bill Bergman — alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
John Berry, Jr. — trumpet
Jim Coile — tenor saxophone
Ben Dahlke — bassoon
Beverly Dahlke-Smith — saxophone
Warren Ham — harmonica
David Pack — vocals, background vocals
Greg Smith — baritone saxophone
Anne Steinhardt — violin, vocals
Roger Taylor — background vocals on "Right Away", "Diamonds and Pearls", "Play the Game Tonight"
Lee Thornburg — trumpet, saxophone
Donna Williams — vocals, background vocals

Production

Kansas – producer
Ken Scott – producer, engineer

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1982	Billboard 200	16

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	"Play the Game Tonight"	Mainstream Rock	4
	"Play the Game Tonight"	Pop Singles	17^[1]
	"Right Away"	Mainstream Rock	33
	"Right Away"	Pop Singles	73^[1]
	"Chasing Shadows"	Mainstream Rock	54

References

1 2 3 Kansas Billboard chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
1 2 Allmusic review
↑ "review". Melodic.net. Retrieved 2011-10-23.

Kansas

Phil Ehart Rich Williams Billy Greer David Ragsdale David Manion Ronnie Platt Zak Rizvi Kerry Livgren Dave Hope Robby Steinhardt Steve Walsh John Elefante Steve Morse Greg Robert

Studio albums	Kansas Song for America Masque Leftoverture Point of Know Return Monolith Audio-Visions Vinyl Confessions Drastic Measures Power In the Spirit of Things Freaks of Nature Always Never the Same Somewhere to Elsewhere The Prelude Implicit

Live albums	Two for the Show Live at the Whisky King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas Dust In The Wind Device – Voice – Drum There's Know Place Like Home

Compilations	The Best of Kansas Carry On The Kansas Boxed Set The Ultimate Kansas Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection On the Other Side Works in Progress Playlist: The Very Best of Kansas

Singles	"Song for America" "Carry On Wayward Son" "Point of Know Return" "Dust in the Wind" "Portrait (He Knew)" "People of the South Wind" "Hold On" "Play the Game Tonight" "Fight Fire With Fire" "All I Wanted"

Tours	2011 Collegiate Symphony Tour Fall 2012 Tour

Related topics	Discography Native Window

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