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From: donn@utah-gr.UUCP (Donn Seeley)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: a sheaf of album reviews, most Jazz [actually about Pat Metheny]
Message-ID: <1263@utah-gr.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Dec-84 08:06:23 EST
Article-I.D.: utah-gr.1263
Posted: Tue Dec  4 08:06:23 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Dec-84 05:46:00 EST
References: <15900008@hpcnoe.UUCP>
Organization: CS Dept., University of Utah
Lines: 63

I agree with a lot of Dave Taylor's comments, being a fan of ECM jazz,
but I am puzzled by his dislike of Pat Metheny's latest album, FIRST
CIRCLE.  He says:

	Yech!  This is the only BAD album I am including here. 
	Somehow it is very indicative that this album, probably the
	worst they have ever come out with, is now #86 (or so) on the
	billboard charts!  The music here is a lot of remixes of stuff
	off of previous albums - either too 'caterwaulingly wailing'
	(hows THAT for a phrase!) or just plain rip-offs of their
	earlier stuff - no creative new work!

I'm not entirely sure why Dave seems to think FIRST CIRCLE is more
derivative than Pat's other albums; in particular Pat's first three
albums with Lyle Mays -- WATERCOLORS, PAT METHENY GROUP, and AMERICAN
GARAGE -- have distinct similarities (and dissimilarities!).  FIRST
CIRCLE is certainly no more 'commercial' than PAT METHENY GROUP or
AMERICAN GARAGE, which were both smash successes, by the way.  I'm
having a hard time figuring out what Dave means by 'caterwauling
wailing'; it's true that Metheny can make a guitar synthesizer sound
like a large feline undergoing vivisection without anesthesia (for
instance in 'The Calling' on the album REJOICING) but there's little of
that on FIRST CIRCLE (too bad -- I actually like it, most of the
time).  Perhaps Dave is referring to Pedro Aznar's vocals, but if so I
don't understand why Dave would think they were any stranger than Nana
Vasconcelos' vocals on earlier albums...

When I saw Metheny in concert recently, I hadn't heard FIRST CIRCLE
yet; so I was completely floored when the group opened with 'Forward
March', literally marching down the aisles with their instruments and
doing a creditable impression of a high school marching band on LSD.
When they played 'The First Circle' they did a beautiful job with a
beautiful piece, and their obvious enthusiasm for it swept the
audience.  When I bought the album later I was treated to a delicious
little thrill by the magnificent photograph on the back that finally
made the connection in my mind (if you haven't seen the picture, try to
guess what it shows...).  Other nice pieces on FIRST CIRCLE are 'Take
It All', which combines pop and blues, and 'Yolanda, You Learn', a
straightforward fusion piece by a band that knows how to do it right.
Metheny is just an amazingly eclectic musician.  If this album is on
the Billboard charts, it deserves it.

I wholeheartedly agree with Dave that REJOICING is a great album,
although it is definitely not a strictly acoustic trio as Dave's review
implies -- the first side is Metheny indulging his love for Ornette
Coleman tunes, showing how much his electric guitar technique has
improved over the last few years, and the second side is original
compositions featuring overdubs and guitar synthesizer.  'Story from a
Stranger' is a beautiful meditative piece that remindes me of Bill
Connors' SWIMMING WITH A HOLE IN MY BODY, while 'The Calling' is a
raucous 10-minute experiment in free playing and a lot of fun.
REJOICING is probably not an album for pop/fusion fans, but you never
know -- you might surprise yourself.  If you like REJOICING then you
should try Metheny's first album, BRIGHT SIZE LIFE, a trio that
includes Jaco Pastorius: this trio really DID do nightclubs, up and
down the East Coast.  (Pat was all of 19 years old when he joined Gary
Burton's band...  I sure wish he would record 'Midwestern Nights Dream'
with the Group; I've seen them do it in concert...  sigh.)

I've now seen Pat Metheny Group in concert 6 times,

Donn Seeley    University of Utah CS Dept    donn@utah-cs.arpa
40 46' 6"N 111 50' 34"W    (801) 581-5668    decvax!utah-cs!donn