I AM this tall

[Hagrinas Mivali]

If you are considering buying a ticket, I'd say don't do it. If you are
thinking of getting the all day wristband, I'd say it's a better choice.
But I'd recommend getting a season pass.

According to the celebrated Mr. K., "A number of people who don't lie to
me have said they think it might be my best album. I sure can't say, but
I know I really enjoy hearing it." I don't suppose it's right for a
musician to blow his own horn, but I can see why people think this way.
In order to compare two albums you'd need to distill everything down to
a single number and rank them, which is something I can't do, but I'd
put this one way up there.

I don't think the notion of gathering together the best of what was
still around to "clear the decks" does this justice. It's far too
cohesive and has the feel of something with an overall concept more than
of a collection of of things from the previous decade onwards. It comes
across more like a project and theme that somebody set out to do from
scratch and ended up being successful with beyond what anybody imagined.

In my concept of non-linear time, this CD flies by. If two minutes of
getting your teeth drilled without anesthesia seems like hours, this CD
seems like a few minutes.

Sometimes it's not easy to get right into a new album from somebody
whose music you've listened to for a long time. You start off in the "I
discovered Keneally" phase when you hear him for the first time and
things hit you. Then you moved on to "more Keneally." In some cases, it
meant letting something grow on you before you could appreciate it in
full. But in this case, it wasn't a matter of if he could top himself
but of what direction he takes you in.

[Cujo DeSockpuppet]

Post by Hagrinas Mivali
But in this case, it wasn't a matter of if he could top himself
but of what direction he takes you in.

I'm hearing new things in it with each listen to the CD. It almost seems to
force me to evolve with it.

[a***@gmail.com]

I respectfully disagree with you about it sounding cohesive; the first few times I listened to it it sounded like possibly the most disintegrated thing Mike has ever done. But in a way that's part of its charm: you have to work extra hard to figure out what the connections are. A storyline for it is already taking shape inside my head...

And obviously, since I'm from Toronto, the line "Child of the team of York" immediately made me think of the York University girls' volleyball team.

But yeah, I'm right there with you with regard to time flying by. Anyone else notice a trend of CDs getting shorter? The album the Flower Kings put out last year is an uncharacteristically short 53 minutes, the new Spock's Beard is 56, and Neal Morse has been averaging about 60 minutes per disc for the last couple of years. All three were making 75-minute albums not too long ago.

Post by Hagrinas Mivali
If you are considering buying a ticket, I'd say don't do it. If you are
thinking of getting the all day wristband, I'd say it's a better choice.
But I'd recommend getting a season pass.
According to the celebrated Mr. K., "A number of people who don't lie to
me have said they think it might be my best album. I sure can't say, but
I know I really enjoy hearing it." I don't suppose it's right for a
musician to blow his own horn, but I can see why people think this way.
In order to compare two albums you'd need to distill everything down to
a single number and rank them, which is something I can't do, but I'd
put this one way up there.
I don't think the notion of gathering together the best of what was
still around to "clear the decks" does this justice. It's far too
cohesive and has the feel of something with an overall concept more than
of a collection of of things from the previous decade onwards. It comes
across more like a project and theme that somebody set out to do from
scratch and ended up being successful with beyond what anybody imagined.
In my concept of non-linear time, this CD flies by. If two minutes of
getting your teeth drilled without anesthesia seems like hours, this CD
seems like a few minutes.
Sometimes it's not easy to get right into a new album from somebody
whose music you've listened to for a long time. You start off in the "I
discovered Keneally" phase when you hear him for the first time and
things hit you. Then you moved on to "more Keneally." In some cases, it
meant letting something grow on you before you could appreciate it in
full. But in this case, it wasn't a matter of if he could top himself
but of what direction he takes you in.

[Smeenus]

Post by a***@gmail.com
And obviously, since I'm from Toronto, the line "Child of the team of York" immediately made me think of the York University girls' volleyball team.

Obviously o_O

[Chris Ingalls]

I'll think of more things to say the more I listen, but for now, one thing that stands out for me is that "Kidzapunk" sounds like an attempt to distill "This Tastes Like a Hotel" down to a manageable length.

I've been woefully behind on my Keneally purchases recently - becoming a father once again in 2011 means more money on diapers and less on music - so after a minor financial windfall last week, I ordered YMBTT, Wing Beat Fantastic and Wing Beat Elastic (along with a spiffy WBF t-shirt). All three of these albums have been jockeying for my attention over the last few days.

How do I compare YMBTT to other Keneally albums? It reminds me a lot of Scambot, with shades of Nonkertompf, I guess. I'm digging it.

