MIKE KENEALLY & BEER FOR DOLPHINS: HALF ALIVE IN HOLLYWOOD

This album was released after Mike Keneally's first two (and best) albums, Hat and Boil That Dust Speck, so therefore the majority of the material comes from those albums. The first CD was recorded in a studio, and sounds like the band was toward the end of rehearsing their material. The second is a true live concert, in front of an audience of music students.

It's interesting to hear many of these songs in a stripped down setting, as this band is only Keneally on guitar, occasional keyboards, and vocals, Toss Panos on drums, and Bryan Beller on bass. While Keneally can do amazing things with his guitar, very rarely are these versions as good as the the original studio versions. But the live venues do give Keneally the chance to put some "eyebrows" on the songs, giving them more of a Zappa-esque feel.

The first disk I would rate at three stars. Although it is good, the starts and stops of the band, while they learn parts, or make mistakes can get distracting.

The second disk I rate at four stars. The material is great, as are the performances. Especially good are the stretched out versions of Uglytown and Performing Miracles.

So, 3 and a half stars, rounded up.