Guitar Therapy Live [Explicit Lyrics]

Mike Keneally Band (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 27, 2006)
• Original Release Date: June 27, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Exowax Recordings
• ASIN: B000FGFD4M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,652 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

(4 1/2 stars out of 5) Guitar Therapy Live is a great document of what these guys can do on any given night. It's got a raw, live sound with clearly separated guitars and everything mixed loud.

Keneally's playing throughout is so impressive, people might be surprised that he used to consider himself "a keyboard player who plays some guitar." This is a tight band who sound like they really enjoy playing together, and that comes through loud and clear. Keneally's music isn't for everyone: it can be challenging, difficult, and just plain weird. It can also be joyous and transcendent, and almost always displays jaw-dropping musicianship. Sampling from each of his albums except the orchestral one, Guitar Therapy Live is a celebration of the Keneally songbook and guitar indulgence, and fans of either one or both are sure to enjoy it. --All Music Guide

Product Description

In mid-2005, celebrated guitar wizard Mike Keneally (formerly with Frank Zappa and Steve Vai) felt an irresistible calling to assemble his dream-lineup Mike Keneally Band, and take to the road for the first time in years. So Mike, bassist extraordinaire Bryan Beller, sublimely zen guitarist Rick Musallam and impossible drummer Joe Travers braved deserted highway flat tires, indifferent promoters, communal hotel rooms and financial desolation to Bring The Rock to scattered hamlets across this great land of ours on the Guitar Therapy tour. Those who saw the shows were floored by the power, precision and concentrated emotion they experienced. Weaving together elements of rock, jazz, and jamband, the group left the stage most nights knowing something magical had happened. Shortly after their return, Mike and Bryan listened to hours of live MKB performances and lovingly whittled them down to one energized CD featuring inspired new renditions of songs spanning Mike's career.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good as Guinness, June 27, 2006

By 

WillieB - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitar Therapy Live (Audio CD)

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hitting Their Stride!, November 4, 2007

By 

Star Thrower - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitar Therapy Live (Audio CD)

This quartet kicks things off with the difficult instrumental Quimby, a tune most rock bands wouldn't or couldn't attempt to pull off. The second tune Panda is a perfect example of Keneally's pop songwriting talent. This catchy song has an infectious groove, great melody,bridge, and a killer guitar solo. This rendition blows the studio version out of the water! The same goes for the extended instrumental, Hum. I barely even noticed this piece on the studio album Nonkertompf,an album of 30 short pieces. On Guitar Therapy Live it's the album's centerpiece extended to 11 glorious minutes of guitar mayhem! Another great tune is the mellow track Machupicchu. Keneally is not the strongest vocalist in a live situation but he sounds great on this piece! I'm also glad he included Top Of Stove Melting. This is one of many great songs from his ...Dust Speck album. Bassist Bryan Beller's instrumental composition Seven Percent Grade features the other great guitarist in this band, Rick Musallam. This cd along with all of Mike's releases is recommended to musical maximalists who enjoy complex eccentricities,strong melodies, and aggressive guitar playing. If you're tired of wading through the endless stream of mediocre,uninspired,generic,derivative pop/rock/jam music of the 21st century, do yourself a favor and buy a Keneally cd. This live album or his recently re-issued early albums Hat, and Boil That Dust Speck will keep you listening for years. Since another reviewer mentioned the GTL Special Edition, a few comments are in order. I own this myself and the DVD production definitely deserves some criticism. Although I was delighted with the inspired performance and additional music, I was extremely disappointed with the video quality which is very poor if you have a large screen TV. The lighting is also terribly inadequate. It was filmed at The Baked Patato, a small dingy club in Hollywood. Not a very colorful event. More of a murky brown haze. The audio quality is excellent. I was expecting a professional quality video production when I ordered this so now you know what to expect if you decide to shell out 30 bucks plus shipping. 5 stars for the cd, 3 for the DVD. Get the cd, pop it in your car stereo and turn it up!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Yet, January 9, 2007

By 

David Atkinson "Raven2k4" (Bartlett, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guitar Therapy Live (Audio CD)

Keneally just keeps getting better. Zappa had such an influence on him and it shows in the variety of styles that Keneally plays.