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Reviews

Steve Walsh — Glossolalia
(Magna Carta MA-9043-2, 2000, CD)

Glossolalia Cover art

Right out of the gate, Walsh presents to the listener in very short order a low key techno groove, a metal guitar break with heavy bass and drums, swirling strings with his vocals on top, third world percussion with orchestration, a massive metal soaked chorus — all in just the first two minutes of the first track, “Glossolalia.” Whew! His voice sounds great; however, a bit different from his Kansas days. He’s lost just a bit off of the top end of his range, but he still manages very handily to get his message of defiance and anger across on this song. This well-produced CD is full of notable tracks. “Heart Attack” has sequenced rhythm tracks with verses rapped by Walsh leading to a funky hook. “Kansas” is a dramatic ballad revisiting not the band but Native American issues instead. “Haunted Man” has some killer guitar work by Mike Stamer complete with complex song structure. “Smackin’ the Clowns” offers ten minutes of varying tempos, acoustic guitar on the verses juxtaposed against orchestration and other eclectic influences bordering on techno-metal. “That’s What Love’s All About” is a medium tempo rocker with a very catchy guitar riff and hook, still managing to inject strings and keys tastefully; “Mascara Tears” has a very nice chorus and builds expertly. Steve Walsh combines the melodic and lyrical abilities of his previous successes into an interesting mix of modern technology and angst.

by Jerry Baiden, Published 2001-03-01

Although Steve Walsh has never been very far away from the music business since Kansas burst onto the scene in the early 70s, Glossolalia marks his first solo album in 20 years! Y2K has been a busy year for Walsh with the release of both a Kansas reunion album and this solo effort. Glossolalia was co-written and co-produced with Magellan’s Trent Gardner, who also plays keyboards and trombone on the album. The album is surprisingly non-Kansas sounding given that it’s by the lead singer and one of the principal songwriters of that band. Walsh was obviously out to explore alternate musical styles and Gardner’s production, writing, and playing assistance surely played a big role in the distinct overall sound also. The album presents elements ranging from heavy crunch to industrial to spacey and a lot in between. There is a lot of dynamic range in the album too — the soft parts are really soft and loud parts are WAY LOUD. For this release, Walsh is reunited with former Streets bandmates Billy Greer (who is also in Kansas) on bass and, for the first time since the mid 80s, guitar wizard Mike Slamer. All the way back from his days in City Boy, Slamer has always been an absolutely great melodic rock guitarist and contributes some standout guitar parts on this album — the solo in “Haunted Man” and the fills in the “Smackin’ the Clowns” are notable examples. I don’t know if he’s underrated or not, but he should be more famous! Overall, the album is quite solid and a pleasant complement to the recent Kansas album. The title track, the song “Kansas,” and the previously mentioned “Smackin’ the Clowns” are highlights. This one’s definitely a keeper.

by Mike Grimes, Published 2001-03-01

This is the second solo project commanded by Steve in his long career, and I must say, this was no small surprise! You see, I was expecting something rather middle-of-the-road, since — though a big fan of his — the Schemer Dreamer album of 1980 failed to make an impression on me at all. Well forget all that! You would hardly recognize Glossolalia as his work, if you were to make comparisons, and for that I am still having trouble coming to grips with what he has concocted. Most of the songs were co-written with keyboardist Trent Gardner, but feature guitar-heavy arrangements. There are some bluesy elements as well, embellished by orchestrations from a symphonic rock persuasion, and utterly bizarre vocalizing, with rhythms that defy description. Steve’s lyrics are at times bitter, disturbing, always thoughtful, and moving in way that depict the trials of a man who has lived a life unsheltered by buffers to cold hard reality. The spirit of the American heartland rings through almost every moment of the CD. The melancholy steel-guitar embellished ballad “Nothing”; the dilemma of the American Indian experience so caustically portrayed in the song “Kansas”; the epic-length “Smackin’ the Clowns,” which harkens back to a dark childhood memory. The crux of Glossolalia’s appearance is this: everything you have assumed to be representative of Steve Walsh’s songwriting (whether pro or con) will have to be totally reassessed after hearing this powerfully unsettling recording. How often does a songwriter bring forth this kind of blunt detour in his career? Rarely. It is a unique and original statement, forming the substance of a great hard rock album.

by Mike Ezzo, Published 2000-03-01

Filed under: New releases, Issue 21, 2000 releases

Related artist(s): Steve Walsh

 

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