Streets - 1st

After leaving Kansas, Steve Walsh formed the band Streets. The band was comprised of ace fretman Mike Slamer, bassist Billy Greer, and drummer Tim Gehrt. Their debut album, 1st was released in October 1983, a few months after his former band Kansas dropped Drastic Measures. Coincidentally, Neil Kernon engineered and produced both albums.

Whereas the Kansas album felt dark and murky, 1st was bright and crackling - not brittle, but everything felt forward in the mix. Much of the energy came from Mike Slamer's guitar work, which was pretty awesome. Musically, this is much more early '80s rock than I expected. If Steve wanted to shed the progressive baggage he'd packed with Kansas, Streets was a solid run at commercial rock - even if the near six-minute rocker "Lonely Woman's Cry" flirts with some prog elements, it's a rock song at its core.

Here's the thing, I had no idea this album even existed back in '83. It would literally be a couple of decades before I'd find this one and the follow-up Crimes in Mind from 1985. I think it was shortly after picking up Steve's solo album Glossolalia back in 2000 that I was blown away by Mike Slamer. After that that I made an effort to find the earlier albums.

I wasn't disappointed - okay, I was disappointed that I hadn't found this when it came out. I know it would have spent a lot of time on my turntable. Is it really that good? Man, that's a hard call to make as I really enjoy it, and Steve Walsh was still in fine voice and seemed to relish working in a band structure. Just about half the songs on the album were written with the band, which is pretty cool. The album's closer "Fire" is pure '80s rock. Yeah, back when I said Steve had shed his Kansas baggage - I take it back. This song was awesome with all the pomp and grandeur you'd want with Steve's voice soaring and snarling like a man with something to prove.

This was still just hard rock, and the heady days of what would devolve (evolve?) into the hair band era was still a few years out. So when I hear this now, I have some trouble weeding out the noise and everything that came after that makes this sound more generic than it really was.

So, back to my initial question, is it good?

Yes, it's good. Really good - but too much time had elapsed by the time I got this, so I play it and enjoy it - a lot. Sadly, rather than sink into my musical DNA like other albums from that time, when I listen now it's mixed with equal parts admiration and nostalgia. I've played it many times over the years, and a few times now as I reacquainted myself with the songs writing this little blurb, but it'll only ever be a good album I found.

Shortly after the band's second album Streets would come to a dead end and Steve and Billy would join a revamped Kansas.

Now, for shits and giggles, I made a playlist alternating the songs from "Drastic Measures" and "1st" and boy howdy, what would have been a hell of a double album.