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As a fan of all kinds of music, and more importantly
a fan of all kinds of musicians, nothing makes me happier
than seeing a truly talented yet relatively unrecognized
performer step out from their usual role as band member
and take the limelight. Such is the case with Billy Greer.
For 16 years Billy has been the "Seventh Key"
to the musical entity known as Kansas. Besides laying down
the bottom line on bass, his searing tenor voice has been
the lynchpin to the awesome vocal harmonies Kansas is known
for. Kansas' fans have admired this secret weapon for years
and have been clamoring for some original Greer material
for some time.
Billy's solo debut "Seventh Key" proves what
Kansas fans have known for years, this guy can sing like
nobody's business. Joining Billy for this disc is veteran
Streets/Steelhouse Lane guitarist Mike Slamer who also produced
the disc. Slamer lends his distinctive shredding and impeccable
ear to produce a fresh, lush sound. Also on the disc are
a crew of familiar faces, guitar god Steve Morse and Billy's
fellow Kansas members Steve Walsh, Rich Williams and Phil
Ehart are all on hand (Walsh and Morse also contributed
songs to the project). The bulk of the disc features Greer
on bass and vocals, Slamer on guitar, drummer Chet Wynd,
David Manion on keys and another great voice, Terry Brock,
providing harmony vocals.
Greer and Slamer unleash a blistering shred-fest right
out of the gate, with the opening track "The Kid Could
Play", a tribute to Billy's departed friend Marty Conn.
What follows is a great collection of original songs. From
balls-to-the wall rockers like "Prisoner of Love"
and the anthemic "Only the Brave, melodic rockers such
as "Every Time it Rains" and "No Man's Land",
and gut-wrenching power ballads, like my pick from the disc,
"Surrender".
The highlight of this disc is the inclusion of four "lost"
songs from Billy's early days with Kansas, including a couple
of great tracks penned by Steve Walsh. These tracks were
originally written and recorded for Kansas' "Power"
album but were never released. The original recordings for
two of the songs were to damaged to use, but the other two
original demo tapes, "Every Time it Rains" and
"No Mans Land" appear on the album.
Sonically, think of the likes of Journey and Whitesnake
updated for 2001. A lot of classic rock styling wrapped
up in modern sound and production. I was much more impressed
with this disc than recent releases from more established
classic rock icons. Fans of great melodic rock with eat
this up.
Shred Pick: "Surrender"
Reviewed by Bruce
Rusk
Read our interview
with Billy Greer.
Billy Greer's Official Site: www.billygreer.com
Click
here to buy Seventh Key at 
Click
here to buy Seventh Key at 
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