  Mike Keneally Band
Guitar Therapy Live (Exowax)
By Bill Meredith, Jazziz, August 2006
“No doubt I’ll be shuffling into calmer areas as I continue this damned aging business,” Mike Keneally writes in the liner notes to his latest CD, Guitar Therapy Live. “So here’s an album of our band while we were bringing the rock.”
This disc actually transcends genres, rising above rock by mixing in elements of jazz, funk, humor, and classical music. Keneally contributed guitar, keyboards, and vocals to Frank Zappa’s final touring band, and these 14 tracks offer the latest proof that the like-minded student has overtaken his late mentor as a player and singer, if not a composer.
With Keneally’s guitar panned to the right channel and Rick Musallam’s guitar to the left, the introductory medley of “Quimby” and “Panda” shows how two guitarists can accomplish more through harmony than soloing. Longtime bassist Bryan Beller boasts a deeper, meatier tone than on Keneally’s previous studio recordings — and even performs three-part vocal harmonies with the guitarists during the vocal midsection of the manic “Lightnin’ Roy.”
The instrumental “Seven Percent Grade” features Keneally’s classically trained piano playing — and leads to an impressive drum solo by Joe Travers. Surprises abound in the middle of the album, from Keneally’s falsetto on “Pride Is a Sin” to the acidic tranquility of “Machupicchu.” The second half features requested favorites, from the Zappa-esque “Uglytown” to the bizarre “Voyage To Manhood” (which mocks the Christopher Cross hit ballad “Sailing”). Mere rock bands don’t sound like the one on Guitar Therapy Live, which is a recorded lesson in creativity, improvisation, and interplay.
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