The Pat Metheny Discography Thread: Unity Band (2012)

[SoundscapeMN]

First Circle is a masterpiece.

the title track and Yolanda, You Learn are my favorites.

This may be my favorite drum performance ever, or at least sound. Paul Wertico's cymbal work is as precise as anything I've ever heard.

[darkshade]

I ended up liking that Pat Metheny Group album so much I picked up a copy on vinyl:


Sounds fantastic on record.

Awesome 

[darkshade]

Pat Metheny Group - The Falcon and The Snowman (1985)



This is the Group's first album on a different record label, EMI, after leaving ECM records.. Also the Group's first concept album. I don't know much about the story here, as it is also the soundtrack for a movie I've never seen, but musically there are themes that appear and then reappear elsewhere on the album; and though it is a soundtrack, it is still a proper PMG album.

The lineup is essentially the same as First Circle, Metheny, Mays, Rodby, Wertico, Aznar, and the band is backed up by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Ambrosian Choir, on some tracks. We also have David Bowie singing on the song "This Is Not America", a moderate hit at the time in the US but a big hit in the UK, something something about Margaret Thatcher I guess.

The music is a little darker than previous PMG albums, there are very little uplifting moments as we usually hear on pretty much all other PMG albums. The mood is a little more sad, introspective, and bleak. However, some tunes are still classic PMG like Daulton Lee, where we hear what sounds like Lyle Mays playing some real melodic lead lines, when in fact it is Pat with a very synthed-up guitar. For years I thought it was Lyle on that tune until I recently discovered it is actually Pat. We get a great vocal performance from Pedro on DL, as well as on the song The Falcon. The 2nd side features more of the darker, more dissonant tunes, as well as more ambient and acoustic guitar driven pieces. One thing to note is the lack of classic leads from Pat, in his clean tone, or even with the synclavier synth guitar. Also missing are many (not all) of the trademark Lyle Mays sounds from this era. This album is just the black sheep in the PMG discography from the 80s, as it's very different from the other albums. I've grown to like it over the years, but it is one I overlooked for a long time due to negative opinions on the album. Not one I pick up often, but when the mood is right, the albums works very well.

[Orbert]

I kinda remember the movie, but I've never seen it.  I didn't realize that PMG did the soundtrack, and I've never heard it.

I guess that leaves me with nothing to contribute other than that for a while, I kept misspeaking the title of a recent Marvel TV show as "The Falcon and the Winter Snowman" and I could not figure why I had it stuck in my head that way.

[ReaperKK]

On the last track of this album and I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the darker tone of the album as a whole personally. For me the weakest track was the Bowie track but is probably due to my dislike of David Bowie, I've never really been a fan of his. I will definitely agree with you that the album has a very bleak feeling to it, especially Level Of Deception. First run through I'd say Daulton Lee was my favorite track.

[darkshade]

Daulton Lee is my favorite track as well. I like some David Bowie songs but not a huge fan or anything, and I find This Is Not America just ok. I do like when Pat plays this song solo/instrumental, as the melody is nice. But yea, this album is a grower, and I like this album a lot now. Really shows the diversity of Metheny's discography, how much it keeps changing album to album, but this album really sticks out in the PMG canon, for its general moodiness.

[darkshade]

Sea of Tranquility did a segment on Elements, the band led by ex-PMG members Mark Egan and Danny Gottlieb, for those interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Mbd372UUI

[Fritzinger]

I love this album! It really flows perfectly, like a concept album. I think the sound design is great on this album (if that makes sense), the arrangements and production are perfect. And David Bowie... is just David Bowie. You wouldn't think the combination Metheny-Bowie (and Mays of course) works this well, but it does. I wish these masters would have made more music together.

[darkshade]

Lyle Mays - Lyle Mays (1986)



Lyle Mays' debut solo album, released in 1986. Very much feels like a Pat Metheny Group album, both in sound and production. Lyle's keyboards are everywhere, and he is joined by Bill Frisell, Marc Johnson, Alex Acuna, Nano Vasconcelos, and Billy Drewes. This album shows the listener how much Lyle influences the sound of PMG, and also how much his sound and style is integral to the general PMG soundscape. As I've said earlier, they should really have been called the Lyle Mays Group, since he dominates the music throughout. But Pat is the natural leader and "captain" of the ship.

