Point of Know Return (Live) by Kansas

In 1977, prog-rock titans Kansas were tasting major success for the first time: their fourth album Leftoverture went triple platinum, putting an end to Kansas’ years as a struggling cult act. The followup album was in high demand long before they started recording it. But instead of savoring the moment, Kansas nearly cracked under pressure.

As guitarist/keyboardist Kerry Livgren put it, "You've had this 'pie in the sky' dream for like 10 years, and all of a sudden here you are - you got it. That's a hard thing to deal with. Cause when you have a direction, that's great. But when you get to the destination, you no longer have a direction - you're there. And that's real tough.”

Lead singer Steve Walsh was feeling so much pressure that he briefly quit the band. But when Walsh came back to rehearsals with the basic song idea for the soon-to-be hit “Point of Know Return,” the band was back up and running.

Though it had the expected flashy solos and tricky changes, the studio version of “Point of Know Return” ran only 3:13 - practically unheard-of brevity for a prog-rock classic today.

The vocal features some especially high notes, and be prepared for a couple of vocal flourishes in this live version that aren’t in the more familiar studio version. The guitar part features a rough, walky HOPO pattern, but it’s fairly consistent through the song so you’re in good shape once you master it.

Still going strong, and released a live orchestral DVD in 2009.