Steve Walsh - lead vocals, piano, keyboards; Pee Wee Watson - bass; Kenny Soule - drums; Mike Garner - guitar; Guest: Charlie Daniels, fiddle
Kansas lead singer Steve Walsh made this rare solo appearance while he was still in his initial run with Kansas. It was 1980, and Charlie Daniels' Volunteer Jam (which primarily featured Southern and Country Rock bands) was still in its infancy. Walsh, who was about to leave Kansas, the band he gained fame with beginning in 1974, wanted a chance to test his solo abilities. This show gave him that opportunity.
Walsh had just released his first solo album, Schemer-Dreamer, while he was still working on what would be his swansong with Kansas, 1980's Audio Visual.
With Charlie Daniels' comically vague introduction, "Here is a band you're gonna enjoy; they do a good job. Lets here it for Steve Walsh…" Walsh kicks into a spirited version of the Eddie Cochran rock classic, "Summertime Blues," which borrows heavily from the Who's 1970 Live At Leeds arrangement. For his band, Walsh hooked up with a new power trio named PKM. PKM were two thirds of the Epic Records '70s band, Nantucket. When Nantucket lost its deal with CBS (which owned Epic), two of its members formed PKM.
Next up, is a rollicking version of the Larry Williams' 1958 gem, "Slow Down." Walsh and PKM borrow heavily from another arrangement, this time the Beatles, who covered the song in 1965. They end the show with a Walsh original named "Down The Road," which features a cameo appearance by Daniels on fiddle.
After his first solo album failed to be a commercial hit, Walsh formed a new group, Streets, while Kansas re-emerged with a new vocalist. Both acts had modest hits, and in 1988, Walsh returned to Kansas. He remains a touring act both with Kansas and with his own solo band.