Back to the music, we hear very PGM-esque music, but with Frisell on guitar, and we also hear foreshadowing for what PMG were going to release in the years ahead (more world music inspired, and light psychedelic jazz fused music.) Some really fascinating music in the first 3 tracks. The album climaxes with the 14-minute long piece, The Alaskan Suite with many keyboard washes and Frisell's hovering guitar rings. Really, though, the entire 2nd side (tracks 4-8) can really be seen as one big piece, as it has a beginning a middle and an end, and the end is probably the best track on the album. A slow, heartfelt melody called Close To Home, which easily could have fit on any PMG album from the 80s. To me, this album is the best PMG-sounding album  out there (and I believe Pat was the co-producer for this album as well as Lyle's follow up, another great album.)

[SoundscapeMN]

many years ago i checked out some Lyle Mays solo cds from the library, but I'm not sure if that album was in there. I remember enjoying them at the time, but sadly, never following up. I probably need to.

[darkshade]

many years ago i checked out some Lyle Mays solo cds from the library, but I'm sure if that album was in there. I remember enjoying them at the time, but sadly, never following up. I probably need to.

He only released 4 studio albums, and 1 live album, so not many, unfortunately. His solo albums are all on par with Pat's best stuff.

[darkshade]

Pat Metheny, Ornette Coleman - SONG X (1986)
with Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, and Denardo Coleman



20th Anniversary cover


Not for the faint of heart. Most of the music here is not the usual Pat Metheny fare, though, even with the post-bopish nature of the music, it is freer, dissonant, and more wacky than what we've heard from Pat so far, and that is in part to this album sharing co-billing with Ornette Coleman, Jazz legend and Free-Jazz innovator. The 20th Anniversary version is the one I have, which includes 6 bonus tracks in the beginning of the album before going right into the original album.

The first and third tracks are actually classic Metheny tracks to my ears. Police People and The Good Life, which became staples of Pat's live repertoire outside of the Group tours, feature great melodies, almost Caribbean sounding. Outside of those two tracks, the album is as I described earlier: hurried, busy, almost neurotic sounding. I can't comment on any other individual tracks, on the occasional times I listen to this in full it all sounds like one big ball of controlled chaos, so approach with caution. This is a tough album to listen to with any regularity, even for a big jazz fan like myself.

If you are familiar with some of John Zorn's music, Mr. Bungle, or Naked City, that might give you an idea of much of the music.

[SoundscapeMN]

I checked out Song X out about 20 years ago when I 1st got into Pat Metheny and to say I hated it would be putting it mildly.

It's hardly the only record he's done that i have dismissed (One Quiet Night), but it definitely stands out in some ways like a grey herring among all of the PM/PMG records I've heard per it's so different and anti-music. Which I came to just have an aversion to Free Jazz in general after hearing it and things like Sun Ra and Henry Cow.

[darkshade]

I totally appreciate music like that, but I have to be in the rare mood.

Guys like Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra, do have lots of music that is more "accessible" and bopish.

By the way, Song X is going to sound like bubble gum pop music once you hear Zero Tolerance For Silence.

[Skeever]

I tried listening to Off-Ramp but I struggle to get hooked in after the first few tracks. Maybe too laid back for me and I'm not a big fan of the textures of the keyboard sounds I was hearing.

[darkshade]

I tried listening to Off-Ramp but I struggle to get hooked in after the first few tracks. Maybe too laid back for me and I'm not a big fan of the textures of the keyboard sounds I was hearing.

It is a bit more of a laid back album, mostly. It's a late evening album for me, before it starts getting dark. Kind of a cleansing listen after listening to all kinds of other crazy music during the day. My experience is Pat's music is best experienced when mood and setting are just right.

[darkshade]

Pat Metheny Group - Still Life (Talking) (1987)


Pat Metheny Group's most accessible album, and Pat and the Group's most popular album, as it's their only Gold record by the RIAA. This is one of, it not my favorite Pat or PMG album out of his entire catalog. There is a reason it's so popular. The music here is full of energy, jazzy yet poppy, complex enough for serious listeners and catchy enough for casual listeners who may or may not listen to jazz-related music. It is joyous, uplifting music.

To call this album "fusion" is both an accurate description and an inaccurate description. It's not 70s styled fusion, nor is it what much of the jazz-fusion of the 80s sounded like. It is a fusion of mid-Western Jazz, Brazilian music, folk, and pop, with a post-bop attitude, but played with a rock energy. The production is very good as well, everything can be heard very clearly, and sounds great on good speakers. This album is the result of Pat's desire to leave ECM so he could use the studio as a musical instrument and really craft a 'perfect' sounding album. The band includes three singers who are heard singing wordless vocals often throughout the music.

