Pat metheny:Letter From Home
- Thread starter Jilanha
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One of my favorites! Another is First Circle. I've also listened to We Live Here, and the new one, Speaking Of Now, really has grown on me. The only PMG recordings I never really could get into were Quartet and American Garage.
Without the Group, I like Pat's recording Secret Story. It's one of those rare CDs that I get in my head and it haunts me for days.
Without the Group, I like Pat's recording Secret Story. It's one of those rare CDs that I get in my head and it haunts me for days.
jimac51
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As close to a greatest hits album of the PMG,THE ROAD TO YOU is a well recorded,long CD with lots of power-a driving favorite! It's not often you hear the audience chant an instrumental tune back to the performer en masse. I also love Pat's duet outings,especially with Jim Hall, Charlie Haden and Ornette Coleman. Mac
Captain Bacardi
Well-Known Member
Rudy said:
I think American Garage was a bit different because it was Metheny's first attempt at producing himself, without Manfred Eicher's help. It sounds a bit uneasy. But I enjoy a few songs on the album, especially "The Epic". The first time I saw the PMG was after the release of this album. But for me, their best work is still the first Pat Metheny Group (the so-called "White Album").
Rudy said:
Have you heard his 80/81 album? It's incredible, especially for his age at the time. Great cast: Michael Brecker, Dewey Redman, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden.
Another good solo effort is his first on ECM, Bright Size Life, with Jaco and Bob Moses.
Capt. Bacardi
Captain Bacardi
Well-Known Member
jimac51 said:
Wasn't there a video/DVD that came out as well? I believe it was only issued in Europe and Japan (hmmm, that sounds familiar...).
jimac51 said:
I have the one with Jim Hall, and it's okay, but I haven't had a big urge to listen to it a lot. As for his outing with Ornette (Song X), I was mostly confused listening to this. Outside of the song "Trigonometry" this album just sounded like noise to me. I keep trying to like it, but so far...
Capt. Bacardi
snapcrotch
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Besides fulfilling a dream of Pat's, 'Song X' is strictly for the avant-garde, atonal jazz cadre. The Pat Metheny Group is conceived on an entirely different basis, with all their musical works 'through-composed' -- all the chords and changes are pre-set. And it's gorgeous and stimulating.
BTW, 'Song X' turns up most often in Metheny's used vinyl and CD bins and any dealer asking more than $3.99 for the vinyl or $5.99 for the CD will have a very long wait.
BTW, 'Song X' turns up most often in Metheny's used vinyl and CD bins and any dealer asking more than $3.99 for the vinyl or $5.99 for the CD will have a very long wait.
Hmmm...that explains why it was so easy to find my Song X vinyl used. 
One of my favorite quotes is from Mike Metheny's recent CD, where he is explaining the last song on the CD in the liner notes. "Remember, this is from the same gene pool that brought you Zero Tolerance for Silence." That's another recording that fans either love or hate. I'm ambivalent at best. I keep thinking I just need to find the right mixture of drugs to understand it.
Pat has experimented a few times with "noise" projects...I know someone who used to fly out of town to catch his offbeat one-off shows, and she told me of a series at the Knitting Factory that were experiments in noise. Nobody may like what he does 100% of the time, but you have to give him credit for experimenting with all of these different styles he has explored. Never sits still, always moving forward.
The only Pat Metheny Group CD that really doens't fit the standard mold is Quartet. In fact, I categorize it as a contract fulfillment album--this was their last Geffen recording, and it sounds highly improvised. Probably recorded in record time on the spur of the moment.
My favorite Pat Metheny recordings are the ones where Pat is at his most lyrical. Most of the Group recordings are that way--especially the first "white" album, First Circle, Letter From Home, Still Life (Talking) and Speaking Of Now. Secret Story is the same, but even more so...I have to be in a certain mood to hear it, since I know it will stick with me for hours, if not days. This one's practically a "goosebump" moment all the way through for me--there are just some albums that strike that raw nerve.
One of my favorite quotes is from Mike Metheny's recent CD, where he is explaining the last song on the CD in the liner notes. "Remember, this is from the same gene pool that brought you Zero Tolerance for Silence." That's another recording that fans either love or hate. I'm ambivalent at best. I keep thinking I just need to find the right mixture of drugs to understand it.
Pat has experimented a few times with "noise" projects...I know someone who used to fly out of town to catch his offbeat one-off shows, and she told me of a series at the Knitting Factory that were experiments in noise. Nobody may like what he does 100% of the time, but you have to give him credit for experimenting with all of these different styles he has explored. Never sits still, always moving forward.
The only Pat Metheny Group CD that really doens't fit the standard mold is Quartet. In fact, I categorize it as a contract fulfillment album--this was their last Geffen recording, and it sounds highly improvised. Probably recorded in record time on the spur of the moment.
My favorite Pat Metheny recordings are the ones where Pat is at his most lyrical. Most of the Group recordings are that way--especially the first "white" album, First Circle, Letter From Home, Still Life (Talking) and Speaking Of Now. Secret Story is the same, but even more so...I have to be in a certain mood to hear it, since I know it will stick with me for hours, if not days. This one's practically a "goosebump" moment all the way through for me--there are just some albums that strike that raw nerve.
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