Hi Lama,
> Yeah, in retrospect, it sorta reads as a slam. I really didn't mean it
that way although it's obvious that I don't "get" Metheny. That's why I see
his transcendent "Amelia" as revelatory and extra= ordinary (in the
dictionary meaning that it's out of the ordinary.) I've tried "Off Ramp",
"American Garage", and "80/81". I know these are highly regarded albums and
I'm not denigrating them. They expose a lack in my "ear". >
The albums you mention, and "S&L," for that matter, were all recorded during
the first five years of Metheny's now 25-year old career. If those albums
are all you've heard, it's easier for me to see why you might consider the
"S&L" solo to be out of the ordinary, or a case in which Metheny was playing
beyond his abilities..
You may want to pick up some later albums by the Pat Metheny Group,
beginning with the double live "Travels." Proceed chronologically through
"First Circle," "Still Life (Talking)," "Letter From Home," and "The Road To
You." Metheny's abilities (and his artistic vision) grew at a dizzying rate
through the '80s. He continued to record outside the Group during these
years, and still does, playing great jazz with some of the music's brightest
lights ... but it's in those five Group albums I believe you'll find the way
to "get" Pat.
Boston Jim
NP: coffee percolator, drowning out a whispering MSNBC :-)
