Following up the massive success of their previous album, Leftoverture, powered by the hit Carry On Wayward Son, was obviously a very difficult task but Kansas managed to do it with this album, which is arguably their magnum opus.  It's much more coherent than Leftoverture, and to this day I would still say that it is one of the best "mainstream" progressive rock albums around.  The main thing to note about Point of Know Return, is that the guitar isn't really the main instrument anymore, like it was on Leftoverture, and this is a keyboard and violin dominated album.

The album begins with the title track, one of the simpler songs on here, but it's a very catchy piece with some fantastic violin and keyboard work with some nice lyrics.

Then we go off into prog territory with the mostly instrumental next song, Paradox, which is actually written in pop format, but the instrumental sections are longer, with a really great dual violin and keyboard solo in the middle.

Then comes The Spider,  an instrumental that is just a fantastic showcase of Walsh's keyboard abilities.  Not to be missed.

The Spider flows quite nicely into the next track, Portrait (He Knew), probably the only song in existence written about Einstein.  This is definitely one of the best songs on the album, with a very catchy keyboard intro, and some really clever lyrics.

Closet Chronicles is another really great piece, with some great lyrics and some crazy soloing from all the musicians in the last half of the song.

Then comes Lightning's Hand, a really high energy rock piece.  It's also the first piece on the album to really showcase the guitar, with a really great solo in the middle.

Then comes Dust in the Wind, the most unique song on the album, and also the one that would become Kansas's most popular song, along with Carry On Wayward Son.  This is just a really laid-back, beautiful acoustic ballad with some fantastic lyrics and vocal work.

I don't really like the next song, Sparks of the Tempest, but the highlight of it is that it's another piece where the guitar takes full lead as the main instrument, and some of the lyrics are rather inspired as well.

Nobody's Home is a really pretty ballad with a truly majestic vocal performance from Walsh, with some very haunting lyrics about the extinction of the human race(?).  I'm not sure what it's really about, but it's pretty cool.

The final track is Hopelessly Human, a very complex, reflective piece.  This is just a great way to close the album, with wonderful choice in dynamics, some great guitar soloing in the middle, some of the best lyrics that Kansas has ever conceived, and the whole song just flows together beautifully.

The remaster of the album adds a live version of Sparks of the Tempest, which is nice, featuring some great guitar work, but the true highlight is the second bonus track, the remix of Portrait (He Knew).  Supposedly, the band rushed this song while making the album, so the song was remixed and re-done here, and my god, it sounds wonderful.  The drums are much, much more clear in the new mix, and it adds some much needed energy to this already wonderful song.