Chris

[m***@gmail.com]

I probably agree with both Aaron AND Hagrinas. When I was pulling the album together it was hard to imagine that there would ultimately be cohesion; it began life as a proposed second CD for "Wing Beat Fantastic," and originally also contained the material that became "Wingbeat Fantasia" and "Corn" from "Wing Beat Elastic." It was originally going to be called "The Cavanaugh Chronicles" (I made reference to it online last year) but the material was so different from what was on WBF that we decided to just release WBF as a single CD with no special edition, and keep all this additional material for its own release. So it's probably too easy for me to refer to it as "the best of what was still around" - not that there's anything wrong with THAT, but I do think, as does Haggy (for which I'm grateful), that it really did achieve a surprising cohesion once I happened on the final running order. As "Cavanaugh Chronicles," with the piano-based material that became "Fantasia," as well as "Corn," it felt way more grab-baggy, but as a 12-song 44-minute album it got a shape and flow that I am really happy with.

But it's also the first album since "Sluggo!" that is just a collection of songs, without any additional overarching concept, or unifying musical approach, or the same band lineup across all the songs.

Nonkertompf was the one-man band instrumental freakout
Dancing was about the sound of that particular band
Wooden Smoke was the acoustic record
Dog was about the sound of THAT particular band
TUWP was the orchestral record
Vai Piano Reductions was the Vai piano record
Guitar Therapy was a live album
Wine & Pickles was the outtakes record
Scambot 1 was a concept album
Evidence of Humanity was the album with Marco
bakin' was a live album
WBF was the Andy Partridge record
WBE was the remix/reinvention record

This is an album of music, with no concept beyond that. So I think that maybe it also feels less unified because it's the first record in a long time that doesn't have a particular something, like all those records above, to tie it together. But in the way that I think Wine & Pickles is a really strong record that I didn't know I was making, I feel the same way about this, although I don't think You Must Be This Tall is an "outtakes" record in any way. These songs are all meant to be main events.

Some of them were in the running for Scambot 1 - "You Must Be This Tall," "Cornbread Crumb," "Popes" and "Glop" were all in the running for that album - and I could have saved them for "Scambot 2" but I am now very dead set on having each of the three volumes of Scambot feel entirely different from one another. Each one is meant to feel more clear and less cluttered than the one before, which will parallel the storyline as well.

The four songs I wrote quickly after getting back from a Satriani tour in early 2011 ("The Rider," "Kidzapunk," "Cavanaugh" and "Pitch Pipe," which were all based on little iPhone voice memos and fleshed out within a week of studio time) were all in consideration for inclusion on "Wing Beat Fantastic" but eventually it made the most sense to keep that album very focused on the songs I wrote with Andy (plus "That's What I Have No Name" and "Land," both of which were also under consideration for inclusion on "Scambot 1" or "2"). Then I thought those four iPhone songs might be a stand-alone EP, but ultimately it was more fun to make a whole album.

You can see that the last several albums have all kind of come into being simultaneously. It's been fun and exciting to have such a large body of material to play with and re-combine in different ways - and in fact I do still have a pretty sizable amount of unreleased material recorded during the "Scambot 1" period which may be used in various ways on "Scambot 2" or its accompanying special edition bonus disc (which may or may not be called "Gnink Battle: An Adjunct to Scambot 2"). But you can probably also see why I'm excited to move beyond the material I've recorded over the past bunch of years and move forward with a new approach.

So while "You Must Be This Tall" was explicitly a means of gathering together the best unreleased material from the past seven or so years of recording activity, ultimately I think it did achieve a personality of its own and made for what I think is one of my best albums, certainly one I still get a huge amount of pleasure from listening to. I love the sound of it, I think it's very strong and substantial, and writing- and playing-wise I think it holds up all the way through. I'm super thrilled with it.

I'm hanging out in my hotel room in Albuquerque (sp?) with another few hours before showtime tonight and felt like shooting the shit about all this with you guys.

[m***@gmail.com]

I wanted to shoot the shit and instead I swooped in and was a total fucking thread-murderer. Nice one, MK.

[Smeenus]

I...was a total fucking thread-murderer.

HEY! That's my job dammit

[m***@gmail.com]

Post by Smeenus

I...was a total fucking thread-murderer.

HEY! That's my job dammit

Thar's a new thread-killer in town! Guns at high noon!

[t***@tapkae.com]

Post by m***@gmail.com
So while "You Must Be This Tall" was explicitly a means of gathering together the best unreleased material from the past seven or so years of recording activity, ultimately I think it did achieve a personality of its own and made for what I think is one of my best albums, certainly one I still get a huge amount of pleasure from listening to. I love the sound of it, I think it's very strong and substantial, and writing- and playing-wise I think it holds up all the way through. I'm super thrilled with it.

