The back liner photo gives the impression of a grungy Midwestern garage band, but no, that doesn't describe this sophisticated jazz-rock quartet, which was simultaneously breaking into mass-market acceptance and away from the contemplative ECM stereotype. The arrangements are more structured, the playing often more intense and searching, with a more pronounced rock influence. On the title track, Metheny digs in and displays some authoritative rock-oriented licks and intensity, and the rhythms on "The Search" have a slight, at times asymmetrical Latin feeling. The nearly 13-minute "The Epic" finds the Metheny group developing some real combustion in the improvised sections as Metheny, keyboardist Lyle Mays, bassist Mark Egan and drummer Danny Gottlieb grow tighter as a unit. In hindsight, some of the music seems a bit too tightly conceived to allow adequate breathing room, but this is still high-quality jazz-rock for its time.
American Garage
Pat Metheny / Pat Metheny Group
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American Garage Review
by Richard S. Ginell
Track Listing
Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny | 06:55 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
2 | Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny | 06:20 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
3 | Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny | 04:54 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
4 | Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny | 04:13 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
5 | Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny | 12:59 | SpotifyAmazon |