TRAVELS (PAT METHENY GROUP)

Pat Metheny

Jazz Rock/Fusion

3.76 | 68 ratings

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wbiphoto

Quite simply, this is ONE OF THE BEST live albums ever recorded in ANY and ALL genres.

I've been a fan of Pat Metheny since 1980, having seen the band live half a dozen times, and have fallen in and out of love with his music since that time. His "brazilian" and "smooth jazz" periods have somewhat tarnished his repuation as a serious, progressive musician. On the other hand, he's given the world so much GREAT music over the past 30 years that he has rightfully earned his place in the pantheon of the greats(McLaughlin, DiMeloa, Holdsworth etc). Fortunately, Travels captures The Group during, what hardcore Metheniacs consider, the band's most progressive period.

Travels is a MASTERPIECE of the highest order. It offers the listener a complete experience in free form, space, ambient and world jazz. While never being heavy or distorted and always relying on his trademark guitar synth, the music is ALWAYS progressive and quite angular at times.

The percussion and drumming(lots of cymbal work) are sublime. "Going Ahead-As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" is one of the greatest space songs of all-time. Sixteen plus minutes of pure galactic joy! Try listening to it with headphones at the beach or while star gazing!

Even though the songs on Travels can be found on other CDs in their original, studio renditions, the versions on this live recording are BETTER than their studio counterparts; even the transcendental "Are You Going With Me" blows away the steril studio version.

I recommend this album to ALL progressive music fans. It's mellower than your modern day prog and nothing like the jazz fusion of the 1970s. Yet, it's equally intense and offers an emotional lift that I've found in few recordings.

wbiphoto | 5/5 | 2009-8-8

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