DARK DAYS/FAULE DR ROANE

This disc is basically a single from Kansas keyboardist and frontman Steve Walsh, and as far as I know these are the first compositions he’s written in a few years, at least since his 2005 ‘Shadowman’ release. I don’t know if these will end up on a traditional label release at some point, but these are being distributed solely electronically by musicandvideo.tv at the moment. This is a bit of a surprising release, mostly because Walsh has said more than once that he wouldn’t write for Kansas again, and because he hasn’t been exactly been prolific as a solo songwriter the past several years.

But we Kansas and Walsh fans will take what we can get, and as it turns out these are two pretty solid tracks. Walsh plays keyboards and provides the vocals of course, and is well-supported by Collective Soul guitarist Joel Kosche, Good Rats/Twisted Sister/ Widowmaker drummer Joe Franco, and once and again violinist David Ragsdale.

The music tends to the heavy side but is certainly not metal, more like the stuff Walsh did on ‘Shadowman’ and a bit more accessible and less dark than ‘Glossolalia’. The tempo is closer to ‘Shadowman’ or “Under the Knife” from the 1994 Kansas album ‘Freaks of Nature’, although less dark than that album as well.

Walsh’s voice is quite strong throughout, and the songwriting is very tight with substantive lyrics. “Dark Day” was written in reaction to Walsh watching the tragedy of Hurricance Katrina unfold, and particularly its effect on New Orleans. Beyond just the fact that Walsh is known for his charitable efforts for those less fortunate than himself, he also has a connection to New Orleans from the early Kansas days when the band found the town to be a sort of second home on the road. Plus he lives in the American South in Georgia, and most of those states saw the struggles and suffering in the refugees who escaped from New Orleans after the floods and resettled, particularly in the South. The lyrics tell of the despair of losing homes, loved ones, and even hope, but this is a compassionate reflection, not a bitter or accusatory one. Ragsdale is very aggressive on violin, and Kosche’s guitar work is tight and energetic. Walsh on keyboards is the most expressive and complex I’ve heard him be in many years. This is an excellent song that I hope finds some radio play, especially since Walsh is donating part of the proceeds to the Louisiana Association of Student Nurses to help reestablish the health care infrastructure that is so desperately needed there. Walsh and Kansas also donated a recording of “Song for America” last year for a compilation album for Hurricane Katrina victims.

I’ve tossed around possible meanings for the words in “Faule dr Roane”, but am probably wrong. This appears to be a lament about the social decay or a bellicose society or something like that – the lyrics describe battles and death and defeat anyway. I wonder if this is a pseudonym for the Fall of Rome, maybe as an allegory for the United States, or maybe some enemy of the U.S., not sure. The line “A king will lose his son in the battle of “Faule dr Roane”; O ye the barbarian tree, come to me, come to me” seems to suggest Rome anyway, although I suspect Walsh had something more contemporary in mind. I believe a ‘barbarian tree’ is also a weapon or something in the Civilization III video game as well though, so who knows.

Anway, “Faule dr Roane” is a little heavier and faster-paced than “Dark Days”, and on this one there can be no comparison to Kansas. This isn’t too far distant from some of the stuff Walsh has done with Trent Gardner and Explorer’s Club, except that the keyboards are much better and I don’t think Gardner uses violin much in his many projects.

So not really progressive music I suppose, but a nice little surprise from Mr. Walsh that I don’t believe anyone expected. So three stars and here’s hoping the creative bug bites him again soon, although who knows since the liner notes for this disk include this statement from Walsh: “’Dark Days’ and ‘Faule dr Roane’ are the last songs in my life”. Hopefully he meant to say “latest”.

peace