The Absence of Presence
2020 studio album by Kansas
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The Absence of Presence is the sixteenth studio album by American progressive rock band Kansas. The album was originally due to be released on June 26, 2020,[2] but due to manufacturing delays the release date was postponed to July 17, 2020.[3] It is their fourth studio album without founding member, lead vocalist and keyboardist Steve Walsh, who retired from the band in 2014; the other three being 1982's Vinyl Confessions, 1983's Drastic Measures and 2016's The Prelude Implicit. It is Kansas' first album to feature keyboardist Tom Brislin, and the last to feature violinist David Ragsdale and bassist Billy Greer. Guitarist Zak Rizvi left the band in April 2021, nine months after the release of this album, but rejoined in 2024.
| The Absence of Presence | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 17, 2020 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:21 | |||
| Label | Inside Out | |||
| Producer | Zak Rizvi, Phil Ehart, Rich Williams | |||
| Kansas chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Absence of Presence | ||||
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Background
The Absence of Presence serves as a follow-up to The Prelude Implicit, but unlike that album, The Absence of Presence was written entirely by the band. The bulk of the songwriting duties were carried out by the band's newest members, Zak Rizvi (who wrote the music for 6 of the 9 songs) and Tom Brislin (who wrote the music for the other 3 songs, plus lyrics for 6 songs), with other lyric contributions by Ronnie Platt (2 songs) and founding member Phil Ehart (4 songs). Ehart also came up with the album title, as well as at least three of the song titles (the title track, "Throwing Mountains",[4] and "Animals on the Roof"), which gave Brislin a concept to work with. The Absence of Presence marks the debut lead vocal from Brislin, making the total number of lead vocalists in the band at three, a feature not seen since Somewhere to Elsewhere. The album's recording sessions took place simultaneously with the band's tour cycle.[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Absence of Presence" | Tom Brislin,[6] Phil Ehart | Zak Rizvi[6] | 8:22 |
| 2. | "Throwing Mountains" | Brislin[6], Ehart | Rizvi[6] | 6:18 |
| 3. | "Jets Overhead" | Brislin[6] | Rizvi[6] | 5:17 |
| 4. | "Propulsion 1" | Instrumental | Brislin[4] | 2:17 |
| 5. | "Memories Down the Line" | Brislin[6] | Brislin[6] | 4:38 |
| 6. | "Circus of Illusion" | Ronnie Platt[4] | Rizvi | 5:19 |
| 7. | "Animals on the Roof" | Brislin[6], Ehart | Rizvi[6] | 5:12 |
| 8. | "Never" | Platt[4], Ehart | Rizvi | 4:50 |
| 9. | "The Song the River Sang" | Brislin[6] | Brislin[6] | 5:05 |
| Total length: | 47:21 | |||
Personnel
- Ronnie Platt – lead vocals
- Rich Williams – guitars, acoustic guitar, co-production
- Zak Rizvi – guitars, backing vocals, production, mixing
- Tom Brislin – keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "The Song The River Sang"[6]
- David Ragsdale – violin, backing vocals
- Billy Greer – bass, backing vocals
- Phil Ehart – drums, percussion, co-production
Charts
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] | 34 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] | 110 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] | 44 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] | 50 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] | 39 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[12] | 133 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] | 7 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[14] | 37 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] | 79 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] | 39 |
| Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[17] | 79 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 51 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 4 |
| UK Progressive Albums (OCC)[20] | 4 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[21] | 2 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[22] | 32 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[23] | 31 |
| US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)[24] | 12 |