I really Like "New Chataqua" - the last track on side b, with it's slow build up and then it's really joyous melody is magical!
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Pat Metheny Fans, Great Suggestions Please ??
Hello,
I have Secret Story, We Live Here and Imaginary Day.
I know his styles vary from album to album, but I'm looking for some stuff that sounds great cranked-up or low-level, beautiful, involving and long-term (asking a lot)
The 30-60 second samples give a fraction of say, what a 14 minute song has, so it's kinda difficult to get a handle on the changing improvs.
I did like what I "managed" to hear from Pat Metheny Group with Mays, Egan and Gottlieb "San Lorenzo"
I have Secret Story, We Live Here and Imaginary Day.
I know his styles vary from album to album, but I'm looking for some stuff that sounds great cranked-up or low-level, beautiful, involving and long-term (asking a lot)
The 30-60 second samples give a fraction of say, what a 14 minute song has, so it's kinda difficult to get a handle on the changing improvs.
I did like what I "managed" to hear from Pat Metheny Group with Mays, Egan and Gottlieb "San Lorenzo"
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Rja, thanks for the response although this post might be coming a little late. I've just browsed through the listings on Ebay and nearly bought an over-priced Japanese pressing of "Offramp" from an international seller at close to $60. Luckily I remembered some recommendations here on an online store CDJAPAN and managed to find my favourite "Offramp" album over there. Not only it's cheaper at $25 a piece but it is a limited SHM-CD just recently released early this month, fresh off the shelves! I will be able to compare this SHM-CD quality with the ECM version that I have later and see if the hype on the "superior" version is true. For Pat Metheny fans that would like to try out the SHM-CD's, I would recommend going to this site as there are many SHM-CD's just recently released, some on pre-order with a release date of later this month. |
Just an update. I've received the Offramp SHM CD(Made in Japan) and found no difference in sound quality compared to the ECM CD. Either my source is not capable of revealing the finer nuance and detail or I am not listening hard enough. Either way, I doubt there would be significant difference between the two format as the improvement in sound quality is barely noticeable. |
To Original Poster: Actually, that is not a lot to ask from Metheny. There is something to like about all of Metheny's work, but the following albums are in my opinion is finest works. You need to hear all of these albums in their entirety to even begin to understand how talented Metheny is. You really don't want to miss any of these but if you have to, I would prioritize your purchases in this order: 1. Pat Metheny Group (ECM) 2. Offramp (ECM) 3. As Falls Wichita, So Wichita Falls (ECM) 4. Still Life (Talking) 5. First Circle (ECM) 6. Bright Size Life (ECM) 7. Letter from Home 8. Secret Story 9. Watercolors (ECM) 10.The Road to You I think those are his most significant works. A lot of his other stuff post 1993 is just not in the same tier, in my opinion. Also note that the ECM recordings represent his first phase, while the later Geffen recordings have a totally different, more commercial sound. It is not uncommon to hear Letter from Home, for example, playing in airports and shopping malls, ect. The ECM stuff is the stuff that has the most staying power as "jazz" or fusion in my opinion. All of the ECM recordings also have very good sound. I ranked the albums according to my personal taste but you could also start with Pat Metheny Group and just go chronologically through his catalog and you would be able to hear how the group progressed. |
The new Secret Story sounds good but it is sort of a hard sounding recording. It has a edginess or shrillness to it. It might just be the sounds he is working with. It is an amazing album but from an audiohpile standpoint I find that it can be a bit unpleasant. I have a lot of fond memories of that album though. Still Life Talking has the best sound of the Geffen recordings, in my opinion. Still Life is lush and smooth sounding. The sound on Letter from Home is just a travesty and although the remaster is a bit better, it is still pretty thin sounding. Letter from Home, coincidentally was at least for a while Metheny's most commercially successful recording |
By the way I have always found Offramp to be an excellent sounding CD. As far as I know there is only one CD version of it and I don't really have any complaints about it. I think it holds up to audiophile scrutiny, as do most of the ECM recordings. There is an album called PAT METHENY Selected Recordings: rarum IX which contains bona fide remastered tracks of selected cuts from his ECM catalog. The sound is better, but not much better, which I think speaks to how good the original CD versions are. |
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As a sideman with Kenny Garrett; the Music of John Coltrane; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vGYPTNhzb8 highly recommended. |
I find much of Pat's music has this 'positivity' factor, uplifting and positive, one of my favorites is As falls Withata. Saw Pat with Ron Carter last spring (cape may jazz festival) where he played this 42-string Pikkasso guitar which was amazing - anybody know if he's done any albums featuring that contraption? By the way seems there's a bunch of youtube clips featuring Pat playing this. |