American Garage

Pat Metheny / Pat Metheny Group

AllMusic Rating
9
User Ratings (0)
Your Rating

American Garage Review

by Richard S. Ginell

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.

Track Listing

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	(Cross The) Heartland Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny	Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny	06:55	Spotify Amazon
2	Airstream Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny	Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny	06:20	Spotify Amazon
3	The Search Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny	Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny	04:54	Spotify Amazon
4	American Garage Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny	Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny	04:13	Spotify Amazon
5	The Epic Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny	Pat Metheny Group / Pat Metheny	12:59	Spotify Amazon