Thursday, October 2, 2014

"Play the Game Tonight" by Kansas

Song#:  1019
Date:  05/08/1982
Debut:  78
Peak:  17
Weeks:  15
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The band's recent shift towards Christian-oriented rock did not sit well with lead singer/songwriter Steve Walsh. He decided to leave the group (the first original member to do so) and form his own band called Streets. After a grueling process, the remaining Kansas members hired John Elefante as a replacement. Their first LP with the new guy, "Vinyl Confessions," leaned heavily toward the CCM arena and this first single became only their third to reach the pop Top 20. Although the single did well, the album became their first to not reach gold-level sales.

ReduxReview:  This song put them back in the Top 20 and I do like the song, but I think they kind of lost some of their identity here. This really encroaches on Styx territory, which is weird considering their Christian content. Regardless, it worked well even though the Kansas of yore was kind of left behind like dust in the wind...

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The overt Christian overtones of the album brought new fans to the group and got noticed by the CCM community. It was named the best album of 1982 by CCM Magazine and decades later, HM Magazine (Heaven's Metal) put the album at #74 of the 100 Best Christian Rock Albums.

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