Old Enough to Forget

I've picked up an awful lot of stuff over the last few months, probably more than I should have, but dagnabbit a deal is a deal, but the shelf where my incoming pile is stored is getting pretty full. Which means I get to spend more time in the basement listening to tunes and avoiding other chores. Win win. Of all the guys in City Boy, it was Mike Slamer's name I was familiar with from his work with Steve Walsh - both solo and as a member of Streets. The guy was a super tasty player and could really rip it up too. From there I found out he'd been in a band called City Boy and that was about it. Fast forward, and I picked up a really nice looking copy of Dinner at the Ritz .  I scan the back cover and there are six dapper looking lads wearing tuxedos. Also on the back cover Mutt Lange was listed as producer and co-engineer. I was already sold, this just made is more solder. I have yet to hear anything associated with Mutt that was a stinker ... that includes Shania Twain (I k...

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...