In the past, my proclivity for discussing a new Mike Keneally album was to write an incredibly detailed, long-form column on every aspect of the album, including an individual track-by-track review. Now, thanks to the commentary track of the DOG DVD, I don't have to, as Mike The Man Himself has pretty much done it for me.

But there are a few things I'd like to say. First, I'm just totally enthralled by the pacing, sound, vibe and music on this album. In many ways, it combines all of the aspects I like best about Keneally's music - aggressiveness, complexity, melody, humor, raw energy - into the neatest and most efficient package yet. This is the product of a man who's made many albums, made them well, and has carefully chosen the best elements and shoved them into the rock-oriented blender that is the current Mike Keneally Band. Think of it as a modern update on Sluggo!, a rawer version of Dancing, a heavy-without-being-nasty version of Boil That Dust Speck, and, for "This Tastes Like A Hotel," a fully revolutionized hat.

As a matter of fact, "Hotel" is the one tune I should mention in detail. Even the most advanced listener will find it a challenge - and a joy - to dig through this incredibly intense, fifteen-minute musical collage. I myself marveled to Keneally at how he made it possible for consistent themes ("signposts" he likes to call them) to tie the piece together while, at the same time, the piece has no truly discernable form whatsoever. It's a hell of a lot easier to write an "epic" that behaves like a really long song, with recognizable beginnings and endings, than it is to conjure up a stream-of-consciousness piece like "Hotel" that doesn't fall right off the rails and instead somehow stays cohesive, which for me it does. It's a high art, and I'm privileged to be a part of it.

Other special moments for me, me, me: "Choosing To Drown," especially in the section leading up to the "'70s rock bridge"; "Simple Pleasure," where I do my first-and-last Joni-Mitchell-era Jaco Pastorius impersonation; "Raining Sound," where I channel Tony Kanal of No Doubt; and "Physics" just because it's so, so, weird.

And for those playing along, you'll never guess what the hardest song is: "Gravity Grab." Just try getting it right all the way through. You'll break your bass in half trying, like I nearly did as we tracked it.

Finally, here's a well-deserved shout-out to Rick Musallam and Nick D'Virgilio, whose playing all over the record is just amazing, and is ultimately what makes this a true Band Album. My fave Rick moments: slide and bouzouki on "Physics," strange wah guitar on "Gravity Grab" and everything on "Panda". My Nick picks: choruses of "Raining Sound," the groove on "Splane," and the outro solo on "Choosing To Drown."

It's a good record. Check it out.

Click here for the official Mike Keneally website.