Every track is a PMG classic, and were all live staples, except maybe the last piece.
Minuano (Six Eight) opens the album, slowly allowing the listener to warm up to the music before exploding into the main groove and theme. It is a glorious piece, and one of those tunes that just defines the sound of the band during this era, and is such a great melody.
So May It Secretly Begin is a wonderful bossa-nova inspired groove and an ear-worm of a melody.
Last Train Home is the closest thing the band ever came to a hit single, as it was often played on The Weather Channel's Local on the 8's in the 80s and 90s, as well as being in some commercials. This is probably their most well known piece. It is a melancholic tune, and the music evokes images of trains and perhaps longing for someone.

(It's Just) Talk brings us back to the Latin grooves and great melodies. A more underrated gem in the PMG catalog, if only because it's surrounded by greater pieces.
Third Wind is possibly the most energetic PMG tune and is very fast paced. Everyone is just blazing through the piece, including Pat who plays with a late-era Coltrane ferociousness but the music is quite upbeat, accessible, and very percussive.
This would have concluded the album just fine for me, but the album concludes with two pieces, which really feel like one longer piece.
Distance is a short, haunting, and psychedelic, lead up to the next track, and a contrast to the 36 minutes of music that preceded it.
In Her Family is a sad, introspective sounding tune, and kind of ends the album with a whimper, possibly the only negative thing I could say about this album, but the piece is beautiful so it is a nice coda to this album.

[darkshade]

Don't give up on me now, guys. This discography is just getting warmed up.

[ReaperKK]

I'm going to be doing some catching up this week, I was pretty busy last week so there wasn't much listening time. Haven't given up yet!

[Orbert]

I still following!  I just don't have the familiarity with the material to comment more than "I like it".  I think Metheny is awesome, as is was () Lyle Mays, but other than thinking it all sounds great, I'm not sure what else I can say.

I'll try to give it a more in-depth listen later today.

[darkshade]

Lyle Mays - Street Dreams (1988)


Lyle Mays' second album is in line with the PMG sound of the era, late 80s. That dreamy, mildly psychedelic sound that sounds like a marriage of Bill Evans and the Grateful Dead but with folk influence from areas like Brazil, the Caribbean; Pat and Lyle's music have this Latin Jazz overtone to their music in the mid-late 80s. The main band here is Peter Erskine on drums, Marc Johnson on bass, Bill Frisell on guitar and a few others on various instruments on certain tracks, including PMG bassist Steve Rodby playing bass on the opening track, and Rodby also produced this album. Overall a nice collection of tunes, Lyle's first album is probably better, but the final epic title suite that takes up the last few tracks is far and away the best composition between his first two albums. It's progressive, upbeat, and is drenched in those electric pianos and synths that Lyle played a lot of during this time period, that is just one of my musical guilty pleasures. A must listen if you enjoy Pat Metheny Group albums from this era. Pat himself even wrote one of the tunes on this album ("Possible Straight")

[Fritzinger]

I still following!  I just don't have the familiarity with the material to comment more than "I like it".  I think Metheny is awesome, as is was () Lyle Mays, but other than thinking it all sounds great, I'm not sure what else I can say.

I'll try to give it a more in-depth listen later today.

Don't give up on me now, guys. This discography is just getting warmed up.

I'm still following too, don't worry! I'm just in the exam period of the year, so I can't write a lot, but I still read your posts and often relisten to the albums. Yesterday, I put on Still Life (Talking) while making dinner 

[Orbert]

I'm listening to Still Life (Talking) now, and I can't say I'm a fan of the scat vocals.  I have to be in the right mood for vocals.  I typically put on jazz when I want jams, instrumental jams, and the vocals take me out of that somehow.

[darkshade]

I'm listening to Still Life (Talking) now, and I can't say I'm a fan of the scat vocals.  I have to be in the right mood for vocals.  I typically put on jazz when I want jams, instrumental jams, and the vocals take me out of that somehow.

The vocals on SL(T) are not scat vocals in the traditional jazz sense, the wordless, vocals are used more as another instrument that is blended in with the other instruments to create the big sound on the album. This is contrast to music from, say, Sarah Vaughn or Ella Fitzgerald, where there are lyrics and/or nonsensical singing wordless vocals, they take solos with their voice, and are the focal point of their music most of the time. The vocals on PMG albums are used to accentuate certain parts or sections. It's still technically all instrumental music, as there are no lyrics, the vocals are melodic and wordless, and the vocals do not take center stage in the music, instead blend in with the rest of the band. There are a couple of exceptions throughout their discography, where there are actual lyrics sung by one of the singers, but that is the exception, and not something to be found on Still Life (Talking)

I'm with you, though, that I usually don't care for vocals in jazz. However, PMG is a whole nother experience. PMG are more like a rock band that is extremely rooted in jazz, so the vocals don't bother me. Some say Pat's music is better without them, but they are used sparingly for the most part, and are done tastefully as well, so for me they work really well on the albums where they are featured the most, such as this album or the follow up. That is that Brazilian influence, why there are vocals since PMG's 3rd album.

