Quivira - Quivira - Progressive Voyages Review
Quivira bill themselves as Progressive Rock from Midcoast America, This means it actually hails from America's Mid West i.e. Kansas.
Or the legendary 16th centre Mythical city of gold, Apparently in the days of the Spanish conquistadors (16th 6century) They were dissauded from attacking the people of the whitchita clan by being led further north by the promise of gold by finding the Mythical city of Quivira, this left the wichita tribe untroubled by invaders, this album Quivira recounts that tale in a fesh manner.
The band is composed of Lisa La Rue, keyboards and vocals, John Baker (mars Hollow and forever twelve) and Jake Livgren (Emeraald City Council)
much of the violin work is actually performed by lisa’s keyboards alongside guests Joe Denizon (Kansas) on track 5 and Evan Stanley (Stanley-Simmons) on track 8
Together they tell the compelling tale of the “city of Quivira told across 11 tracks the music definitely bears resemblance to that otherwise famous midwest band Kansas,,this is further commented by the splendid violin artistry of current Kansas Member Joe denizenson plus Jake Lindgren is the nephew of Kerry Livgren.
The music is simply glorious I had been wanting to hear this albumsince I heard about it and it certainly doesn’t disappoint at all, this album is chock full of wonderful,performances and moments it is rather a kansas fans dream that their classic sound is embraced and furthered as it is here, I think I've found nirvana here with this symphonic delight!
The albums 11 track are a mixture of instrumentals and vocal tracks, there is so much to appreciate here with stome outstanding music and performances from all involved.
The album starts with the first of its 7 instrumental tracks, The Coming Of The Spaniards, immediately you taken with the symphonic violinn sounds, these are actually perfornedvby Lisa’s keyboards., As are the choral massed voices these are all very convincing and you know you are in for an enjoyable album of strong musical accompaniments.
After the short Overture we are led to The Benefits Of Breathing Quietly, the first vocal from Jake Livgren,,The song us about being quiet out on the plains, blending in and absorbing all that its around you and being able to move freely as a result, it is all part of setting up the tale for later tracks,,
Second instrumental The Plains Truth follows, this has a fine melodic refrain that is repeated throughout the track it certainly makesxa favourable impression as you listen to it.
Next vocal track is Quivira Bound which introduces the invaders and their aims, Aims that are cleverly addressed by El Tutrko ( The Turk) who leads the spaniards on a chase for ghosts (Quivira).
Moving Forward is next another strong instrumental track this one features Joe Denizon of Kansas on Violinand you can tell the difference in the warmth of the violin, the track also has strong guitar from John Baker.
The Turk - Follow The Wind is bext this tells the tale from The Turks viewpoint whys he misleads the Spaniards,,He basically plays on their greed and lack of local knowledge to fool and mislead them into searching for something That isn't there, A very clever and thankfully successful misdirection.
After this we have three Instrumentals back to back namely, Nothing Is Everything, Carved From The Sun and then Kicking Rock (fearturing Evan Stanley) on guitar, Each of these Instrumentals are strong pieces of music with lots of room for creative expression by either Lisa on Keyboards or by John on guitar, the last one offers the same fir Evan Stanley to shine.
Penultimate track is Prelude To Anywhere//weekend Consquistadors which turns the tale into a present day roadtrip as a voyager retraces the route and learns the importance of being a helping hand just as The Turk did all the hundreds of years ago.
Final track still Breathing is the final instrumental track that concludes this most satisfying release. Let's hope there is more in the process, I certainly hope there is more to come from Quivira.
Fans of Kansas will totally love this album I did and heatily recommend it to you all
Info here; https://quivira,bandcamp,com
Author John Wenlock-Smith Wednesday 23rd September 2026.