Steve Walsh Releases Fourth Solo Album Black Butterfly

When Steve Walsh announced his retirement from Kansas a few years ago, it seemed like he had reached the end of his singing career. His voice wasn't what it used to be back in his glory days in the 1970's or even in the 1980's. After he released his third solo album Shadowman back in 2005, he decided he was retired from recording any music. Because of this, the other four members of Kansas recorded an album under the title Native Window.

That kind of saddened me to see Walsh go out the way he did. After listening to Glossolalia back in 2000, it was plain to me that this man had something to say in his music that didn't quite fit Kansas. Even his follow-up album Shadowman was pretty impressive. I can sort of understand why he didn't want to write or record with Kansas. It seems to me the things he has to say and the style of music he prefers doesn't quite fit the mold of Kansas.

So the question is, why would Steve stay with the band for so many years? You might say he did it for the paycheck. People will sit and judge these artists for doing that, but we should all be so lucky to make some sort of contribution to society that still pays off for us many years later. I think he still enjoyed the music, but at a certain point he had run out of gas.

With Black Butterfly, Walsh picks right up where he left off with Shadowman. He also helps introduce the world to a talented singer named Jerome Mazza. Jerome and Steve trade lead vocals on the song Born Of Fire, and Mazza handles lead vocals on three of the album's other ten tracks. David Spuria of The Real Music Observer series on YouTube has gone on record with his opinion that Jerome would have been a better replacement in Kansas for Walsh then current singer Ronnie Platt.

The song that immediately jumped out to me upon my first listen was the haunting track Tanglewood Tree. Steve does some different things vocally on this song, which speaks to the topic of suicide. It's a haunting song, really heartbreaking. What do you say when somebody you love decides their life is too much to take anymore? I have to admit my life isn't really at a happy place, not that suicide immediately jumps out to me as an answer to my problems.

There is also the song Dear Kolinda. This is pretty much a love song, and it's one of my three favorite songs on the album after Tanglewood Tree. The song Nothing But Nothing also jumped out at me, and this is a song that he wrote for his children. The album ends with the song Billie Carbone Is Dead. This is Steve's commentary about how when something tragic happens, society seems to want to hear all the news stories about who did the crimes, but the victims seem to be forgotten. It's also named after a member of Kansas road crew, who died tragically.

Walsh teamed up with Tommy Denander, who wrote a majority of the songs with Walsh. Musically, this album rocks, but it doesn't really sound much like the music you would hear Steve record with Kansas. This is one of the reasons I like this album so much. While I admit his voice doesn't sound like it did in the glory days, Steve still brings passion to his vocals. For me, it's much easier listening to him sing newer songs than singing his older songs the way he sounds now.

Back when he recorded his second solo album Glossolalia, Kansas was also recording Somewhere To Elsewhere, the last album by the band to include all of the original members. I've always felt that Steve had more passion on his solo album, and to me it's the better of the two.

To Black Butterfly I can only say this is a good album, and it should rank high among the albums recorded by classic rock artists in 2017. I don't know if Steve plans to do any shows where he plays these songs, or if anybody can even see him perform live at all in 2018. However, I can only hope that he won't rule out a fifth solo album. If this is an example of what he still has to offer as a musician as he approaches 70 years old, I can only hope that he keeps on rocking.