[darkshade]

What are everyone's thoughts on the Lyle Mays album Street Dreams, or his first album?

This era of Pat and Lyle's music gets wrongly classified as 'smooth jazz' by critics, but this music is just well recorded and the tones throughout are often in the mid-range, giving it that 'smooth' sound on the surface, but this music is way more complex, deep, and artistic than actual 'smooth jazz' or softer jazz or slick r&B music of this era. The term is silly anyway, it's a fake corporate term like "world music" that automatically turns off potential listeners.
These days, anything that has a hint of jazz in its sound is classified as 'smooth jazz' due to ignorance. I've heard of Opeth described as "smooth jazz" more than once. That's when you know the label has no meaning anymore, everything jazz is 'smooth jazz' now.

I've never really liked music that could be classified as 'smooth jazz' aside from a few songs, but I've always been intrigued by Pat Metheny's music since I first heard his music many years ago. This era of Pat and Lyle's music is very happy and chill, with a hint of sadness or melancholy, what with the Latin Jazz sound they had going during this time, but staying true to their roots as well.

[ReaperKK]

I listened to SL(T) yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm actually very familiar with Minuano because my first exposure to Pat was this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvaVQZP6A_M and at the time I went through and listened to the songs in the opening title card which is where I came across Minuano. I was a little surprised that they weren't as acoustic as the medley

Aside from one album coming up later in this thread SL(T) was the album that clicked the quickest with me. It seemed fairly easy to digest (maybe it's just because I'm listening to more Pat) and had some real highlights to me, mainly "So May It Secretly Begin" and "In Her Family" but every track, except maybe Third Wind, was immediately enjoyable.

This album also has a great sound to it, to my ear it has more warmth than some of the previous work.

I haven't checked out the Lyle Mays album but I will this afternoon and report back. I also have Song X to check out as well.

[darkshade]

I listened to SL(T) yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm actually very familiar with Minuano because my first exposure to Pat was this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvaVQZP6A_M and at the time I went through and listened to the songs in the opening title card which is where I came across Minuano. I was a little surprised that they weren't as acoustic as the medley

Aside from one album coming up later in this thread SL(T) was the album that clicked the quickest with me. It seemed fairly easy to digest (maybe it's just because I'm listening to more Pat) and had some real highlights to me, mainly "So May It Secretly Begin" and "In Her Family" but every track, except maybe Third Wind, was immediately enjoyable.

This album also has a great sound to it, to my ear it has more warmth than some of the previous work.

I haven't checked out the Lyle Mays album but I will this afternoon and report back. I also have Song X to check out as well.

As mentioned before, Pat wanted to leave ECM label so he could record his albums the way he wanted to. The production values for ECM are great, their sound is unmistakable for what it is, but their process is record for a couple of days, mix for one day, and that's the album. It gives the music a lot of space, it's an excellent way to record the oft improvisational-based music that ECM offers, but also doesn't allow for the musicians to "fix up" any mistakes or perfect a line or whatever, which is part of the ECM charm, I guess. Pat's music tends to be more composed, with room for improv, as opposed to many acts on ECM where the music is more loosely composed and improv is the main focus. Pat wanted to spend more time in the studio than 2-3 days, thus, every album after leaving ECM sounds absolutely brilliant and mixed so nicely (eventually, PMG bassist Steve Rodby would start co-producing ALL of Pat's albums going forward, even the non-PMG albums, as well as Lyle's solo albums, as Steve is also a great producer and conductor.)

[darkshade]

Pedro Aznar - Contemplación (1985)


I forgot to include this album in this thread, so we're going backwards real quick, then we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

This is Pedro Aznar's second solo album, released while he was still in Pat Metheny Group, before he left for a short time in the mid-80s. This album is featured here because Pat, Lyle, as well as former PMG drummer Danny Gottlieb are on this album, so this is a quasi-PMG album, almost a "what would PMG sound like if Pedro Aznar was in charge?" They're not on every track, but they're on almost half the album, as it's not a very long album, and one of the tracks they're on is something like 11 minutes long. Pedro was a full time PMG member at the time, so the whole album has that First Circle vibe, which was the most recent recording at the time of this album's release.

