STEVE WALSH - Shadowman

Posted: 8/22/06

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Rock

Released: 7/4/05

Label URL: www.frontiers.it

Artist URL: www.kansasband.com

Although Kansas’ Steve Walsh is one of my favorite rock vocalists, I just couldn’t support the direction on his previous solo outing, Glossolalia (2000).  While I can understand the need for him to do something different than Kansas, Glossolalia was way too modern for my tastes and just didn’t work with his voice.  Shadowman, his third solo outing, is far more pleasing, despite the fact that there is a slight techno vibe running through some of the songs.  While the disc opens with the modern metal “Rise,” and there’s a ‘swish-swish’ sound on the title track and a computerized vibe on “Hell Is Full Of Heroes,” most of the songs on Shadowman find Steve delivering songs that have an accessible feel similar to my favorite Kansas recordings, Power and In The Spirit Of Things.  Even the more modern moments are surrounded by hooks, making things work here that just did not on Glossolalia.  Although most of the songs are five or six minutes in length, the strong emphasis on the choruses and the hooks, and overall terrific songwriting, keeps the listener from getting bored, and makes the songs seem as if they are much shorter than they actually are.  It’s difficult to find a weak moment here but the strongest tracks would be the epic sounding “Shadowman” (you’ll have a tough time not shouting the chorus!), the chorus-driven “Keep On Knockin’” and the oddly titled “Davey, and the Stone That Rolled Away.”  The softer sounding “Pages Of Old” and “The River” show the immense beauty of Walsh’s voice.

The Bloody Truth:  Steve has a fine release here.  Fans of Kansas, especially the less progressive material, and his other band, Streets, will be very pleased with his direction, the strong songwriting, and his quality delivery.  Symphony X’s Michael Romeo adds symphonic moments on “Shadowman,” “Hell Is Full Of Heroes,” and “After,” and Kansas’ David Ragsdale adds violin on “After,” so smidges of progressive/symphonic/techno moments are there to add flavor.  Produced by Walsh, the sound of the disc is excellent too, making this a winner from start to finish.  Where Glossolalia went too far over the edge, Shadowman is much more balanced.  It finds Walsh stretching out into different territory but it is melodic so Kansas/Streets fans will still be comfortable.