Several artistic legacies make up this expanded reissued live set from Kansas called Two for the Show, originally released on 2LPs in 1978.  The first, of course, is the acknowledged height of Kansas’ wonderfully expressive career at the time of this live album.  The second is the cover of the album, an updated recreation of a Norman Rockwell painting (detailed in the liner notes by Jeb Wright).  The third is the band’s affiliation with now defunct label, Kirshner Records.  I noted that familiar logo as I scanned the tri-fold digipak set from the back.  However, the best artistic legacy is the music that Kansas created.  On Two for the Show, the band recreates those classic tunes from their previous albums that include Point of Know Return, Leftoverture, Masque, Song for America, and Kansas. 

Beautifully re-mastered and expanded for the album’s 30th Anniversary with a second disc added to complete the experience originally intended, this album finally arrives as it should have from the beginning.  All of the songs on this set were recorded at the same sets of shows between 1977 and 1978 but had to be meticulously selected to avoid 3-4LPs.  Now delivered as a definitive version (perhaps this should reappear in vinyl for those collectors that maintained the original vinyl release as it would make a grand replacement), Two for the Show is now the full experience short of having been there.

The added second disc, provides eleven more tracks, ten of them previously unreleased (“Closet Chronicles” is a restored original LP track, cut from the single-disc CD reissue in 1989 to avoid a second disc – imagine the furor when it was released).  The previously unreleased songs provide good continuity of the originally released set, although fans of the album may experience a bit of disorientation, they’ll acclimate easily enough…and quickly.  And “Child of Innocence” absolutely smokes here.

The included booklet is a 12-page inclusion with photos, the before mentioned new liner notes by Jeb Wright (ClassicRockRevisited.com), expanded track-listing, and credits.  Some fans might be irritated with the fact that the “earth-friendly” digipak does not contain plastic trays for the discs, instead inserting them into pockets, risking scratching.  But all will be pleased to the welcome performance track additions.

Not long after the release of Two for the Show, the band began to experience inner turmoil and impending implosion, but not before releasing a few more albums.  Regardless, Two for the Show is a unique progressive-rock experience for fans that only Kansas delivered.  With the added tracks now appended and available, Kansas fans can enjoy the set completely as it is meant to be enjoyed.  This is really a special treat for lucky Kansas fans.