GlossolaliaSteve Walsh |
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"Speaking in Tongue…" or so says the somewhat odd title of this latest solo offering from Steve Walsh-in fact, "screaming" in tongue might be a better reflection of some of the not always so quiet moments taking place within this gripping new release. Odd in just about every way imaginable, from the twisted furor of the opening title track which carries a heavy Tool influence for most of its existence, to Walsh himself… an image of proverbial wisdom in his current form. The album, in its entirety, quite simply leaves an eerie trail into the dark sphere of torment before setting on its merry way. The once, former, and current Kansas vocalist really stretches the bounds of diversity here in a personal addressing that unleashes those inner demons that otherwise remained held at bay during those on again off again "wayward" moments spent fronting the one time rock supergroup. All at once he's singing to an audience, letting loose a flood of pent up emotion while at the same time cleansing his own crowded soul-a driven and demonstrative orator equally at peace in front of his own mirror. But in as much as Walsh throws the proverbial and verbal curve with the sudden attacks of angst he lets forth, there are many of those softer moments of genuflection, orchestrated and contained within the subtle strains of "Serious Wreckage," the progressively stormy and theatrical transposition of the ironically titled, "Kansas," and the soothing "Nothing," which longs to fill that void in life when material possessions have soaked up all value. Walsh goes far in developing an intricate web throughout the songs, all tied together not by a direct theme but a well organized amalgamation of past events and focused thoughts-a philosophically sophisticated vision that is all at once enlightening and disturbing, imaginative and mature without wandering aimlessly in a sea of guilt and excess.
Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu]
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