Kansas bassist Billy Greer has kept himself extremely busy lately. Between the latest Kansas CD and tour, he has managed to also put together Seventh Key, a talented faction made up of current and former Kansas and Streets members. Those who remember the more hard rocking sounds of Steve Walsh’s band from the early 80’s Streets will be happy to know that Seventh Key walks a similar path to that band, this time though led by Greer.
To my surprise Greer really is an exceptional lead vocalist, as he handles all the vocals (and bass) on the albums eleven tracks. Joining him are guitarists Mike Slamer, Rich Williams and Steve Morse, drummer Phil Ehart , keyboardist Steve Walsh, plus a few other lesser known musicians. The final product is a virtual 80’s love fest, complete with arena rockers like “The Kid Could Play” and “Only the Brave”, power ballads “Missy” ,“Surrender”, “When Love is Dying” and the metal tinged “Broken Home.” Besides Greer, Slamer also puts in an MVP performance with his impressive guitar skills on the majority of the songs. When he takes the rare break, the mercurial talents of Steve Morse and the underrated Rich Williams fill his role admirably.
This is great sing along hard rock, done with a familiar flair. Lovers of anything Kansas related need to find this quickly, as do anyone with a fondness for 80’s AOR.
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