PAT METHENY & LYLE MAYS: AS FALLS WICHITA, SO FALLS WICHITA FALLS

This album was a huge revelation to me. My first experience with Pat was with his debut "Bright Size Life" which did little for me, so I went into this one with no expectations whatsoever. Lyle Mays who plays a variety of keyboards is his partner here while Nana Vasconcelos guests on percussion, drums, vocals and berimbau. She really adds a lot to this recording. It was recorded in Oslo, Norway in September of 1980. The music is tasteful, professional, atmospheric and thought provoking. It's just a pleasure to sit back and really listen to this album.

The title track is almost 21 minutes long and my favourite. This is the kind of song that makes me smile, for me it's like going on a relaxing drive on a sunny day. It's not about getting to a destination, it's about enjoying the drive, the sunshine and the scenery. This song is all about experiencing the sounds and mood that this trio create. It starts off with faint sounds of people's voices in the background. Piano comes in as all these sounds build. A change after 2 1/2 minutes as guitar, keys, bass and berimbau take over. Percussion before 6 1/2 minutes as the sound changes. It's kind of spacey before 8 minutes with percussion. Incredible sound here. Organ 11 1/2 minutes in with bass a minute later. The sound kicks in before 13 minutes. Some autoharp before spacey synths and some great atmosphere arrives 14 1/2 minutes in. A voice rhymes off some random numbers, then at 16 minutes we can hear voices in the background. Organ comes in late.This is a song that has to be experienced.

"Ozark" is uptempo with piano leading the way. It's ok. "September Fifteenth (Dedicated To Bill Evans)" is of course dedicated to Bill Evans who passed away either just before this recording or during it. Bill was perhaps best known for being part of Miles Davis sextet, joining in 1958. So he played on "Kind Of Blue". The synths are slow moving as guitar is picked slowly in this sad intro. Things are brighter 2 minutes in. I really like this section a lot as the piano joins the acoustic guitar the rest of the way. They sound so good together. "It's For You" opens with strummed guitar, then synths followed by bass. Nice sound. The guitar fades to the background at 1 1/2 minutes. The vocal melodies before 3 minutes are so moving. Electric guitar and bass take over 4 1/2 minutes in. This is great. "Estupenda Graca" means "Stupendous Grace" in Portuguese. This is truly an emotional track as piano and vocal melodies lead the way. You can hear Nana sigh many times. Stupendous grace indeed. Thankyou.

The ECM label is all about releasing music that is all about class and beauty. This is no exception.