KANSAS

At the Cabot, Beverly, March 25 at

8 p.m. Tickets: $39-$59. 978-927-3100, www.thecabot.org

“Miracles Out of Nowhere,’’ a documentary film released in 2015, illuminated one of pop music’s least likely success stories: the rise of home-grown progressive-rock band Kansas from heartland obscurity to million-selling, arena-filling superstardom. For countless lovers of the group’s biggest hits — “Carry on Wayward Son’’ from 1976, “Dust in the Wind’’ from 1977 — the film lovingly and candidly chronicled the hard-working band’s journey to household-name status.

Longtime fans, however, knew that was only half the story. Omitted from “Miracles’’ — purposely intended as an uplifting saga, according to drummer Phil Ehart — were the rougher waters into which Kansas sailed after 1980: creative and philosophical conflicts, substance-abuse issues, personnel changes, and the fickle tides of taste, all contributing to a turbulent few decades. In particular, singer Steve Walsh departed in 1981, followed in 1983 by guitarist and chief songwriter Kerry Livgren; Walsh returned in 1985, then retired from the stage in 2014.

Through it all, Kansas stayed the course. Now comprising founders Ehart and guitarist Rich Williams, long-serving members David Ragsdale on violin and guitar and Billy Greer on bass, and two relative newcomers, keyboardist David Manion and singer Ronnie Platt, the band has just completed a new album, “The Prelude Implicit,’’ due in September. Recently we caught up with Ehart by phone in Atlanta, checking in before Kansas plays the historic Cabot in Beverly on Friday.

Q. The album you’ve just completed is the first one Kansas has ever made without either of the key writers of your early years, Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh. How did you approach writing new material this time?

A. Your question was also my question: How in the heck are we going to do this? Let’s just say the material was written by the guys in the band. Obviously there are some members who wrote more than others, but it is a collective effort from the producer, Zak Rizvi, and the band.

You always have to be careful when you’re talking about material that hasn’t come out yet — I get tired of hearing somebody go, “Let me tell you, this is the best album we’ve ever made.’’ The only thing that’ll ever tell anybody creating anything whether it’s the best they’ve ever done will be the test of time, and you can’t judge things now like you did in the ’70s and ’80s, because these days, albums don’t sell like they used to. I will just tell you that we’re very proud about what we’ve done, we’re very excited about what we’ve done, and the rest is up to the fans.

Q. Kansas has spanned a variety of styles over the years, from sophisticated songs like “Song for America’’ and “Closet Chronicles’’ to more mainstream fare like “Play the Game Tonight’’ and “Fight Fire With Fire,’’ just sticking to your current set list. What direction emerged this time?

A. It’s very progressive — or, as our fans call it, prog. This is a very prog record. It is very complex, some of the most difficult tracks — maybe the most difficult tracks, in spots — that we’ve recorded. It’s very lyrical, very melodic, but that’s what we wanted to get back into: that progressive material that always set Kansas apart as an American band.

Q. A frontman is a fundamental part of a group’s identity and chemistry. How did Ronnie Platt come into the picture?

A. Ronnie came into the picture out of necessity. We didn’t want to turn backward: “Let’s get a singer who sounds exactly like Steve, so we can do all the old stuff.’’ This was very calculated: Let’s get a great singer that we can forge ahead with. Steve was an incredible singer; let’s find another incredible singer.

Q. Why did you end ‘Miracles Out of Nowhere’’ with the band at the pinnacle of success? Were you reluctant to dwell on latter days? Is there another film to be made?

A. Those are the questions that I had to ask myself, because I had to sell it to the other guys. How am I going to cover a 40-year span with all these different guys, and all the ups and downs? And it just kind of came to me: Well, I don’t really have to. With anybody telling a life story, there are certain roads that people just aren’t going to want to do down. You go, I’m just not going to tell that story, because it sucks. The story I wanted to tell was those [first] five albums. That was not only the heyday; it was a miracle.

Once we reached the pinnacle, it was no longer uplifting. It wasn’t even fun. It was a bunch of men arguing with each other. I’ve seen a lot of documentaries about bands like that, where they become bitter and downtrodden. Who wants to sit through that? And when I talked to the guys, as soon as I said, I want you to know that if we’re going to do this, I don’t want to talk about drugs, I don’t want to talk about drinking and all the stuff that went on in this band that actually hurt a lot of the guys . . . as soon as I said that, boy, everybody was up for it.

KANSAS

At the Cabot, Beverly, March 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets: $39-$59. 978-927-3100, www.thecabot.org

Interview was condensed and edited. Steve Smith can be reached at steven.smith@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nightafternight.