THE TAR TAPES, VOL. 1

This collection is from a series of cassette tapes Keneally distributed beginning in the late 1980's, and unfortunately went out-of-print (for licensing reasons) in 1993.

The selection of songs are mostly either songs featuring MK as a multi-instumentalist (with brother Marty assisting), and songs by Drop Control, Mike's own band at the time of the recordings.

A few songs recorded on later albums make an appearance here (Waiting On Williams, Open Up!, Performing Miracles), and all of the songs showcase his skills as songwriter and performer.

Standout tracks for me are Horserace, Don't Go in Caves, Killer Fish, which all feature Keneally's masterful wordplay (which often surpasses that of his hero, Frank Zappa), and the great track Waiting On Williams, which was later recorded by The Mistakes.

But whatever you may think of the rest of the album, the whole price of admission is worth it just for the closing track What Happened to the Dogs, a comic sci-fi/fantasy epic with some jaw-dropping licks.

I came very close to giving this one 5 stars, it should be 4 1/2 at least.

BTW, both Tar Tapes collections are out of print, but they can be downloaded from Keneally's Moosemart web site.