I haven't heard it yet but I am going to presume it could use a little more cowbell. Doesn't everything these days?

[Mike Pierry]

Top-posting 'cuz it feels so good. Nice to see this place a bit more active these days.

I've been enjoying the new album quite a bit. It went right by me the first few times I listened to it. I blame myself for that. I've developed terrible listening habits over the years and all too often I put on albums and don't even really listen, they're just on in the background - the dreaded "audio wallpaper" syndrome from TRFZB. Sometimes it's just because there's so much new music that I feel duty-bound to listen to. Have y'all ever felt duty-bound? Actually, don't answer that - I forgot where I was for a second.

But on the other hand, I think there's something to be said for letting an album seep into your unconscious without really paying much attention to it at first. Next thing you know, you start fiending for songs you didn't even notice you had listened to. This happens to me a lot. It happened first with "Cornbread Crumb" for me on this album. Does anybody else get kind of a Bozzio-ish vibe from Joe's drumming toward the end of that song? I keep thinking of like, "Rubber Shirt" - I don't know if it's just the sound of the drumset Joe's using or the actual fills he plays. Maybe it's just me.

Post by t***@tapkae.com

Post by m***@gmail.com
So while "You Must Be This Tall" was explicitly a means of gathering together the best unreleased material from the past seven or so years of recording activity, ultimately I think it did achieve a personality of its own and made for what I think is one of my best albums, certainly one I still get a huge amount of pleasure from listening to. I love the sound of it, I think it's very strong and substantial, and writing- and playing-wise I think it holds up all the way through. I'm super thrilled with it.

I haven't heard it yet but I am going to presume it could use a little more cowbell. Doesn't everything these days?

[Mike Keneally]

Post by Mike Pierry
Top-posting 'cuz it feels so good. Nice to see this place a bit more active these days.
I've been enjoying the new album quite a bit. It went right by me the first few times I listened to it. I blame myself for that. I've developed terrible listening habits over the years and all too often I put on albums and don't even really listen, they're just on in the background - the dreaded "audio wallpaper" syndrome from TRFZB. Sometimes it's just because there's so much new music that I feel duty-bound to listen to. Have y'all ever felt duty-bound? Actually, don't answer that - I forgot where I was for a second.
But on the other hand, I think there's something to be said for letting an album seep into your unconscious without really paying much attention to it at first. Next thing you know, you start fiending for songs you didn't even notice you had listened to. This happens to me a lot. It happened first with "Cornbread Crumb" for me on this album. Does anybody else get kind of a Bozzio-ish vibe from Joe's drumming toward the end of that song? I keep thinking of like, "Rubber Shirt" - I don't know if it's just the sound of the drumset Joe's using or the actual fills he plays. Maybe it's just me.

Post by t***@tapkae.com

Post by m***@gmail.com
So while "You Must Be This Tall" was explicitly a means of gathering together the best unreleased material from the past seven or so years of recording activity, ultimately I think it did achieve a personality of its own and made for what I think is one of my best albums, certainly one I still get a huge amount of pleasure from listening to. I love the sound of it, I think it's very strong and substantial, and writing- and playing-wise I think it holds up all the way through. I'm super thrilled with it.

I haven't heard it yet but I am going to presume it could use a little more cowbell. Doesn't everything these days?

I actually get more of a Colaiuta vibe from it, like some of the fills in "Canarsie" or on the solos in the Joe's Garage album. In fact that is kind of a xenochronous section because I took the closing guitar solo from my home demo of the song, which was a different tempo from the finished version, and laid it over the backing track after we recorded it, so "all the sensitive interplay between the drums and guitar never actually happened" on that whole end section (to be rubber shirty about it).

[O***@envysion.com]

I haven't been able to focus on this album long enough to really appreciate it yet. Stuff's been happening, what can I say (when the least of your worries is a flood, you've got some worries, let me tell ya. I now officially live in a federal disaster area: http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_24072038)

For me, bits and pieces of snippets of YMBTT are beginning to sink in and make a very positive impression. It's definitely growing on me. I'm really curious to learn more about the kind of creative process that produced all those twisted intertwining parts in the title track. Also, who's Cavanaugh?

I can't help but wonder whether the first track's name was meant as a statement: If you can't get this, maybe you shouldn't listen to the rest of the album. I doubt it, but this interpretation amuses me.

