GUITAR THERAPY LIVE

I've been happy in the hamlet of Zappa, leery of the monsters lurking in the short forest that runs adjacent. Don Preston, Steve Vai, Mike Keneally... scary stuff I reckoned (Adrian Belew being an adorable anomaly). So there was something therapeutic in hearing this disc, even liberating. Is it the nicely napkinned dining of Zappa's live discs? No, this monster eats with its mouth open. But as it belches it issues forth the same fragrance of genius that drew me to Zappa in the first place. It's a messy, maniacal genius at work, as Mike Keneally embraces distortion, rips the belly open on his guitar and then sews it back up neatly again for the next number. Some of this is flat-out amazing ("Lightnin' Roy," "Hum"), most of PDI (pretty darn impressive). Mike's voice is, as he puts in the liner notes, "what it is," which is to say a mix of talking and singing that falls slightly short of FZ and AB. But nobody sticks their head into the forest to hear Mike Keneally sing; it's all about that guitar being spanked into a tantrum, the angular compositions, the well choreographed contributions from the band. After hearing this disc, I'd accord Mike Keneally a konstellation of his own in the prog- metal heavens, to the right of Zappa and down a little to the left of Galactic Cowboys. It's probably not the place to start (when is a live album ever?), but I'm marking it on the map anyway with a note that says "nice monster." I will be back, with candy in my hand, to lure Nonkertompf and its ilk out of the forest and into my living room.

Keneally and crew have been consistently creating groundbreaking music since the nineties and this release continues that tradition. This live disc is raw, intense, and loaded with jaw-dropping rips that may push guitarists to practice more or give up... but all should agree that the guitar work is outstanding. A good overview of music is presented so this would be a good introduction for the novice, however, be advised that the vocals are not strong but fitting for this type of music.

Mike is a severely underrated musician and so is his current band. Rick Musallam is the ideal complementary guitarist, Joe Travers is a monster drummer, and the bass playing of Bryan Beller is incredible. In fact, "Seven Percent Grade" which appears on Beller's solo record is one of the highlights of the disc. As for the recording, it sounds great with good separation of the guitars and the bass and drums sit well in the mix.

A special edition two-disc CD/DVD version is available through Keneally's website that is worth the extra cost. The DVD is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes and contains all the songs on the CD plus: "Tranquillado", "Choosing to Drown", "Self n Other", "Hello, Hello", "Splane", "Frozen Beef", a cover of Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song", "The Cowlogy 1, 2, 3", and "Own". The audio options are DD 5.1 or stereo (both sound great) and there is a commentary track by all the band members. At times, the video is grainy and alternates from full screen to letterbox but the editing is well done. Highly recommended!