Underrated Albums: 'Audio-Visions' by Kansas

Like a lot of people, my favourite Kansas albums would have to be 'Leftoverture' and 'Point of Know Return'.  Thus, with the prospect of seeing Kansas in Warsaw next Tuesday, I've been playing these two sublime pieces of work all the time recently.

However, I've also ended up playing the 1980 album, 'Audio-Visions', quite a lot which I bought as a 14 year old schoolboy back then after hearing 'Relentless' (the opening track on the album) on Tommy Vance's 'Friday Rock Show' on Radio 1 in Britain:

For me, 'Relentless' is right up there with all the other great Kansas tunes ('The Pinnacle'; 'Cheyenne Anthem'; 'Closet Chronicles'; 'Miracles Out Of Nowhere'; 'Carry on Wayward Son'; 'Song for America' etc.).

So which other tunes do I like off 'Audio-Visions'?  Well, back in 1980 and still now, my two favourite tunes after 'Relentless' would have to be 'Curtain of Iron' and 'Back Door', the latter just being a great tune for ending an album (on one hand, it sounds quite laid-back, but on the other hand, it has a highly passionate sound):

To be honest, back in 1980, 'Relentless'; 'Curtain of Iron'; and 'Back Door' were the only tracks I really liked off 'Audio-Visions', but now I enjoy listening to the whole album from start to finish.  Out of the other tracks, the one that has really grown on me recently is 'Don't Open Your Eyes':

Yes, for me, this tune just has that Kansas melody and sound that I love.