PAT METHENY GROUP: AMERICAN GARAGE

"America Garage" is an excellent electric guitar and piano-oriented modern jazz album. Lyle Mays's keyboards consist in OMNIPRESENT lively piano and in some modern keyboards. Pat Metheny's particular electrical guitar sound is very urban. This record still has not the usual atmospheric and flamboyant sound of the next albums like "Letter from home" and "Still Life", mainly because Lyle Mays' modern keyboards arrangements are still too discreet and in the background here; however, the compositions are just very well achieved, and the tracks are often quite loaded and elaborated. The omnipresent fretless bass is very refined. I think the tracks are very accessible, especially the lively and dynamic "American Garage" and "Cross the Heartland", which sound like a music theme of a popular Canadian TV show of the 80's. The complex & catchy "Epic" is particularly impressive: it has many rhythm and air changes, and the instruments are very well synchronized; the track passes from loaded, structured and fast bits to more mellow ones, and vice-versa; the fast and delicate cymbals patterns combined with the melodic & jazzy piano and the fretless bass make this track among Metheny's best one so far; Metheny's fast and melodic electric guitar sound approaches the one on his best albums; finally, Lyle Mays' impossible piano solo on this track is ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL! All the tracks are excellent, and all the instruments generously participate to create true modern urban jazz instrumental tracks, without any flashy pattern.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Between Pat Metheny Group's eponymous debut (1978) and this follower the guitarist recorded a literary solo album New Chautaugua (1979). Whereas the group debut featured compositions by both Metheny alone and with keyboardist Lyle Mays, here each of the five tracks are their mutual compositions. Meanwhile, Metheny has taken the producer's seat from ECM's Manfred Eicher. Overall the tone is rockier and bolder than before.

The intro of '(Cross the) Heartland' is dominated by a repetitive high-note keyboard riff but soon the quartet is into full game with their lively fusion. I like the serene mid-section featuring that key riff again, and Mark Egan's atmospheric bass. Good, but not deeply impressive. Pat Metheny has said that the mellow 'Airstream' is his own fave from this era. As likeable as it is, I don't necessarily count it among the finest early achievements of Pat Metheny Group.

For the large part of 'The Search' (4:45), Mays' piano virtuosity takes the spotlight. Around 2:50 the guitar makes a nice entry but to my disappointment the composition doesn't much evolve, and it features that certain whistle or flute reminding high-pitched sound I have never much liked in Metheny's music. On the title track the band joyfully rocks out, making it the least fave track for me.

The 13-minute closing piece 'The Epic' is "all over the map", Metheny has unhappily stated, but it's a natural highlight at least for prog-oriented listeners. There's plenty of dynamics between virtuotic energy and sensitive moments. Sadly the high-pitched keyboard strokes near the end are a bit unpleasant for my ears. This album sold pretty well for a jazz album, but it meets my personal music taste less succesfully than most of Metheny's albums. You should try it if you often find Pat Metheny too lame and too much oriented to atmospherics, which really is rather scarse here.

(This is originally a Jazz Music Archives review, shared here in order to give some contrast against the two PA reviews. As a side note, JMA is doing very well nowadays, ie. lots of reviews coming out, unlike in the dormant past years.)