Mike Keneally, a longtime Taylor clinician and former stunt guitarist for the legendary Frank Zappa, is a musical chameleon. Just check out any of his recent works — projects as disparate as the orchestral pieces of The Universe Will Provide and the solo-piano arrangements of Vai Piano Reductions Vol. 1.
While he is, technically speaking, an extreme rock-guitar virtuoso, Keneally has never come closer to making a verifiable rock-guitar record than with his latest all-electric-guitar CD, Guitar Therapy Live. (A special CD and DVD edition has been limited to 3,000 copies, each autographed by Keneally and available through his website.)
Recorded on digital multi-track at three shows in 2005, Keneally and his tight, adaptable dream band — bassist (and frequent co-clinician) Bryan Beller, guitarist Rick Musallam, and drummer Joe Travers — play some seriously grooving tunes, all infused with Keneally’s trademark weirdness. And while the music isn’t quite perfect — there’s the occasional out-of-tune guitar and off-kilter vocal — everything sounds completely fresh, inspired, and, perhaps most important, slightly subversive.
Guitar fans will be floored by the wild improvisations throughout the disc. On “Seven Percent Grade”, Keneally plays a fierce, exploratory solo equally informed by old-school blues and 1960s modal jazz. “Spoon Guy”, a strange and beautiful rock-jazz waltz with tricky harmonies, features some out-there but cohesive soloing from Keneally. And the more rootsy “Panda”, with its sick wah-guitar work, has some nimble and heavy blues explorations.
Other tracks focus more on the ensemble. “Pride is a Sin” is based on an infectious E-minor groove; “’Cause of Breakfast”, on which the guitars are tuned way down to C, has some nicely shifting metric work; and “Lightnin’ Roy” is filled with all kinds of bouncy guitar-and-bass interplay.
A real standout, though, is “Machupicchu”, which offers a respite from the other songs’ relentless grooves and features nicely detailed guitar playing (a T5 through an SWR California Blonde), compelling chord changes, ethereal harmonics, and haunting vocals. In short, it’s the perfect weird rock ballad. Frank Zappa would be proud.
— Marc Harris
Mike Keneally, a longtime Taylor clinician and former stunt guitarist for the legendary Frank Zappa, is a musical chameleon. Just check out any of his recent works — projects as disparate as the orchestral pieces of The Universe Will Provide and the solo-piano arrangements of Vai Piano Reductions Vol. 1.