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The American band, Salem Hill, has
really not yet penetrated into the upper echelons of the present day
prog league, in contrast to the kindred spirited Echolyn( and even
less so, Spock’s Beard). It’s such a pity and even unjust because
albums such as “The Robbery of Murder” and “Not Everybody’s Gold”,
are still waiting for a general and wide spread recognition.
Hopefully, a change will come with it’s new concept album, “Be”.
The musical spectrum of Salem Hill
doesn’t allow itself to be categorized into one style( and that’s
quite a compliment ), but it is definitely controlled by
craftsmanship and an outspoken desire for melody and harmony.
Previous albums stood out because of their cunning balance between
mellower pop songs and fairly heavy rockers, but on “Be”, it’s
actually different. It probably has something to do with the
concept, but the CD sounds more raw, more aggressive and heavier
than their previous works. As you start browsing through the
lyrics, you’ll notice the presence of themes such as alienation and
loneliness, which are embedded in a sarcastic viewpoint on
humanity. Everything is about being miserable. But musically, as
said before, they really hit the nail on the head with a more
rock-aimed approach, especially with the guitar work of Groves and
Daring. Admittedly, the album is less accessible than, for example,
“The Robbery”, but listen to it a few times and, guaranteed, you’ll
be sold and hooked. The relatively short songs ( 15 in total ) fit
together like small, edited pieces of a big puzzle. Several of
these pieces are definitely worth mentioning. The ever so beautiful
harmonized vocals in “So Human” sound a bit like Gentle Giant, while
the easy listening “The Red Pool” reminds me of Kansas. By the way,
a small remark to be made: the sequence of songs that you find in
the booklet is not strictly followed- so there’s some work involved
in figuring out the songs. There are drastic contrasts in the
songs, but this remains a plus point for the band. The fragile
“Seattle” ( piano, bass and vocals ) gets blown away by the power of
“Apollyon”, while “The Perfect Light” has a Crowded House
influence. “Love Won’t Save the World” is blessed with a beautiful,
classic piano pattern and a short but subtle guitar solo (a little
bit like Alan Morse of Spock’s Beard (Snow) “Solitary Soul”). On
the heavier “I Didn’t Come for You”, Groves (or is it Daring?)
really gives it his all. Actually, the cherry on the cake comes at
the end. Groves shows you the dark spot in his mind on the
melancholy song, “Beings”. He says, ‘So what is life but a breath?
A tortured trance, a dance to death.’ It’s a breath taking and
beautiful song with a subtle guitar solo at the end. “Regard Me” is
the reprise of “Reflect”, but then, with a fantastic symphonic final
chord, which reminds me of “The Wild Places” from Duncan Browne.
“Be”
is more than a worthy follow up to “The Robbery of Murder” (in terms
of concept albums, to be kept in mind). Even though the group rocks
more than ever before, they stay true to their progressive roots.
And they can write songs just like the top song writers do. From
that point of view, “Be” connects well with its previous works. A
strong sample of musical craftsmanship! |
