Pat Metheny - where to start?

Great summary!

 

I had Trio Live and liked it...after that I just went to the local record shop and bought a bunch of used ECM vinyl...it all sounds pretty good. First Circle is a great album to start with. I really enjoyed the Day Trip/Tokyo Day Trip LPs that he released and they give a good examples of the different styles he can play...straight jazz, fusion, and some acoustic stuff.

Everything album I've bought by him I've thoroughly enjoyed. I haven't listened to it in probably a few months since I've been busy and have listened to other records I've more recently purchased, but I'll throw an album in the stack I plan to listen to this weekend...most likely First Circle or American Garage (w/ Lyle Mays!)

 

Out off those (he has many more from the early days which are terrific), I'd rank these as my favs:

Letter From Home
The way up
Imaginary Day
We Live Here

 

That's a really good album to start with for sure , as mentioned good Overview of his "hits" done live , great sounding stuff too .

I have been a huge Pat fan since maybe 1991-92-ish , fell in love with "secret story" it's an album that you hear something different everytime you play it ......
Most of the Album you listed are Certainly worth owning "Letter From Home" is a nice album for his mid-period stuff "The way up" is cool , but it's one long piece of music cut into 4 parts "Imaginary Day" is a really Great album as well .... If you do end up liking him , your collection will Build FAST !

 

I like the fact that Pat will work in so many formats from solo to orchestral, but really prefer his work with PMG, mainly due to Lyle's imput and the expanded rhythm section. It's been about 6 years since he's done anything new with the Group, and his website isn't very forthcoming on such info, but I wonder if he ever will do more in the group context, or is PMG a thing of the past. Any Metheny Group fans have any info on this?

 

Here are 8 titles that good ones that will provide a very overview of his better works. Metheny is an amazing talent (and a cool person as well), and has so much good material, yet there are a few like "We Live Here" that veered towards new agey sound that I really couldn't get into.

Bright Size Life
Off Ramp
80/81
Still Life (Talking)
Imaginary Day
Beyond the Missouri Sky (acoustic set w/ Charlie Haden)
Road to You (Live in Europe)
Day Trip / Tokyo Day Trip Live

 

my Pat Mix CD: 73:01

1. Watercolors
2. Sueño con Mexico
3. Every Day (I Thank You)
4. Au Lait
5. If I Could
6. Letter From Home
7. First Circle (live Road To You version)
8. The Longest Summer
9. The Roots of Coincidence
10. Farmer's Trust (live Travels version)

 

His project for this year is the Unity Band with Chris Potter, Ben Williams and Antonio Sanchez. There has been talk of a new Metheny Group project now and then but nothing has materialized. They did do a run of shows in Japan in the first week of 2009, and a tour of Europe in summer 2010, of old material with a four-piece version of the Group (Pat, Lyle, Steve Rodby and Antonio Sanchez).

 

Thanks for this info. I really don't get why Lyle hasn't been more productive, I still feel he has a great solo record in him that he hasn't really achieved yet. I'd love to hear him do something along the lines of 'Secret Story'. One of my favorite contemporary musicians.

 

Although not mentioned by the OP, I'd be remiss in not mentioning the wonderful "Song X" (though it's arguably even more an Ornette Coleman album, than a Metheny one).

Also, the remixed 20th anniversary edition of "Song X" (with 5 or 6 bonus tracks) is (IMHO) far superior, specifically because of the remix. The sound is 10x better, and the album is far more approachable as a result. Really a HUGE improvement over the original.

 

Zero Tolerance for Silence




...only joking! Some smart-a$$ was going to say this sooner or later, so that smart-a$$ might as well be me.

 

Nobody mentioned remasters versus originals, unless I missed it, scanning the thread. I was looking at We Live Here on amazon.com, and wondering... Geffen? or Nonesuch? What do you think?

 

I must admit i have never heard the Remaster of this , the Original sounds so good , never saw a need ...... the few remasters i have heard from pat , they are a hair maybe louder , but still sounded really nice & enjoyable , you probably can't lose either way ...... maybe someone owns both on here ?

 

lower

Let us not forget the famous 1977 radio interview album. ;-)

 

Honestly I think you can jump right in just about anywhere. I came in with Wichita and "Its For You". Then onto American Garage and jumped around from there.

"It's for You" is a song I've dedicated to my first born son. Unofficially. One day I'll play it for him and tell him about that day and what was going through my head. Eight years ago. Love that song.

 

I think American Garage is his weakest early album. it's a better showcase for Lyle, and it's not a bad record, but it's weaker than the first PMG album. I'd start with Travels,, the live album previously cited. I saw tour and it has been my favorite one of the PMG.

 

Imaginary Day on DVD-A is quite an experience...you can't go wrong with any of PM/PMG works...one album I enjoy a lot is "The Falcon and The Snowman" (soundtrack), especially the "Daulton Lee" track.

 

I was about to mention 'The Falcon And The Snowman' soundtrack as well. I love the big, cinematic, melodic PMG sound and this fits the bill perfectly. It's not only my all time fave soundtrack album, but one of my favorite albums overall.

 

Of these, I would start with The Road To You -- it's a good live album featuring the Group (with one studio track at the end) and it covers many of his 1980s and early 1990s high points. If you like that, you can venture further.

I started my Metheny journey with an earlier live album, Travels (which I would recommend but it isn't on your list), and it was a nice way to become familiar with the Group and their sensibilities.

Of the remaining releases on your list (all studio albums), I would go with The Way Up, the most recent of his albums with the Group (and one of the best). While there are no bad choices on this list, I would stay away from Quartet (more challenging/avant), Upojenie (folky with Polish singing over Metheny's music), and One Quiet Night (all acoustic and a bit samey sounding). Any of the others would be a nice introduction, although not necessarily that representative of his entire body of work.

 

I recently bought Offramp, (1982) and it's only my 3rd PM album in a lot of years. It's excellent. I also ha ve the self titled (1978)- safe, representative PM, and '80/'81/.

(If you dislike synths or synth/guitars, avoid Offramp.).

Other peopl e will tell you which recent, experimental PM to avoid. I think one even has a warning on the sleeve.

 

The 1983 ECM live 2 disc set "Travels" is also a great introduction into the early Pat Metheny Group stuff. In my opinion, it's much more intense than the studio versions of the tracks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_(Pat_Metheny_Group_album)

 

From the original list, I would probably suggest Letter from Home which, although very much in the vein of his latter group recordings, still has some traits of his earlier ECM work.

 

I second that. It's simply a beautiful album.

 

The soundtrack spawned a hit single - This Is Not America, a collaboration with David Bowie. It's a great song.

 

The Pat Metheny Group records are very different from the Pat Metheny ones. The former has a more fusion, new age sound while the latter is more traditional jazz. I am a fan of the Pat Metheny Group and recommend all from Full Circle and prior particularly Offramp.