Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky

by Leigh Silbernagel in Album Reviews, Concert Reviews, Editorials, Musician Reviews, New Releases, News, Opinion Posts, Reviews, Song Reviews, bands to watch

Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky

June 17, 2008- Keith Kenny is a band that instills new respect for music’s ability to expand one’s horizons and way of viewing the world. Aptly titled, “Limit is the Sky,” Keith Kenny’s first CD (http://keithkenny.net/) is a celebration of classic blues rock combined with country influences, skilled musicianship and demanding instrumental part writing.

[The Band]

This is great Blues rock musicianship at its finest in terms of the versatility and cohesiveness of the band, the mix of electric and acoustic songs and solos (bass and drums). I also loved the venue, The Saint, 601 Main Street, Asbury Park, NJ, for its Indie-Irish pub feel to it and ability to enhance Keith Kenny’s performance.

[The CD: Limit is the Sky]

In the song, “Keep on Fighting,” Kenny’s twang-y voice stands up to the intro. “Limit is the Sky” is a song I instantly love every time I hear it; especially the drums. In “The Rounds,” I love the minor key tonality and the bass so much that I got chills. There is also a readily identifiable Michael Hedges influence in this song. “A Roxbury tale” has a classic blues rock intro and sound. The melodic phrasing sustained the vocals: the clapping, the break down and the acoustic guitar at the end completed the song nicely.

“Trust Me” and “Something Strange About It” are songs that I would love if they were instrumental only- and if more was done to highlight the bass and drums. Both songs are solid lyrically, but I love the skill of the musicianship more.  I love the intros in both these songs, the build up and the repetitive melodic phrasing. The drums are perfectly done and when combined with the bass and the mix electric and acoustic instrumentation, enhance it powerfully. There is a definite Hendrix influence in this song with subtle effects and a little new age influence at the end.

[The Bottom Line]

“Some musical genres are characterized, paradoxically, by not being certain genres at all. They don’t respect geographic or aesthetic boundaries, with the exception of the infinite itself. Within them, music is a universal language that follows no compass or conventionalism” (Di Pasquale, Federico. “Juana Molina.” digthisreal.com). This is a band where their skill catapults them out of their genre and their music is a universal language.

-leigh Silbernagel, Ed. June 17, 2008