Keep the Dog was an American-based experimental rock touring band from New York City formed in 1989 by English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith.
While remaining a sextet throughout, they were occasionally joined on stage by guest musicians, including Tom Cora, John Zorn and Tenko Ueno.
While bootleg recordings of some of the concerts soon began circulating, Frith never considered officially releasing their work until a decade after the band stopped performing.
[7]Leidecker sifted though about 20 DAT recordings from the band's final performances in Austria, Germany and Italy in May and June 1991, and built a montage which he passed on to Frith for further editing.
Frith remarked in the album's liner notes: Listening now I'm struck by the fact that the members of this band are not only what the press described at the time as "sharp improvisers" but also, everyone of them, wonderful composers as well.
Beppe Colli wrote in a review at Clouds and Clocks that Keep the Dog plays Frith's material "with a freshness, assurance and creativity" that demonstrates how well the sextet work together.