The results are a very PMG-sounding album (duh) from the era. It's a very 80s-sounding album, bear in mind. Besides singing, he also plays percussion and bass throughout the album, as well as using a lot of the same instrumentation and keyboard equipment that Lyle Mays uses in PMG. The best tracks are the ones with Pat, Lyle, and Danny, particularly the track "23" with Pedro on bass, so technically a lost PMG lineup (Danny left PMG before Aznar joined, but Steve Rodby plays bass in PMG, so it is interesting to hear Pedro on bass here, as he is quite a virtuoso bassist, he's more similar in style to Jaco Pastorius or former PMG bassist Mark Egan.) Pat himself is on a few other tracks, and lays down some nice solos, but the track '23' has one of Lyle's best piano work.

If you're someone who can't get enough Pat or Pat Metheny Group, or even more Lyle (since his canon is quite limited) this is a worthy addition to your collection.

Just a reminder: All the albums in this thread so far, are available to stream if you don't have the album(s) yourself.

[darkshade]

Pat Metheny Group - Letter From Home (1989)


The follow up to Still Life (Talking), this album really is a continuation of the music on that album. There is more Brazilian influence, bossa nova, and Latin Jazz mixed with the PMG style. Pedro Aznar rejoined the band after being absent on the last album, and the percussionist from the last album, Armando Marçal, returns here as well. We are joined again by the classic quartet of Metheny, Mays, Rodby, and Wertico.

While I feel that SL(T) does what Letter From Home does in much less time, I still feel like this is one of the Group's strongest albums, and if you like the previous album, you'll also enjoy LFH. The compositions are very relaxed, and mildly psychedelic, but once again, there are so many strong melodies throughout, and these are some of the band's most well known compositions. The whole album is just a summer-y sounding album. Some may find the music too 'light' but I think it is produced very well, and the mood of the music is very chill. A great album at the beach, or a late evening gathering.

[SoundscapeMN]

^need to listen to that album for the lineup alone.

by the way, I read that Metheny had contacted Rick Laird about wanting to collaborate with him for a Wes Montgomery tribute (Laird played with Wes Montgomery). It never happened of course and Laird was retired as a musician for decades, working as a Photographer, before passing away a few days ago.

I would still be curious about what Metheny may do with it.

[ReaperKK]

Just spun Letter From Home and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm on my second listen through and the album works both as something you can have on in the background or you can really sit down and listen to it. Highlights for me were Have you Heard, Every Summer Night, Spring Ain't Here and Beat 70. There is also a tone here that first caught my ear on 5-5-7 that sounded like that Chilean Pipe effect that Al Di Meola used, I think that was my only gripe with it because I really hated that effect

[darkshade]

Are you referring to the intro track to 5-5-7, "45/8"?
BTW, you basically listed all the best tracks on the album (although I think every track on the album is strong, including Dream of the Return (a nice cool down song), Are We There Yet, and Slip Away.)
Letter From Home pairs well with Still Life (Talking). For a while I would listen to SL(T) then follow it up with LFH. Two parts of a whole in a lot of ways.

I had not heard about that potential collaboration with Laird. RIP. He was kind of the forgotten member of the early Mahavishnu Orchestra lineup (no surprise everyone in that band was a legendary musician, even in later lineups)

[ReaperKK]

Yup, sorry I meant the intro track. I forgot to mention but Vidala was also a pretty solid track too.

[darkshade]

It's cool how there's trippy callbacks to a couple of earlier songs from the album on that one.

[darkshade]

Gary Burton - Reunion (1990)


Recorded in 1989 and released in the beginning of the 90s, this Gary Burton album sees the Reunion of Burton with ex-sideman, Pat Metheny. Though technically a sideman again for Gary's band on this album, contrary to the three albums with Burton in the 70s, Pat sounds more like co-leader alongside his former mentor. If you never saw the album cover and someone told you this was a Pat Metheny album during your first listen, you'd believe them. Pat is all over this album, playing lead melodies, his late 80s clean guitar tone is front and center, along with his synth guitar. Musically, while Burton's 70s albums with Pat were a bit deeper, introspective, and pastoral; this album is more in line with Pat's albums from the same era that Reunion was released in: highly produced, energetic music, with lots of Latin and Brazilian influences felt, tropical sounding melodies, and even some slap bass mixed in from bassist Will Lee. The rest of the lineup consists of Mitchel Forman on keys and piano, and Peter Erskine on drums. A nice slice of late-80s jazz-fusion without getting too slick.