True crime stories have never been more popular. Via movies and, particularly, TV shows, it is perhaps the highest-grossing genre on the screen, and fans of such tales will love the new one from David Omlor, the snappily titled “The American Boys (The Ballad of Frank Gusenberg and the St Valentine’s Day Massacre),” (which, if nothing else, gets me a lot closer to fulfilling my word count!)
As the title suggests, this is the story of the man in question, who survived the infamous incident, albeit for a short time, but who refused to give up those who perpetrated the act. As they say, there’s honor among thieves, or in this case, bootleggers, protection racketeers, and mobsters.
The story is told over a rock-and-roll-infused groove, part country cool, part Southern Rock chops to build a rolling, lilting, boogiesome sound that is as infectious as it is intelligent. It’s often hard to tell such well-known stories in music; many artists get too bogged down in dry detail, but David Omlor shows us how to make such songs sing… literally. Given that we all know the story, he trusts us to be able to read between the lines and merely retells it from the point of view of a minor character in the play, capturing themes of violence and retribution but also loyalty to the way of life – Gusenberg might be many things, but he’s not a grass!
What a great song, what an effortless, free-flowing slice of groove, and what a great story. Music that both entertains and informs, and does both brilliantly.
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