Keepin’ It Real was reviewed by Tak Tokiwa in the September 2021 issue of JazzLife Magazine Japan.

Translated from Japanese by Hideki Hattori:
”“Lap steel guitarist Mike Neer got the instrument that was played by legendary Hawaiian lap steel guitarist Sol Hoopii himself in the 1940s. This work was recorded during last year’s pandemic as if guided by this instrument. Neer himself played the trio part of ukulele, lap steel guitar and bass of basic Hawaiian music and the percussion, and sent it to various guest players, and it was completed by overdubbing. The representative tunes of the Hard Bop / Post Bop period are revived with an unprecedented arrangement, showing new possibilities of this instrument.”