Post by Mike Pierry
Top-posting 'cuz it feels so good. Nice to see this place a bit more active these days.
I've been enjoying the new album quite a bit. It went right by me the first few times I listened to it. I blame myself for that. I've developed terrible listening habits over the years and all too often I put on albums and don't even really listen, they're just on in the background - the dreaded "audio wallpaper" syndrome from TRFZB. Sometimes it's just because there's so much new music that I feel duty-bound to listen to. Have y'all ever felt duty-bound? Actually, don't answer that - I forgot where I was for a second.
But on the other hand, I think there's something to be said for letting an album seep into your unconscious without really paying much attention to it at first. Next thing you know, you start fiending for songs you didn't even notice you had listened to. This happens to me a lot. It happened first with "Cornbread Crumb" for me on this album. Does anybody else get kind of a Bozzio-ish vibe from Joe's drumming toward the end of that song? I keep thinking of like, "Rubber Shirt" - I don't know if it's just the sound of the drumset Joe's using or the actual fills he plays. Maybe it's just me.

Post by t***@tapkae.com

Post by m***@gmail.com
So while "You Must Be This Tall" was explicitly a means of gathering together the best unreleased material from the past seven or so years of recording activity, ultimately I think it did achieve a personality of its own and made for what I think is one of my best albums, certainly one I still get a huge amount of pleasure from listening to. I love the sound of it, I think it's very strong and substantial, and writing- and playing-wise I think it holds up all the way through. I'm super thrilled with it.

I haven't heard it yet but I am going to presume it could use a little more cowbell. Doesn't everything these days?

[O***@envysion.com]

Update: I got to listen to YMBTT twice in the car today. It's awesome, with a capital everything. 'tis love.

Post by O***@envysion.com
I haven't been able to focus on this album long enough to really appreciate it yet. Stuff's been happening, what can I say (when the least of your worries is a flood, you've got some worries, let me tell ya. I now officially live in a federal disaster area: http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_24072038)
For me, bits and pieces of snippets of YMBTT are beginning to sink in and make a very positive impression. It's definitely growing on me. I'm really curious to learn more about the kind of creative process that produced all those twisted intertwining parts in the title track. Also, who's Cavanaugh?
I can't help but wonder whether the first track's name was meant as a statement: If you can't get this, maybe you shouldn't listen to the rest of the album. I doubt it, but this interpretation amuses me.

Post by Mike Pierry
Top-posting 'cuz it feels so good. Nice to see this place a bit more active these days.
I've been enjoying the new album quite a bit. It went right by me the first few times I listened to it. I blame myself for that. I've developed terrible listening habits over the years and all too often I put on albums and don't even really listen, they're just on in the background - the dreaded "audio wallpaper" syndrome from TRFZB. Sometimes it's just because there's so much new music that I feel duty-bound to listen to. Have y'all ever felt duty-bound? Actually, don't answer that - I forgot where I was for a second.
But on the other hand, I think there's something to be said for letting an album seep into your unconscious without really paying much attention to it at first. Next thing you know, you start fiending for songs you didn't even notice you had listened to. This happens to me a lot. It happened first with "Cornbread Crumb" for me on this album. Does anybody else get kind of a Bozzio-ish vibe from Joe's drumming toward the end of that song? I keep thinking of like, "Rubber Shirt" - I don't know if it's just the sound of the drumset Joe's using or the actual fills he plays. Maybe it's just me.

Post by t***@tapkae.com

Post by m***@gmail.com
So while "You Must Be This Tall" was explicitly a means of gathering together the best unreleased material from the past seven or so years of recording activity, ultimately I think it did achieve a personality of its own and made for what I think is one of my best albums, certainly one I still get a huge amount of pleasure from listening to. I love the sound of it, I think it's very strong and substantial, and writing- and playing-wise I think it holds up all the way through. I'm super thrilled with it.

I haven't heard it yet but I am going to presume it could use a little more cowbell. Doesn't everything these days?

[Chris_J]

I fucking LOVE this album. It's going to KILL live.
I let it spin over in the car to and from work 5 times over the last 2 days. Pitch Pipe is GINORMOUS and Kidzapunk is beyond the definition of cool. And how completely badass is Cornbread??

I envy those who will catch these next shows, this material is going to rip heads off for sure. Mixed with Sluggo!? FUQ!!!

C

[b***@gmail.com]

I fucking LOVE this album. It's going to KILL live. I let it spin over in the car to and from work 5 times over the last 2 days. Pitch Pipe is GINORMOUS and Kidzapunk is beyond the definition of cool. And how completely badass is Cornbread?? I envy those who will catch these next shows, this material is going to rip heads off for sure. Mixed with Sluggo!? FUQ!!! C

Amen to that. I wish I could have seen some of the recent shows, I've seen sets, inclusion of Kidzapunk and Cornbread Crumb (I LOVE that track) just taunt me.

I am enamored with the Deluxe Sluggo, the new mix is a stunner. Hearing it in 5.1 is just almost more than I can handle. In a good way.

Hi all.
Bill Lantz