Published on Nov 25, 1998
I normally don’t like concept albums, for the simple fact that
something is always left not done well enough. If the music is
good, the story line is impossible to follow. If the story line is
solid, the music is often left to suffer. Sometimes, both sides are
terribly weak, leaving the album to be so much musical mush.
Then, there are the albums that have everything clicking —
these are rare birds, but ones that should be duly noted when they
do pop their heads out for the consumers. Such is the case with
The Robbery Of Murder from Salem Hill — in fact, this is an
album that chilled me with its story and surprised me with its
music. A re-done version of an earlier album, this is quite
possibly the best concept album I have ever listened to – and it
has several messages that you’d be a fool not to listen to.
Multi-instrumentalist Carl Groves leads this four-piece (which
includes some guest violin work from David Ragsdale, formerly of
Kansas) into new, unchartered waters of progressive rock music.
With the help of percussionist/vocalist Kevin Thomas, bassist
Patrick Henry and guitarist/vocalist Michael Dearing, Salem Hill
take on a serious subject, and surprisingly turn it into something
magical. The subject: The loss of a parent due to a drunk driver,
the anger and plans for revenge felt by the son left behind – and
the feelings of the person guilty of the deed.
After the instrumental “Overture” and the declaration of the
plot on “Swerve,” I defy anyone not to be moved and chilled by the
child in the background calling out for his father on “When.”
Although I am fortunate enough to still have both of my parents, I
can empathize with the confusion the son in the song feels when his
father fails to come home after the accident (which the son was
also involved in), and his constant question to his mother of when
Daddy is coming home. Finally coming to the realization of what
happened, the questions turn to unbridled anger and planned revenge
against the driver in “Someday”: “You beer-guzzling loser / You
death-monging cruiser / You maker of ten o’clock news”. Ka-pow.
But woven into the fabric of this tale is the tale of the drunk
driver himself, whose first reaction we hear is one of shifting the
blame from himself to a tormented childhood he experienced
(“Blame”), but soon turns to remorse for the pain he’s caused —
pain that leads up to the son’s visit to the grave of his father
(“To The Hill”). At first, I thought this was the killer visiting
the grave — and while I still harbor some feelings that this is
the case, looking at other interpretations of the song have put
some doubt in my mind.
All the while, the son holds on to the hope that one day he and
his father will be reunited (“Dream”) while closing in on the
driver who killed his father (“Revenge”). The story comes to its
climax in “Trigger” – but the resolution is not what one would have
expected. Coming face-to-face with the man who brought down so much
pain causes our hero to look at him in a different light: “You’re
not quite what I expected / You’re small, sad, frail and afraid.”
The ending? Sorry, gang, but I need to leave you with a reason to
buy the disc.
Musically, Salem Hill wisely tries to create their own sound
while acknowledging the work of progressive rock bands before them.
(If you pick this disc up expecting to hear a band that sounds like
Kansas due to Ragsdale’s contributions, you’ll be disappointed;
Salem Hill’s sound is a little darker than what you would expect.)
And while Groves’s vocals are not as strong as I would have liked
them to be, he does show many moments of brilliance in his singing.
(Credit should also be given to Groves’s production work on this
disc, which is flawless.)
While I have listened to several discs in the prog-rock vein
over the course of the past year that have impressed me, no single
disc has caused me to be so moved as
The Robbery Of Murder did. This is a powerful listen – and,
if you have lost someone close to you through such tragedy, this
will be a difficult listen. But the messages this disc carries are
simple, yet powerful. Obviously, the message of “don’t drink and
drive” is clear, but what about prizing the time you have with your
parents or with your children, for you never know how long you have
with them? What about the destructive power of anger and thoughts
of revenge, and the healing power of forgiveness? This is a disc
that is going to make you think long and hard.
The Robbery Of Murder is a disc that could well be the best
progressive rock album I’ve ever listened to — and it now ranks as
the best album I’ve listened to all year. Here’s hoping some major
label picks up on this power, and gives Salem Hill a fair shot on
the market.